On season 9, episode 1 (aired on October 11, 2014.) of the Ghost Adventures, hosts Zak Bagans, Nick Groff Aaron Goodwin investigates the paranormal happenings that have occurred in Lemp Mansion and the brewery.
During the episode, a ball of light was captured floating over a camera and charging towards Aaron. Loud noises and the slamming of a door was also heard during the investigations. The team also captured several electronic voice phenomena (EVP) including “help me” and “I see them here”
Haunted History of Lemp Mansion
The historic Lemp Mansion was built in 1868 by Jacob Feickert, the father-in-law of Johann Adam Lemp. Lemp was a German immigrant who moved to St. Louis in 1836 in search of fortunes. Lemp opened a grocery but was mostly known for its homemade lager beer. With the growing popularity of his beer, Lemp shut down his grocery business to establish Lemp Brewery at 112 S. Second Street. After the passing of Lemp in 1862, the brewery was handed over to his son, William J. Lemp Sr. He went on to expand the brewery empire, building a new plant at Cherokee Street. For over five decades, Lemp Brewery dominated the St. Louis beer market and propelled the Lemp family to become one of St. Louis’ most famous and powerful household.
In 1876, William purchased the mansion from Jacob to serve as the residence of the Lemp family. A major renovation was done on the thirty-room property, including the construction of a tunnel in an underground limestone cave (now known as Cherokee Cave) that connected the residence to the Lemp Brewery Complex at Cherokee Street. The caves were also used to store beer kegs produced by the brewery.
However, a series of tragic incidents would go on to devastate Lemp family and the brewery. In 1901, Frederick Lemp, son of William Lemp Sr., passed away in Lemp Mansion from a heart failure. Unable to get over the death of his son, Lemp Sr. shot himself in his second-floor bedroom on February 13, 1904. The brewery empire was passed to his other son, William “Billy” J. Lemp Jr., who turned the mansion into the brewery headquarters.
However, the tragedies did not end here. The implementation of Prohibition in 1919 forced the brewery to halt all production of its lager beer. Lemp Brewery marched into history in 1922 when the company was sold to International Shoe Company. On March 20, 1920, Elsa Lemp Wright, the youngest child of Adam Lemp, shot herself in her home at 13 Hortense Place; some believe that this was a murder masqueraded as a suicide. The end of Lemp Brewery and deaths of his family members was too much for William Lemp Jr. to take. He shot himself with a revolver at the office (which is now the dining room in the mansion) on December 29, 1922.
The last death at Lemp mansion came in May 10, 1949 when Charles A. Lemp, brother of William Lemp Jr., shot himself in his bedroom. In total, four members of the Lemp family have committed suicide, of which three of it have occurred in Lemp Mansion.
“In case I am found dead, blame it on no one but me.”
– A note found on Charles A. Lemp’s bedroom
With the death of Charles A. Lemp, Lemp mansion was left abandoned. A year later, the site was converted to a boarding house.
The historic building was at the brink of demolition in the 1960s when Interstate 55 was being constructed to replace the old US Route 66. Lemp Mansion escaped unscathed, albeit a carriage house and most of the site was removed to make way for the new roads.
In 1975, the building was purchased by Dick Pointer, who continues to own the property till this day. At present, Lemp Mansion operates as a restaurant and bed and breakfast (B&B). Regular historical and haunted tours are also conducted for tourists looking to catch a glimpse of apparitions that linger long after their death.. To make a booking for the tours at Lemp Mansion, visit here.
Hauntings at the Lemp Mansion
The multiple paranormal happenings at Lemp Mansion have earned it a notorious reputation for being one of the the ten most haunted places in the United States. Famous psychic and Lemp expert Betsy Burnett-Belanger reports that nine spirits resides in the haunted Lemp Mansion, many of which were members of the Lemp family.
On numerous occasions, tenants at Lemp Mansion have heard phantom footsteps, inexplicable voices of men and women, and knocks on the door. On the mansion’s attic resides the spirit of Zeke (some locals call him “Monkey Face Boy”), a young boy who was said to have been born with a deformation. Passer-by walking along the street across the mansion have reported seeing the face of a deformed boy peeking from the small windows of the building’s attic. Legend says that he was William Lemp Jr. illegitimate son and was born with Down’s Syndrome. However, there were no historical records to back Betsy’s claims of the existence of the young boy at the Lemp family.
Another apparition identified by Betsy is “The Stinky Man”, a poltergeist who would “order” people to get out of the house.
On the second floor lies a locked room which is said to be Lemp Mansion’s nursery room, even though no children was born in the mansion. Psychics believe that this room, which is completely off limits to the public, houses a portal that links to another unearthly world. The room is rumored to swing open and close itself in the middle of the night. Ask anyone who works at Lemp Mansion about the nursery room and the response is “Storage.”
Were There Murders at Lemp Mansion?
Over the years, many rumors have surfaced over the internet, postulating that some of the suicides that have happened in Lemp Mansion were in fact murders. This is largely untrue (assuming that a suicide is not one murdering himself), as all of the deaths in Lemp Mansion have been documented as suicides.
That said, as the Lemp suicides have occurred in the early twentieth century where forensic science was still at its nascency, investigations of the cases may not have been as thorough as one would expect today.
