Ever wanted to see if ghosts are real? St. Louis has some of the most highly ranked haunted places in the United States.

Timberland students and staff chose their favorites: the Missouri State Penitentiary, Lemp Mansion and  Molly’s Grave.

The Lemp has a long history was built in 1864, and has seen many tragedies. William J Lemp, the father, shot himself after his favorite son Frederick died from mysterious causes.  Lemp Sr.’s daughter, who was said to be the wealthiest heiress in St Louis, shot herself in the bathtub of the family home, when brewery failed. William J. Lemp, Jr. shot himself in the same building where his father died eighteen years earlier, and Lemp Jr’s son, William Lemp III, died of a heart attack 43 years later. Lemp Jr’s brother, Charlie died of natural causes at the age of 90. Many have visited the Lemp Mansion and many have said it is very haunted.

“For my birthday, some friends and I spent the night in the attic. Before we were locked in for the night however, we went on a ghost tour and explored the Mansion. When we were there for the night, a friend and I explored the basement and floors with flashlights as all the lights were off. It was different and fun overall,” junior Allison Jordan said.

Another famous haunted attraction is the Missouri State Penitentiary, MSP,.. The prison opened in 1836 and closed the doors in 2004. The prison has held some of the most notorious criminals in the midwest, as in James Earl Ray. James escaped from MSP on April 4, 1968. Went down to Memphis Tennessee and assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. It was reported the act would make him a hero, but instead it made him a hunted man.  

“I think it is really weird that the man who shot MLK was already in prison, how does one just let them escape,” junior Allison Starke said.

Another famous inmate was Charles “Sonny” Liston, a famous boxer. He was admitted for two charges of armed robbery with a deadly robbery. The prison currently hold the record for the most deaths by gas chamber and electric chair. MSP offers ghost tours and allows people to stay in the prison after tour hours to investigate the prison. Many have claimed to see apparitions of former inmates.

“I was paranoid that something was going to pop out at me. It had an eerie feeling the whole time,” sophomore Bri Jones said.

The last haunted attraction voted on by THS students  is Molly’s Grave. This house is in the middle of nowhere off Highway P. Molly Crenshaw is said to be a witch  who was chopped up into pieces by the townspeople of Defiance. Her body parts were scattered around and it is said that her body parts are slowly moving back together so Molly can come back to live. It is said to be a tradition for students to go to the old farmhouse and roam around.

“I have been to Molly’s Grave and it wasn’t that cool. It was just an old house that looked like it was about to fall apart. I feel like it is very unlikely that her body parts are moving together,” junior Savannah Gaast said.

Check out all of the websites and look at their history, photos, and maybe even try out some of the haunted places:

Missouri State Penitentiary

Molly’s Grave 

Lemp Mansion 

For even more information on St. Louis hauntings, check out this article from the Riverfront Times.

*favorites based on 129 responses sent to all students and faculty