Haunted Garfield County Oklahoma

Explore more than a century of Garfield County's ghostly lore. Garfield County is seemingly a quiet span of rural Oklahoma, but its history is steeped with strange legends. Enid (originally known as "Skeleton" for chilling reasons) has served as the major center since winning out in the violent railroad war of 1894. Early settlers were startled when a mysterious stranger claimed to be John Wilkes Booth in a deathbed confession thirty years after Lincoln's assassination. The intervening decades only added to the county's haunted heritage, from the phantom staff still in the Broadway Tower to the glowing headstone at Imo. Join Jeff Provine and Tammy Wilson in the shadows that stalk the countryside and the spillways beneath town.

Explore more than a century of Garfield County's ghostly lore. Garfield County is seemingly a quiet span of rural Oklahoma, but its history is steeped with strange legends. Enid (originally known as "Skeleton" for chilling reasons) has served as the major center since winning out in the violent railroad war of 1894. Early settlers were startled when a mysterious stranger claimed to be John Wilkes Booth in a deathbed confession thirty years after Lincoln's assassination. The intervening decades only added to the county's haunted heritage, from the phantom staff still in the Broadway Tower to the glowing headstone at Imo. Join Jeff Provine and Tammy Wilson in the shadows that stalk the countryside and the spillways beneath town.

The author of Civil War Ghosts of Southwest Missouri takes the paranormal pulse of this rustic city in the heart of the Ozarks. A rich mixture of inexplicable history and eerie happenstance runs through the portion of the Ozark Plateau that Carthage has carved out for itself. Woodland cabins greet visitors with phantom hosts or vanish into the night entirely. Rumors tell of lost Spanish treasure caravans haunting the hills with the same persistence as the Confederate guerrillas who were run aground there. But the town itself isn’t immune from the encroachment of the supernatural; the drama of tragic death continues to find a stage in an opera house, a hospital, and an elegant residence. Lisa Livingston-Martin tracks down the fiercest and most fascinating specters from Carthage’s past. Includes photos! “According to the book Haunted Carthage, Missouri by Lisa Livingston-Martin, there have been many sightings and various paranormal events in and around Carthage.” —The Joplin Globe

Home to numerous tribal reservations that survived the land run that swept around them, Shawnee stands at an intersection of worlds. For travelers of the Wild West, crossing over into Oklahoma Territory meant more than crossing a state line. "Stop for twenty minutes and see a man killed," stagecoach drivers warned visitors to Shawnee's treacherous saloons. The oil boom of the 1920s brought a wave of wealth that only encouraged nefarious activity. Shawnee's quiet present may belie its fevered past, but the spirits of former gunslingers, prostitutes and everyday folk still live on. From strange sounds at the old Sacred Heart Mission to specters roaming the halls of the luxurious Aldridge Hotel, Tanya McCoy and Jeff Provine provide an introduction to Shawnee's haunted past.

Oklahoma City boasts a rich heritage of gumption and perseverance, but there are many tales only whispered from shadows. A spectral woman may be seen in the upper window of the Overholser Mansion, looking for her long-lost love. The spirit of one of Oklahoma's feistiest leaders is said to dwell in the Governor's Mansion, where he trips guests on the stairs. Perhaps still thirsty for the drink a fatal gunshot interrupted, the ghost of a cheating mobster rattles the glasses at Gabriella's off Route 66. Jeff Provine and Tanya McCoy uncover the curious and creepy tales of the Sooner State capital.

A Victorian district frozen in time, Guthrie was the first territorial and state capital of Oklahoma, and many of its former residents still wander some of its majestic brick buildings. Outlaws and cultists haunt the infamous Black Jail, the state's first territorial prison. Once a bustling neighborhood, the houses of the overgrown Elbow now stand in ruins. Secrets remain at the famous Masonic Temple shrouded in mystery, and a lonely girl wanders the railroad in search of her beau who never returned home from the Great War. Oklahoma Paranormal Association co-founder Tanya McCoy and Oklahoma historian Jeff Provine invite you to explore these and many more spine-chilling accounts from one of America's most haunted cities.

The red brick walls of downtown El Reno have soaked up their fair share of history and sweated out an equal measure of ghosts. The town's thoroughfares carry the fondly remembered clatter of trolley cars and horse-drawn buggies, so long as travelers don't take a wrong turn around Dead Man's Curve or give a lift to the Hunchback of Route 66. The most venerable building in town is the old county jail, where the frontier town's rowdier souls still chafe in captivity. The resident spirit of the Whistle Stop Saloon is considerably more cheerful, even if she overdoes it a bit with the perfume. From the Centre Theatre to the Fort Reno Cemetery, Tanya McCoy and Whitney Wilson catalogue El Reno's most fascinating haunted lore.

There are countless ghost stories and urban legends in Oklahoma. The ghost car that police can't catch in Fairfax. The school where an intruder killed several young students. An upset ghost who took possession of a young girl. The lady who wears the white dress standing in middle of highway 11 just outside of Medford. If you listen closely you may find that everyone has a spooky story to tell, even the ghosts.