Do you feel that? There is a chill in the air...because Halloween is coming!
I thought it would be fun to share some scary Oklahoma tales.
Claremore, OK-The Belvidere Mansion
Photo credit: Belvidere Mansion-Rogers County Historical Society
The mansion was built in 1902 by John M. Bayless, who was successful in the banking and railroad business . He lived there with his seven children and wife. It is an amazing gothic structure, still preserved to this day. The third floor was a ballroom that was 2,400 sq. feet (bigger than my whole house!). The mansion was completed in 1907, but Mr. Bayless died after an appendicitis procedure. So he never got to see its completion. It went through several owners and it was even apartments at one time. Over the years, many reports have been made about people seeing the ghost of Mr. Bayless or one of his many family members. Ghostly children have been seen playing on the premises. There are numerous reports of cold/hot spots, and toilets that flush themselves. Some really unlucky visitors get touched by an entity. There is also said to be a ghost of a young woman who committed suicide in the 1940s when the building was apartments. If I find any historical newspapers about the incident, I will add them here.
Interestingly, here is an account from someone on Facebook:
Oklahoma City, OK-The Skirvin Hotel
Photo credit: Oklahoma Historical Society
Built in 1910, this building still stands in downtown OKC, by an oil baron named W.B. Skirvin. It was closed in 1988 but I remember watching news reports about many people squatting there and/or doing urban exploration in the building. I remember in college, my friends and I would drive downtown and marvel at the dilapidated building. It has now been renovated in 2003, and re-opened as a hotel. The ghosts never left! There are fourteen floors they can haunt, after all. Here are some clips of some recent experiences from others at the Skirvin.
Guests have reported being touched by an unseen force, hearing the cries of a baby, and most oddly, men are propositioned by a ghostly female voice. One man said he was even sexually assaulted by a female ghost, and another man was in the shower when an apparition of a naked woman appeared.
Most fascinating, is the fact that a few NBA players have gone on record with their own ghostly encounters at the Skirvin. Here are some links:
Ghost Touched NBA Player Metta World Peace Inappropriately
Kyrie Irving and the Skirvin Hotel
near Millerton, OK-Wheelock Mission
Photo Credit: State Historic Preservation Office, OHS
From 1884 to 1955, this building served as a boarding school for Native American girls. Most of the girls belonged to the Choctaw tribe. It was a sad place filled with abuse, death and at the very least, death of identity and culture. So no wonder it is haunted. It sits on 35 acres, and belongs to the Choctaw tribe. You cannot go into the buildings but you can tour the grounds which include a cemetery, and the museum.
Here are some of the experiences found online:
Later this week I will post more stories!
Meanwhile, here's good Oklahoma scary books...
Strange State by Cullan Hudson
Ghosts and Legends of Oklahoma
by Mike Ricksecker
Haunted Bartlesville by Rita Cook
Oklahoma Treasures and Treasure Tales by Steve Wilson
Haunted Oklahoma City by Jeff Provine/Tanya McCoy
