The Lemp family spirits Our creepiness rating 💀💀💀💀💀
Wikipedia notes reports that the mansion is haunted by members of the Lemp family. Source: St. Louis Magazine, 2024.
Facts below are drawn from the linked sources.
Real history
Jacob Feickert built the house in 1868, and his son-in-law, brewer William J. Lemp Sr., bought it in 1876 as a residence and auxiliary brewery office (Beer History). Lemp Sr. shot himself in a bedroom there in 1904. Prohibition closed the brewery in 1919, and on June 28, 1922, the plant was auctioned to International Shoe Co.; William Lemp Jr. then shot himself in the house (Lemp Mansion).
Charles Lemp, the last Lemp to live there, died by suicide in the house in 1949 (Wikipedia). It then became a boarding house; the Pointer family bought it in the mid-1970s and opened the restaurant and inn, run by them since 1977 (Beer History). Stephen P. Walker's 1989 book Lemp: The Haunting History is the standard account of the family.
Ghost stories
These are reported legends, not verified events. The creepiness score (1–5) is Spook Atlas's own editorial rating, not a measurement.
The attic boy (legend) Our creepiness rating 💀💀💀💀💀
Legend says a disabled Lemp child, nicknamed the "monkey-faced boy," was hidden in the attic. No record shows he existed: the Riverfront Times quoted Missouri History Museum researcher Christopher Gordon tying the tale to eugenics-era stigma, a Bellefontaine Cemetery official saying every body in the Lemp mausoleum is accounted for, and a descendant calling it "bogus." Source: Riverfront Times.
Legend says a disabled Lemp child, nicknamed the "monkey-faced boy," was hidden in the attic. No record shows he existed: the Riverfront Times quoted Missouri History Museum researcher Christopher Gordon tying the tale to eugenics-era stigma, a Bellefontaine Cemetery official saying every body in the Lemp mausoleum is accounted for, and a descendant calling it "bogus." Source: Riverfront Times.
Then and now
Public access
Open to the public The mansion's own site sells the Spirits with the Spirits Ghost Tour on Wednesday nights for $44 per person (Lemp Mansion). Last checked: Nov 1, 2026.
Explore more
- More places in St. Louis and Missouri
- More haunted & abandoned mansions
- More haunted & abandoned restaurants
- Nearby: Mineral Springs Hotel (Alton, IL), Alton Military Prison (Alton, IL), Zombie Road (Rock Hollow Trail) (Wildwood, MO), McPike Mansion (Alton, IL)
⚠️ Please read: This information may be outdated and conditions change. Verify access with the owner or operator before you go. Spook Atlas does not encourage trespassing. Entering private, closed or condemned property can be illegal and dangerous. Report a correction.
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