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.
As founder of the Oklahoma Paranormal Association and a board member of the Mustang Oklahoma Historical Society, TANYA MCCOY started researching the paranormal more than two decades ago. In January 2020, she opened a metaphysical shop in downtown historic El Reno in the historic Rock Island Railroad offices and hopes to open Oklahoma's first paranormal museum. She is also a nurse and a published children's book author who is currently working on her first fiction novel. Raised on his family's Land Run farm north of Enid, JEFF PROVINE began collecting Oklahoma folklore in 2009, when he started a ghost tour at the University of Oklahoma. He has since added tours for downtown Norman and in Oklahoma City. His other works include the This Day in Alternate History blog, The Academy webcomic, the illustrated urban legends collection 31 Ghost Stories and Okie Comics Magazine. Jeff serves as professor of English at Oklahoma City Community College and lectures on creative writing and the history of comic books around the metro.