Just in time for Halloween, here’s a real-life St. Louis ghost story.

Sanctuaria Wild Tapas, the Grove restaurant famous for its lengthy and impressive cocktail list, says Allstate Insurance is refusing to pay up after one of its drivers crashed into the restaurant—and a “phantom vehicle” is to blame.

The crash, which caused more than $25,000 of damage to Sanctuaria’s brick exterior, happened in April. The driver told police she was traveling east on Manchester Avenue when another vehicle turned into her lane, causing her to veer right and smash into the restaurant’s southeast corner. The driver of the second vehicle was never identified.

Sanctuaria expected the driver’s insurance company, Allstate, to pay for necessary repairs. Instead, Sanctuaria says Allstate is blaming the “phantom vehicle”—the second, unidentified driver—for the crash and denying Sanctuaria’s claim.

According to the restaurant, Allstate initially denied the claim in a letter saying that “a phantom vehicle is solely responsible for this accident…As a result we will not be able to make any payment for the following reasons: the liability rests with the left turning phantom vehicle that took our insured’s right-of-way.”

The restaurant has appealed the denial twice and was rejected both times.

“We don’t care if Casper the ghost was driving the other vehicle,” says Sanctuaria co-owner Gurpreet Padda. “[Allstate’s] client was the primary person who hit us.”

SLM has reached out to Allstate for comment and will update this story when we hear back.

Padda says the crash is responsible for a 20 percent dip in business.

Sanctuaria is trying to make the best of its bad situation by throwing two phantom-themed parties over Halloween weekend. On Oct. 31, the restaurant will host the Party of the Dead with “phantom drink specials.” And on Nov. 1, Sanctuaria’s Day of the Dead celebrations will include a creative writing contest with a $342 prize for the best phantom-themed short story.

And because Allstate is blaming the crash on a “phantom,” Sanctuaria decided to hold a seance to summon the mysterious driver. Even the insurance agents are invited to the ghostly summoning.

Contact Lindsay Toler by an email at LToler@stlmag.com or on Twitter@StLouisLindsay. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.