A Haunted Winery and Restaurant in St Charles Missouri

Little Hills Winery & The Mother-In-Law House – 

St. Charles, Missouri

It’s October and all during this month we’ll explore haunted drinking establishments - restaurants, taverns, wineries, any place that serves spirits, and has “spirits.” 

So let’s hit the road and discover who or what it is that makes these places so dark and brooding…

St Charles is a quaint town located on the banks of the Missouri River. Settlers began arriving here in the 1700s and called the region “Les Petites Cote” – The Little Hills.

Borromeo Church

The region grew and prospered to the point where having a cemetery in the middle of town became a problem. The local officials decided to move the bodies to the outer edge of town in order to utilize the nine-square-blocks that the cemetery was taking up.

But some bodies were never moved. Headstones were taken away and the remains forgotten as progress built up over them. It is little wonder that the historic downtown district of St Charles has so many ghost stories tied to it. Apparently a number of restless sprits still remain, seeking a proper burial…

Little Hills Winery

One place with a sordid past is Little Hills Winery http://www.littlehillswinery.com located in the heart of the historical district.

It is said that two ghosts frequent this location, a man and a woman, both speaking French. Research shows that a couple fitting that description lived in a residence here  around the turn of the century.

Bar Area

It has been reported that someone enjoys moving dishes and silverware around the restaurant when no one is looking.  And the entity also finds is amusing to play havoc in the bar area.

Dining Room

Restaurant servers at Little Hills have said that the dungeon-type storage area gets turnedupside down at night and the next morning things looks as if a fight had just taken place there. Servers can put everything back and the next day find the room in the same state of disarray.

Employees have reported hearing a couple arguing in French in the back storage area. Michael Henry of St Charles Ghost Tours http://www.stcharlesghosts.com had a French student transcribe the voices caught on tape.

The words spoken were “Don’t hit me.” “Don’t hurt me.”

Courtyard During the Day

Outside Courtyard

The man who lived here at the turn of the century was known to severely beat his wife from time to time. One morning in 1906, neighbors noticed that the front window of the residence was broken out. When they went to investigate, both the man and woman were gone. It was speculated that he had beaten her to death near the stable and buried her body in the yard; what is now the outside patio area, and then disappeared into a new

life.

Although no apparition has been seen, cold spots seem to manifest in certain areas…

Another haunted restaurant on Main Street is the Mother-In-Law House http://www.motherinlawhouse.com. Built in 1866, the two sides of this home are mirror opposites. Francis Kremer built the house in this arrangement so that his mother-in-law could live on one side while he and his family lived on the other. It provided Kremer’s mother-in-law with a separate place to live, yet the opportunity to be next to her daughter.

Mother-In-Law House

Today the structure is a restaurant with the name paying tribute to its history. Employees report there are always problems on the north side of the building. Dishes, glasses and silverware routinely disappear from here, food changes temperature without reason and coffee cups have been known to turn over into customers laps. Items also tend to move around more on the north side of the house.

Dining Room

A psychic informed the current owners that the mother-in-law was lonely and just wanted to be acknowledged. Once her side of the house was redecorated, she seemed to quiet done – at least for now…

Downtown St Charles

St Charles is definitely worth the trip, just for the ambience alone. But if you go, make sure sign up for the St Charles Ghost Tour and get the low down on all things spooky in this charming river town.

~ Joy