HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Oklahoma's Oldest Hotel and Its Infamous 10th Floor
1 Park Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73102
Research updated October 2026
Age
All ages
Cost
$$$
Room rates approximately $200–$400/night. Standard hotel stay includes no specific paranormal programming.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Fully paved, elevator access throughout 13-story hotel
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1911 · National Register of Historic Places · Oklahoma City Landmark · Historic Hotels of America
William Balser Skirvin opened his namesake hotel on September 26, 1911, with 224 rooms in a ten-story structure. Skirvin had made his fortune in Oklahoma Territory land and oil speculation after the 1889 land run, and the hotel was his civic statement — designed to make Oklahoma City feel like a proper American city.
A third wing was added in 1925, and between 1929 and 1930, all three wings were expanded to 13 floors, bringing the property to 525 total rooms. Skirvin's daughter, Perle Mesta, became U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg under President Truman and was a significant figure in Washington social circles — the hotel benefited from her connections and celebrity.
The hotel's 10th floor became associated with various vices during Prohibition and after, according to local reporters Steve Lackmeyer and Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman. Skirvin himself was, by contemporary accounts, 'a notorious womanizer and drinker,' and the upper floors hosted gambling and other activities that required discretion.
In 1945, local hotelier Dan James purchased the property and modernized it — air conditioning, a new swimming pool, updated furnishings. The hotel remained viable into the 1970s before declining occupancy led to its closure in 1988. It sat vacant for 19 years.
Oklahoma City acquired the building in 2002 for $2.875 million, and developer John Weeman proposed a $42.1 million renovation. The eventual project cost approximately $51 million. The Skirvin Hilton reopened in 2007, operated by Marcus Hotels and Resorts under the Hilton flag, with 225 rooms. In 2022, ownership transferred to a joint venture involving Ortus Hotel Investments and the Chickasaw Nation. A $22 million renovation completed in 2025 updated infrastructure and interiors.
Sources
The Effie legend has attached itself to the Skirvin with particular persistence. The story holds that hotel founder W.B. Skirvin locked a pregnant maid named Effie in Room 1015 to avoid scandal, and that she eventually jumped to her death. Reporters Steve Lackmeyer and Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman investigated the claim and found no historical evidence supporting it — no record of a maid named Effie in hotel employment files, no documented suicide from the building's rooms, and conflicting versions of the story that differ on the room number, floor, and even the woman's name.
What is documented is the 10th floor's reputation for various extralegal activities during the hotel's early decades, and Skirvin's own documented personal conduct.
The haunting gained national attention through NBA teams. In 2010, the New York Knicks attributed their loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder partly to disrupted sleep at the hotel — a claim covered extensively in sports media. The Chicago Bulls reported similar experiences: doors slamming and unexplained sounds outside their rooms. In January 2019, Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving announced he was producing a feature film about the hotel's paranormal reputation.
Tim Hardaway Jr. wrote a first-person account for The Players' Tribune describing his experiences at the hotel. Staff have independently reported objects moving and unexplained sounds during night hours.
Room 1015 remains the most frequently requested room by guests interested in the legend.
Notable Entities
225 rooms across 13 floors in downtown Oklahoma City's landmark hotel, open since 1911. Room 1015 on the tenth floor is the most frequently requested by paranormal-curious guests; the floor's reputation dates to the hotel's earliest decades. The Skirvin completed a $22 million renovation in 2025.
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