The Lemp Family of St. Louis: Lager, Suicide and Ghosts

A Very Brief Overview

            Tonight I’ll be staying at the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis and I thought a brief overview of the family and why the house is so haunted was in order. This is just a tiny view of the rise of a brewing empire and its subsequent fall.

The Family and Business

           

            Adam Lemp, a German immigrant to St. Louis, was the first in the city and among the first in the US to brew lager. As thus, he quickly built the foundation of a empire for himself and his family during the mid 19^th century.  

            Upon Adam’s death in 1862, his son, William J. Lemp took over the business and propelled the brewery into the 20^th century by installing the first refrigeration unit in an American brewery. He also became the first in St. Louis to install a bottling plant on the same grounds where the beer was brewed. But he didn’t stop there, he also purchased his own railway company in order to sell his beer across the country and internationally.

            By the 1900’s the Lemp’s were among the wealthiest families in St. Louis and there was no sign of a decline anytime soon. But fate struck in 1901 when Frederick Lemp, William J. Lemp’s favorite son died of heart failure knocking over the first domino in what would be a cascading collapse of the family.

            Frederick was reported to be William’s favorite son and his death hit him hard. But no one realized just how hard until a gun shot rang out from his bedroom on the morning of February 13^th 1904.

            William J. Lemp was dead. He had taken his own life and become the first of four suicides the Lemp family would suffer before the end.

            While William Lemp Jr. did his best to hold on to the family business after his father’s death, prohibition took all control out of his hands. In 1920 it became illegal to sell alcohol in the United States and the Lemp business was suddenly without a product to sell. Even though the Lemp family wealth was more than enough to see them through the hard times ahead, prohibition marked the end of one of the greatest brewing dynasties in the United States.

            It was at this time that the Lemp family lost it’s second member to suicide. Though her motives are not completely clear, in March of 1920 Elsa, the youngest daughter of William Sr. shot and killed herself in the same manner as her father. She had recently gone through marriage difficulties and suffered from a bout of depression due to health problems. But no note was ever found.

            Then, just two years later in December of 1922, William Lemp Jr. also shot and killed himself. It was known that William had gone through a rather difficult and public divorce in which he lost custody of his son and, due to prohibition, was now losing his company. All this sent him into a deep depression which sadly resulted in the taking of his own life.

            After prohibition, an attempt at reviving the Lemp name in beer was made by William Lemp III, but failed ending the dynasty once and for all. Members of the family continued to live off of the great wealth amassed by their predecessors but also engaged in their own business ventures. But the stream of suicides had not yet run their course.

            In 1949 Charles Lemp, a son of William Sr. was still living in the Lemp mansion. Not much is known about Charles as he was a bit of a recluse. He never married and had very little to do with social life. But it was known that he was suffering from illness and acute arthritis which had made him grow bitter and tired. In May of 1949, Charles decided he’d had enough and he too shot and killed himself along with his dog.

            After Charles’s death his fortune was split among the remnants of the family but the mansion was never occupied by a member of the Lemp family again.  

            With so much death and tragedy it’s no wonder the Lemp Mansion is reported to be haunted by spirits of the family. The current owners of the mansion, employees, guests and even professional investigators report paranormal activity at Lemp. Some of the claims are of disembodied voices, feelings of being watched, lights turning on and off on their own, strange smells and feelings of dread. These experiences combined with the mansion’s sad past have put the Lemp Mansion on the map as one of the most haunted spots in the United States.

Where to hear about my night at Lemp

            As previously mentioned I’ll be staying the night at the Lemp Mansion Thursday, September 19^th and I’ll be live tweeting about my experience throughout the night. You can find my tweets at @AislinnAM. Also, after the event I’ll be posting information on my visit here at the blog along with pictures and any other evidence we might find. So be sure to check back!

Questions or Comments?

As always, if you have any questions or comments for me, please feel free to contact me either through email at aislinnmarshallwriter@gmail.com or leave a comment here!

Lemp Mansion Ghost Hunt

Lemp Ghost Hunt

If you follow me on either Twitter or Facebook you probably already know that I’m participating in a Ghost Hunt this Thursday, September 19, 2013 at the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis Missouri. 

The “hunt” is sponsored by the mansion and starts at 9:30pm Central Time. Afterword myself and a good friend, who is also a sensitive, will stay the night in the mansion to carry on our own investigation. And we will be bringing it all to you via live Tweet!

For those who don’t know, the Lemp Mansion is considered one of the most haunted houses in the United States and ranks pretty high worldwide. Not impressed? Well neither was I prior to the first time I visited this alleged spot of ghostly activity back in 2002. That night myself and my small party had the house to ourselves. In those days there were only three rooms available and we decided to book them all for the night. But not for any sort of ghost investigation because none of us actually believed in ghosts! But all that changed after one night at Lemp. We thought it would be fun to stay in a “real haunted house” at Halloween time but being nonbelievers we had no expectations of anything actually happening. In fact the first half of the night we dismissed every strange happening. But in the end we couldn’t ignore that there were noises coming from everywhere and nowhere. Lights that turned on by themselves. Uneasy feelings and moments of dread. We went in with a perfect knowledge that there was no such thing as ghosts, and came out complete and absolute believers.

That was over a decade ago and when we left, we swore that except for Sunday night dinner none of us would ever stay the night at Lemp again. And we made good on that declaration till now. In fact, for years after our experience I personally didn’t go to the upper levels of the house when we came for dinner. It was only after they finished the renovations of the third floor that I finally got the nerve to go navigate that creaky back staircase.

            But several months ago after releasing my first book, The Crossing, I began thinking about the Lemp Mansion and my experience there. Since that night so long ago, I’ve visited many haunted spots across the world. I’ve braved them without thought and with actual excitement. But Lemp still stood as a symbol of foreboding for me even though it was my experience there that truly sparked my interest in the supernatural. So with one ghost story behind be and my next novel, All Souls’ Night, on the way. I thought it was time to revisit the spot where my life took a drastic turn that lead me down a new road as a writer of supernatural mysteries and ghost stories.

            I’m not going to lie, I’m a little nervous. But I’m also excited not only to see what road the Lemp might send me down this time but also to share my experience with all of you! Myself and my good friend, Jenn, will begin tweeting around 9:00pm Central Time here in the US. You can find our tweets at @AislinnAM and @frenchy0309. And be sure to check back here before and after the 19^th as I’ll be posting information about the history of the Lemp mansion and why it’s so haunted. Also, after the 19^th I’ll let you know what our night in the Lemp yielded, with pictures and hopefully EVP’s and video!

Questions or Comments?

As always, if you have any questions or comments for me or about any of my blogs please feel free to contact me at aislinnmarshallwriter@gmail.com or leave a comment here!