Every town seems to have a few places everyone thinks is haunted. That is true for most places in Oklahoma. The stories behind these hauntings are often passed down by locals and seem to get more eccentric with each passing generation. Here are some [unlikely] state hauntings.

 1. Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa

Bob Wills began his career at Cain’s, and according to some people, he’s still there. Many believe that he haunts the venue that gave him his start, often appearing on stage. Other people swear to see a woman wearing a red dress, while most claim to see the ghost of a cowboy. Cold spots and light orbs have also been reported.

2. Mason’s Children’s Home – Guthrie

If you or a friend has ever considered getting married at the Dominion House in Guthrie, they may want to rethink the venue. Back in the 1920’s it was a children’s home and acts of brutality allegedly occurred there. Some people have seen the ghost of a nurse who killed herself while other people hear the cries of children. According to legend, a headmistress beat a six-year-old girl to death and her ghost haunts the building and grounds. The same headmistress also supposedly buried four boys in the basement.

3. Thunderbird Youth Academy – Pryor

Locals claim that there used to be an orphanage on these grounds, but it was destroyed by a tornado in 1942. The storm killed many of the children inside the building, and their ghosts still haunt the area. One person witnessed waking up in the middle of the night to a little girl next to his bunk.  A boy named Hector supposedly roams the third platoon building, and some people believe he was killed by the cook and fed to the other children.

4. Highway 20 – Claremore

Many people have picked up a young boy hitch-hiking along this highway east of Claremore. Around Pryor, the boy asks to be let out of the car in an area where no houses are present. The boy claims he lives in the area and promptly disappears. Vanishing hitch-hiker stories occur in many towns across the United States.

5. Ghost Hollow – Cushing

In our very own Payne County near Cushing and a mile north of the Cimarron River, there is an elm tree where outlaws used to be hanged.  In 1887, an innocent man was accidentally hanged, and the next day all of the bark fell off of the tree. According to legend, on the night of a full moon the tree is said to glow white as if it has no bark on it.