Dining with the Dead

 

October is always a great time to ponder the oddities of life, the weird things we notice but then promptly forget.

 

When asked, we can quickly conjure up haunted houses, insane asylums, and spooky rural roads for common sites of paranormal activity. But haunted restaurants are a thing, too. And there are a lot of them in the U.S. Today, let's whet your appetite for the macabre at the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis.

 

Johann Adam Lemp

Named one of the “Ten Spookiest Buildings in the World” by CNN Travel, the Lemp Family Mansion has had numerous paranormal groups investigate. But why does this stately home have such a tragic reputation? Maybe it has something to do with the four suicides here – two in the same room.

Johann Adam Lemp arrived in the U.S. from Germany. He operated a grocery for a few years before delving into the brewing industry and starting the Western Brewing Company.

 

By the 1850s, Lemp’s Extra Pale Ale was a huge success, and the family became part of the reigning beer empire in the city.

 

William Lemp Sr.

 Adam Lemp died in 1862, and his son William took over the business.

In 1876, William Lemp, Jr. purchased the mansion from his father-in-law to use as a residence and headquarters to the brewing company.

 

 

Although the Lemp Western Brewery was the first to have coast-to-coast beer distribution with their “Falstaff” label, obstacles were mounting in the way of their brewing success – mainly the Anheuser-Busch family.

 

The first family death occurred in 1901 when Lemp Sr.’s heir-apparent son, Fredrick, died of heart failure at 28.

William Lemp Sr. was inconsolable, and three years later shot himself with a .38-caliber revolver in his brewery office.

 

William Lemp Sr.

His son, William Lemp Jr. moved his family into the mansion and kept it as the company’s headquarters. With Prohibition bearing down, the Lemp family knew their lives would be changing.

 

 

The Catacombs

As the spoiled son of a rich man, Lemp took up a decadent lifestyle.
He demanded his wife spend $1,000 a day so others could see how affluent they were. He began entertaining “friends” in the catacombs created under the mansion.  

 

It was rumored that Lemp Jr. had an illegitimate child with another woman. The boy was said to be born with Down syndrome, so to keep gossip at bay, Lemp hid the child in the attic, forcing him to live there with only servants to tend him.

 

Known as “Monkey Face Boy,” the unwanted child remained hidden away until he died in his thirties. He is possibly one of the “long-term residents” of the mansion.

 

Elsa Lemp Wright

Elsa Lemp Wright, Lemp, Sr’s daughter, shot herself in her home on March 20, 1920. She was said to be despondent over her failed marriage.

 

 

 

Lemp Brewery

In 1922, William Lemp, Jr. sold the money-making “Falstaff” logo to another brewer. He then sold the brewery buildings for a pittance of what they had been worth before Prohibition. On December 29, William announced he would sell the mansion. With that, he went into his office and shot himself in the heart - 18 years after his father’s suicide.

 

The family decided not to sell the property, although they would no longer preside over a brewing empire in St. Louis.

In 1949, Charles Lemp – William Jr’s brother, took his life in the same office, ending the family’s residency in the building.

 

The mansion was soon sold and turned into a boarding house. It was then when talk of spirits began to fly. Investigators have suggested that up to nine spirits reside in the home, mainly in the attic, on the stairs, and in the basement near the entrance to the catacombs - referred to by restaurant staff as “The Gates of Hell.”

 

 

Employees and patrons have reported hearing footsteps when no one was in the vicinity. The sound of rapping has been heard along with the occasional appearance of an apparition. Doors lock and unlock themselves, and the piano will play when no one is nearby.

 

In 1975, Dick Pointer saw the ghost angle as a business opportunity and turned it into a restaurant and hotel.

 

Today the Lemp Mansion has been restored to its turn-of-the-century style. It now boasts a fine dining restaurant, dinner theatre, and inn. Tours of the facility are available.

 

Now is the perfect time for a ghostly get-away to the Lemp Mansion. Haunted history tours are offered, but October events sell out quickly. Regular Monday evening tours are held year-round.

 

Although I have not spent the night, I have dined here. And it is indeed well worth putting on your bucket list of “must-see” places, especially during the witching month.

~ Joy

 

Haunted Hayswood Hospital for Sale

Have you ever wanted to own your own haunted house? What if you could up the ante and own a haunted hospital? Well, this may be the opportunity you’ve always wanted. Kentucky Commercial Property Search is billing this location as “the second most haunted place in Kentucky.”

 

The History

Located in Maysville Kentucky, with a view of the Ohio River, the building originally operated as the Wilson Infirmary in the 1800s. When the owner, Mary Peale Wilson died in 1908, the building was demolished. 

 

In 1915, Hayswood Seminary, a private school for girls, was opened. A fourth-floor was added in 1925 with another addition built on in 1971. 

 

 

In 1931, the facility opened as Hayswood Hospital and could accommodate more than 75 patients - residents of Cincinnati, southwestern Ohio and Mason County Kentucky.

 

 

In 1942, the US Navy sent naval personnel who had been psychologically
traumatized by the attack on Pearl Harbor to the facility for treatment. In 1983, the hospital was closed as medical needs changed and a new facility opened south of town.

 

Today, it is reported that medical equipment, furniture and some of the patient’s rooms are still intact. Other areas have been vandalized or damaged by the elements encroaching through broken windows.

The Hauntings

There have been reports of flickering lights, an oppressiveness near the structure and a tall man standing in one of the third-floor windows. Inside the building, people report the feeling of being watched even followed by shadows. A woman who carries her newborn baby down the hallways. Red eyes have been glimpsed in rooms along with cold spots felt throughout the hospital. Disembodied voices can be heard, and a stretcher rolls along on its own. And, of course, the morgue area is a hotbed of activity.

 

 

But those who worked there in the 1970s and early 80s say that the hospital was haunted even back then. Patients reported seeing doctors and nurses from another era walking the halls. The Travel Channels Ghost Asylum did a piece on it and several paranormal groups have down investigations.

 

The Property for Sale

The brick building, composed of four stories, is made up of 80,000 square feet located on nearly 3 acres with ample parking. Zoned commercial, this could become a tourist paranormal hotspot for a haunted venue, restaurant, hotel, apartments or maybe, just for a personal residence. The asking price for Hayswood is $800,000 but some judicious bargaining may get the price lowered. The last sale was in 2018.

 

Keep in mind that to open the building to the public, major repairs need to be made including floors and stairs along with asbestos cleanup. Cleanup has been estimated to be in the millions.

 

Today, the property is secured with fences, and the windows are boarded up. Maysville police will arrest any trespassers and file federal trespassing charges – no exceptions.

Contact Kurt Schuler with KCREA at   https://www.kcrea.com/listing/30741846 and search for Hayswood Hospital for the details.

~ Joy

 

 

 

Spirits of The Golden Lamb Inn - Ohio

 

It’s October and that means time for the annual A Grave Interest haunting posts. This year we’ll take a look at haunted hotels, and the guests who refuse to check out.

In the quiet community of Lebanon Ohio, north of Cincinnati, resides the oldest operating business in the Buckeye State. 

 

 

Built in 1803, The Golden Lamb was originally

a "house of public entertainment” where locals gathered to visit and trade news. In 1815, the log cabin gave way to a two-story brick building with rooms to let to travelers. By 1844, another floor was added with the fourth floor built in 1878 for the men working on the new railroad.

 

Several well-known people stayed at the inn including twelve American presidents from William Henry Harrison to Ronald Regan and George W. Bush. Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain along with Charles Dickens, Daniel Webster and Harriet Beecher Stowe also stopped in. But there are also others who came to spend the night and decided to stay ... indefinitely.

 

The most popular ghost at the Golden Lamb can be found in what is called “Sarah’s Room.” Named for Sarah Stubbs, the niece of one of the hotel mangers, who grew up at the inn. Sarah however lived to be quite old so its thought the young spirit is that of 12-year-old Eliza Clay.

Eliza was the daughter of Henry Clay, a statesman from Kentucky who served in both the House and the Senate during the 1800s. Clay

was traveling with his family from his home in Lexington, Kentucky to Washington D.C. when Eliza became ill with a fever. They stayed at The Golden Lamb for six weeks as Eliza’s condition worsened. On August 17, 1825 she died and was buried in the local cemetery. 

Today, the child appears in a white nightgown in a fourth floor room that’s actually not associated with Sarah Stubbs. The ghost has a reputation for moving things around, knocking pictures off the walls and stomping her feet when vexed. Maybe she’s still waiting for her family to return to take her home to Lexington. Or possibly she’s tired of her room being referred to by another child’s name. Either way, Eliza makes her presence known.

Another ghost of The Golden Lamb is that of Ohio Supreme Court Justice Charles R. Sherman. Sherman was “riding the circuit” and holding court in Lebanon in 1829 when he died suddenly. The 41-year-old judge was staying at the inn at the time. Sherman died leaving a wife and eleven children (one son who became the famous Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman) to fend for themselves. Many of the younger children had to be adopted out.

Sherman is seen as a thin, grey man who walks the halls. Many times, only the aroma of his cigar indicates he’s present or a deep sigh heard down the hall. Some say Sherman haunts the inn in misery that his family had to be separated after his death. 

 

And then there’s the ghost of the former U.S. Congressman from Ohio, Clement L. Vallandigham who died of a self-inflicted gunshot in 1871. Unfortunately, he didn’t intend to shoot himself. Vallandigham, an attorney, was defending Thomas McGehean, one of five men accused of fatally shooting Tom Myers the previous Christmas Eve at a Hamilton Ohio saloon. Vallandigham did far too good of a job showing the jury how Myers could have accidentally shot himself by pulling out what ended up being a loaded weapon and accidentally firing it into his abdomen. Vallandigham lived through the night but died in his room at the inn the next morning. Amazingly, McGehean was still found guilty and had to appeal the verdict.

It is said that Vallandigham’s spirit has been seen for decades throughout the hotel. While some ghosts prefer to remain unseen, Vallandigham’s face is usually what people see when he chooses to appear, and heavy footsteps have been heard outside the room which now bears his name. Maybe Vallandigham is sill trying to come to grips with how he managed to shoot himself in that long ago court case.

 

The Golden Lamb is open and taking reservations for its 17 historic rooms, each named after a famous guest. The Golden Lamb Restaurant serves seasonally fresh meals, and the newly renovated Black Horse Tavern offers numerous beers and wines along with their first branded brew - the Black Horse Tavern Golden Lager. The Golden Lamb is open for business with guests required to wear face masks when moving throughout the hotel. For more information, visit GoldenLamb.com. Maybe you’ll be luck enough to encounter one of the inn’s eternal guests.

~ Joy