The Campbell House Museum, a beautifully preserved 1851 mansion in downtown St. Louis, has long been celebrated as a glimpse into Victorian high society. Yet behind its ornate furnishings and rich history lies a steady stream of ghostly tales that have made the house a fixture on local haunted tours.
Staff and visitors alike have reported unexplained footsteps echoing through empty hallways. Whispers are said to drift across the third floor, and more than one employee has admitted to hearing someone moving about upstairs while they were working alone below—only to find the rooms deserted when they investigated.
The library seems to attract unusual attention. Shutters that had been carefully secured are sometimes discovered flung open by morning, and a fainting couch has reportedly shifted position overnight, as if someone had dragged it closer to the windows. Guests snapping photos have occasionally captured what looks like the faint outline of a child gazing out from those same windows.
Even stranger are the coins. In recent years, staff have discovered half-dollars tucked into odd corners of the house. Sometimes plain, sometimes painted or marked, these coins appear without pattern or explanation, sparking speculation that they may be a calling card from a restless spirit.
While sceptics may dismiss the Campbell House’s mysteries as tricks of memory or atmosphere, the consistency of these accounts—shared by curators, employees, and everyday visitors—has given the museum a reputation as one of St. Louis’s most intriguing haunted landmarks.
