• http://www.therealwaverlyhills.com/
• http://www.mountainsanatorium..net/
• http://www.abandonedmemories.com/
• http://www.historicasylums.com/
• http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com  (this site leads you to several closed down theaters and amusement parks)
• http://forgottenmichigan.com/
• http://www.lioddities.com/
• http://www.darkpassage.com/  (awesome site for hospitals)
• http://www.wraiths.org/  (These guys break into old buildings)
• http://northstargallery.com/ESP/easternstategallery01.htm  (Old Prison)
• http://www.urbanlens.com/  (super cool site of New York Asylums and More)
• http://www.ghosttowns.com/
• http://www.danversstateinsaneasylum.com
• http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten.com/
• http://oboylephoto.com  AWESOME SITE
• http://www.forgottenphotography.com/

The Story of the Lemp Mansion

The city of St. Louis, the capital of Missouri, is home to what may consider to be one of the most haunted places in the country: the Lemp Mansion.  In fact, the Lemp Mansion was ranked by Life Magazine in the 1980s as one of the top nine most haunted places in America.  Built in 1868, William J. Lemp and his wife, Julia, moved into the mansion in 1876. 

William J. Lemp Sr.’s father, Adam Lemp, began the successful Western Brewery company which eventually grew to encompass 40 breweries throughout the St. Louis area.  In 1862, William became owner and operator of Western Brewery after the death of his father.  While the company experienced rapid growth and immense success, the tragic decline of the Lemp family began.

William Sr. and Julia had six children; the oldest, Frederick, was the favorite of William’s and the apparent heir of Western Brewery.  In 1901, when Frederick passed away due to significant health problems, William became despondent and overcome with grief.  Eventually, he committed suicide in 1904 by shooting himself in the head.  In the following years, three more of the Lemp children (including the youngest daughter) committed suicide: each one, just like their father, shot themselves. 

Today, the Lemp Mansion has been renovated into an inn and restaurant and is said to be haunted by the ghosts of several members of the Lemp family.  Alleged paranormal occurrences in the house include the opening and slamming of doors, unexplainable knocking and footsteps, candles lighting on their own, and glasses flying off a bar and crashing to the floor.  Visitors have reported an overwhelming sense of sadness in certain parts of the house and a feeling of being watched.  Some have even claimed to have seen apparitions of members of the Lemp family, most notably Charles Lemp, the third son of William Sr. and the last Lemp to live in the mansion before he shot himself.  One report states that while the house was being renovated, a painter became uneasy and felt like he was being watched.  He immediately ran out of the house, leaving all his supplies and never returned. 

Ghost Towns in Texas

In the mood for a real fright? Spend the month of October spooking yourself from visits to some of the scariest ghost towns in the state of Texas. You are sure to be frightened  by the dilapidated, eerie ruins that are left in these towns.

Indianola, Texas:
Business was booming and Indianola, Texas was one of the most prosperous cities on the Texas coast. Now, most of the city is located underneath the bay. Residents of the city thought that they were protected from hurricanes, but in 1875 a giant hurricane took place and wiped out the town. There are faint remnants of the town, such as pieces of the town courthouse that remain and can be seen by visitors. A visit to Indianola is eerie as there is a clear understanding that a bustling town with a booming economy used to exist there.

Helena, Texas:
Helena was a busy city until the town made the decision not to pay a bonus to the railroad. City officials made this decision to avoid having the railroad go around the town. During this time, any town without access t to a railroad had a difficult time keeping business afloat. In response to not paying the bonus to the railroad, the president of the railroad company re-routed the train to be even further away from the town. Residents began moving away and in a flash, it became a ghost town. Plenty of ruins from the town still exist and are certainly worth a visit.

Thurbur, Texas:
This coal-mining ghost town was once a booming town but today has a population of 25 people. With over 10,000 people in 1886, this town specialized in mining coal and was known as one of the largest coal-mining towns in all of Texas. In 1903, the mining employees unionized and the mines closed down. Thurber then became a ghost town. A cemetery still exists which has over a thousand graves to see. Other buildings also remain standing, such as homes, a church and old businesses.

Haunted Ohio

There are countless areas and places throughout the country where strange occurrences and supernatural phenomenon seem to take place.  And while it would be difficult to label one single state as the most haunted in America (bizarre happenings surely occur in every state), paranormal experts seem to agree that there’s no doubt that the majority of hauntings and paranormal activity centers around once specific place in the U.S. – Ohio.  The Midwestern state along with its neighboring states comprise a major paranormal hotspot in the country; chances are, you’re never more than a stone’s throw away from an area where something rather strange has happened.

From the original Native Americans who hunted in the dense forests to the early settlers cultivating the land, the great Buckeye state has been inhabited for hundreds of years.  Its hills and valleys are chock full of mysterious and places, especially in the southeastern portion of the state along the Appalachian ridge.  One of those places is known as Hocking Hill, an area known by locals to be particularly haunted.  During the 19th century, Hocking Hill was bustling with small towns that were settled because of the rapid growth of the iron and railroad industries.  Once the industries faded, so did the towns.  Little remains other than a handful of scattered settlements, abandoned tracks, and dilapidated ruins, creating the perfect backdrop for haunted happenings.

If you’re looking for a more immediate adrenaline rush, try one of Ohio’s many well-known haunted houses, like the 7 Floors of Hell located in Berea, the state’s largest haunted house.  Or Dead Acres of Pataskala; with more than 50,000 square feet spread out through 50 acres, it has the frightening and unique reputation of being one of the scariest haunted houses in the country.

Another infamous haunted place in Ohio is the United States Air Force Museum located in Dayton.  Night guards have reported seeing apparitions and hearing mysterious voices and sounds throughout the museum.  For example, strange, unexplained lights have appeared in a B-24 plane and the ghost of a young Japanese boy has been seen standing next to the bomber that dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.  While you may not be able to visit during the night (when most of the occurrences are said to have happened), this notoriously haunted museum is definitely worth a trip during the day – admission is free!

The Hauntings of Pennsylvania