Ghosts of St. Louis: The Lemp Mansion and Other Eerie Tales [Paperback]

Bryan W. Alaspa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2007

St. Louis is a modern metropolis still rich with legends dating back to the early Native Americans, and a history that lives on through many spirits that refuse to die. • Visit the infamous Lemp Mansion and discover its scandalous history ; a tragic tale of a wealthy family plagued by multiple suicides, madness, depression, and public ridicule. • Read about the Gehm House , if you dare, where footsteps fall where no man walks and visitors are attacked as they sleep. • Learn about Building 28 at the haunted Jefferson Barracks. • See spirits of children floating on the lawn of the haunted Rock House. • And don't forget to peer back into the past to see the ghost-infested McDowell Medical College! A ghost-lovers paradise, these and other tales will haunt you.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing (August 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764326880
• ISBN-13: 978-0764326882
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,327,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent story badly in need of an editor, November 6, 2008

By 

Principessa (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghosts of St. Louis: The Lemp Mansion and Other Eerie Tales (Paperback)

I picked this book up shortly before Halloween, in keeping with the season and thinking that it would be an interesting read. The majority of the book is devoted to the story of the Lemp family and the present day Lemp Mansion. I have dined at the Lemp Mansion on many enjoyable occasions and am familiar with its history.

The rise and fall of the Lemp family makes for a very engrossing story, especially since one can visit the restored Lemp Mansion in St. Louis to this very day. It is presently open to the public as a restaurant and bed and breakfast. Tours are offered, as well as dinner theatre, and it is also a popular place for wedding receptions, etc. The Lemp Mansion gained national notoriety in November of 1980 when it was included in a LIFE Magazine feauture of America's most haunted houses. (For those who don't know, three former owners of the mansion, all members of the Lemp family, committed suicide within the house. A fourth member of the Lemp family also apparently committed suicide, although not at the same location.)

Initially, I was disappointed with the purchase. As another reviewer has noted, the book is loaded with typos and the writing seems somewhat awkward at times. I found this to be distracting. A good editor could have really cleaned things up. However, it was the inconsistent or inaccurate information presented therein that really bothered me.

Case in point: On page 22, the author states "The problems with William began with his son. He had two, actually, and they were William, Jr. and Frederick." This is misleading in that William Lemp, Sr. had eight children - five sons and three daughters. It leads to confusion later on in the story when all the "extra" brothers keep coming out of the woodwork.

Another example of this careless fact checking occurs on page 28, when the author asserts that "Lillian was not a very tall woman. According to account, she was only four-feet-two inches tall." By most accounts, Lillian Handlan Lemp was 4 feet 11 inches tall - tiny, but still nine inches taller than the author gave her credit for!

That having been said, the story of the Lemp family as presented by the author was still very compelling and was told with real feeling. His enthusiasm for the subject seemed sincere and was almost contagious. Had I not already visited the place, I would have probably done so immediately! I appreciated that fact that the author actually toured the mansion, and spent the night there (this makes him braver than I am). He writes in depth about his experiences and includes a photograph taken of himself in the mansion with an orb - a ball of light said to indicate a supernatural presence - on page 98.

The book finishes by touching on several other haunted places in and around the St. Louis area, and concludes with a "Guide for Urban Explanation" and a "Glossary and Equipment List."

All in all, it was an absorbing read. I would encourage anyone who plans on being in the St. Louis area to check out the Lemp Mansion's excellent food, and mysterious history. I would also recommend Stephen P. Walker's "Lemp: The Haunting History" for an even more indepth account of the Lemp family history.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, October 12, 2007

By 

lovemydane (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghosts of St. Louis: The Lemp Mansion and Other Eerie Tales (Paperback)

My husband picked this up for me since I grew up in Webster Groves, MO very close to the "haunted house on Plant." I can appreciate that the author loves the subject and enjoyed doing the research but I was too distracted by his writing to enjoy the book. His sentences were short and simple, it was like I was reading a grade school level essay. He repeated facts throughout the book, sometimes doing so in the same paragraph. There were also typos. It's unfortunate that he didn't have access to a good publisher/editor because he just couldn't pull this off on his own.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS A BOOK WORTH PICKING UP!, January 6, 2008

By 

Joseph J. Rockaitis, III "ROC" (CHICAGO, ILLINOIS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ghosts of St. Louis: The Lemp Mansion and Other Eerie Tales (Paperback)

MY FAMILY AND I JUST COULDN'T PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. THIS AUTHOR HAS A UNIQUE AND BELIEVABLE STYLE OF WRITING. HE SEES THIS SUBJECT JUST LIKE ANY READERS WOULD. HE MAKES YOU FEEL THAT YOU ARE EXPERIENCING THE PHENOMENA THAT HE HIMSELF EXPERIENCED AND THEN WROTE ABOUT. HE IS TRULY AN NOTEWORTHY AUTHOR TO BE WATCHED FOR FUTURE PIECES IN THIS CLASS OF WRITING. THANKS B. ALASPA FOR THE INVESTMENT OF MY TIME READING YOUR BOOK, IT HAS GIVEN ME MUCH ENJOYMENT!