Spirits and specters linger, haunt and taunt locals and strangers alike throughout Bartlesville. Some of the city's hottest tourist spots are host to chilling tales of otherworldly visitors. A fair share of the more than twelve thousand souls buried in White Rose Cemetery refuse to rest in peace. Gentleman diners may be distracted at Frank and Lola's by the chilling shadow of Estelle, a ghostly holdover from the building's brothel legacy. Jake Bartles gave his name to the town, and some say he left his soul for posterity as well, haunting the halls of the old Dewey Hotel. Oil tycoon Frank Phillips, loath to leave his riches, haunts Woolaroc Ranch and his mansion on Cherokee Avenue. It seems even those who have passed over do not pass on from this cosmopolitan gem.
Oklahoma’s ghostly legends are as varied as its history and culture. The state boasts hauntings by ancient Native Americans, Spanish miners, soldiers, outlaws, ranchers, performers, students, repairmen, and many more. Oklahoma’s stately mansions, theaters, and old hotels still have previous residents dwelling in a spectral form. One parallel that may be surprising is Oklahoma’s uncanny number of headless ghosts. Haunted Oklahoma explores King Tut’s Tomb on the Arkansas, Mr. Apple’s Mausoleum and the Spooksville Triangle to name just a few. Eerie occurrences, spooky events, unsolved mysteries, and terrifying specters make for a scary journey through Oklahoma’s haunted past.
Featuring new listings and new information on existing haunts, thhis book offers supernatural tourists a guide to points of interest through the eyes of the world's leading ghost hunters.
Now updated:Information on hundreds of supernatural sites, compiled by dozens of the world’s leading paranormal investigators. For years, paranormal investigative groups have been studying their local ghosts with scientific equipment as well as with psychics and seances. This directory is a repository of some of their most profound cases. From across the United States, Canada, and many spots around the globe, ghost investigators tell of their sometimes-harrowing experiences, share their research, and give readers an overview of both well-known and obscure haunted locales. From private residences to inns and restaurants, battlefields to museums and libraries, graveyards to churches, Encyclopedia of Haunted Places offers supernatural tourists a guide to points of interest through the eyes of the world’s leading ghost hunters. Research notes, location background, firsthand accounts, interviews with leading paranormal researchers, and photographs featuring ghostly manifestations comprise the hundreds of haunted listings in this directory. Now in its second edition, the Encyclopedia of Haunted Places has been updated with dozens of new listings, new information on existing haunts, and a comprehensive directory of paranormal investigators.
Welcome to a window into the past. Tulsas Haunted Memories explores the forgotten history and lost folklore of Americas Most Beautiful City. Tulsas haunting history will captivate the reader with the secrets it holds from its intriguing past. Mystery and mystique follow Tulsas urban legends and prove that truth can be stranger than fiction. Once known as the oil capital of the world, its streets were not only lined in Black Gold, but also tales of a time when ruthlessness and lawlessness ruled the city. Discover these places and stories that have left their ghostly impressions on Tulsa.
A place with "wild men and wilder women," 1920s Dallas boasted one bar for every one hundred people, and a thirsty Texan could find a drink nearly anywhere. Although home to the Texas Anti-Saloon League, drinks never stopped pouring in Dallas and Fort Worth, fueled by the likes of Jack Ruby, Benny Binion, saloons and dance halls. Homegrown moonshine and bathtub gin yielded specialty recipes that today's barkeeps have honed into tasty concoctions for a contemporary palate. Join Rita Cook as she explores prohibition in Dallas and Fort Worth and learn from Jeffrey Yarbrough and his band of local mixologists about their modern takes on classic drinks so readers can step back in time, drink in hand.
Explore the history-the haunted history-of many towns and cities in southeast Kansas. These stories mix folklore, eyewitness testimony, and historical fact into gently woven tales which show current paranormal activity, speculate about who might be haunting, and even suggest why the activity occurs. This collection includes friendly ghosts like Charley, who has saved the lives of his Independence family more than once, and more haunted figures like the Lady in Black, who wandered the streets of Caney more than a century ago, looking for her baby's grave. They tell of well-known haunted places, such as Coffeyville's Tavern on the Plaza, William Inge's childhood home, and The Old Haunted House of Fredonia, but they also reveal secret places that even witnesses themselves are reluctant to discuss. These tales, from funny to frightening, are perfect for reading alone, or aloud-except on dark nights, when the Kansas wind is howling. About the Author Cheryl Carvajal has been writing since she learned how, beginning her first play at the age of six. She lived in Kansas and Oklahoma for several years, and she recently moved from southeast Kansas to Bothell, Washington, with her husband Richard, her two young children, and her black tabby. She earned her bachelor's degree in English at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma; her master's in Literature at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; and her doctorate in English at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. She spent two years researching this book, and one more writing and publishing it. Dr. Carvajal is a playwright, and several of her plays have been performed at the William Inge Center for the Arts. She also writes fiction and poetry, sings, draws, paints, juggles, teaches English and theatre, and works actively to inspire others to enrich their lives through involvement in the arts.
In 1950 Ruth W. Brown, librarian at the Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Public Library, was summarily dismissed from her job after thirty years of exemplary service, ostensibly because she had circulated subversive materials. In truth, however, Brown was fired because she had become active in promoting racial equality and had helped form a group affiliated with the Congress of Racial Equality. Louise S. Robbins tells the story of the political, social, economic, and cultural threads that became interwoven in a particular time and place, creating a strong web of opposition. This combination of forces ensnared Ruth Brown and her colleagues-for the most part women and African Americans-who championed the cause of racial equality. This episode in a small Oklahoma town almost a half-century ago is more than a disturbing local event. It exemplifies the McCarthy era, foregrounding those who labored for racial justice, sometimes at great cost, before the civil rights movement. In addition, it reveals a masking of concerns that led even Brown’s allies to obscure the cause of racial integration for which she fought. Relevant today, Ruth Brown’s story helps us understand the matrix of personal, community, state, and national forces that can lead to censorship, intolerance, and the suppression of individual rights.
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.
