Couple buys 'America's scariest house' in St. Louis, uncovers skeleton amid haunting history
Bissell Mansion, a two-century-old former plantation, becomes focus of HGTV’s Scariest House in America as renovations begin after skeleton discovery and reported hauntings
A young couple bought the Bissell Mansion in St. Louis last year for $205,000 without ever stepping inside, hoping to restore one of the city’s oldest brick houses. The property has become the focus of HGTV’s Scariest House in America, a show that seeks the country’s spookiest residence. In June, renovations underway for the program revealed what appeared to be a human skeleton beneath the porch, prompting a police response and a halt to affected work until investigators could inspect the site.
The Bissell Mansion, built between 1812 and 1820 by Captain Lewis Bissell, sits atop a hill in the College Hill neighborhood. It’s among St. Louis’s oldest brick houses and sits on land once part of a slave plantation. Local lore ties the home to a private cemetery in the yard and to subterranean cave networks beneath the structure, rumors that persist alongside assertions that the caves could connect to the Mississippi River and even the Underground Railroad. A historian interviewed by the Wheelers noted the site’s layered past, including the fact that the family sometimes used the property for more than just residence, such as a murder mystery dinner theater that once occupied the space and drew visitors with Hercule Poirot–style performances. The house’s long history includes periods of neglect, various owners, and a plan in the 1950s to demolish it for an expressway that was stopped by preservationists in 1957.
[Image: Bissell Mansion]()
Kyle Wheeler, 37, and Aleha Jane, 33, bought the mansion in 2024 and set about renovations with the goal of reviving the property’s grandeur and perhaps reopening the old theater. They have since described ongoing unsettling experiences: a motion-detection alarm in the basement that would go off every night in the first week after purchase, with a camera set up to capture activity that never produced video evidence, and footsteps that Wheeler said he heard on the second floor while he was on the ground floor. After the skeleton discovery in June, Wheeler told investigators to seal the area until a full examination could be carried out. The couple said the discovery underscored the need for careful restoration rather than quick fixes.
The Wheelers’ bid for TV glory comes with a practical aim: the show’s prize money would help fund reconstruction, but they acknowledge the $150,000 prize will pale against the work still required. They hope to restore the murder mystery dinner theater that once drew audiences and to open rooms on the second floor for overnight guests, a plan that hinges on the mansion’s structural integrity and historical preservation requirements. The property’s age — more than 200 years old — and its condition mean renovations will be extensive and costly, even with the TV prize money. The Wheels believe the house’s haunted reputation could be a draw for fans of the show and visitors seeking a taste of history, though they emphasize that safety and restoration are the priority.
Over the years, visitors and workers have reported eerie sightings, including a figure described as a man in black who appears in corners or at windows. Jane said she does not feel entirely comfortable when alone in the house, and others who have worked on the property have shared similar impressions. Historians point to Captain Bissell’s life and the estate’s ties to the enslaved community, including a network of underground spaces once linked to the area’s broader history of abolition and resistance. The site’s cave network, now long sealed, has fed local legend that it connected to the Mississippi River and possibly the Underground Railroad, a claim a local historian noted remains part of the story that surrounds the mansion. The house’s history also includes transitions from a fruit-growing plantation with enslaved people and indentured servants to a murder mystery theater, and later to a rooming house before falling into disrepair.
Today, the Bissell Mansion remains in fairly poor condition and in need of substantial renovation. The Wheelers, who are working to steward the property’s history while pursuing modern uses, are proceeding with care as they pursue their two-year renovation timeline and the dream of reviving the site’s past functions. The HGTV program has placed renewed focus on the property, amplifying interest in the mansion’s history and the broader question of what a century of change can do to a single family home. The investigation into the porch skeleton is ongoing, but the Wheelers say the project is a chance to honor the home’s complicated past while offering a new chapter for its future.