Scary Carey

In the Gatewood Historic District off of NW 23rd in Oklahoma City lies an unusual stretch of road known as Carey's Place.  The most unique homes in Oklahoma City were built here between 1931 and 1938 when the plans for a trolley car route from NW 23rd to NW 16th were scrapped.

In the early 1990's a lovely little tale was told of a young girl that attend the school the next street over.  Legend has it that a janitor from Gatewood Elementary murdered her, took her back to Carey's place and the various traits of the houses of Carey's place fueled the rumors.  Stories say the porches were painted red to cover the blood stains, the Hatchett House might have been where he left her body, but was it on one of the driveways?  Then, there are the stories about groaning playground swings that moved by themselves in the moonlight, children laughing in the darkness and cars acting a bit odd and sputtering their way over the street.  

My favorite house in this little neighborhood is actually the Hatchett House with its interesting green shutters with hatchet cutouts.  If you have a chance, drive through this short stretch of road and see how different it is from the rest of the neighborhoods in Oklahoma.  The architecture alone is worth the trip.

As for the young girl that was murdered, no evidence of any such crime has been found on record.  Since the neighborhood has only been around since the 1920's it would be easy to trace had it actually happened.  But, the thrill of taking someone new down the rickety little street with its unique homes while recounting the tale of Scary Carey is still amusing.  

Local Ghost Gets Worldwide Notice

She's been called Pucketts Ghost, The Salvage Yard Ghost and The Impound Ghost but her real name is Tracie Martin and people around the world have been drawn to her story and the video images of her searching Pucketts Salvage Yard.  Her story and images have popped up all over the internet and she has been the subject of numerous television shows regarding the paranormal.  The story even made its way to Japan.  Numerous paranormal groups, not just our local GHOULI's, have researched the video, the site and spoken to family members.

Tracie Martin was in a horrible car accident at 1:03 am in June 2002.  After a month of life support, she passed away.  On July 18th at 1:03 am her image was seen on 1 of the 4 security cameras set up at the salvage yard in the place where her vehicle had originally been.  The ghostly image was wearing clothing identical to that of the night of the accident and a policeman that had been on the scene of the accident identified it as Tracie Martin.  One paranormal investigator stated that she thought Tracie was searching for a photo that was precious to her.  It has been stated that Tracie's husband has shown the video the twins she left behind to give them comfort that she is okay.

For more on GHOULI's visit

www.ghouli.org

The music on the video is a little loud but this is the same footage shown on the news casts. 

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.

Ice, Ice Everywhere

Personal, not so spooky blog unless you think about the state of the roads tonight.  They are covered in ice and an enemy to brakes, just waiting for you to tempt fate.  All I can think about is how amazing it would be to go out and get pictures of statues, tombstones, crypts and gargoyles covered in icicles and looking stunning.  One of these days...

Spooky is pretty...

I am going to be taking a course that involves including a blog and since I love the scary and dark side of things and finding what is pretty within the spooky, I have decided to focus on hauntings and the absurd in my own backyard.  Oklahoma has an abundance of intriguing ghost stories and haunted places.  I hope to bring some of those to light here.