Did someone call for maid service?

The Skirvin is located at 1 Park Avenue in the heart of Oklahoma City.  It is the home of one Oklahoma's scandalous ghost stories.  It seems that back in the 1930's a young maid was locked up in one of the top rooms because she was pregnant.  Rumor has it that Mr. W. B. Skirvin was still enjoying the fruits of his wealth and, at while in his 70's, was still a little active with the ladies.  The maid is said to have banged on the doors and screamed but no-one would let her out.  Slowly losing her mind, the only way to escape with her child was through the window.  

To this day, people claim to have encounters with Maid Effie and her infant.  Some women hear a baby crying, men are whispered to in the shower and they claim to hear her pushing her cart down the empty hallways.

One thing that intrigues me more than the story is the little bits of architecture that fail to get noticed.  There is more watching you at the Skirvin than just Effie and her infant.

The Devilish Pan figure below is all over the place, looking down on you with his wicked smile.

To take your chances and see if perhaps you too can claim to have an encounter with Effie or just to take a look at the wonderful architecture and great views, plan a night at the Skirvin.  

(405) 272-3040

For a history of the hotel visit:

The Skirvin 

Werewolves in Oklahoma?

Just outside Konawa, in Seminole County, Oklahoma is a little cemetery with a very unusual tombstone.  It is for Katherine Cross who was born March 13, 1899 and murdered on October 10, 1917.

 If you look at the inscription, you would assume that she was attacked and killed by werewolves.  However, it wasn't something mystical and other-worldly that murdered her it was a "criminal operation" performed by Dr. A H Yates.  Dr Yates didn't work alone for a local schoolteacher, Fredrick O'Neal was charged alongside him for the murder of another young girl, Elise Stone.  

Little is known about the "criminal operation" and some assume that it was an abortion gone wrong.  Others speculate that, as a school teacher who had the trust of his students. Frederick ONeal lured these young women into unsavory activities with other members of a secret club and that the only outcome for Katherine and Elise would be death.

Without adequate documents or records being located, we may never know what happened but the tombstone will be a constant reminder that something interesting happened in Konawa.