KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) — When you look at the old, abandoned Epperson House on the UMKC campus, it’s easy to imagine how it might have looked in the last century.
Construction of the grand estate finished nearly 100 years ago and some believe those who occupied the house all those years ago may still be around.
Chris Wolff is a campus employee and a major history buff. He gives tours of the campus and one of his favorite stops is the Epperson House.
“People have a fascination with the macabre, the dark side of history,” said Wolff.
Uriah Epperson made his fortune as an insurance underwriter. The house on the hill was one of the largest Kansas City has ever seen. Construction began in 1919 and took four years to complete.
“It had 48 rooms, a swimming pool in the basement,” said Wolff. “Mr. and Mrs. Epperson each had their own suites.”
The Epperson’s never had children, but they did have Harriet.
“He and his wife met Harriet Barse, a local musician who played organ at their church,” Wolff said.
They thought of her as a daughter and even commissioned a large pipe organ for the mansion. Sadly, Harriet never played it. Wolff told us that before it arrived, she became ill and died on an operating table from surgical shock.
But, is Harriet playing it now? Some say you can sometimes hear it—faint notes of an organ echoing from the mansion.
The story of the mysterious music is just one of the legends surrounding Epperson House.
There’s also the story of a campus security guard in his patrol car, parked behind the house.
“He was finishing up his report when another car runs up the driveway and hits him,” said Wolff. When he got out to check, he didn’t see anything at first. But then “there were skid marks on the ground where his car had moved eight inches.”
There are also stories of ghostly hands appearing in doorways and a mysterious light with a mind of its own. The lights in the tower, long sealed off with no entry, come on and off on their own.
So, the next time you drive by the Epperson House at 52nd and Cherry, look up and see if the lights in the tower are on. Then wonder just who is up there.
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