Wednesday, May 27, 2009

LOGAN COUNTY


MASON'S CHILDRENS HOME
HISTORY: Located at 602 East College in Guthrie, Oklahoma the Mason's Guthrie Children's Home (Dominion House) served as a children's home in the 1920's providing a place of refuge, warm meals, warm beds, a religious education and even an indoor swimming pool, with the added opportunity of being educated by the public schools. It gave many children a new chance at life, during the years it was up and running. In 1978, the state of Oklahoma voted to have a foster care system using small family units, to give the children a more personal home life. In 1978, the home closed, and was vacant until 2000, when it was rescued from its deplorable condition by a man and his family, and renovated to have a new purpose in the community. THE LEGEND: When the building was abandoned, people reported seeing apparitions appearing and disappearing in the rooms as the people peeked in the windows of the building. Construction workers hired to renovate the building, reported hearing unexplained footsteps, the feeling of being watched and hearing strange noises and crying. Throughout the years, this home was blessed with many fine caregivers and staff, however there are rumors about caregivers who didn't have the patience or wisdom to deal with hard to handle children. Acts of abuse and cruelty occured. Some report that there was a nurse who killed herself in the belltower. A dark shadow has been seen in the bell tower, and as been known to hover around people who had broken in the building when it was abandoned. Another tale describes a cruel headmistress who beat a 6 year old girl to death. Several eye witnesses have seen an apparition of a little girl who appears and pleads for protection. The headmistress was also said to have buried four boys in the basement. It was reported by some that there were some graves in the backyard, seen there when the property was abandoned. There are also stories of dedicated staff members who remain in the afterlive still looking after the children. Sounds of crying and screaming children in emotional pain have been heard, perhaps an impression of the negative feelings felt so long ago. EVIDENCE: Anecdotal. LINK: dominionhouseguthrie.com


THE STONE LION INN
HISTORY:
Located at 1016 W. Warner, Guthrie, Oklahoma this three story Greek Revival Victorian style mansion was built in 1907. The third floor housed the main ballroom and a play area, with a closet used as a storage place for toys. It was built by F.E. Houghton, a wealthy man with a family of 12 children. In the 1920's, the mansion was transformed into a boarding house. It later became a funeral home. In 1986, the Luker family bought the mansion, renovated it into charming bed and breakfast. This location also hosts murder-mystery weekends. THE LEGEND: The story goes that Little Augusta Houghton died at the age of 8 when the maid gave her the wrong medication to combat the child's whooping cough. She is said to haunt the mansion. But diligent research revealed that Augusta was found to have lived a full life. Nevertheless, witnesses have reported hearing footsteps of a child that can be heard pattering up and down the stairways. Around 10:00 pm, a child's footsteps could be heard on the back staircase leading to the third floor playroom. The Lukers would find the children's toys strewn all over the playroom floor, even when Mrs. Luker put a lock on the closet. Guests in one room on the second floor report feeling their faces patted and tugs on their feet. Others report sounds like a bowling ball moving across the ceiling of the second story. Maids have seen a male entity in a tall top hat, dressed in an old-fashioned black suit, hanging out behind the heating system in the basement. Although the owners have established a no-smoking policy, guests report the smell of cigar smoke and say that they can see it in the air as well. One guest reported that when she went to bed, she left the ceiling fan light on because she couldn't turn it off, then felt a heavy presence climb up on the foot of her bed and turn off the light for her. EVIDENCE: The Oklahoma Ghost Patrol reports that they found photographic evidence of orbs, but warned that they had information suggesting the manifestations may be staged. The OGP also reported that the owners have been charging large sums of money to paranormal investigation teams going there to investigate as well as seeking a lot of media attention for their "paranormal" business. LINK: Oklahoma Ghost Patrol



LOGAN COUNTY JAIL
THE STORY: The Logan County Sheriff's Office at 216 S Broad in Guthrie, Oklahoma has maintained a detention center since 1898. During the early 1890s, noted lawman and gunman James Masterson served as a county Deputy Sheriff for Logan County. Suicides by inmates, generally hangings in the kitchen or inside the jail cells are on record. On May 14, 1903 Jailer Jerry Emerson was shot and killed by a prisoner making his escape from the jail aftera woman who was infatuated with the suspect had smuggled him the gun he used to make his escape. Odd noises have been reported at night. One witness reports seeing apparitions appear in the cameras faced into the cells. Witnesses have reported also seeing apparitions walking into the kitchen, a man hanging from a rope in the kitchen, objects moving by themselves, and a door and locking on its own behind workers. EVIDENCE: Anecdotal.



LOGAN COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
THE STORY:
The Logan County Memorial Hospital located at the intersection of 19th street and Warner avenue in Guthrie, Oklahoma was built in 1946 and shut down in the late 1960's. Residents say this abandoned building is rumored to be haunted. An apparition has been seen in third-floor windows. A general, very strong feeling of fear, doom and terror is present at the hospital, and according to witnesses becomes incredibly strong when photographs are taken. Mary Roberts, a Guthrie resident said, "My nephew who was 16 went inside once, and saw a pentagram on the basement floor, and they heard some scary thing. He came home crying, he swore he'd never go there." Guthrie resident April Barnett said, "We've seen a few things, and sometimes I've heard a few things but that could just be me. We've seen lights on upstairs." Guthrie Police Chief Damon Devereaux warned that the building is structurally unsafe and that trespassers would be prosecuted. Devereaux stated that there are live cameras set up inside the building that dispatchers watch from time to time, and many people do watch the web-cams. EVIDENCE: Basically all paranormal activities that have been reported are limited to figures and shadows. This building has been investigated by many of the Oklahoma paranormal teams and has even used this site as an ongoing research site. Due to many break-ins and upcoming renovations no teams will be allowed to enter anymore. LINK: If you want to view the web-cams inside the hospital go to: http://researchwebcam.net/chatframes.html


SANTA FE DEPOT
HISTORY: The two story red brick depot was built in 1903 in Guthrie, Oklahoma and stayed in operation until 1979 when Amtrak's lone star from Chicago to Houston being dropped from the timetable. In 1998 the northern portion of the building that once housed the Harvey House Restaurant was restored and now houses another restaurant. Soon after the rest of the building would start to be restored and most has been finished. They are still working on the upstairs rooms above the Southern section of the depot, these are the rooms that the Harvey Girls would stay in. Today the Depot can be rented out for weddings and other special events. THE STORY: The most famous of it's hauntings is a woman in Victorian dress who has been seen looking longingly out of one of the upstairs windows as trains pass. It is believed that she is Pearl Harvey, the wife of the famous Fred Harvey who was responsible for the "Harvey House Restaurant". These were well ran and very clean restaurants that were housed in railroad stations. At that time these restaurants were very unsanitary at railroad stations, making the Harvey House Restaurants very popular. "Pearl" is said to have really enjoyed her time at the Guthrie Depot and even thinking of it almost as a home away from home. The room she is spotted in was most likely the room she would have stayed in when spending time at the Depot. EVIDENCE: Anecdotal.

BLACK JAIL
THE STORY: This Federal Prison was built in 1892 in Guthrie, Oklahoma and was the first in the Midwest. Labeled the “Black Jail” by inmates, the eighteen inch thick walls of dark limestone and brick was a penitentiary that was rumored to be non-escapable back in the days of the Wild West. These would be the rough and wild bandits of the West. The two-story structure housed no more than ninety prisoners at a time, two levels assembled including the complete basement where the unruly convicts were held in solitary confinement. Some it's most famous inmates include The Dalton Gang and Bill Doolin. After the prison would close in the early 1900s the Samaritan Foundation would house their activists and radicals along with their families in the building. The jail was shut down in the late 1990's by the Department of Human Services. A figure has been seen in the hallway and is believed to be the spirit of James Phillips. On June 1907, Phillips was the first white man sentenced to be hanged at the prison for the murder of a local man. According to the State Capital News Paper and prison records, Phillips was to die on a mid-June morning across the street of Noble Avenue. Reported by guards, Phillips was observing the construction with a deal of great dread and angst, and then all of a sudden he abruptly fell backwards onto his bunk, dying instantly without a sound or even a word of warning. According to witness accounts a young woman’s voice can be heard singing throughout the main level of the building. She has been reported to wear a long printed dress and sports a large brimmed hat with gloves. The woman has only been seen by a select few in the town. The woman has been noticed outside of the prison walking the grounds and on occasion attempting to cross the street of Noble Avenue. The woman appears on occasion, usually at dusk, and alone. EVIDENCE: The jail was investigated by G.H.O.U.L.I. (Ghosts, Haunts of Oklahoma and Urban Legend Investigations). Two EVP's were collected by Tonya Hacker during their investigation. Click here for EVP #1 & Click here for EVP #2.

18 comments:

  1. Do not understand the fact that it is stated Logan Co Memorial being closed in the late 1960's. my husband was born in that exact hospital in 1975????? How is this?

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    1. I was told by guthrienites that the hospital wasn't closed till the 80s. I also had personal experiances at the Childrens Home

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    2. I believe, if memory serves it closed in 78 or 79.

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    3. I was born in that hospital in 1948 my brother was born there in 1953. My father worked in surgery there for several years. O the stories he has told me. I know about the tunnels from the hospital across the street to the west to the nuns quarters. I know a lot about Guthrie from my dad and my grandparents.

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    4. I was born in the Logan County Hospital in 1977 and my sister was in 1979. Maybe it closed in the 80s.

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  2. While attending a wedding in 2008, I heard the voices of children crying out "Help, help us." I was in one of the stalls in the ladies room. The temp. in there was much colder than in the reception hall. However, as a life long visitor of Guthrie, I "expect the unexpected". No "paranormal" feelings surprise up there!

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  3. i live in guthrie so it is a preety amazing experice with the haunting i live about 1.5 blocls from the lion inn and about 8 blocks from the old hospital and about 6 blocks friom the old jail so i get a lot of strange stuff around where i live just recently my computer has been acting wierd and its a brand new computer i can be on it for 5 mionutes and the screen go black or microsoft would randomly open with me clicking the icon and it just start typing on the word and my screen goes pink after about 3 mins of being on and yes i believe in the paramormal i have had accounts with the paranormal

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  4. I live near the old hospital and often see shadow people inthe windows just above the main doors and occasionally on the hospital grounds.

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  5. My parents both worked at the hospital and would often be called in to work in the middle of the night. My mother worked on the 4th floor in surgery, many times you would hear the elevator open and hear footsteps or voices but you would be alone. Very creepy. The 5th floor in the 70's was used for storage and it was always cold and creepy, you always felt like someone was watching you, I experienced these feelings when exploring as a child. I also have the black prison as my back yard ornament, have never seen or heard anything yet, however frequently the blinds in the back room of my house are lifted as though someone was peering outside at the building and no one but my daughter and I live there. I have had her fix the blinds several times, occasionally right after she has just done so and no one else was in the room.

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  6. My dad was born in that hospital 1969
    I drive by it every day on my way to work.....about 8 times I've seen a women in the third floor.each time she's in a different place.and the lights in the front doors are always on
    . atteneded a wedding in the mason children's home. Every time I entered a home I kept hearing a fiant crying nosie. The windows keep opening themselves in building

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  7. The hospital was actually closed down around 1977. After my cousin was born there, he was burned by the incubator and permanently scarred so my aunt was one of probably many that sued the hospital which resulted into the hospital being abandoned. And when I say abandoned, I'm serious. My brother and I was curious when we were young and went in as far as we can into the hospital. There was medical charts and paperwork everywhere and, believe it or not, there was a giant tub full of blood on the other side of the wall. Which we couldn't get passed but I saw the tub. The morgue near the back side of the hospital stank like dead animals and we were eventually scared away by birds or something. Never went in again.

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  8. The hospital was actually closed down around 1977. After my cousin was born there, he was burned by the incubator and permanently scarred so my aunt was one of probably many that sued the hospital which resulted into the hospital being abandoned. And when I say abandoned, I'm serious. My brother and I was curious when we were young and went in as far as we can into the hospital. There was medical charts and paperwork everywhere and, believe it or not, there was a giant tub full of blood on the other side of the wall. Which we couldn't get passed but I saw the tub. The morgue near the back side of the hospital stank like dead animals and we were eventually scared away by birds or something. Never went in again.

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  9. Homes in Guthrie are frequently haunted. Mine is and I was leery of hauntings until first hand experience. And several experiences by me and others, including the brunette lady from the Ghost Hunters show, who for free, came with her crew. It took them only two hours to videotape a ghost throwing their flashlight. My sons computer has a motion detector and it has clear very clear footage. The ghost is a bad older man who used to live here, hunched over, only a dark shadow and face now. He woke me with "are you sleeping?" In my ear three times in succession right after buying my home. My heart was pounding but now I only threaten to kick his ass when I die! I am NOT joking. 617 east Harrison built in 1930. I'm Bryan. Creepy ,huh? But true. Full apparition seen by my son, wife,and friend. It crawled on all fours toward a friend of mine. Was visibly shaking and scared. It has walked through walls and looks right at you. No joke. It has hovered in the corner of the ceiling and just stayed there.

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  10. Homes in Guthrie are frequently haunted. Mine is and I was leery of hauntings until first hand experience. And several experiences by me and others, including the brunette lady from the Ghost Hunters show, who for free, came with her crew. It took them only two hours to videotape a ghost throwing their flashlight. My sons computer has a motion detector and it has clear very clear footage. The ghost is a bad older man who used to live here, hunched over, only a dark shadow and face now. He woke me with "are you sleeping?" In my ear three times in succession right after buying my home. My heart was pounding but now I only threaten to kick his ass when I die! I am NOT joking. 617 east Harrison built in 1930. I'm Bryan. Creepy ,huh? But true. Full apparition seen by my son, wife,and friend. It crawled on all fours toward a friend of mine. Was visibly shaking and scared. It has walked through walls and looks right at you. No joke. It has hovered in the corner of the ceiling and just stayed there.

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  12. I stayed at the Stone Lion Inn, and know for a fact it's haunted. After staying I decided to find out about the family who built the the Houghton Home, the house and why/who's behind the haunting. We know it's not Augusta since she lived into her 50's in Texas. But I can understand why people would connect her to a poisoning, and Augusta had so many tragedies in her life. I do believe one of the Houghton sister's do haunt the Inn,as for the Houghton Dad I don't believe he would stay. The funeral home only stayed a couple of year's, but I believe it has little to do with the haunting. The family did so much for the city of Guthrie, but you don't hear about that. It's another case where the true history would be more than enough, to explain why a place could be haunted.

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