These 8 Urban Legends In Oklahoma Will Keep You Awake At Night
Oklahoma has its fair share of creepy stories and urban legends, that’s for sure. From crying babies to crybaby bridges to sightings of Bigfoot, we’ll always wonder which ones might be true. After all, it’s fun to think about, right? Here are a few you should know about; whether they happened or not is up to you. These urban legends in Oklahoma turn the spooky factor all the way to 11.
In southeastern Oklahoma the thick forest is known for its unusually high number of Bigfoot sightings. The first sighting was in 1970, when a teenager wandered onto a back road in Talihina. It was there where he described seeing the "Green Hill Monster." Police investigated the area and found many dead animals in the vicinity. Many more sightings have been reported over the decades, but the creature itself has never been caught.
Almost every bridge built in the 1900's in Oklahoma has a cry baby bridge story. This is the only one that has a specific date the incident allegedly occurred, though. On June 13, 1924, a young mother was crossing the bridge with her baby when a storm came. Lightning struck her horse and carriage and knocked her baby away; she could not find her, but could hear her crying. She desperately looked for her baby over the side of the bridge, but fell into the Verdigris River - never to be seen again. Legend has it that if you park your car on the bridge on any Friday the 13th and turn your motor off, you will hear the baby crying. The bridge is not accessible anymore, but it can be seen via a nearby road. Whether you can hear the crying baby from there is unknown.
In the 1940s, Tulsans would have known the address of 10 East 21st Street as the home of Carol Ann Smith. Smith was found guilty of housing two "religious slaves" in cages in her basement for over a decade; the house became known as "the Hex House", since the slaves were under some sort of hex (or so it's said). The house has been torn down since, but rumor has it that the basement is still under the pavement... and still incredibly scary.
This fun mystery is located in Springer, Oklahoma, on Pioneer Road. If you put your car in neutral at the bottom of the hill, a "mysterious force" will pull your vehicle... up the hill. Some say the magnetic force in the area is so strong it could crash a plane (we weren't able to find any accounts of this actually happening). Another theory is that ghosts of car crashes from the past pull your car away from where they died themselves. If you don't believe these legends, you might be right in thinking it's just an optical illusion.
One of Oklahoma's most infamous legends, the Purple Church is located near Spencer. Although not an actual church, this concrete foundation has steps leading to an underground cellar. It's believed that the cellar belonged to an old, torn-down church, and the "purple" in the name comes from the purple "satanic" markings on the entrance of the cellar. Many say black magic rituals have been performed here, and several paranormal stories have been reported; many of them have come from credible sources.
Located in Beaver Sands, this "portal" is known as Oklahoma's Bermuda Triangle. Several people have reportedly disappeared into this portal. The theory? Legend has it that the area is a UFO crash site, and all the people that had reports about it can no longer be found or contacted - as in "disappeared".
According to legend, this mansion was located near 111th and Sheridan in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The mansion was torn down after a fire burned most of it to an unrecognizable powder. They say devil worship and strange happenings went on there; for example, if you stepped foot onto the property, eerie feelings would overwhelm the trespasser, and many felt disoriented and would even faint.
This mysterious light of an unknown origin can be observed to this day on the Oklahoma/Missouri border. Many have concluded that this strange appearance of light can be explained by automobiles' headlights reflecting from miles away. However, sightings of these lights were reported well before automobiles ever existed, so we have doubts that that's what's going on.
Have you visited any of these spots and did you have a scary or unexplainable event happen? How many of thee urban legends in Oklahoma have you heard? Tell us any we missed in the comments!
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Address: Boggy Creek Rd, Ada, OK 74820, USA
Address: 10 E 21st St, Tulsa, OK 74114, USA
Address: Magnetic Hill, OK, Pit Rd, Springer, OK 73458, USA
Address: Spencer, OK, USA
Address: Beaver Dunes Park, US-270, Beaver, OK 73932, USA
Address: Tulsa, OK, USA
Address: 67901 E 50 Rd, Quapaw, OK 74363, USA
The OIYS Visitor Center
Urban Legends in Oklahoma
April 23, 2021
Tori Jane
What are the scariest Oklahoma ghost stories?
Oklahoma is absolutely no stranger to some spooky tales; it seems like no matter where you go, there’s a ghost story involving it in some way. There are so many creepy, if not scary, stories that float around about our beautiful state that it’s hard to pick just a few. For example, the Little Theatre in Tulsa is a local legend because of its ghosts. The world-famous Route 66 segment that runs through the state is filled with tales of spectral hitch-hikers, disappearing pedestrians, and so much more. For some examples of the ghosts said to be wandering the lands of Oklahoma, as well as their stories, check this article out.
Where are some haunted places in Oklahoma?
Where to begin? Some of the most infamous hauntings in Oklahoma include those of numerous haunted hotels and motels, like the legendary Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City, and a bed and breakfast known as The Stone Lion Inn in Guthrie is said to be heavily haunted by occupants of the past. Other creepy, supposedly spooky places include a few museums, like Fort Washita and the Cherokee Strip Museum, where many people met their end. Historic Fort Reno, in El Reno, is also said to be haunted.
Can I explore any abandoned places in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma has tons of abandoned places - just take a drive on almost any old country road and you’ll see tons of rickety old homesteads decaying in open and vacant fields. In terms of urbex (“urban exploration”) in Oklahoma, there are some places you can explore given the proper permits or other permissions. The Abundant Life building in Tulsa is a strange, windowless monolith that doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the city. The entire town of Picher is abandoned, but it contains toxic levels of lead and other nastiness in the soil just about everywhere, so making it a short visit is a good idea.
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Ashley has lived in Oklahoma for 25 years and is the Oklahoma staff writer for onlyinyourstate.com. When she isn't exploring Oklahoma, she enjoys visiting the beaches of California.
