HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
+ 3 further entries on record
Historic 1924 Tulsa dance hall and longtime home of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, reportedly haunted by Wills himself and a female spirit nicknamed Chloe.
423 N Main St, Tulsa, OK 74103
Research updated October 2026
Age
Typically all ages; some events have an age limit
Any age limit is stated on the event listing, so check it before you buy tickets.
Cost
$$
Concert ticket prices vary by show; venue tours by arrangement.
Access
Wheelchair OK
There is no designated ADA or wheelchair seating area. If you have special needs, email the venue with your request or call 918-584-2306 at least 72 hours in advance.
Equipment
Photos OK
Photo, video and audio recording rules are set by each band and can change nightly. Cameras with a detachable lens are generally not allowed.
Est. 1924 · 1924 W. Tate Brady building · Home of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys (1935-1942) · Birthplace of broadcast western swing · 1978 Sex Pistols U.S. tour stop · National Register of Historic Places (2003)
Cain's Ballroom occupies a brick building at 423 N Main Street in what is now Tulsa's Arts District. The structure was built in 1924 by W. Tate Brady, a prominent and controversial Tulsa businessman and politician. Brady, who has been documented as a Ku Klux Klan affiliate in Tulsa during the 1920s, originally constructed the building as a private garage for his automobile collection. The same family of associations has caused the renaming of Brady Theater (now Tulsa Theater) several blocks away.
During Prohibition the building briefly operated as a nightclub before being purchased in 1930 by Madison W. 'Daddy' Cain, who reopened it as Cain's Dance Academy. The venue functioned as a so-called 'dime-a-dance,' where patrons could buy ten-cent dance instruction.
The most significant chapter began on New Year's Night in 1935, when Bob Wills played his first concert at Cain's after relocating to Tulsa from Texas with his new band, the Texas Playboys. From 1935 to 1942 Cain's served as the home of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, with the band broadcasting daily live shows over KVOO Radio. This broadcasting era is widely credited with popularizing western swing, a genre fusing country, jazz, hillbilly, big-band swing, blues, and Mexican folk influences. After Wills enlisted in World War II in 1942 (and effectively left Tulsa in 1943), his brother Johnnie Lee Wills took over the regular concert duties at the venue.
In the late 1940s and 1950s the venue declined as public tastes shifted, and through the 1960s it was largely empty under poor management. In 1976 concert promoter Larry Shaeffer purchased the building for $60,000 and reopened it as a major touring concert hall. It hosted the Sex Pistols' 1978 American tour stop, often cited as a pivotal moment in U.S. punk history. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003 and remains in operation as one of the country's most storied concert venues.
Sources
Cain's Ballroom is one of Tulsa's best-known reportedly haunted buildings. Local-news roundups, ghost-tour operators, and venue staff have all documented the lore over the past two decades.
The most-cited apparitions are two figures. The first is a shadow figure described as a man in early-1900s cowboy attire, often informally identified as Bob Wills himself; the venue's nearly-90-year association with Wills naturally focuses lore on his memory. The second is a partially transparent female apparition in a flowing ball gown, nicknamed 'Chloe.' Some accounts add a second female spirit, 'Jane,' associated with the 1950s decline era. No documented historical person has been firmly tied to either female apparition; the names are folk-attribution rather than archival identification.
Reported phenomena across multiple accounts include unexplained cold and hot spots; lights turning on and off; sounds of moaning and crying near the backstage restroom; disembodied footsteps in the upper balcony when no one is present; and a sustained sensation of being watched, particularly near stage right. A paranormal-investigation recording widely circulated in local media reportedly captures a young girl's voice saying 'I want to help.'
Because Bob Wills died of natural causes in 1975 in Fort Worth, Texas - not at Cain's - paranormal narratives frame his presence as a residual attachment to the place where he made his career rather than a death-anchored haunting.
Notable Entities
Attend a concert at the legendary 1924 ballroom in the Tulsa Arts District. The historic spring-loaded dance floor and the Bob Wills era murals remain. The venue's haunted reputation centers on backstage areas, the restroom corridor, and stage right.
Some links on this page may earn HauntBound a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial picks are independent. Full disclosure
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
9 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
Oklahoma City, OK
The site of Belle Isle Station was first developed as Belle Isle Park in 1908 by the Oklahoma Railway Company, a streetcar amusement park surrounding a man-made lake built in 1907 to feed an adjacent power plant. After the park closed in 1928, Oklahoma Gas and Electric built a new Belle Isle Power Plant on the property in 1930; the plant ran until 1980 and was demolished in January 1999, after which the current shopping center was built.
Aerial survey · USDA NAIPTahlequah, OK
The Cherokee County Courthouse in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, occupies a building that previously served as the city hospital before being remodeled in 1978-79 to house the county courts and city hall. The structure is a two-story brick and concrete building on a T-shaped plan in the center of Tahlequah, which served as the historic capital of the Cherokee Nation.
Aerial survey · USDA NAIPEnid, OK
The Enid Masonic Temple was built in 1924 at 303 W. Broadway in downtown Enid. According to Wikipedia, the Masonic operations closed abruptly in 1946 and the upper floors remained largely vacant thereafter. The building, also known as the Knox Building, has been documented as a location of unexplained phenomena connected to the death of an elevator repairman.