Oklahoma City is the site of several allegedly haunted destinations—hotels and now-defunct hotels among them. If you're looking to share space with a ghost during daylight or all night, Oklahoma City has plenty of options. Temperature changes, doors closing on their own and spirits jumping from windows are some of the signs ghost hunters have reported at these locations.
The Skirvin Hilton, so named for its founder, businessman W. B. Skirvin, was established in 1910. Skirvin owned the hotel until his death in 1944. By the 1980s it was in need of dire repair and had to be closed. The city purchased the building in 2002 and restored it, and it was reopened in 2007.
The hotel is said to be haunted by the spirit of one of Skirvin's mistresses. The legend is that she became pregnant by Skirvin, and he hid her, and eventually the child, on the 14th floor of the hotel. She became tired of being confined and, with the baby in her arms, jumped from the window.
The Skirvin Hilton
One Park Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
405-272-3040
hilton.com
In 1910, Stockyard City was developed just outside of downtown Oklahoma City. It was to be a place for meat processing plants and other livestock-related business. As the city grew, people began to come into town for livestock buying and selling, and, accordingly, the need for other services grew, too. Langston's was built in 1913 as a Western wear store, but by 1919, it had transformed from a one- to a two-story building, and served as a bar, dance hall and hotel. Today, Langston's, once again, only sells western wear.
Two sisters, Patty and Rose, are said to haunt the building. The sisters were dancers in the dance hall in the 1920s and '30s, and Patty's boyfriend killed her one night when he suspected she was practicing prostitution. Full of grief, Rose hung herself. The sisters are said to still haunt the building's second floor, following the living around and turning lights on and off.
Langston's Western Wear
2224 Exchange Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73108
405-235-9536
langstons.com
If you want to stay in a haunted hotel just outside of Oklahoma City, the Stone Lion Inn in Guthrie is reported to host ghosts, too. In 1907, a family of 14 moved in to the inn, a mansion at the time. One of the children, an 8-year-old girl, died when she contracted whooping cough. She is said to haunt the third floor of the hotel, playing with her toys and awaking sleeping guests with a touch on the cheek. Additionally, guests report smelling cigar smoke where there is none. In the 1920s, the mansion was a funeral parlor, then a boarding house, before its current manifestation as a hotel.
Stone Lion Inn
1016 West Warner
Guthrie, OK 73044
405-282-0012
stonelioninn.com
