If you grew up in or around St. Louis, you’ve heard plenty of ghost stories about the Lemp Brewery and its adjacent mansion. Once the largest family-owned brewery in America if not the world, a series of family tragedies and suicides have rendered both sites and the cavernous subterranean tunnels that connect them a hotbed of alleged paranormal activity.
What a perfect place for a haunt.
The Lemp Brewery is a one-of-a-kind attraction that will keep attendees on their toes from start to finish. Their use of high- and low-tech props and their brilliant use of deceit makes this one of, if not THE, best haunt in Missouri.
The dark, dank caves you will be navigating will send shivers down your spine knowing that this is one of the most haunted locations in the US, but even if there wasn’t a paranormal aspect you would be in for a wild ride of scares and history.
The cast, for lack of a better term, is talented. With jump scares, original dialogue and freaky characters who seem to emerge out of nowhere, they are some of the best in the biz. You’ll encounter everything from Satanic nuns to evil little girls who are chained up and just out of reach to grab you. Not once did I feel like I was in a room or scene where I was with an actor. It felt like everyone was ‘real’ and all they wanted to do was scare you. Their professionalism was fantastic’ albeit scary.
Variety of Characters – (35% of score)
Complete, Finished Appearance – (30% of score)
Creative, Detailed Costumes – (20% of score)
Creative, Detailed, Realistic Makeup – (15% of score)
All of the costuming was original and of the highest quality. The high-end silicone masks are filled with character and emotion and look particularly realistic. Makeup was clearly done by professionals and very convincing.
Most times when I am going through a haunt the scare comes from an actor being able to catch me off guard, but not here; the costumes actors wore made me jump out of my skin.
If Masks, Effective – (25% of score)
Costumes Appropriate for Scenes, Themes – (30% of score)
Easy to Find, Navigate – (25% of score)
Safety – (20% of score)
Almost immediately upon entry, actors randomly show up to spook customers waiting in line, and don’t you dare try using the toilet or an evil nun will do her best to make the experience an uncomfortable one. The non-acting employees are all very nice and polite, and there is a police presence to make sure you feel safe during your visit.
The only complaint that I have is the timing they give groups between one another. I know due to its popularity that they need to get a very large number of people moving through the attraction as quickly as possible. However, we found ourselves being rushed or even backed up 3 groups deep while trying to get out of a room or get into a room. While it didn’t happen the whole time, it was enough to ruin the suspense on occasion.
Staff Professional, Helpful, Friendly – (25% of score)
Ease of Finding Info Before Arrival – (20% of score)
Obviously a Haunt Before Entering – (40% of score)
Prepared for Experience Inside – (15% of score)
Located 100 feet below ground level in a ‘real’ haunted site, you couldn’t ask for a more atmospheric location. With the old Lemp Brewery tower looming over you while you wait in a line that weaves between the historic buildings all with their own history and legends, you can’t help but feel like you never know what is around each corner. With the actual haunt being so far below the surface you have no way to judge if attendees are being scared due to the fact that it’s quiet. The only thing you hear while on the surface are the actors hired to keep the crowd scared and fired up, which in and of itself makes it even spookier since you don’t actually have any reference of what you’re going to be experiencing. This haunt offers a one-of-a-kind atmosphere that will be hard to beat with such a historic location.
Sound Effects Effective – (20% of score)
Creative, Original Scenes, Props – (30% of score)
Detailed Scenes – (30% of score)
Achieve, Maintain Suspension of Disbelief – (20% of score)
This haunt is, for the most part, character-driven. However, they do a great job with what animatronics they do use. They are all very high-tech and no expense is spared for quality. At one point you are confronted by a 15-foot animatronic demon who was ‘summoned’ by the occult scenes you walked through just moments before. You would think that being so far underground and in old dank cellars would make it difficult to have such machines running effectively, but they do it and they do it well.
SFX Effective at Scaring, Entertaining – (35% of score)
Could Tell What Theme Was Without Asking – (15% of score)
Theme Well Executed, Believable – (25% of score)
Location Authenticates Theme – (10% of score)
How Scary – (15% of score)
One of my biggest fears is the occult. The thought of a group of hooded figures sacrificing for or summoning a demon sends shivers down my spine, and of course, The Lemp Brewery was all focused on the occult. This is carried on through the entire haunt from start to finish. You feel like you are being chosen as a sacrifice to whatever being they are trying to conjure. From scene to scene and room to room, occult figures and symbols linger and it’s executed fantastically.
Provide Scares to Entire Group – (50% of score)
How Predictable – (25% of score)
Variety of Scares – (25% of score)
Let me say this again, I am scared of the occult, and the Lemp Brewery scared the heck out of me nearly the whole time. From the subject matter to the actors, this experience was something to be amazed by. The one thing that stands out the most is the fact that whoever was in charge of blocking each scene is a master of deception. Almost every scene features mannequins, sounds or scenery that will distract your attention in one corner, and the next thing you know there is a creep or monster jumping across a room from the opposite side, catching you off guard almost every time.
If you are a believer in ghosts than you are in for a treat as well, you will be attending a haunt at one of the most haunted locations in the world. I got the opportunity to ask a few actors and the manager if they had ever experienced anything creepy or supernatural, and to loosely quote the manager, ‘We have had to tell actors that they HAVE to go back to their scene even though they thought they saw or interacted with a ghost.’ So keep that in mind, if you love ghosts and the paranormal then you can not miss this place.
3500 Lemp Avenue, St Louis, Missouri 63118