I am an honorary Okie. I was born and grew up in Texas, but I spent five years living in Tulsa, OK during and after college. I may have returned to The Republic, but Oklahoma is my other home.
And it’s also home to a good number of haunted places. I just spent the weekend with two of my best friends who live in the Oklahoma City area. Naturally, OKC seemed like the best pick for the next installment of #TravelTuesday here on Spooky Little Halloween!
All our time doing as many things on our summer bucket list as possible (swimming, drinking lemonade, making flower crowns and setting off fireworks), so there was no time for visits to haunted hot spots. Maybe next time! I have, however, spent the night at one of these haunted places – and lived to tell the tale.
Here are 3 haunted places I want to check out on my next trip to Oklahoma City
Langston’s Western Wear- 2224 Exchange Ave.
Now a western wear store, Langston’s formerly housed a dance hall that was part of Stockyards City, a public livestock market. Lonely cowboys would visit the dance hall to dance with young women, also known as taxi dancers. (I’ll let you read between the lines on that one…)
Patty and Rose, sisters and taxi dancers, worked in the building. The story goes that Patty’s jealous boyfriend showed up at the dance hall one day, thinking Patty was doing a little more than dancing. He shot her on the spot, and Rose was so distraught by her sister’s sudden death that she hung herself. The sisters now roam the building, trying to find each other. Shoppers and employees have reported flickering lights and an uneasy feeling going up and down the building’s stairs. One woman even claims she was pushed down the stairs by one of the sisters.
Kitchen Lake Bridge – SE 119th St. & S. Air Depot Blvd.
On the northwest corner of SE 119th St. and S. Air Depot Blvd. is Kitchen Lake Bridge. The name is a misnomer because this haunted site is actually a house – or what is left of a house. (The bridge over the lake washed out years and years ago.) The legend goes that a witch lived on this property and was killed when the house mysteriously burned down. The foundation and a crumbling chimney, however, are still on the property. Visitors have claimed to see smoke rising from the chimney, and it’s said that the witch’s soul remains tied to the property and burns anything near it.
The more curious piece of this haunted site is two miles west on SE 119th St. where the road dead ends. Here visitors have found piles of possessions, including clothes, ceiling tiles, wood and glass, that sometimes smolder. Visitors have also reported the feeling of being watched, flickering headlights and, if you’re very quiet, footsteps directly behind you.
Fair warning: the spot might not be the best to visit and explore. I ran across a few mentions of the current owners of the properly calling the cops on curious visitors.
Skirvin Hotel – 1 Park Ave.
Haunted hotels might be my favorite thing, and the Skirvin might be the most legendary haunted place in Oklahoma. It is also the one haunted spot on this list where I’ve spent the night.
The Skirvin was built in 1910 by an oilman named W.B. Skirvin. He was determined to build the most luxurious hotel in the southwest. When it opened in 1911, it was 10 stories, had 224 rooms and was the first building in the state to have air conditioning. By 1930, an additional four stories were added to the building.
During Prohibition, the Skirvin became a popular speakeasy, and it is said during this time is when W.B. Skirvin had an affair with a hotel maid, whom hotel employees have since nicknamed Effie. The affair resulted in a pregnancy and to prevent a scandal, W.B. hid Effie in a room at the top of the hotel. She was trapped here, even after she gave birth, and went out of her mind until one day Effie jumped out of the window of her room, baby in hand. Following the incident, hotel guests complained of hearing the constant cries of a baby.
The hotel closed in 1988 and stood empty for nearly 15 years until it reopened in February 2007. Visitors still claim to hear the baby’s cries at night and not being able to sleep. (Including members of the New York Knicks.) Some also say you can see Effie pushing a baby carriage up and down the hallways and that she plays pranks on unsuspecting guests.
We wandered the halls looking for Effie the night we stayed at the Skrivin nearly 10 years ago, and while we didn’t spot her…I do remember not sleeping well.
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Which of these haunted places would you visit?
Stay tuned – each Tuesday this summer, I’m sharing more haunted places I’d love to visit. You can also check out the 8 haunted places in Houston I recommend visiting.
Happy haunt hunting,

