What (or who) is haunting Hill House?

Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is considered by many to be the best haunted house book of all time. I read Jackson’s short story The Lottery back in high school, and I was fascinated with her ability to layer meanings and craft a story that so captures a dark side of human nature. A couple months back, I came across a list of scary books, so naturally I had to start with Hill House.

Hill House is a mansion built by a man named Hugh Crain eighty years before the story takes place in the 1950s. It’s rumored by those in the nearby Hillsdale and beyond to be home to ghosts of its former inhabitants. Dr. Montague is a researcher who is particularly interested in psychic and paranormal occurrences. In seeking to document evidence of paranormal activity, he attempts to recruit a number of folks who have some experience with such phenomena as assistants, but the only two who agree to participate by staying at Hill House during the summer.

Eleanor and Theodora each accept Dr. Montague’s invitation as a means to escape the conflicts and personal difficulties they’re experiencing. Eleanor attempts to find belonging and freedom after spending much of her youth caring for her ill mother. Theodora seeks the countryside setting of Hill House to cool down after an argument with her roommate.

Upon arriving at Hill House, Eleanor meets the caretakers, Mr. and Mrs. Dudley. They’re not exactly welcoming, and refuse to stay at the home for longer than necessary, but Theodora arrives soon after and treats Eleanor quite kindly. Luke Sanderson, whose family owns Hill House, completes the foursome occupying the home. Ultimately, Eleanor, Theodora, Dr. Montague and Luke try to make their stay at Hill House pleasant, but it’s not long before strange noises awake them at night, and eerie messages appear on walls.

Relationships between Eleanor, Theodora, and Luke begin to shift, and Eleanor’s determination to find her happily-ever-after creates a jealous tension between herself and Theodora, which builds as the novel nears its conclusion. I’ll stop shy of providing any spoilers, but could it be Hill House causing this emotional upheaval, and trying to claim Eleanor for itself?

The psychological and emotional intricacies of the characters are really well presented by Jackson. I feel like I could go on and on analyzing Eleanor’s and Theodora’s personalities, experiences in Hill House, and how their interactions are impacted by their stay there, but that’s another blog post entirely! Long story short, The Haunting of Hill House is well worth a read, and is a must for any haunted house connoisseur.

Next on my paranormal reading list? I’m thinking Hell House by Richard Matheson. More on that to come!

 

 

A Lemp legacy

It’s no secret that St. Louis is one of my favorite cities, and it makes my heart incredibly happy any time I can spend an afternoon at Busch Stadium watching the Cards do what they do best. Any time I make it to STL, whether it be for a baseball game or not, I know I can count on a few things: good pizza, plenty of Cardinal red, and some fantastic haunted places in the heart of a vibrant city. Since the Lou is celebrating its 250^th birthday, I thought it would be nice to take a closer look at one of the most well-known haunts: Lemp Mansion.

The Lemp family built its wealth as beer brewers in St. Louis in the mid-1800s. When patriarch Adam Lemp settled in the city, he became one of the first to brew German lager, and used a cave below the Lemp brewery as natural refrigeration. The family prospered as their Western Brewery became the largest in St. Louis, and ultimately became the William J. Lemp Brewing Company. Lemp Mansion was completed in 1868, and was (and still is) an impressive Victorian structure.

Lemp Brewery

However, the family endured its share of tragedy within the mansion’s walls, as fortunes declined and Prohibition neared. Frederick Lemp, who was being primed to someday take over the business passed away from mysterious causes in 1901. This was emotionally devastating for his father, William J. Lemp. Unable to overcome his sorrow, William J. Lemp committed suicide three years later. William’s sister Elsa committed suicide in 1920, then William J. Lemp, Jr. did the same eighteen years after his father’s death in the same building. Charles Lemp, William J. Lemp, Jr.’s brother, remained reclusively residing in the home, but eventually shot himself in the head.

Lemp Mansion still stands in Benton Park, and operates as an inn and restaurant, and also hosts tours and special events regularly. To this day, employees, guests and visitors claim to experience paranormal phenomenon, especially in the William Lemp Suite. Apparitions have also been seen in the dining room where William J. Lemp shot himself, and unexplained aromas of men’s cologne are also experienced at times.

Lemp Mansion

A few years ago, I got the chance to stay overnight in the Frederick Lemp suite, which is on the third floor and used to be servants’ quarters. While I didn’t personally experience anything I would classify as paranormal, I can say that the mansion is gorgeous and its history is palpable. If you get a chance to stay the night, eat in the restaurant, take a tour, or just swing by Demenil Place for some pictures, I highly recommend it!

Originally published here

Eureka Springs recap (and brief ghost tour review)

Last week, I got the chance to visit Eureka Springs again and take in the sights, sounds and flavors. Upon arriving and navigating the small streets nestled in the Ozark mountains, we made our way around a few shops and stopped by a wonderful Mexican restaurant for lunch (and birthday margaritas, of course!).

Deciding to walk off some of our lunch calories, we marveled at some of the city’s many gorgeous springs, scenic pathways, and Victorian architecture, while making sure not to trip on the mildly treacherous sidewalks. My favorite part was walking in a historic residential area where all the homes were painted candy-like colors and had tons of flowers around.

Plants and flowers grow near one of the many springs in the town

A colorful gazebo near a spring

Lovely flowers near a limestone outcropping

We checked in at the Basin Park Hotel, which was built in 1905. It’s built on and out of limestone, and is rumored to have its share of paranormal activity. While its ghostly inhabitants may not be as widely known as those of the Crescent Hotel, it’s thought that some of the ghosts reported on the fourth floor, including a Victorian young girl, may have been residents of the Perry House, a wooden hotel that burned to the ground before the Basin Park Hotel was built.

After purchasing our tickets for the evening ghost tour at Basin Park, we headed over to a lovely Italian restaurant for ravioli and fettuccine. It was delicious! Afterward, we strolled through downtown a bit more, then made our way back to the hotel for the ghost tour.

We congregated in the lobby, then were led into a back room that used to be an alleyway between the hotel and some gift shops that the hotel once owned. You could see part of the limestone mountain the hotel is built on, which was neat to look at. We learned about the town’s long history and its lore, dating back to the period when Osage Indians inhabited the area and considered the springs, especially what is now called Basin Spring, to be sacred. Later, others began noticing the supposed healing powers of the mineral-rich water, including a man named Dr. Jackson, who bottled it and sold it as “Dr. Jackson’s Eye Water” and made quite a fortune.

We hoofed it up to the sixth floor to really begin the tour (There is a small elevator, but with twenty-plus people on our tour, we figured taking the stairs was the path of least resistance). That floor contains an event space/ballroom where visitors have reported seeing ghostly Victorian figures dancing there long after it’s been locked up for the night. Next, we made our way down to the third and fourth floors, where apparitions of a Victorian women and young girl, a cowboy, and even a lion have been reported.

A hallway in the Basin Park Hotel

Overall, the hour-and-a-half-ish tour seemed a bit lacking, at least compared to the one I went on last fall at the Crescent Hotel. While there was great historical information up front, there just wasn’t an overwhelming amount of ghost stories or any sort of potential evidence presented (barring one photo that could in all likelihood be dismissed as lens flare). At the Crescent, the tour guide took time to provide prints of photos at nearly every haunted room or location in which we stopped (although many of those could be explained by natural or technological phenomena as well). Or maybe my paranormal investigation experience has just made me a little bit of a tough customer for this kind of ghost tour.

While the Basin Park Hotel is beautiful, it just doesn’t have quite the same charm and character as the Crescent, in my opinion. Nevertheless, it’s worth a stop if you find yourself in Eureka Springs! And don’t be afraid to wander the quaint and charming city streets to see some gorgeous Victorian architecture amidst natural Ozarks beauty–just make sure you have on comfy shoes!

Advertisement on the side of a brick building

View from a pedestrian bridge in Eureka Springs

View from a balcony at the Basin Park Hotel

Natural spring in downtown Eureka Springs