Kansas City’s Sauer Castle is the quintessential haunted house. It's large, old, completely off limits and totally out of place in a neighborhood otherwise populated by unassuming ranch homes. But no matter how paltry the evidence of a genuine supernatural presence might be, there's simply no shaking the collective notion that the place is haunted.
Built in 1871 by Anton Sauer, the house was residence for five generations of Sauers and witness to several natural deaths (including Anton's), one suicide (Anton's son-in-law shot himself over his declining health), an early infant death, and one accidental drowning of a young girl in the home's pool. After Anton Sauer's daughter Eva passed away in 1955 the house passed through several different owners before coming back into the family by way of Anton Sauer's great-great-grandson Carl Lopp in 1988, with hopes of fixing it up. Those hopes however have been slow in coming to fruition, as only minor repairs have ever been made to the old house.
Legends surrounding Sauer Castle include:
-Previous family was murdered by father, who then committed suicide
-One owner left to go fight in the civil war, leaving his wife behind. He told her to wait for him, but when he failed to arrive on the expected ferry she assumed the worst and hung herself from the widow's watch. Unbeknown to her though, he'd simply missed the ferry and so when he finally got home and found his wife dead he too hung himself.
-There is buried treasure somewhere on the property
-There are unmarked graves on the property
-There are secret tunnels under the property
However, there are no records anywhere supporting any of the above legends, making them, as far as anyone can tell, just that. Legends.
As far as the paranormal is concerned, there have been reports of inexplicable lights both in the tower and around the property, disembodied voices crying, shouting, laughing, singing and talking, and several full-bodied apparitions including that of a few different women, a man, and a small boy.
On a personal level, I have driven by Sauer Castle many times and have, on several occasions, even parked for a spell in hopes of seeing something spooky, but so far have come up with nothing. I would do more but there really is no getting closer to the house. It's heavily fenced off and the caretaker takes his job very, very seriously. Do I think it's actually haunted though? It's hard to say. It certainly is creepy, but is that because it's actually haunted or simply because it's old and abandoned? Neither I nor anyone I know has experienced anything at the house, but then again how much can one experience from a few minutes parked outside? Perhaps if I actually lived by the house I would have something more interesting to report but the most I can come up with now is vague information gleaned from the Internet.
With all that being said, if someone has a personal ghost story relating to Sauer Castle, I'd really appreciate it if they'd share it with me, as first hand accounts for the Castle are actually really difficult to come by.
And if anyone is interested in driving by and checking it out you can find Sauer Castle at:
935 Shawnee Rd
Kansas City, KS 66103
It is also on the National Register of Historic Places.
True Hauntings of America
UPDATE JULY 2023
Sauer Castle has new owners! After years of neglect at the hands of Carl Lopp, the property came up for sale this past March as a means to cover Lopp's mounting tax debt. Hopefully the new owners can give this magnificent home some much needed TLC.
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I wish them luck in getting eminent domain. Time is running out to save this structure.
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