The Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, Missouri

The Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, Missouri, is a historic and haunted house that was once the home of a wealthy and influential family of brewers. The Lemp family owned the Western Brewery, which produced the popular Falstaff beer brand and dominated the St. Louis beer market before Prohibition. The mansion, built in 1868, was a lavish and elegant residence with 33 rooms, an open-air elevator, hand-painted ceilings, marble mantels, and a glass-enclosed shower. The mansion also had three vaults where the Lemps stored their valuable art collection. However, the mansion witnessed a series of tragedies and suicides that plagued the Lemp family for decades. Four members of the family died by suicide in the mansion, starting with William J. Lemp Sr., who shot himself in 1904 after the death of his son Frederick Lemp from heart failure. His widow, Lillie, sold the brewery at auction in 1922 and moved out of the mansion. William J. Lemp Jr., who inherited the mansion and the brewery, also shot himself in his office in 1922 after losing his fortune and his wife. His brother Charles Lemp, who lived in the mansion until 1949, shot himself and his dog in his bedroom. Elsa Lemp Wright, the sister of William Jr. and Charles, shot herself in her home in 1920 after a troubled marriage. The mansion became a boarding house in 1950 and fell into disrepair until it was bought by Dick Pointer and his family in 1975. They restored the mansion and opened it as a restaurant, inn, museum, and event venue. The mansion is also known for its paranormal activity and is considered one of the most haunted places in America. Many visitors and staff have reported seeing apparitions, hearing voices and footsteps, feeling cold spots and touches, smelling strange odors, and experiencing other unexplained phenomena. Some believe that the spirits of the Lemp family still haunt their former home, unable to find peace after their tragic lives.