Haunted Places in Missouri: 22 of the Most Haunted to Visit
A prison once called the bloodiest 47 acres in America, a brewing family’s mansion, an old asylum museum and a wooded road with a terrible name. These are Missouri’s best-known haunted places, with what is history, what is legend and how you can visit.
Missouri was a border state in the Civil War, a frontier on the Santa Fe and Oregon trails and home to some of the richest families of the Gilded Age, and it has the ghost stories to match. We have checked every place below against current sources, so you know which are open, which run ghost tours or let you investigate, and which you can only see from the road. Haunted Rooms has run ghost hunts at the Missouri State Penitentiary and the Beattie Mansion in St. Joseph; see each ghost hunt page for dates. For the full picture, see our guides to Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield.
Visit on a tourGhost toursHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
Address 115 Lafayette St, Jefferson City, MO 65101
Where to look The cell blocks, the dungeon cells, death row and the gas chamber
Reported ghosts Former inmates and guards; voices in the cell blocks and figures in the dungeon
Visiting Guided tours run by the Jefferson City visitors bureau
Tours Two-hour history tours (from $30) and two-hour ghost tours (from $40), March to November
Ghost hunting Haunted Rooms overnight ghost hunts; ghost tours are 14 and over
The Missouri State Penitentiary opened in March 1836 and held prisoners for 168 years until it closed on October 14, 2004, the oldest operating prison west of the Mississippi. Time magazine once called it the bloodiest 47 acres in America. A 1954 riot left four inmates dead, and between 1938 and 1965, 39 men were executed in its gas chamber. James Earl Ray escaped from here in 1967, and Sonny Liston learned to box here.
Its ghost stories are as famous as its history: laughter in the walls, cell doors slamming on their own, unexplained lights and the feeling of being touched. Guides tell of Fast Jack, a man in a white lab coat said to pace an off-limits hallway. Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures have both investigated, and Haunted Rooms runs overnight ghost hunts here.
What investigators report
Investigators report EVP sessions in the Death Row building where a loud sigh was captured on audio near cell 27, and a shadow seen moving toward the blind cells in the women’s unit.
Open to the publicGhost toursParanormal investigations allowed
Address 3406 Frederick Ave, St. Joseph, MO 64506
Where to look The basement, the morgue display near the elevator and the old tunnels
Reported ghosts A shouting man in the basement hall, a crying woman, shadow figures
Visiting A public museum, part of the St. Joseph Museums complex
Hours and season Daily, 10 AM to 5 PM
Tickets Adults $12, seniors $10, students $8; one ticket covers four museums on the site
Ghost hunting Glore After Hours: $400 for three hours, up to 15 people, with a paranormal guide
State Lunatic Asylum No. 2 opened east of St. Joseph in November 1874 and at its peak held about 3,000 patients. George Glore, who worked 41 years for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, built life-size replicas of old treatment devices for a 1960s Mental Health Awareness Week display, and they grew into this museum in the hospital’s former surgery and outpatient building.
Curator Max Morgan told KQ2 that staff have seen objects move, shadow figures and doors closing on people, and have heard voices calling. A guide told KCUR the old tunnels are the most active part of the complex. The museum featured on My Haunted Hometown and rents the building to ghost hunters after dark.
What investigators report
A Kansas City team reports its strongest EVPs in the second-floor room of restraints and treatment displays, and says knocks answered requests for a set number near a locked third-floor door. They also logged cold spots in the basement hallway near the morgue door.
Grounds open to visitorsGhost toursParanormal investigations allowedOvernight investigations
Address 1325 Odd Fellows Rd, Liberty, MO 64068
Where to look The old orphanage, the library, the basement doors and Room 7
Reported ghosts Children heard running and singing, a woman in the library, a man near the old hospital
Visiting Winery, tasting room and inn open to the public; the abandoned buildings are closed
Hours and season Tasting room Monday to Friday 3 to 9 PM, Saturday 11 AM to 9 PM, Sunday noon to 6 PM
Ghost hunting Night paranormal investigations led by Paranormal Research Investigators, booked through the winery
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows built a 240-acre home here for its members, widows and orphans, with an orphanage, school, hospital, nursing home and a cemetery of about 600 graves. The orphanage building went up after a fire in 1900 destroyed the first one. Belvoir Winery now runs a tasting room, event space and a nine-room inn in it; the other buildings stand empty and closed.
Staff talk openly about their ghosts. The managing operator told KCTV5 he heard children running and giggling upstairs and pianos playing in empty rooms. Ghost Adventures and Kindred Spirits have both filmed here, and a lodge skeleton called George, once used in Odd Fellows rituals, is on display.
What investigators report
Investigators staying overnight in Room 9 report a REM pod on the nightstand going off and motion-activated balls triggering on the public floors.
Where to look The upstairs suites, the attic, the office where Billy Lemp died and the main staircase
Reported ghosts The Lavender Lady (Lillian Lemp), Lemp family members and a boy said to have been hidden in the attic
Visiting A restaurant and inn open to the public
Tours Spirits with the Spirits ghost tour, Wednesday nights, about 90 minutes, $44
Ghost hunting The mansion runs its own Lemp Experience paranormal nights
Jacob Feickert built this house in Benton Park in 1868, and his son-in-law William Lemp bought it in 1876, when the family brewery was on its way to becoming one of the largest in the country. Then came the deaths: William Sr. shot himself here in 1904, his son Billy in the brewery office in 1922, and Charles in the house in 1949. Daughter Elsa died the same way at her own home in 1920.
The Pointer family bought the mansion in 1975 and still runs it as a restaurant and inn with its own ghost tours. Staff and guests describe a woman in lavender at the upstairs windows, said to be Billy’s wife Lillian, plus doors that lock themselves, voices, cigar smoke and a piano heard in empty rooms. Ghost Hunters filmed here in 2010.
What investigators report
Investigators report high EMF readings at the entrance to Lillian’s Room and near the Lavender Suite, plus an unexplained EMF spike on the main staircase.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowed
Address 1500 N Liberty St, Independence, MO 64050
Where to look The second-floor bedrooms, the upstairs windows and the grand staircase
Reported ghosts Sophia Vaile, seen at the windows and on the stairs
Visiting Guided house museum run by the Vaile Victorian Society
Tours Guided tours of the house; seasonal Macabre Tours in October
Hours and season April 1 to October 31 and late November to December 30: Thursday to Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM, Sunday 1 to 4 PM
Tickets Adults $10 ($15 at Christmas), ages 6 to 12 $5; pay at the door
Ghost hunting Paranormal teams can book night investigations through the Vaile Victorian Society
Harvey and Sophia Vaile finished this 31-room Second Empire mansion in 1881, with nine marble fireplaces, painted ceilings and a 48,000-gallon wine cellar. In February 1883, while Harvey was in Washington on trial in the Star Route mail fraud case, Sophia was found dead in the house from an overdose. She had been told she had stomach cancer. Harvey was acquitted twice and died here in 1894.
The house later served as an inn, a sanitarium and a nursing home before the city took it on in 1983. Visitors and volunteers describe a woman in white at the upper windows and on the grand staircase, said to be Sophia. A long-told legend says Harvey kept her in a glass-topped coffin on the lawn; staff have denied it, and the couple lie in a family mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Haunted Rooms tip: Come in October for the Macabre Tours on Victorian mourning customs, or at Christmas when the house is dressed for the holidays.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowed
Address 217 N Main St, Independence, MO 64050
Where to look The first cells inside the jail entrance and the upstairs cells
Reported ghosts A man in a blue uniform; footsteps, growls and gasps in the cells
Visiting Museum run by the Jackson County Historical Society; a historic building that is not ADA compliant
Tours Self-guided visits; groups over 10 should book ahead
Hours and season April to October, Tuesday to Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM
Tickets Adults $6, seniors $5, ages 6 to 16 $3, paid at the door
Ghost hunting Jail Haunts: five-hour after-dark investigations with Paranormal Activity Investigators on the last two October weekends, 18 and over, 20 people a night
The old Jackson County Jail on Independence Square was built in 1859 to designs by Asa Beebe Cross, with 12 limestone cells behind a brick home for the marshal. Quantrill spent a night here in 1860, Union provost marshals held prisoners here in the Civil War, jailer Henry Bugler was killed in an 1866 raid, and Frank James was held here in 1882. It closed in 1933 and opened as a museum in 1959.
Visitors and staff describe nausea, sudden cold, footsteps, growls and a man gasping, most often in the first cells inside the entrance. Some say they have seen a man in a blue uniform, and local storytellers suggest a lawman killed in the violent 1860s. Others link the feeling to the women and families held here during the war. The museum’s October Jail Haunts nights let small groups look for themselves.
What investigators report
Investigators report intermittent EMF readings around the baby carriage in the first-floor hallway, and EVP sessions in Cell 4 that picked up a deep, unclear voice.
Visiting a haunted place by day is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through a historic building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and vigils, and gives you time to explore on your own. These are the nearest ones we run.
Visit on a tourOvernight investigationsHaunted Rooms ghost hunts
Address 1120 Main St, St. Joseph, MO 64501
Where to look The second floor, the children's room, the kitchen and the basement
Reported ghosts Eliza and Armstrong Beattie, children's voices and a dark male figure in the basement
Visiting Private; visits only on booked investigations
Ghost hunting Overnight investigations for groups, and Haunted Rooms ghost hunt sleepovers
Armstrong and Eliza Beattie built this house above downtown St. Joseph in 1854. Armstrong served five terms as mayor, and the childless couple both died here, in 1878 and about 1880. The house then passed to public use: it became St. Joseph’s first orphanage and, over the next century, a home for the elderly, a memorial home, a rehab center and even a fraternity house. Owner Michael Burkart bought it in 2004 and began restoring it.
The owners say the renovation stirred things up: contractors heard voices, saw figures and walked off the job. Eliza is said to be the most active spirit, blamed for whistling, piano music and singing; an orphan named Mabel is also named by staff, and the basement is linked to a dark male figure. Paranormal Lockdown US spent 72 hours here. Haunted Rooms has run ghost hunt sleepovers here.
What investigators report
On Paranormal Lockdown, a radio-based spirit box session in the basement reportedly gave a voice saying “I’m in the cellar”, and a Mel meter went off in the kitchen with no one near it.
Visit on a tourGhost toursParanormal investigations allowed
Address 1451 E Pythian St, Springfield, MO 65802
Where to look The basement cells, the sealed tunnel, the stairs and the upstairs rooms
Reported ghosts Children upstairs, a woman in white, a soldier in fatigues and a shadow in the tunnel
Visiting Privately owned; visits only on scheduled tours and events
Tours History tours, ghost tours, escape rooms and murder mystery dinners
Ghost hunting Ghost investigations can be booked through the castle
The Knights of Pythias built this stone castle in 1913 as an orphanage and home for elderly members, after Springfield sold them 53 acres for $1. In the 1940s the Army took it over for the neighboring O’Reilly General Hospital, as a service club and recreation spot, and German and Italian prisoners of war were held in its basement cells. It later served as an Army Reserve center, and owner Tamara Finocchiaro opened it to the public as an events venue around 2009.
It is one of the best-known haunted buildings in the Ozarks. Finocchiaro, who lives on site, estimates about a dozen ghosts: children upstairs, a woman in white near the restrooms, a woman’s voice by the stairs, and a man in army fatigues she says she once woke to find standing over her. A shadowy figure is reported in the basement cells and the sealed tunnel. These are her and visitors’ accounts, not documented history.
What investigators report
Visitors report capturing EVPs here, some said to be in foreign languages, and the tunnel system beneath the castle is a focus where a dark shape has been reported.
Address 401 Regent St, Excelsior Springs, MO 64024
Where to look The lower-level lap pool, the housekeeping areas, the halls and Room 200 (Truman's 1948 room)
Reported ghosts A Prohibition-era gambler by the lap pool; a maid in a 1920s uniform; an angry woman said to search for her child
Visiting A working hotel and spa in Excelsior Springs
Tours The hotel’s own paranormal tour, booked at the front desk
Ghost hunting Hotel-run paranormal tours only
The first Elms opened in 1888 and burned in 1898; a second hotel opened in 1909 and burned in 1910. The limestone hotel that stands today opened on September 7, 1912. Gangsters are said to have run gambling parties here in Prohibition, Jack Dempsey trained here, and Harry S. Truman slipped into Room 200 on election night 1948.
The Elms is one of the few Missouri hotels that talks openly about its ghosts. Its own website tells of a gambler from the speakeasy days who lingers around the lap pool and a spirit in a 1920s uniform who seems to help housekeeping. Guests add a woman who is said to pull hair and throw things as she looks for a lost child.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book the hotel’s own paranormal tour at the front desk when you check in (9 pm, about an hour, $30 a person), and ask about Room 200.
Where to look The upstairs rooms used as hospital wards, the doors and the balconies
Reported ghosts Wounded soldiers seen at the doors and on the balconies; the smell of pipe tobacco
Visiting House museum run by Wornall/Majors House Museums
Tours Self-guided visits; guided tours Saturdays at 1 and 2 PM; ghost tours in October
Hours and season Wednesday to Sunday, 10 AM to noon and 1 to 4 PM
Tickets Adults $8, seniors and students $6, ages 6 to 12 $5
Ghost hunting Paranormal investigations are offered as private rentals
Farmer John Wornall built this Greek Revival house in 1858, and it is one of only a few Civil War era homes left in Kansas City. Troops from both sides ransacked it during the Border War, and on October 23, 1864, during the Battle of Westport, it became a field hospital. Eliza Wornall stayed in the house with her young son as it filled with wounded and dying men.
Staff and visitors report the smell of pipe tobacco, figures in the windows, and soldiers seen standing guard at the doors and walking the balconies. The museum keeps its October ghost tours fact based, built around Eliza’s hard life: she had seven children and only two lived past the age of three.
Haunted Rooms tip: Come for the October candlelit ghost tours, then drive eight minutes to the Alexander Majors House.
Address Rock Hollow Trail, off Ridge Rd, Wildwood, MO 63021
Where to look The wooded ridges and the old river end of the road
Reported ghosts Shadow figures on the ridges, a woman killed by a train, a 'Zombie' killer of legend
Visiting A public paved trail; closed from 30 minutes after dusk until dawn
Hours and season Dawn to 30 minutes after dusk
Ghost hunting Not allowed after dark: trespassers are fined
Lawler Ford Road ran through steep woods in west St. Louis County down to the Meramec River, a route used by Native Americans, Civil War travelers and later gravel trucks. By the 1950s it was a lovers’ lane, and the stories started: an escaped mental patient called Zombie, a killer in a shack, murdered children. In 2010 the washed-out road was paved as the 2.3-mile Rock Hollow Trail.
Historian Troy Taylor found no asylum and no nearby orphanage behind the legends, though a judge’s widow really was killed by a train here in 1876. Shadow figures said to follow hikers along the ridges come from a 2007 documentary. The trail closes 30 minutes after dusk, and police write trespass tickets with fines of up to $1,000.
Haunted Rooms tip: Walk it in the late afternoon and be back at the trailhead before dusk; after-dark trespassers are ticketed.
Where to look The main staircase, the second floor and the basement
Reported ghosts A man in a long coat and top hat, and a bride on the staircase
Visiting Guided tours of the mansion; the park grounds are open
Tours Guided tours of about an hour, starting with a short film in the Carriage House
Hours and season April 1 to December 29: Thursday to Saturday 10 AM to 3 PM, Sunday 1 to 3 PM (closed some holidays); private tours February and March
Tickets Adults $15, ages 6 to 12 $5
Ghost hunting Occasional public night investigations, usually in October
This Italianate mansion stands beside the old Santa Fe Trail, and wagon ruts are still visible on the grounds. The painter George Caleb Bingham lived here from 1864 to 1870 and painted his famous Order No. 11 in a studio on the property. The Waggoner family, who ran the flour mill across the street, moved in after him and stayed until 1976, enlarging the house to 26 rooms in the 1890s.
About 95 percent of the contents belong to the last family who lived here. Reported activity includes phantom footsteps, a man in a long coat and top hat said to be Bingham, and a bride on the main staircase who, the story goes, tripped on her gown and fell. No record of such a fall has been found. The estate’s society president told Flatland he has waited 19 years to see a ghost.
What investigators report
Investigators report EMF fluctuations during question sessions in the main-floor Ledger Room, and possible voices recorded in the basement and third-floor servant room during a trigger-object experiment run between the two floors.
Where to look Room 505, the fourth floor and the hallways
Reported ghosts Betsy Ward, said to turn on the faucets in Room 505; a little girl in Victorian clothes in the halls
Visiting A working hotel; the Savoy Grill and bar are open to the public
Ghost hunting No public ghost hunts; guests can request Room 505
Built in 1888 and opened in 1889 as the Hotel Thorne, the Savoy took its name in 1894. Its Savoy Grill, founded in 1903, has hosted several presidents in Booth No. 4. After a $50 million renovation it reopened as 21c Museum Hotel in 2018, and since a 2025 sale it trades as Hotel Savoy, Tapestry Collection by Hilton.
The best-known story is Room 505, where a woman remembered as Betsy Ward is said to have died in the 1800s. She is blamed for faucets that turn themselves on, doors that open and close and music heard when nothing is switched on. Others tell of a little girl in Victorian dress in the halls and a spirit on the fourth floor.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for Room 505 or a fourth-floor room, and book a table at the Savoy Grill. Rooms were reconfigured in the 2016 to 2018 renovation, so old room numbers may not match exactly.
Where to look The projection room, the mezzanine, seat H-11 and the tunnels under the stage
Reported ghosts Jeffrey in a tux and top hat, William in the projection room, Anna in a green dress
Visiting A working theater; open for shows and tours
Tours October ghost tours of the auditorium and stage, built with the St. Louis Paranormal Research Society
Ghost hunting No public ghost hunts
William Fox opened this movie palace on January 31, 1929, at a cost of $6 million, decorated in what he called the Eve Leo style after his wife Eve, who furnished it with pieces from her travels. It closed in 1978, was restored and reopened in September 1982, and is now St. Louis’s big Broadway house.
Fox club manager Arlene Cerbie has told local TV of several spirits: Jeffrey, a friendly man in a tux and top hat; William, said to have run the spotlights in the 1940s; and Anna, said to have cared for the church that stood on the site, seen in a green dress on the mezzanine. The St. Louis Paranormal Research Society says it photographed a woman watching the show from seat H-11, and its findings shaped the Fox’s October ghost tours.
What investigators report
Staff report using dowsing rods to ask spirits yes or no questions, with the projection room, the mezzanine and the tunnels under the stage named as active spots.
Where to look The third floor, the main staircase and the ballroom entry
Reported ghosts A man on the third floor, a governess or servant, a small boy
Visiting A house museum run by St. Joseph Museums
Hours and season April to October, Friday and Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM; groups by appointment
Tickets Adults $12, seniors $10, students $8
Ghost hunting After-hours paranormal rentals from $100 an hour; occasional overnight events
William and Eliza Wyeth built this 43-room Gothic mansion on a hill in 1879, with a turret on the north side, from the fortune of the Wyeth Hardware and Manufacturing Company. Kate Tootle, widow of the merchant Milton Tootle Sr., bought it in 1887, and her son Milton Jr. and his wife Lillian lived here until his death in 1946. It became part of the St. Joseph Museum in 1947.
Investigators have reported a dark shape leaning over the banister, a cold spot by the entrance, a sense of a cheerful governess in the dining room and of a small boy in the playroom. The museum has run overnight stays with a paranormal investigation and rents the mansion to teams after dark.
What investigators report
A Kansas City team says playing turn-of-the-century music box tunes and historical speeches seemed to increase activity, with a cold spot in the ballroom and shadow movement reported in the second-floor children’s play room.
Where to look The National Cemetery at dusk and the old post buildings
Reported ghosts A little girl among the headstones; two soldiers who meet at sundown; an officer writing by candlelight
Visiting County park, museums and an active national cemetery; visit respectfully in daylight
Ghost hunting Not permitted in the cemetery
Jefferson Barracks has been a military post on the Mississippi since July 1826. It trained troops for the Black Hawk and Mexican wars, ran a Civil War hospital that treated more than 18,000 soldiers, and was where the first parachute jump from an airplane was made in 1912. Part of it is now a county park with museums, including the Missouri Civil War Museum, and its National Cemetery holds about 237,000 burials.
Visitors describe flickering lights, footsteps, voices and a little girl walking among the headstones, and some say they have been poked or pushed in the old buildings. Older tales tell of two soldiers, one Confederate and one Union, who appear at sundown, nod to each other and vanish, of guards still walking their rounds, and of an officer in 19th century dress seen writing by candlelight in the old headquarters. None of these has a name or a record behind it.
Haunted Rooms tip: Visit the Missouri Civil War Museum, then walk the cemetery rows toward the river before sunset.
Address 21216 Jesse James Farm Rd, Kearney, MO 64060
Where to look The farmhouse and the yard where Jesse was first buried
Reported ghosts Hoofbeats, gunshots and whispering voices around the farm
Visiting A museum run by Clay County; check the website for hours
Ghost hunting Not offered
Frank and Jesse James grew up on this Clay County farm. In May 1863 Union militia raided it looking for guerrillas and briefly hanged their stepfather, Reuben Samuel. On January 25, 1875, Pinkerton detectives threw an incendiary device into the house: it killed Jesse’s half-brother Archie and cost his mother Zerelda an arm. Jesse was first buried here after his death in 1882, so Zerelda could guard the grave, and later moved to a cemetery in Kearney.
Clay County bought the farm in 1974 and runs it as a museum. Visitors have long told of hearing horses’ hooves, muffled gunshots and whispering voices around the house and woods, and staff have described a strong sense of someone in the house, with lights said to show inside after it is locked. No ghost tours are offered; this is a history visit with a dark story behind it.
Haunted Rooms tip: Pair the farm with the Jesse James Home in St. Joseph, where he was shot in 1882.
Where to look The second-floor children's room, the closets and the basement
Reported ghosts Morgan Dillingham, a woman at the windows and a hooded figure in the basement
Visiting Museum of the Blue Springs Historical Society
Tours Tours by appointment (816-224-8979)
Ghost hunting Ticketed ghost hunts by visiting teams, usually in autumn
Morgan Vachel Dillingham, a wounded Confederate veteran who became a Blue Springs storekeeper and banker, built this house in 1906. It is the only building in town made of native limestone. World traveler Narra Lewis owned it later, and the Blue Springs Historical Society bought it in the late 1970s and uses it as its museum and headquarters.
Society members describe shadows, footsteps, closet doors that open by themselves and a top hat on display that turns up in other rooms. A board member once felt a tap on her shoulder with nobody behind her. Others report a man said to be Morgan Dillingham, a woman at the windows and a hooded figure in the basement. Local teams hold ticketed ghost hunts here.
Haunted Rooms tip: Tours are by appointment, so call the historical society first, and look out for its autumn ghost hunts.
Where to look The original owner's bedroom, the upstairs hallways and the guest rooms at night
Reported ghosts Edward S. Rowse, the banker who built the house and died in the master bedroom
Visiting A bed and breakfast for overnight guests only
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; stay the night instead
Banker and developer Edward S. Rowse built this 10,000 square foot Romanesque Revival mansion on private Benton Place in Lafayette Square in 1893. Lawyer Frederick W. Lehmann and his wife Nora bought it in 1898 and lived here for 31 years. After years of neglect it was rescued in 1992 and opened as a bed and breakfast in July 1993, run by owner Marie Davies.
Ghost stories here are quieter than at the Lemp. Owner Marie Davies says she has seen Rowse, recognizable by his mutton chop whiskers, at her dresser and at the foot of her bed, and she and a plumber once heard a man’s hard-soled footsteps in an empty hallway. Guests describe voices, shadowy figures and a chair that moved in the night.
What investigators report
The owner reports Nora’s Room, the Presidents’ Room and the Judge Sears Room see the most activity, mostly sounds such as hard-soled footsteps in the second-floor hallway.
Reported ghosts A little girl, said to be Governor Crittenden's daughter Carrie
Visiting The governor’s home; free guided tours by reservation
Tours Free docent-led tours in season, booked through Missouri State Parks
Ghost hunting Not permitted
Missouri’s governors have lived in this Jefferson City mansion since it was built in 1871, at a cost of $75,000, partly with labor from inmates of the state penitentiary. Free tours led by volunteer docents are offered in season and are booked through Missouri State Parks.
The ghost story most often told dates to 1983, during Governor Kit Bond’s term: a maintenance worker said he saw a child playing upstairs when no children lived in the house, and would not work there again. Docents link the sightings to Carrie Crittenden, the young daughter of Governor Thomas Crittenden, who died of diphtheria in 1883, the first person to die in the mansion. Some visitors add a rocking horse that rocks on its own. It is staff lore, not a documented event.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book a free docent tour through Missouri State Parks, then walk across to the State Capitol.
Where to look The Rosen Room, the second-floor parlor and the main house hallways
Reported ghosts An elderly woman who tells guests the Rosen Room is hers
Visiting A bed and breakfast for overnight guests
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; stay the night instead
Springfield grocer Charles McCann built this Queen Anne Victorian house in the mid-1890s, with 20 cast iron Corinthian columns on the porches. Newspaper owner Harry S. Jewell bought it in 1917, Dr. Max and Barbara Rosen raised five children here from 1953, and in May 1988 it opened as Springfield’s first bed and breakfast. The Faucett family has owned it since 2021.
Its ghost story belongs to the Rosen Room, on the second floor of the main house. A guest said he was lying on the bed when he saw an elderly woman sitting at the little table by the wall. He told her it was his room; she answered that it was hers, then vanished. Staff have long said she seems to watch over sleeping guests.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book the Rosen Room directly with the inn, and spend the evening in the shared second-floor parlor with its gas fireplace, right outside the door.
Where to look The guest rooms between 2 and 3 am, the dining room and the front windows
Reported ghosts An unseen man known by his cologne; figures at the windows
Visiting A bed and breakfast for overnight guests
Ghost hunting No ghost hunts; stay the night instead
The Garden House is a small Victorian bed and breakfast on North 5th Street in historic Hannibal, a five-minute walk from the Mark Twain Boyhood Home. Albert Wells Pettibone Jr., son of one of the town’s lumber barons, built it in 1896. Later it belonged to stove maker Charles H. Trowbridge and his son, and to furniture dealer Will Griswold, before it became an inn with a handful of guest rooms, some with river views.
Guests say they wake between 2 and 3 am for no reason. One man found the fan in his room switched off while he and his wife slept, a staff member found silverware scattered across the dining table after it had been put away, and guests describe footsteps and a man’s cologne where no man is. Some say they have photographed faces at the windows.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for a room with a river view, confirm whether breakfast is included when you book, then walk to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Rockcliffe Mansion, both within half a mile.
These places appear in older lists of haunted spots. We keep them here so you know the facts before you go, but you cannot (or should not) visit them.
The Exorcist House, Bel-Nor (St. Louis County)
The 1949 exorcism that inspired William Peter Blatty’s novel is linked to a relative’s home in Bel-Nor and to the Alexian Brothers hospital on South Broadway, where the rites are said to have ended. The hospital wing has been demolished, and the Bel-Nor house is a private home. Read the story, but please do not go to the door.
The hermit's hill, Knob Noster
Local legend tells of a hermit on a hill above Knob Noster who was blamed for the disappearance of the man who ran his errands, and who was found dead after a lightning storm, his face frozen in fear. A lantern is said to bob up the hill on stormy nights. There is no named site to visit, and we found no record behind the tale.
Smallett's Cave and the headless cobbler, near Ava
A 1920s story from Douglas County tells of a headless man with shoes strung around his neck who walked the road by Spring Creek and was said to live in Smallett’s Cave, tapping away at shoes. We could not find a public, safe way to visit the cave, so we list the legend only.
Haunted Missouri by city
Haunted places in Kansas City: the Wornall and Majors houses, the Vaile Mansion, Belvoir Winery and the downtown theaters
Changed from our older guide: the Missouri State Penitentiary opened in 1836 and its gas chamber saw 39 executions, not 40; the Exorcist House is a private home and is now listed under off-limits, with the Knob Noster and Smallett’s Cave legends, which have no site you can visit. We could not confirm current visiting arrangements for Ravenswood near Bunceton or Thespian Hall in Boonville this time, so they are not listed while we check. New in this update: the Glore Psychiatric Museum, the Vaile Mansion, Belvoir Winery, the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion, the Bingham-Waggoner Estate, the 1859 Jail, Pythian Castle, the Fox Theatre and the haunted hotels that have their own guides.
Visited one of these places? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from visitors and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your visit. We read every story before it’s published.
The Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City and the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis are the two names that come up most. The penitentiary held prisoners for 168 years and runs ghost tours; the Lemp, where three members of the brewing family took their own lives, runs ghost tours and takes overnight guests.
Can you go ghost hunting in Missouri?
Yes. The Glore Psychiatric Museum rents its building to ghost hunters after dark, the Vaile Mansion and the 1859 Jail host investigations, and Belvoir Winery runs night investigations. Haunted Rooms has run ghost hunts at the Missouri State Penitentiary and the Beattie Mansion in St. Joseph; see each ghost hunt page for dates.
Can you stay overnight in a haunted place in Missouri?
Yes. The Lemp Mansion, the Inn at Belvoir Winery, the Elms Hotel, the Lehmann House, the Walnut Street Inn and the Garden House in Hannibal all take guests. See our guide to haunted hotels in Missouri.
Is Zombie Road real?
The road is: Lawler Ford Road in Wildwood, now the paved Rock Hollow Trail. Most of its legends are not. Historian Troy Taylor found no asylum or orphanage behind the stories, though a judge’s widow really was killed by a train there in 1876. The trail closes 30 minutes after dusk and trespassers are fined.
Can you visit the Exorcist house in St. Louis?
No. The 1949 case that inspired The Exorcist is linked to a private home in Bel-Nor and to the old Alexian Brothers hospital, whose wing was demolished. The house is a private residence; please do not trespass.
Is the Missouri State Penitentiary open for tours?
Yes. The Jefferson City visitors bureau runs two-hour history tours and two-hour ghost tours from March to November. Ghost tours are for ages 14 and over.
Sources and how we research
Every place in this guide is checked against its official website, historic register listings and news coverage, and we confirm whether it is open, closed, private or gone before we list it. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and local historians tell them; we say so where records contradict a story. Each place shows how many independent sources we checked it against; our own Haunted Rooms pages are not counted.
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every place in our guides using official sites, historic registers, local archives and news coverage, and we report ghost stories as the stories they are. We review each guide regularly so you are not sent to a place that has closed, changed hands or banned visitors. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
