State file · OK
Haunted places in Oklahoma
What are the most haunted places in Oklahoma? The best-known are Skirvin Hotel, Stone Lion Inn and Fort Washita.
Oklahoma’s history is unusually compressed and unusually hard. In little more than a century it saw the forced removal of the Five Tribes on the Trail of Tears, frontier forts in Indian Territory, the Civil War, the land runs of 1889 onward, oil booms and busts, and the Dust Bowl. Its ghost stories grow out of every one of those layers, from soldiers and settlers to oilmen’s grand hotels.
- 3 hauntings
- 12 recorded sightings
Haunted places in Oklahoma
Skirvin Hotel
Oklahoma City’s oldest hotel, opened in 1911, where NBA teams have blamed bad nights on “Effie” – a ghost reporters say never existed. Widely reported
Stone Lion Inn
A 1907 Guthrie mansion that was a family home, then a funeral parlor, now a B&B where guests tell of a child who pats their cheeks in the night. Regional legend
Fort Washita
An 1842 frontier fort in the Chickasaw Nation, burned in the Civil War, whose best-known ghost is “Aunt Jane,” a murdered woman no one can identify. Regional legendThe ghost lore of Oklahoma
The best known have a habit of crumbling under scrutiny. The Skirvin Hotel’s “Effie,” blamed by NBA teams for sleepless nights, has no historical record behind her; the little girl of Guthrie’s Stone Lion Inn could not be found in official records by the very paranormal researchers who love the house; and nobody can say who Fort Washita’s “Aunt Jane” really was. That doesn’t make them less beloved – it makes Oklahoma a good place to see how ghost stories attach themselves to real places and real families.
Ghost hunters base themselves in Oklahoma City and Guthrie, the old territorial capital whose Victorian downtown is full of historic inns, and drive south to the frontier forts of the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations. Tribal historic sites are run by sovereign nations; follow their hours and guidance.
Ghost-hunting hotspots
- Guthrie historic district
Oklahoma’s first capital preserves blocks of territorial-era buildings, inns and saloons, and is a favourite with local ghost tours.
- Heritage Hills, Oklahoma City
The neighbourhood of the 1903 Overholser Mansion, which local lore says is still visited by Anna Overholser.
- Dead Woman’s Crossing, near Weatherford
The site of the documented 1905 murder of Katie James, with later legends of a crying baby and a woman calling by the creek.
- Downtown Tulsa
Oil-boom architecture, old theaters and the site of the infamous “Hex House” feed Tulsa’s ghost walks.
Timeline
- 1865Burned by retreating Confederates Fort Washita
Confederate troops who had held the fort since 1861 burned most of its buildings as the Civil War ended.
- 1907The Houghton house is built Stone Lion Inn
Land Run settler F. E. Houghton built a three-story mansion in the territorial capital in the year Oklahoma became a state.
- 1910The capital moves, the family leaves Stone Lion Inn
After the state capital moved to Oklahoma City, the Houghtons leased the house; it became a funeral parlor for a period.
- September 26, 1911The Skirvin opens Skirvin Hotel
W. B. Skirvin’s hotel opened as the grandest in the new state, soon becoming the center of the city’s social and political life.
- 1962The state restores the site Fort Washita
The Oklahoma Historical Society bought the fort from the Colbert family and began restoring it, later adding October candlelight ghost tours.
- 1986Rebirth as an inn Stone Lion Inn
Becky Luker bought and restored the house as the Stone Lion Inn; ghost stories grew alongside its murder-mystery weekends.
- 1988The doors close Skirvin Hotel
Low occupancy shut the hotel, which stood empty for nearly two decades – the era when many ghost stories took root.
- 2007Reopened as the Skirvin Hilton Skirvin Hotel
A public–private restoration brought the hotel back to life, and its haunted reputation came with it.
- January 2010The Knicks blame the ghost Skirvin Hotel
New York Knicks players said a restless night in the hotel contributed to their loss to the Thunder; Chicago Bulls players also described strange noises and slamming doors.
- June 2012NBA Finals spotlight Skirvin Hotel
The Miami Heat stayed at the Skirvin during the Finals, and The Oklahoman again noted that no evidence supported the Effie story.
- 2017Returned to the Chickasaw Nation Fort Washita
The Chickasaw Nation purchased Fort Washita and now manages it as a historic site.
- October 31, 2018TV investigation Stone Lion Inn
KTUL’s “Haunted Oklahoma” visited with OKPRI, who reported recorded voices and a sudden chill on the second floor.
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