The region’s paranormal industry has been hard hit lately. Mineral Springs Hotel in Alton has new owners and is now closed to ghost hunts. Tri-County Truck Stop, famously “the most haunted place in Missouri,” is being razed. Fenton’s Misty Manor has closed. 

That’s where Emmaus Village comes in. The former seminary, nursing home, and home for the “feeble-minded” is in Marthasville, Missouri, just an hour’s drive west of St. Louis. Built in 1859, it offers four cemeteries as well as a crematorium—and plenty of historic horror, including a catastrophic fire on site. Says Franki Cambeletta, “We can’t always guarantee that something's gonna happen, but within Emmaus’ walls, something always does happen.”

With the blessing of the site’s current owners, Cambeletta and Jeremy David King (the podcasters behind The Haunted Garage) have teamed up with another local pair, father-and-daughter duo Dan and Madie Klein of Haunted Soulz, to host events on site. Cambeletta says it’s now the largest paranormal destination in Missouri, 20 acres bigger than the decommissioned Missouri State Penitentiary.

Under their guidance, the site will make its public-facing debut on November 16. Beginning at 7 p.m., members of the public can learn about paranormal equipment as they tour the various parts of the property. After a relaxing break involving food trucks, things get real: “From that point on, you can check out all our paranormal equipment, and then go ghost hunt till 3 a.m. by yourselves.”

Cambeletta is serious about the work. “TV has really hurt the paranormal industry,” he says. “Having locations that we are exclusive to, that we actually have offices within, give us a chance to bring back paranormal to the actual investigators, not to TV personalities.” 

While professional paranormal investigators are expected to check out the property later this year, Cambeletta says the November 16 event will be the only one open to the public in 2024. Next year, however, they hope to ramp things up. That involves making the site ADA compliant. Every ticket purchased for next month’s festivities, Cambeletta says, is also a way to support the site’s future—and the investigations that its new promoters hope to host.