What determines whether a building is haunted? When a person dies in a house, does that automatically make the place haunted? Is it a murder, a suicide, or an unexplained death that makes a building haunted? How about FIVE deaths in one mansion with nearly all supposedly being by their own hand. Would that make a building haunted? The Lemp family truly qualifies as one of America's most haunting ghost stories, with much scrutiny on the seemingly possessed Lemp Mansion. By , Lemp Brewery was the largest brewing company in St.
Louis, dominating the beer trade until prohibition closed the plant in By that time, the family had already endured one heart failure death Frederick Lemp at the mysterious age of 28 and one suicide William Lemp Sr.
In just days after her marriage and with her husband in the next room, Elsa Lemp supposedly took her own life with a gunshot to the chest, but left behind no suicide note. The Lemps called their doctor, an attorney and the coroner without ever notifying the police. Louis brewer to install a refrigerated area in his facility. This new technology freed him from reliance on his lagering caves. In time, the caves were converted into private underground amusements such as a theater; a bowling alley and a concrete-lined swimming pool, complete with hot water piped in from the brewery.
The Western Brewery was incorporated in under the name of William J. Lemp Brewing company. Between the years of and , the couple had nine children, one of whom died in infancy. From oldest to youngest, the Lemp children were Anna, William Jr.
When the brewery was incorporated in , William Lemp Sr. William Jr. Louis society. Billy was active socially and had a reputation as a flamboyant playboy. Louis was an avid sportsman, horse breeder and racer. Billy eventually married a young woman named Lillian Handlan, a wealthy socialite known for her beauty and exquisite wardrobe.
Because of her fondness for wearing lavender clothing and outfitting her accessories and horse-drawn carriage in the color lavender, people called her the Lavender Lady.
Frederick immersed himself in his job at the brewery, evidently aware of his future as heir apparent. When Frederick began to have health problems in , he took time off for an extended stay in California, hoping the warm climate would benefit his health.
After a few months, just when it seemed as if he was improving, Frederick died at age William Lemp took the death of his son exceptionally hard. His friends at the time said he never recovered from the tragic news, and seemed to lose interest in his business and his life. William went through the motions for three years, at which time he lost his best friend, Captain Frederick Pabst, a member of another beer brewing dynasty. William withdrew further and sank deeper into depression after the death of Pabst.
He was observed going to work and sitting at his desk, staring off into space and making nervous motions with his hands. On the morning of February 13, , William was alone at Lemp Mansion except for his servants. Lying in bed in his second floor bedroom, William shot himself in the head.
He died later that day. She suffered with the disease until March of , when she died in the same bedroom in which her husband had shot himself two years earlier. Yet he seemed to excel more at socializing and partying than in business. Billy was said to participate in wild evening escapades, many in the caves underneath the mansion, fueled by alcohol and rumored prostitutes.
Lillian filed for divorce in , on the grounds of mistreatment and desertion. She claimed that Billy brought women into their home and entertained them in her private spaces, while keeping her on a tight leash due to his jealousy.
In return, Billy accused Lillian of Victorian female infractions such as using foul language and constantly wearing lavender in public as a ploy for attention. To the right is the parlor, with its hand-painted ceiling and intricately carved mantles of African mahogany. Behind the parlor is an atrium where the Lemps kept exotic plants and birds.
The main bathroom is dominated by a unique glass-enclosed, free-standing shower that Lemp discovered in an Italian hotel and brought back to St. Louis for his personal use. Other unusual fixtures in the room are a barber chair and a sink with glass legs. At the rear of the house are three massive vaults that the Lemps built to store great quantities of art objects. The Lemps were such avid art collectors that they could not display all of their acquisitions. Each vault is fifteen feet wide, twenty-five feet deep, and thirteen feet high.
The bedrooms were on the second floor. The main bathroom has a white granite shower stall and a marble and cast-iron mantle. The servants' quarters were located on the third floor, which boasts cedar walk-in closets, a skylight and an observation deck. The mansion does not have a ballroom in the traditional sense because the Lemps built an auditorium, ballroom and swimming pool in a natural underground cavern that could be reached from a now-sealed tunnel in the basement.
Another tunnel led from the house to the brewery. The wine and beer cellars, laundry and kitchen were located in the basement. In Billy moved into the mansion with his wife and changed the company name to the William J. Lemp Brewing Company in After his father committed suicide he took over the company. However, he too was plagued with difficulties in life, perhaps most significantly a divorce in which his wife retained full custody of their child.
The company eventually began to fall into a downward spiral after prohibition and was ultimately placed for auction and sold for just a fraction of its original value. On December 29, , Billy Lemp shot himself in his office, which is now used as the dining room of the home.
Frederick Lemp was another son of William Sr. However, Frederick had health issues his entire life and eventually died of heart failure in at the age of Charles Lemp was the third son of William Sr. However, he was plagued by depression as well and in he sent a letter to a St. Louis funeral home given them instructions on what to do with his remains in the event of his death. On May 10, , Charles shot his dog and then himself in the head. Elsa Lemp was the youngest child of William Lemp Sr.
Edwin Lemp was left as the only surviving son of William Sr. After his retirement, he became dedicated to charitable causes and eventually died at the age of Danni Holland is a writer, artist and self-professed celebrity news junkie.
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