The Untold Story Of The HAUNTED LEMP MANSION 👻 St. Louis Missouri

Once a rich and powerful juggernaut of a family would slowly be turned into ghosts as their once blessed lives seemingly became infected by some sort of curse. Do their spirits still wander the halls of this historic mansion? And can we decipher the paranormal force that seemingly destroyed their lives before it affects anyone else? This is the untold story of the haunted Lemp Mansion located in St. Louis, Missouri and this tale intertwines the spirits of the past with the mysteries of the present But first, this video was sponsored by Surfshark VPN Surfshark VPN or Virtual Private Network keeps your online identity safe by encrypting all of the information sent between your devices and the internet protecting your data from big companies and cyber criminals. 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It also offers a clean web feature which blocks ads malware and phishing attempts allowing you to stay safe while you're online as Well, I've been using Surfshark VPN for a while now and honestly I can say that I'm truly happy with its performance, otherwise I wouldn't recommend it to you guys So do yourself a favor and get Surfshark today and use my promo code Mystery Archives to get an extra three months for free, or you can click my link down in the description below. You can also try this service for 30 days with a money back guarantee so there's no risk. That's promo code Mystery Archives or click my link down in the description below. Now let's get back to the content. To tell this story properly, I must first introduce to you just who the Lemp family was, what they were about, and just what happened to them. So let us start at the beginning. The Lemp family began with Johann Adam Lemp, who arrived in St. Louis, Missouri from Eichwege, Germany in 1838. Shortly after his arrival, he would build a small grocery store at what is now Delmar and Sixth Streets, where he sold common household items, groceries, and homemade beer. the light golden lager was a welcome change from the darker beers that were sold at the time the recipe handed down by his father became so popular that just two years later he gave up the grocery store venture and decided to build a small brewery instead in 1840 the brewery was close to where the Golden Arch stands today Lemp first sold his beer in a pub attached to the brewery introducing Saint Louis to its first lager before long Lemp found that the brewery was too small to handle both production and storage and found a limestone cave south of the city limits the cave which was located at the present-day corner of Cherokee and D Monil Place could be kept cool by chopping ice from the nearby Mississippi River and depositing it inside providing the perfect conditions for the lagering process to run its course thus the Lemp's Western brewing company continued to prosper and by the 1850s had become one of the largest in the city a millionaire by the time of his death Adam Lemp died on August 25th of 1862 and his son William would take over and begin a major expansion of the brewery he purchased a five block area around the storage house on Cherokee above the lagering caves and in 1864 a new plant was completed there on Cherokee Street continually expanding to meet the product demand the Lemp family would soon come to symbolize both wealth and power as the Lemp brewery controlled the St Louis beer market a position it would maintain until prohibition in 1868 Jacob Feckhart William Lemp's father-in-law built a mammoth of a house a short distance from the Lemp brewery and in 1876 William Lemp decided to purchase it for his family utilizing it as both a residence and an auxiliary office While the home was already impressive, Lemp immediately began renovating and expanding the 33-room house into a Victorian showplace, a true showcase of luxury. As part of this renovation, a tunnel was built from the basement of the mansion and through the caves to the brewery. And when mechanical refrigeration became available, parts of the caves were converted for other purposes, including a natural auditorium and a theater. In due time, this system would also become host to a large concrete swimming pool, with hot water piped in from the brewery boiling house. And later, a bowling alley, and then a private movie theater, would also be integrated. and what would eventually become the Lemp Western Brewery. This ever-growing venture would be the first beer company to establish coast-to-coast distribution. It would also go on to assist in the launching of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer and Anheuser-Busch. However, underneath this fairytale existence of a life tucked away in the darkness was something most unfortunate. The Lemp family, although highly successful, would begin to experience the first of many tragedies to come. In 1901, William Sr.'s favorite son and the heir to the company would pass at the young age of just 28 years old. Frederick Lemp, who had never been the pinnacle of good health, had died from heart failure. His son's death would absolutely devastate William, and following his funeral, they began to withdraw from public life. He was never the same. On January the 1st of 1904, William's closest friend, Frederick Pabst, also passed, leaving an ever-withdrawn William to struggle running his brewery. Though he still arrived at the office each day, he became very nervous and unsettled. Shortly after these two events, his physical and mental health would start to decline, and on February 13, 1904, William would leave this world by his own hand. In November of 1904, William Lemp Jr. took over as the new president of the William J. Lemp Brewing Company, inheriting the family business and vast fortune. He and his wife, Lillian, began to spend the inheritance at a furious pace. They filled the mansion with servants, spent huge amounts on carriages, clothing, and art, among many other things. Lillian was a beautiful woman who came from a wealthy family herself. She and William Limp Jr. had married in 1899 and William J. Lemp III was born on September 26th of 1900 before long Lillian became known as the lavender lady because of her fondness for the color in addition to her lavender attire and accessories she went so far as to have her carriage horse's harnesses dyed lavender as well In the beginning, Will enjoyed showing off his trophy wife, but Will, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, was used to doing and acting as he pleased. When he began to tire of Lillian, he demanded that she spend her time shopping, allotting her $1,000 a day. He gave her an ultimatum that if she didn't spend it, she wouldn't get any more. In the meantime, Will was busy running the brewery during the day and pursuing all manner of decadent activities during the night holding lavish parties in the cave below the mansion he would bring in numerous prostitutes for entertainment for him and his friends enjoying the swimming pool the bowling alley and the free flowing beer his friends who attended these lavish events were known to enjoy a high time deep below the surface. However, all that debauchery came with consequences. Will's shenanigans caught up with him when he sired a son with another woman other than his wife. Strangely, however, today there is no official documentation that this boy ever existed, but rumors that this boy was hidden in the mansion attic for his entire life became prevalent over the years. According to St. Louis historian Joe Gibbons when he interviewed a former nanny and a chauffeur who worked at the mansion long ago both of them verified that the boy did exist and was housed in the attic quarters that also housed the servants rooms spawned from Will's philandering with either one of the many prostitutes or a mansion servant the boy was born with Down syndrome and was considered a total embarrassment to the family thus he was hidden away from the world in order to cloak the Lemp's shame finally William Jr tired of his trophy wife and her nagging from his point of view and filed for divorce in 1908 why she didn't take this step with all of his goings on could be nothing more than a sign of the times but the court proceedings surrounding the divorce became a major st Louis scandal, with all four St. Louis newspapers devoting extensive front-page coverage to the messy affair. The trial opened in February of 1909 to crowds that flocked to the courthouse each day to witness the drama of tales of violence, drunkenness, ego, and excess. Virtually ignoring William's decadent activities, Lillian almost lost custody of William Lemp III because of a photograph that was presented at the trial of her smoking a cigarette. Again, perhaps this was another sign of the times. But in the end, she retained custody of their son, but soon retired from the public eye. The only time that she was ever seen wearing anything other than lavender was on the final day of her divorce proceedings, when she appeared entirely in black before the judge. With the divorce, Will's troubles had only just begun. In 1906, nine of the large breweries in the St. Louis area had combined to form the Independent Breweries Company, creating fierce competition that the Lemp Brewery had never faced before. In that very same year, Will's mother would pass of cancer. The lavish spending on both personal luxuries and ridiculous parties had certainly taken their toll on the family fortune, but now the company's profits were continually shrinking. Despite this, however, the Lemp Mansion would be entirely remodeled in 1911 and partially converted into offices for the brewery. At the same time, William allowed the company's equipment to deteriorate, perhaps in order to fund these renovations. When World War one broke out in 1914. The brewery was just a shell of its former self. William would also build a country home on the Meramec River, to which he increasingly retreated to amidst the ongoing troubles. And during this time, he would also, in 1915, remarry. The downturn in profits due to competition would pale in comparison to what was coming. And it arrived in 1919. And it was Prohibition. The individual family members were already wealthy, so there was little incentive to keep the brewery afloat. For a time, though, Will hoped that Congress would repeal Prohibition, but finally gave up when it simply wasn't happening. Just months after it went into effect, the Lemp plant would close down without notice. The workers learned of the closing when they came to work one day and found the door shut and the gates locked, and the family misfortune from here would only continue. On March 20th, 1920, Elsa Lempwright, William's sister, the wealthiest heiress in St. Louis, would too breathe her last breath, just like her father had years before. Elsa was said to have been despondent over her rocky marriage, among many other personal and monetary issues arising. After the end of the Lemp's brewing dynasty, William Jr. slipped into an all-too-familiar depression. Acting almost exactly like his father, he too became increasingly nervous and erratic, shunning public life and often complaining of ill health. On December 29, 1922, William too would exit this world in the very same way and in the very same building his father had 18 years previously. William's brothers Charles and Edwin had long left the family business, seeing as their prospects to run the empire were limited at best. If at all, it seemed like the Lemp dynasty had finally come to a bleak end. In 1943, yet another tragedy occurred when William Lemp III suddenly passed of a heart attack at the age of 42, the only legitimate son of Williams. Shortly after this took place, his brother Charles would eventually remodel the mansion back into a residence and live in the house, along with two servants and the illegitimate child of his brother. Charles, too, became an odd figure as he grew older. He developed a morbid fear of germs, and his obsessive-compulsive behavior included wearing gloves at all times to avoid bacteria, and constantly washing his hands. It was during this time, shortly following the renovation, that William's illegitimate son, now in his thirties, would, too, have his name added to death's roll count. Shortly after his nephew's passing, Charles would become the fourth member of the Lemp family to breathe his final breath on his own accord. First, he took his beloved Doberman into the basement of the mansion. Then, climbing the staircase to his room on the second floor, he would go the way of his brother and father. Charles was discovered on May 10th of 1949 by one of his staff still holding a revolver. It also seems that his passing was not so quick either. He appeared to have tried to descend the stairs or had fallen following what had taken place. Of the Lemp family, only Edwin, who had long avoided the life that had turned so tragic for the rest of his family, remained. He was known as a quiet, reclusive man who had walked away from the Limp Brewing Company in 1913 to live a peaceful life on a secluded estate in Kirkwood, Missouri. Edwin passed away quietly of natural causes at the age of 90 in 1970. According to Edwin's last wishes, his butler burned all the paintings that the Limps had collected throughout his life, as well as a priceless Lemp family document and their artifacts. These irreplaceable pieces of history vanished in the smoke and embers that very day the Lemp family line ended with Edwin and their final resting place can now be found at the Bellefontaine Cemetery in a mausoleum bearing their namesake and although physically their remains sit within its concrete walls do their ghosts still inhabit their once prosperous estate after the death of Charles Lemp the mansion was sold and turned into a boarding house along with the nearby neighborhood and this is where we begin to hear the first haunting tales of the old Lemp mansion new residents upon moving in quickly began complaining of ghostly knocks and phantom footsteps being heard all throughout the house coupling these frightening manifestations those same residents also began to see spectral apparitions throughout the rooms and halls people became so frightened that they would typically move out almost as quickly as they had moved in ultimately leading to the decline and closing of the boarding home now in a state of decay it seemed like the mansion might finally be demolished however it would again be purchased in 1975 and the new owner a man named Richard Pointer immediately began to renovate, eventually turning the once incredible estate somewhat back to its former glory. It would now become a restaurant, an inn. They say that spirits that inhabit particularly older buildings and homes really don't like renovations, and whether this stirred up the energy of the place, or they simply sensed a new presence within the mansion itself, Those very same ghosts would now make themselves very well known, even more so than before. Workers within the house often told stories of apparitions, strange sounds, like a thousand whispers in their ears, among other things. Their tools, too, began to vanish, and they all had a bone-chilling feeling of being watched by eyes that they couldn't see. Frightened by the haunting, many would abandon the job site, never to return. Eventually, though, the renovations would be completed, and the eatery and inn would open. Since the restaurant opened, staff members have reported several strange experiences. Again, apparitions appear, and then quickly vanish. Voices and sounds come from nowhere, and glasses will often lift off the bar, flying through the air by themselves. On other occasions, doors have said to lock and unlock by themselves, lights have inexplicably turned on and off of their own free will, and the piano bar often plays when there's no one near it. Could this be the tragically departed souls of the Lemp family? There are three areas of the old mansion that have had the most activity. The stairway, the attic, and what the staff refers to as the gates of hell in the basement. It is this area of the basement that used to be the entrance to the caves running below the mansion and the brewery. The attic is said to be haunted by William Jr.'s illegitimate son, referred to only as the monkey face boy. This poor soul, who was born with Down syndrome, had spent his entire life locked in the attic of the mansion. Strange occurrences are often witnessed on the third level of the mansion as well. The face of the boy has regularly been seen from the street, peeking from small windows of the mansion. Investigators have often left toys in the middle of his room, drawing a circle around them to see if the objects have been moved. and consistently, when they return the next day, the toys are found in another location, in the downstairs women's bathroom, which was once William Jr.'s personal domain, and held the first freestanding shower in St. Louis. Many women have reported a man peeking over their stall. One such occasion, a woman emerged from the bathroom, returning to the bar. she yelled at the two men that she was there with that she hoped they got an eyeful however the two men quickly denied ever having left the bar which the bartender verified the confusion and disbelief must have been palpable and this ghost is said to be that of the womanizing William Jr. in William Lemp Senior's room guests have often reported hearing someone running up the stairs and kicking at the door when William ended himself William Jr. was known to have run up the stairs to his father's room and finding it locked began to kick the door in order to get to his father perhaps this is some sort of residual haunting taking place experiences have also taken place outside of the home as well a tour guide reported hearing the sounds of horses outside the room where William Lemp Senior had kept his office however when the tour guide looked through the window nothing was there this area north of the mansion was now used as a parking lot and was once utilized as a tethering lot for horses there have also been many paranormal stories told by those who have visited the old Lemp Mansion over the years. And this is just one of many stories. On Saturday, October 9th of 2004, two women who we'll call Katie and Amy visited the Lemp Mansion, along with St. Louis historian Joe Gibbons. Joe had spent many years researching the Lemp Mansion and often gave tours of the inn with the permission and cooperation of the owners. this is told from Katie's perspective meeting up with Joe at the bar we settled in for a bit drinking on a couple of loggers and chatting it up afterwards he began to show Amy and I around the mansion as Joe described in intricate detail the history of the Lytton mansion and the land in which the mansion stands on as well as the many strange occurrences and this now haunted building while we were on tour several strange events occurred the first was when we were standing in the darkened attic as joe described the monkey-faced boy i began snapping pictures and during our time within the attic i began to hear a faint whisper like that of a small child from behind me the whispers happened so fast and alternated from ear to ear it was like someone was speaking into them simultaneously at close range i couldn't really make out the voice at first but it sounded like it was saying help me over and over again later in our tour we ran into another group who was on a different tour and after a brief discussion several members of their group would describe having passed a man in the hallway and asked us if we had seen him as well. He was holding a key in his hand, and was acting irritated with the large group moving through the hallway. He was said to be pale and older, wearing a white shirt and black pants. No one thought anything of it at the time, believing him to be a member of staff. However, we would find out that there was no such gentleman working or staying at the mansion that night that met that description Though no harm was done, and nothing was disturbed in the guest room, the whole experience was very bizarre to say the least, and it's certainly not an experience I will soon forget. Was this the ghost of one of the limp patriarchy, seemingly angry that their space was being intruded upon? This particular case, those involved, and their demise certainly prompt more questions than answers just what drove so many of them to bring about their own ruination could it have been circumstantial stress induced a genetic predisposition that affected their mental chemistry or was it something else something darker that we simply can't explain did the victims of their product those seemingly caught in the throes of addiction result in some kind of curse for the family? Did they cut some sort of deal with the devil in order to gain such profound wealth and admiration, only to have the House of Cards fall and the bloodline extinguish? Or could it have been something that dwelled within those caves underneath the mansion, perhaps an old evil that got disturbed once their remodeling efforts began to take place? it's truly hard to say because those that could know such things are no longer walking this earth in human form but perhaps are still walking the earth nonetheless the Lytton mansion has been featured in a number of magazine articles and newspapers and now attracts ghost hunters and historians from around the country today it still features a bed and breakfast with rooms restored in periodic style, a restaurant featuring fine dining, and a mystery dinner theater. Tours are also still available at the mansion, if you so dare. As previously mentioned, the Lemp family mausoleum still stands today, housing the remains of the family tree. Known today as the monkey-faced boy, the unfortunate soul who was born out of wedlock, and the very same one that continues to show his presence at the mansion is also buried with the family but on the cemetery plot and marked with only a flat small marker labeled Lemp a sad ending to a once amazing story of success turned tragic but it just goes to show that one may never truly know what's happening just below the surface because behind all that wealth a smiling face and excess could be nothing but a thread holding the demons at bay and all it takes is for them to breach the surface like a creature hiding in a body of water but what do you think what caused the family curse is the mansion truly haunted or is it superstition let me know down in the comments below i'd also really like to thank you guys so much for watching this new video although it is a little different from some of our usual cases, I really enjoy the historical aspects of older stories such as these, so I hope you did too. Please give this video a like, and subscribe if you're new here, and share this video around wherever you can. All those things help me out tremendously. Aside from that, please check out the offer from Surfshark VPN, the sponsor of today's video. Not only is it a great product and service, but especially with a deal given, It's practically unbeatable. And with that, I hope all of you are doing well mentally and physically. I want to remind you all that with the grind of our day-to-day lives, to please take time to care for yourself. Because no one can but you. And you can't take care of anyone else if your basics are not met. So thank you guys for your support. Please continue to take care of yourselves. I love you all. And until next time, this has been Cody here at Mystery Archives. Please remember to stay safe out there And take care