The Spirits of the Payne-Gentry House

Posted: 02.15.2025 | Updated: 02.15.2025

While some are drawn to Missouri to visit its signature Gateway Arch or to sample a bite of St. Louis barbecue, others are drawn in by its ghostlier aspects. Those interested in the spookier side of this midwestern metropolis will find themselves quite intrigued by the historic Payne-Gentry House. 

Today, this residence remains the only historic Missouri home with a preserved doctor’s office. It is filled with many of the former family’s household possessions—and, according to some, more than a few spirits. 

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house features a red brick exterior, black shuttered windows, and gable roofs intersecting one another at right angles. While you can spy the charming exterior from the outside any time of year, tours are available sparingly during certain seasons. 

Looking to leave home and hear some of this city’s spookiest tales in person? Book a ghost tour with St. Louis Ghosts to engross yourself in this town’s strange past and most haunting sites. 

Who Haunts the Payne-Gentry House? 

Although it might not appear so at first glance, the Payne-Gentry House is reported by many to be fairly haunted. According to some accounts, as many as 22 spirits haunt this historic property, along with the spirit of a spectral dog. 

The most famous spooks, however, are the ghosts of spirit children, known to skip and play amongst the graves in the small cemetery behind the house. Still, these are not the only souls rumored to dwell in this quaint 1800s-era home. 

A Family Home for 100 Years

Built in 1870, the Payne-Gentry house was initially intended to be a summer residence for Elbridge Payne and his wife Mary Elizabeth Payne. Built on land provided by Mary Payne’s family, it eventually became their permanent residence. 

The single-story home contains a center portion and two projecting wings. The central section of the residence holds two bedrooms and a dining room, while the South wing includes a parlor and the North wing contains the caretaker’s apartment and kitchen.

Various family members would reside within the house over the next century. William Payne, son of Elbridge, held the title of the town doctor, while Elbridge’s daughter, Mary Lee Payne Gentry acted as the schoolmistress for the small town’s single schoolhouse. Having studied at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts, Mary was also known to give art lessons within the home. 

In 1880, William Payne constructed an addition to the house, adding a doctor’s office. Here, he met with patients often, even performing surgery on them from time to time. Given the precarious nature of medical practices at the time, it’s likely the room witnessed more than one patient go into surgery, never to come back out. 

Members of the Payne and Gentry family and their descendants lived in this simple red brick home for close to a century until the city of Bridgeton bought the house in 1968. 

The historic home was restored between 1969 and 1972 to its original 1880 countenance under guidance from the architect William B. Lane. Volunteers completed much of the restoration work. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. 

Today, tours of the home are available during certain seasons. Private tours may be arranged by calling the number listed on the Payne-Gentry House website. 

Graveyard Ghost Children

Although the Payne-Gentry House is often listed as one of Missouri’s most haunted houses, it seems it isn’t the house itself that is most uncanny. Behind the beautiful and quaint red brick cottage lies something much more eerie.

Beyond this historic home, a small cemetery sits in which numerous children were laid to eternal rest. Yet this hasn’t appeared to stop the little ones from playing. Observers have claimed to spy ghostly children here, frolicking in the middle of the graveyard underneath the large tree. 

Whether these children have any relation to the Payne or Gentry family members remains unknown. Mary Lee Payne Gentry was buried with her infant daughter, Mary Elizabeth, who died on the same day she was born, March 26th, 1901. Mary Lee died a few weeks later, on April 6th, from complications stemming from the birth. Both were buried a mile away in Fee Fee Cemetery. 

Might Mary Lee and her child journey up the road on occasion to see their former home? Who can say? If they ever do decide to pay a visit to their previous residence, at least they’ll have plenty of ghostly companions to pass the time with. Perhaps the former schoolmistress can even teach some of these spectral children a lesson or two.

The Doctor Is In

Strange children who pass eternity by playing amongst their graves aren’t the only spirits said to frequent this old, brick structure. There are also the ghosts of Dr. Payne’s former patients who are believed to haunt the home as well. 

Although Dr. Payne was a trusted doctor, no medical practitioner is exempt from patients dying here and there, whether from natural causes or by mistake. As such, it is said that several of the doctor’s former patients continue to linger about the home. 

Might they have died from complications on the property and remain here in a confused state? Perhaps. Quite possibly, though, they may also have died elsewhere and are simply attempting to seek out the help of their trusted town doctor, unbeknownst to them that they’ve already passed on.

Some claim that you can spy the figure of a small girl walking past the windows at night. According to some tales, she is rumored to be the ghost of a child who died of a sickness, likely smallpox. 

And that’s not all — there are rumors that the Payne family’s former dog still lingers on the property in a phantom state. This ghostly canine is said to hang around the large tree behind the house. 

Those who tour the inside of the home, particularly in the middle bedroom, may feel as though a furry animal has brushed against their legs as if seeking attention. Some who’ve been inside have also reported cold spots in various locations throughout the property as well as capturing strange orbs in photographs.

Haunted St. Louis

The Payne-Gentry House is located at 4211 Fee Fee Road in Bridgeton, about 20 miles northwest of downtown St. Louis. As of now, it is open for tours from April through November, available in the afternoons on the first Sunday of each month. 

However, St. Louis holds much more than this single structure regarding haunted venues. To familiarize yourself with more haunted destinations in the Gateway City, visit our blog. 

To be entertained with more tales of the spectral and otherworldly in person, book a ghost tour with St. Louis Ghosts and dig into the darker side of this city with fellow-minded lovers of life’s spookier things. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok as well to keep up to date with all our creepy content across the states. 

Sources:

• https://www.stltoday.com/payne-gentry-house/article_85de127a-f98a-5b3a-a6f9-a6aefde29f22.html

• https://graphics.stltoday.com/apps/maps/haunted-history/

• https://aboutstlouis.com/local/museums/payne-gentry-house

• https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Payne-Gentry%20House.pdf

• https://www.bridgetonmo.com/facilities/facility/details/PayneGentry-House-20 

• https://bhhsselectstl.com/view-blog/real-haunted-houses-in-st-louis-mo

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35752785/mary_elizabeth_gentry

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35752771/mary-lee-gentry

• https://hauntsofmissouri.wordpress.com/2019/06/17/payne-gentry-house/

• https://www.tripadvisor.com/FAQ_Answers-g44168-d7158497-t8173269-What_is_it_that_has_placed_the_Payne_Gentry_house.html