Sauer Castle

Sauer Castle is in the National Register of Historic Places, it's a Kansas City must-see if you've never taken the haunting trip to the top of the bluff where this mansion sits undisturbed for decades. In high school, from Miege to St. Teresa's Academy, crossing state lines, the rumors about Sauer were EPIC and very popular to tell around Halloween. Sauer castle is haunted, according to the ghostly experts and as the story goes...During the Civil War a man leaves his wife to go fight. She waits for him for years, longing for his return and reading his infrequent letters home. Towards wars end, she receives his final letter stating that he is coming home on a certain day on a certain ferry and requesting that she wait for him. When he never arrived, she believed he was dead and frenzied, she hung herself in the infamous bell tower. Her husband, alive, missed his ferry home and later arrived to find his wife dead. It is said that in the front yard he shot himself.Sauer Castle was built by the German immigrant Anton Sauer and has remained in the family for 5 generations - in which the castle has seen many more deaths of natural and unnatural causes. Legend has it that treasure is buried here (however sources say this rumor began from the original fact that the house was built over an antique storage of wine.) Other legends include there is a secret tunnel leading to the Kaw River (others distort this rumor to make it a slave tunnel), or that the ghost of Mary Sauer stands in the windows of the fourth floor looking out onto her property at night. There was a man who died of tuberculosis here, a baby died as well within these walls, and a child was drown.Perhaps what solidified its eerie persona is the foreboding sign in the front that reads: PRIVATE PROPERTY, TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED! BEWARE OF DOGS!Here's where I come into the story: I was young and stupid, it was a boring Friday night and my friends and I thought it would be something to talk about on Monday if we somehow got into Sauer Castle and checked out if it were haunted for ourselves. With my two other good friends, we set out on the property while two other friends waited in the car for our return.What we weren't aware of was that three guard dogs that could have well ripped me apart were stationed around the house. I was only cognizant of one, chained to a large radius of land towards the front of the house, but in truth there were two more. We steered clear of this one dog and kept to the side of the house until we came upon the old slave quarters behind the property. It was here we saw a small window opening to the basement of Sauer Castle...STUPID, STUPID me...I went in (after my two friends.) And what we saw was no different than the last scene of the Blair Witch Project, an empty stone basement with nothing in it but AN ACTUAL STONE WELL in the very center...creepy as all hell.That's when we saw the caretaker with a flashlight and rifle coming towards us. My two dear 'friends' climbed out of there first leaving me with no cell phone light, no knee to climb on. I had to scratch my way up with them pulling on my arms as I had been entirely alone in Sauer Castle. Finally, the three of us hauled ass to the car and sped off before we were caught as trespassers and prosecuted!!!Oh, what a night...something I will NEVER do again and a story I will NEVER forget. Is Sauer Castle haunted? From the fright of feeling trapped in the stone basement with nothing beside me but an old well...I would say yes.

Awesome landmark . Sadly it's in a major state of disrepair . I've been told it is owned by a family member. This person was to have began renovations years ago- and hasn't . I think the "family" time limit should be up- and it should go on the market. Someone could make this place AMAZING!

Sauer castle was not always owned by the Sauer family. I know this because my cousin and her husband received the castle as a wedding present from her in laws when I was a teen. Cindy and her husband were renovating it and giving tours. She refused to hang out at the castle unless she had her derringer, not like that would keep the ghosts from messing with her which they did alot. The castle is haunted and the Kansas City Star did a big article on it after they visited. One of the reporters from the Star said that they were pushed in the basement but nobody was there. I remember when she took some of they family up there around the holidays. Every time she returned the Christmas tree decorations were laid out neatly on the floor but only so far up the tree like a little kid had taken them off. Cindy would tell us about alot of the experiences she had while they owned the castle and they would give you chills. However, last I heard it is back under ownership of a Sauer family descendant and the chances of the current owner letting anybody in is VERY slim. Hence the dogs he has protecting the property. I came back to edit this review because I found a full history of the castle to read it you can go to: http://www.ghost-investigators.com/Stories/view_story.php?story_num=20

Sauer Castle has been a part of my life since I was a kid. My dad used to take me and my siblings up to the castle at night on family drives and tell us great ghostly stories. Once me and my school buddies could drive, we would make many journeys up to this area, drink and freak ourselves out.I've taken many friends on the drive through Argentine in KCK up the steep incline of a road to the castle to gaze.There are many stories about this place, so many that I have no idea which are true and which are not. I should do the research to find out, but there is something inside of me that wishes to keep *all* the stories I have heard alive and well. But the few that I can think of at this time include: There was an underground railroad tunnel to the Kaw River from this residence. The wife hanged herself on the second story balcony from the bell tower rope.....her ghost could be seen on the balcony in a flowing white gown. There is an outline of an old pond (fountain) on the grounds that two children had drown in. The stories talk about the husband's ghost walking the house and grounds protecting his property. I've been told that the stones and woodwork in the house was imported from Germany. He chose this site because it sat on top of bluff of the Kaw River and he could see the entire city. That's what I've been told through the years, again, I don't know what is and isn't true.When I was a teenager there was a caretaker that lived in the house. He supposedly had guns and dogs to help him take care of all of the curious people making the pilgrimage up to look at the castle from afar or up on the *private property* itself. Since then, the caretake has passed, the house had a huge auction and the house in now surrounded by a chain link fence. I don't know who owns it, but I hope something great happens with this legend of a castle.I'm sure I gave myself crows feet from all of the squinting I've done at this location hoping to see a ghostly figure. (and at times sure that I did see things) I'm sure I've given myself some anxiety disorder from the tricks my imagination has played on me because of this place. I wouldn't change a thing because I love every memory I have of this place. Not only Sauer Castle, but much of the neighborhood itself, stories run rampant in this *interesting* part of town.Now.....go! Go check it out for yourself and I hope you don't get lost in trying to find this mysterious, fantastic piece of local flavor!

Would be nice if this was passed down within the family of those that would take care of this place. Being part of Sauer, sadly most of my mom's side of the family is still racist. Wasn't able to take part of both my grandparents funerals due to my race. Mostly the men in the family but regardless of the facts. This castle isn't being taken care of and up for sale with an ridiculous price. We also have a Castle located in Germany, along with family crest. Kind of unique to be apart of a family history but not really accepted.

This is a fantastically unique old home that is unfortunately become a legend in the area. This has lead to many vandals, trespassers and home invaders which has lead to the demise of this magnificent home. How could a homeowner live there with a family being in constant fear of people coming into their home and property. All of these stories of ghosts, tunnels, buried treasures and unmarked graves are really just untrue myths. I love ghost stories more than anyone but this home just has such a great haunting look that it inspires people to make up and perpetuate the myths. Its kinda sad that the caretakers have had a constant full time job of chasing off trespassers and home invaders, repairing broken windows and doors from vandals and all the others that feel it is their right to trespass and enter someone else's home. It is my hope that this home and property will be renovated and when it has a nice and lived in look will it bring a halt to all the destructive trespassing.