The Definitive Guide To All Things Haunted And Creepy In Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a gorgeous state with more than its fair share of haunted places like haunted houses, haunted mansions, haunted house attractions (not to be confused with the legitimately haunted places), and so much more. It’s a state with a long, dark history steeped in tragedy, mystery and mayhem, and there’s no shortage of things lurking around every corner waiting to frighten you. We’ve compiled a handy guide to all things creepy in Oklahoma, like our favorite creepy facts, breathtakingly creepy photos, and the spookiest ghost stories the Sooner state has to offer; here are our picks for the most haunted places in Oklahoma.
There are lots of houses in Oklahoma that one could argue are haunted, but this one stands out as one of the (supposedly) most haunted houses in the state - and it's a bit bigger than a normal house. The Belvidere Mansion, in Claremore, is a stunning stone-brick Gothic-style mansion built by a man named John M. Bayless in the early 1900s. In 1907, shortly before the home was scheduled to be finished, Bayless died from complications of appendicitis. He never left, though. Visitors have seen him, and members of his family, lingering on the property many times, and electricity behaves erratically within the mansion's walls. There are reported cold spots and bizarre mists. Toilets will flush and sinks will turn on and off on their own, and people have reported feeling something unseen touching them. It's called one of, if not the, most haunted places in Oklahoma. Could you handle any of these haunted Oklahoma locations?
Address: 121 North Chickasaw Avenue, Claremore, Oklahoma, 74017
Buckle up, because this is a weird one. East 50th Avenue, in Peoria, Oklahoma, is home to a very strange phenomenon that has yet to be completely explained. When traveling on the Oklahoma side of the road (it shares a boundary with Missouri), drivers will notice a flickering light on the horizon. At first, it looks like an approaching vehicle - until they eventually pass it, and there is nothing in the rearview mirror. Drivers headed in the opposite direction, on the Missouri side, will not see the lights at all. They seem to only be visible on the Oklahoma stretch. The phenomena occurs so often that this stretch of road is called "Spook Light Road," and there are numerous videos online that people have recorded of the bizarre, unexplained lights. Are you brave enough to drive on Spook Light Road?
Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa has more than one spirit. One of them is known. His name is Bob Wills, and he was once a performer here. He's often seen in the audience during performances and has been seen walking around the backstage area. The others are more ambiguous; visitors and employees alike report feelings of being watched, of orbs appearing in photos and videos, of lights flipping on and off by themselves, and of disembodied voices echoing through the halls.
Address: 423 North Main Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74103
Dead Woman's Crossing, a bridge in Weatherford, is creepy enough as it is, but the backstory is even creepier. A woman known only as "Mrs. James" was murdered alongside her infant child in 1905. Ever since, the place has been...not quite right. Visitors have reported the sounds of a woman screaming or sobbing, but nobody living can be found in the area. Also not uncommon are the sounds of babies crying, or wagon wheels grinding on rocky dirt roads nearby. Strange lights are seen from time to time, and the atmosphere in this area is quite heavy. Are you brave enough to visit Dead Woman's Crossing after dark?
This Parallel Forest in Lawton is unnatural; it was literally created by the US Government as an attempt at rectifying the Dust Bowl. Each tree is planted exactly six feet away from every other tree, and this pattern goes on seemingly forever. Over the years, it has allegedly been the site of bizarre cult rituals, homicides, and plenty of other creepy goings-on. People have experienced a general feeling of malaise and have seen bizarre lights, and disembodied voices are commonly heard. The area is intensely creepy, particularly at night, when the moon is bright enough to cast stick-straight shadows across the ground. It's easily one of the creepiest, most haunted places in Oklahoma. Have you ever been to any of these legendarily scary places?
Not terribly long ago, a story broke that described employees at Oklahoma's Department of Corrections talking about ongoing hauntings on the D.O.C. grounds. What is now the prison was completed in 1917; in the century prior to that, the grounds were the site of a Civil War hospital for injured soldiers. In fact, the Union Soldiers' Cemetery is right around the corner from the prison. Employees claim to have experienced electricity behaving in strange ways, doors opening and slamming on their own, disembodied footsteps, bizarre mists, and many more strange things over the years. Some even claim to have seen full-body apparitions of soldiers dressed in period clothing wandering the halls.
5 Creepy Facts About Oklahoma:
1. Picher, Oklahoma, is the single most toxic town in the United States – literally – and it was labeled by the Environmental Protection Agency as such. Once upon a time, it was an active mining area, but in 1967, mining operations ceased. All of the toxic waste left behind by the mines and the byproducts of the mines was allowed to rot. It was no small amount of toxins, either – refuse from tens of thousands of unflushed mines, as well as mill sand and sludge (all with ridiculous amounts of lead in them) permeated every inch of the soil of Picher, and the town was deemed so hazardous to human life that the residents were advised to leave. Many did, and then, in 2008, a massive EF4 tornado ripped through the remains of town. That was when the rest of the residents (minus one) left, and the final resident to remain died in 2015. Picher is officially an abandoned, dangerous, and literally poisonous place. Do you think you would have stayed?
3. In Beaver, Oklahoma, there is a bizarre place that Native American folks avoided for centuries. It’s called Shaman’s Portal, and for good reason. People who used to go there just disappeared, as if through a mysterious portal to another dimension. Nowadays, though, people who try to visit the strange area are told to leave by men with U.S. Government identification. What do you think is going on at Shaman’s Portal?
4. Oklahoma is home to at least seven “crybaby” bridges, which is a term for creepy, probably-haunted bridges where the sounds of murdered infants (who have been killed at those bridges, of course) is often heard after dark. We really hope that children weren’t murdered at all of these bridges. Have you ever heard the sounds of despair at any of Oklahoma’s fabled crybaby bridges?
5. In 1994, a Tulsa woman was arrested when it was found that she was keeping two women half-starved in her basement, stealing the checks they were receiving and living in the lap of luxury in the house as they suffered below. She was said to have beaten them into submission with threats of cult sacrifices and other horrors. Today, there’s a haunted house attraction in Oklahoma based on the case. Could you handle visiting any of these terrifying Oklahoma haunted spots?
The Hex House, in Tulsa, is based on the terrifying true tale of Carol Ann Smith and her "slaves," and placed in the Top 15 Scariest Haunts in America by Hauntworld Magazine. It's a two-in-one adventure in terror, where you'll wander from room to room for 40 different hellish rooms. The Hex House haunt covers 24,000 square feet of earth, so wear your good shoes and hope they don't get too bloody. Can you handle the horrors of the Hex House?
Would You Spend A Night In This Oklahoma Haunted Hotel?
The Skirvin Hilton Hotel is a beautiful, luxurious place to stay in Oklahoma City. Thing is, it's ridiculously haunted. The hotel is a century old and supposedly full of ghosts. The most famous spirit walking the halls of Skirvin Hilton is that of a young woman called "Effie," who was once the original owner's mistress. When she became pregnant, he became angry and locked her in a room on one of the upper floors. In despair, she jumped from a window, holding their love-child in her arms as she did so. Doors are said to open and close on their own, and locked doors will unlock at random (or vice-versa). Many guests and employees have told tales of the haunting of the Skirvin Hilton over the years. You ought to visit and see if you can collect any of your own. Could you handle spending the night?
Address: 1 Park Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 73102
An abandoned house slowly returns to nature. Who knows what horrors these walls have seen? You never know. This house definitely looks like one of the most haunted places in Oklahoma!
Every autumn, Medicine Park celebrates Halloween the right way - with insanely creepy decorations. This particular year, there were evil clowns in the trees. Yikes.
The town of Picher, Oklahoma, is entirely deserted, and it's surrounded by piles of "chat," which are incredibly toxic piles of limestone, rock, and dolomite waste very heavy in lead content. They're immensely toxic and children used to play on them before the long-term health consequences were discovered.
