Haunted Lemp Mansion

The Lemp Mansion Inn and Restaurant is located in St. Louis, Missouri in a formerly well-to-do residential area. It sits on a small hill providing a lovely view of St. Louis and the Mississippi River.

Built in the 1860s the Lemp Mansion is a 33-room Victorian mansion. It has three floors, an attic room, which has been made into two bedrooms and a basement. In the attic, the Downs Syndrome son of William Lemp, Jr. was kept hidden away from view. Elsa’s room and the servants' quarters were on the third floor. The Elsa Lemp Room has a great view of the city of St. Louis and the Mississippi River. It features a working fireplace.

On the 2nd floor were most of the family bedrooms. Now the Lemp Mansion Bed and Breakfast has made nice suites advertising “Spend the Night Where Beer Barons Slept!” The Lavender Suite is in honor of Lillian Hadlen Lemp “The Lavender Lady”. It is a 3-room suite which includes a breakfast sitting room, a bedroom and a bathroom. The William Lemp Suite consists of a sitting room and a bedroom and offers a view of the Lemp Brewery. From the sitting room, one can see the beautiful terraced courtyard, garden area, and gazebo where outdoor weddings are held. One can also see the old coach house where the family kept their champion horses. The Charles Lemp Room is furnished in a mix of Art Deco and post-depression periods. The walls are done in plum burgundy.

A glorious wooden staircase which begins at the first floor entry connects all three floors. The room to the left of the staircase is the bar. The first-floor living room has become one of the many dining rooms found in the mansion. To the left of the first-floor main entrance, one can find Lemp Jr.’s old office and William Lemp’s study located to the left of the first-floor main entrance is now the Lavender Lady Dining Room. On the wall are paintings of the Lavender Lady. To the right of the main hall is the parlor with a hand-painted ceiling and next to it is the atrium, which once held exotic plants and birds and is now used for private social events.

William Lemp Sr. added three room-sized walk-in vaults measuring 13 feet high, 15 feet wide, and 25 feet deep at the rear of the mansion. Here the Lemp family stored their vast collection of art, which was disposed of when the last remaining Lemp died, which was Edwin, at his request.

In the basement were the wine and beer cellars, the laundry room, and the kitchen, which has now been modernized for restaurant cooking. In the basement area, a large dining room has been set up to handle large dinners for events and weddings. An underground tunnel ran from the limestone caves to the house and was dug by William Lemp, Sr. When at last refrigeration was available for beer making the caves were converted for other purposes, such as a natural auditorium and a theater. Later there was a large, concrete swimming pool, heated with hot water piped in from the brewery-boiling house and a bowling alley. Today the tunnel has been sealed up.

In 1838 Johann Adam Lemp immigrated to America from Eschwege, Germany settling in St. Louis. He opened a mercantile store where he sold his own homemade, lager beer. Such was the interest in his beer that he started serving out of a pub attached to his plant. By 1845 his light, golden beer had grown in popularity and he closed up his mercantile business and opened a brewery called the Lemp’s Western Brewing Co. Johann also discovered the limestone caves where the lager process could take its course.

He died in 1862 leaving his fortune and business to his son, William J. Lemp, Sr. By 1870 William controlled the beer market in St. Louis and had national distribution. William's father-in-law Jacob Feickert built the Lemp Mansion in 1868. The mansion was close to the brewery and encompassed 5 blocks. In 1876 William bought the mansion. In 1892 the brewery was incorporated into the William J. Lemp Brewing Co. reflecting the business empire built by William J. Lemp, Sr. and it existed until the 1919 Prohibition. William Lemp, Jr. wasn’t much of a businessman and business started falling off. In 1922 William Lemp, Jr. sold everything involved with the brewery. After the death of William Lemp, Jr. his brother Charles took over the mansion living there with two servants and the Downs Syndrome boy known as the “Monkey-faced boy” hidden away in the attic. The boy was the illegitimate son of his brother, William Lemp, Jr. Charles traveled extensively throughout Europe buying artworks. As he got older he showed signs of having an obsessive/compulsive disorder and exhibited some really odd behavior. The Downs Syndrome boy died at the age of 30 in the 1940s and Charles followed in 1949.

At this time the mansion was sold and became a boarding house. It became hard to get tenants as the hauntings started during this time. By the 1960s the Lemp Mansion had turned into a flop house and was destined for the wrecking ball. It was saved by the Pointer Family who bought it in 1975 and turned it into an upscale bed and breakfast.

Willam Lemp, Sr. lost his beloved son Frederick in 1901 due to health problems. He wanted him to take over the brewery business. After this tragedy, William lost all interest in his business, became depressed, and finally on February 13, 1904, he shot himself in the head in his upstairs bedroom. His wife died of cancer in what is now the William Lemp Suite. William Lemp, Jr. the spoiled rotten son of the family became President of the William J. Lemp Brewing Co. He and his wife spent money left and right. They had one son, William Lemp, but not much is said about him. In 1922 he became depressed about having to sell off the brewery and the death of his sister, Elsa, who on March 20, 1920, while suffering from insomnia shot herself in the heart at her own house. Finally, on December 29, 1922, William Lemp, Jr. shot himself in the heart in his first-floor office. His wife Lillian Hadlen Lemp loved the color lavender and the smell, so that she became known as the “Lavender Lady”. Her marriage to William wasn’t a happy one, since William was a womanizer and ran around and slept with other women. In 1908 when Lillian filed for a divorce William Lemp, Jr. started a nasty, scandalous divorce including a custody fight for their son. Lillian eventually won custody of their son.

In 1939 William J. Lemp, III the only son of William Lemp, Jr., who died in 1943 of a heart attack at the age of 42, licensed the Lemp name to Central Breweries of East St. Louis and Central Breweries renamed itself the William J. Lemp Brewing Company gaining phenomenal results with the new Lemp Beer. Their contract was terminated by Ems Brewing, which bought out Lemp in 1945. Charles Lemp the third son of William, Sr. was the last Lemp to live in the mansion from 1929. He had left the brewery in 1917 to go into banking and finance. He lived alone in the mansion with two servants, a married couple, and the “Monkey-faced boy”. After the boy died on May 10, 1949, he shot himself in the head, leaving behind a note that said “In case I am found dead, blame it on no one but me.” This is the only known suicide note in family history. After Charles’ death the youngest and only surviving son of William, Sr. was Edwin Lemp.

He worked at the brewery until 1913 and then retired to the estate he had built overlooking the Meramec “Cragwold” in western Kirkwood. There he had an observation tower, two servant houses, and a collection of birds, antelope, sheep, yak, buffalo, and other animals. He died in 1970 at the age of 90. His final order to his caretaker was to destroy his art collection and the family heirlooms.

Restless Spirits

After the inn restaurant opened members of the staff started experiencing unusual things and saw apparitions. Spirits appeared and then vanished. Disembodied voices were heard and glasses lifted off the bar and flew through the air by themselves. Doors seemed to have the ability to lock and unlock with no one around, lights enjoyed turning themselves on and off and spirits enjoyed playing the piano in the bar.

Obviously, members of the Lemp family still inhabited their mansion. The most spiritual activity takes place on the stairway, in the attic, and in the basement, which has been named the “Gate of Hell” by the staff.

In the attic, you can still find the “Monkey Face Boy” the Down syndrome illegitimate son of William Jr. On the third floor the face of the boy peers down into the street. Paranormal investigators had left toys in the middle of the room with a circle drawn around them. The next day they were found in other locations.

Women are not alone even in the downstairs bathroom. Some have seen a man peeking over the stall. At one time this was the personal room of William Jr. with the first free-standing shower in St. Louis. Apparently, as an apparition, he wonders who is using his private bathroom. Since he was a womanizer William Jr. continues to enjoy himself peering at women.

In the room that was occupied by William Lemp Sr. guests have heard footsteps running up the stairs and suddenly kicking at the door. In life, it was known that after William killed himself his son William Jr. ran up the stairs to his father's room and finding that the door was locked, kicked at the door to get to his father.

A tour guide heard the sounds of horses outside of the room that was once the office of William Lemp Sr. Looking out the window the guide saw no horses since this is now a parking lot but it was once a place to tether horses.

The Lemp Mansion became popular with ghost hunters from all over the US. It has been featured in magazine articles and newspapers. Those who don't mind spiritual encounters or those who want to see it all for themselves can book a room at this lovely bed and breakfast furnished in period style with a fine dining restaurant and a mystery dinner theater. Tours of the mansion are available.