State file · MO
Haunted places in Missouri
What are the most haunted places in Missouri? The best-known are Exorcism of Roland Doe, Lemp Mansion and Missouri State Penitentiary.
Missouri is where America’s most famous exorcism reached its climax: in the spring of 1949, Jesuit priests in St. Louis performed the rite on a Maryland boy known only as “Roland Doe,” the case that inspired The Exorcist. The city is also home to the Lemp Mansion, seat of a brewing dynasty marked by tragedy and now one of the country’s best-known haunted restaurants, while Jefferson City’s Missouri State Penitentiary – the oldest prison west of the Mississippi until it closed in 2004 – runs ghost tours through its cellblocks.
- 3 hauntings
- 12 recorded sightings
Haunted places in Missouri
Exorcism of Roland Doe
In 1949 Jesuit priests performed an exorcism on a Maryland teenager in St. Louis. The case inspired The Exorcist; researchers suspect a troubled boy. Widely reported
Lemp Mansion
Home of the Lemp brewing dynasty, marked by family tragedy, this St. Louis mansion has been a restaurant and inn since the 1970s – and a famous haunt. Widely reported
Missouri State Penitentiary
For 168 years the oldest prison west of the Mississippi, the Missouri State Penitentiary now runs ghost tours through its dungeon cells and gas chamber. Widely reportedThe ghost lore of Missouri
The history behind the stories is rich: river towns on the Mississippi and Missouri, a German brewing culture in St. Louis, the guerrilla violence of the Civil War along the Kansas border, the gateway to the Oregon and Santa Fe trails, and Route 66. Missouri’s ghost lore is unusually well documented, which makes it a good place to see where the records end – the Lemp family’s real losses, for example, versus the invented legends that have grown around them.
Ghost hunters head to St. Louis for the Lemp Mansion and the historic Soulard and Benton Park neighbourhoods, to Jefferson City for prison tours, and to river towns such as St. Charles and Hannibal for ghost walks. Homes and institutions connected with the 1949 case are private and should be left alone.
Ghost-hunting hotspots
- Benton Park and Soulard, St. Louis
Historic German neighbourhoods around the old Lemp brewery, with brick rowhouses, caves beneath the streets and popular ghost tours.
- Jefferson City
The state capital, home of the Missouri State Penitentiary and its history and ghost tours.
- St. Charles
Missouri’s first capital, a Missouri River town with a historic Main Street and long-running lantern ghost walks.
- Hannibal
Mark Twain’s boyhood town on the Mississippi, with caves, river lore and haunted-history tours.
- Excelsior Springs
A spa town near Kansas City whose historic Elms Hotel is known for ghost stories from its gangster-era past.
Timeline
- 15 January 1949First disturbances Exorcism of Roland Doe
According to the priests’ diary, the boy and his grandmother hear dripping and scratching sounds, and a picture on the wall shakes.
- 26 January 1949Death of the boy’s aunt Exorcism of Roland Doe
The aunt who had introduced him to the Ouija board dies; the family links her death to the escalating events.
- 16 March 1949Exorcism authorised in St. Louis Exorcism of Roland Doe
Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter gives Father William Bowdern permission to begin the formal rite, assisted by Father Raymond Bishop and a young Jesuit, Walter Halloran.
- 18 April 1949The rite ends Exorcism of Roland Doe
At the Alexian Brothers Hospital, the priests record a final dramatic night after which the boy is declared free; the diary closes the next day.
- 20 August 1949The Washington Post story Exorcism of Roland Doe
Reporter Bill Brinkley’s article on the exorcism of a “Mt. Rainier boy” is read by student William Peter Blatty, planting the seed for The Exorcist.
- 1954The 1954 riot Missouri State Penitentiary
Inmates seize keys and free others; four prisoners die, 29 people are injured and several buildings burn.
- April 1967James Earl Ray escapes Missouri State Penitentiary
Ray escapes from the prison; a year later he assassinates Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis.
- 1999Opsasnick’s investigation Exorcism of Roland Doe
Mark Opsasnick’s research relocates the case to Cottage City, challenges the Georgetown episode and portrays the boy as a troubled teenager rather than a victim of possession.
- 2004Prison closes Missouri State Penitentiary
After 168 years, inmates move to the new Jefferson City Correctional Center, and the old walls open for tours.
- 2010Ghost Hunters investigation Lemp Mansion
The Syfy series investigates the mansion, one of many TV visits that have made it famous.
- October 2018A former guard’s story Missouri State Penitentiary
Tour guide and former guard Tom Wells describes seeing an unknown man vanish inside a locked area during his years on duty.
- September 2026Mansion put up for sale Lemp Mansion
After roughly fifty years of ownership, the Pointer family lists the mansion and stables, keeping the business open through 2027.
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