Haunted Places in Missouri: 10 Sites With Real History

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The most famous of the haunted places in Missouri is the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, where several members of a wealthy brewing family died by suicide between 1904 and 1949, but the state's record also runs through a closed state prison, a Kansas City railroad station, and Mark Twain's Hannibal. Below are 10 haunted places in Missouri from St. Louis, Kansas City, Jefferson City, Hannibal, Springfield, and Excelsior Springs, each split into what the record supports and what is only told as legend. Most ghost stories here come from ghost-tour operators and paranormal websites, not independent documentation, and we say so wherever that is the case.

Quick answer if you're short on time: Of the haunted places in Missouri listed here, the Lemp Mansion is the most famous, the Missouri State Penitentiary is the best-documented site of violence, and the Hotel Savoy and Rockcliffe Mansion are the easiest to visit on a normal trip.

1. Lemp Mansion (St. Louis)

The mansion at 3322 DeMenil Place in the Benton Park neighborhood is dated to 1868 in most accounts, though one source gives a later date. The Lemp family built a dominant brewery, the William J. Lemp Brewing Co., which Prohibition forced out of business, and the complex was sold to the International Shoe Company in 1922 for $588,000. The deaths are documented: William J. Lemp Sr. died by gunshot on February 13, 1904, Elsa Lemp Wright shot herself on March 20, 1920, William J. Lemp Jr. shot himself on December 29, 1922, and Charles Lemp shot himself on May 10, 1949, leaving a note. Frederick Lemp died on December 12, 1901, of heart failure, which is often confused with the suicides. The house is now a restaurant and inn, and it appeared on Ghost Hunters in 2010. The ghost stories come from the venue, tour operators, and television, not independent records.

Can you visit: Yes. The Lemp Mansion operates as a restaurant, inn, and museum, and it runs ticketed ghost-hunt events (Thursdays in October 2026 per its calendar). Confirm dates before booking.

2. Missouri State Penitentiary (Jefferson City)

The prison operated from 1836 until it closed on October 14, 2004, which makes it the oldest continuously operating prison west of the Mississippi by the operator's account. Gas chamber executions ran from 1938 to 1965, with 39 executions by Wikipedia's count, while the tour operator cites 40 people, so the number depends on the source. The last execution overall was George “Tiny” Mercer by lethal injection on January 6, 1989. A 1954 riot left four inmates dead and 29 injured. James Earl Ray escaped on April 23, 1967, in a bread box. The site has appeared on Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, and Destination Fear, but the paranormal claims come from those programs and tour operators.

Can you visit: Yes. History tours, ghost tours, and overnight investigations are offered, listed as running March through November. Book through the official tour operator.

3. Hotel Savoy (Kansas City)

The hotel was built in 1888 and opened in 1889 as the Hotel Thorne, then was renamed the Hotel Savoy in 1894. A 1903 remodel added the west wing with the Savoy Grill, and the National Register listed the building on December 30, 1974. After closing in 2016, it reopened in 2018 as a 21c Museum Hotel following a $50 million renovation, and after a sale in January 2025 it returned to the Hotel Savoy name. The best-known ghost story says a woman named Betsy Ward lived and died in Room 505, with some versions calling it suicide and others foul play. We found that story only on ghost-lore and tour sites, with no primary record of such a person.

Can you visit: Yes, as a hotel guest. The ownership and branding have changed recently, so check what is open to the public.

4. Union Station (Kansas City)

Union Station opened on October 30, 1914, designed by Jarvis Hunt in the Beaux-Arts style. On June 17, 1933, the Kansas City Massacre took place in front of the station while captured fugitive Frank Nash was being delivered to prison: four lawmen were killed, and Nash also died. The station closed in 1985 except for Amtrak, and a $250 million restoration reopened it by 1999. It was added to the National Register on February 1, 1972. Kansas City ghost-tour companies include the station on their routes and talk of ghostly passengers. Those are tour claims, and the station's documented history is the 1933 shooting and the long decline and restoration.

Can you visit: Yes. It is an active Amtrak station with museums and science exhibits, and ghost tours pass by.

5. Rockcliffe Mansion (Hannibal)

Lumber magnate John J. Cruikshank Jr. built the 13,500-square-foot mansion in 1898, designed by the St. Louis firm Barnett, Haynes & Barnett. Mark Twain addressed about 300 people from the double staircase during his 1902 visit. After Cruikshank died in 1924 the house stood empty for 43 years, and private owners bought it in 1967 and restored it. It was listed on the National Register on September 18, 1980. The ghost stories come mostly from caretakers over the years, including tales of the indentation of a body found in the linens. We found no independent documentation of them.

Can you visit: Yes. Guided tours run daily, and the mansion also operates as a bed and breakfast.

6. Mark Twain Cave (Hannibal)

Local hunter Jack Simms is credited with finding the cave in the winter of 1819-1820, and it appears as McDougal's Cave in Twain's 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It was renamed in honor of the author in 1880, and a farmer began charging a dime for tours in 1886. Physician Joseph Nash McDowell bought it in the late 1840s and kept his deceased daughter in a preserving coffin in the cave, a story that appears to have influenced Twain's writing. Jesse James is said to have hidden there in September 1879, and a “Clemens” signature was found on a wall in 2019. It became a National Natural Landmark in 1972. We did not find a sourced ghost report for this cave, so it belongs here as a place of real history and legend, not a documented haunting.

Can you visit: Yes. Tours last about 55 minutes and run year-round except Thanksgiving and Christmas.

7. The Elms Hotel (Excelsior Springs)

The first Elms Hotel opened in July 1888 and burned on May 9, 1898. A second hotel opened on July 31, 1909, and burned on October 30, 1910. The stone building that stands today opened on September 7, 1912, and it is listed on the National Register. During the Prohibition era the hotel is said to have prospered as a speakeasy in Kansas City's “wide open” Pendergast years, with Al Capone reportedly a frequent visitor. Guests and staff report an unearthly presence in several areas and three spirits, according to local accounts and ghost-lore sites; we could not trace those to an independent record.

Can you visit: Yes, as a hotel and spa guest. Confirm current operations.

8. Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion (St. Louis)

Henri Chatillon began the house in 1848, and Nicolas DeMenil enlarged it to its present form between 1855 and 1863. It is a house museum, open to the public since 1965, designated a city landmark in 1966, and listed on the National Register on June 9, 1978, as a notable Greek Revival example. It sits next door to the Lemp Mansion. Ghost accounts mention footsteps in the kitchen, a cologne scent near a shaving stand, and French-speaking voices on the stairs. Sources conflict on whether it is haunted at all, and paranormal teams that visited reportedly logged unusual readings without proving anything.

Can you visit: Yes, as a house museum. Check its hours and tour schedule.

9. Landers Theatre (Springfield)

D. J. Landers, a lumber businessman, built the theater, which opened in 1909 in a French-influenced neoclassical style. A fire in 1920 destroyed the stage area. In 1928 it became the 35th facility in the world to acquire sound film, and NBC's Five Star Jubilee originated there in 1961, described as the first network color television series made outside New York City or Hollywood. It was added to the National Register on August 12, 1977, and Springfield Little Theatre uses it today. Local ghost lore says a janitor died in the fire, a baby fell from a balcony, and a figure in Elizabethan dress appears in a fourth-floor window. We could not confirm the janitor's death or the other stories from an independent record.

Can you visit: Yes. The Springfield Little Theatre has offered ghost tours, and the theater hosts performances. Check the current schedule.

10. Jesse James Home (St. Joseph)

Jesse James was killed in this house on April 3, 1882, shot by Robert Ford. A 1995 autopsy determined the fatal bullet entered behind the right ear and did not exit. A bullet hole in the north wall was enlarged over the years by souvenir hunters, and it was not the fatal wound. The house was moved to a highway location in 1939 and then in 1977 to its current spot behind the Patee House. It was listed on the National Register on September 4, 1980. DNA testing from a 1995 exhumation put the identification of the grave's remains at 99.7% reliability. We did not find a documented ghost story for this house, so it is included for the real, well-recorded death.

Can you visit: Yes, as a museum. Confirm hours.

What's Actually Verifiable

Across these haunted places in Missouri, the dates, the Lemp family's deaths, the 1933 Kansas City massacre, and the penitentiary's executions and riot are documented. The ghosts mostly are not. The Betsy Ward story at the Savoy and the janitor at the Landers have no primary record we could find, and several tour-based claims come from the same small set of ghost-lore websites. The history behind these places is more reliable than the stories told about them.

Visiting Haunted Places in Missouri Responsibly

Haunted places in Missouri range from museums and active hotels to a former state prison that now runs official tours. Stay on public property, book official tours, and do not enter closed buildings. Trespassing is illegal, and the Lemp and Chatillon-DeMenil houses are neighbors in a residential area, so stay respectful on the street. Hours, tours, and October events change from year to year, so check each site first. For the wider American picture, see our guide to haunted places in the United States, our haunted places in Illinois for the other side of the St. Louis metro area, and our list of real haunted places you can actually visit on Halloween.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most haunted place in Missouri?

There is no objective ranking of haunted places in Missouri. The Lemp Mansion is the most promoted, and the Missouri State Penitentiary is the best documented as a site of violence. Treat any “most haunted” label as marketing, since the ghosts are unproven and the history is what can be checked.

Why is the Lemp Mansion considered haunted?

Because several members of the Lemp brewing family died by suicide between 1904 and 1949, and the house later became a restaurant and inn that promotes ghost hunts. The deaths are documented, but the ghost stories come from the venue, television, and tour operators, not from independent evidence.

Can you visit the haunted places in Missouri on your own?

Many of them, yes. The Lemp Mansion, Hotel Savoy, Elms Hotel, Rockcliffe Mansion, Mark Twain Cave, and Union Station are open to the public in some form, and the Missouri State Penitentiary is toured through its official operator. Always confirm hours and book ahead.

Was the Missouri State Penitentiary really that violent?

The record shows a 1954 riot that killed four inmates and injured 29, gas chamber executions from 1938 to 1965, and an escape by James Earl Ray in 1967. It operated from 1836 to 2004. Execution counts differ slightly by source, so check the figure you cite.

Is Mark Twain Cave haunted?

We found no sourced ghost report for it. The cave's documented history includes its 1819-1820 discovery, a physician's use of it in the late 1840s, and its role in Tom Sawyer. Local lore tends to focus on the literary connection rather than hauntings.

Is it legal to explore abandoned haunted places in Missouri?

Not without permission. Entering a closed building or private land without the owner's consent is trespassing. The legal ways to see these sites are official tours and public visiting hours, which also give you better history than a flashlight and a dare.