Built in 1904, the home sat at the center of early Oklahoma City society. Unlike many similar homes, this one contains 99.9% of it's priceless furnishings date to before statehood.
One of the stories told to me about the home was that a curator had heard the sounds of music and laughter as she crossed the hall from the library to the music room.
So, imagine my surprise as I'm waiting for the staff to arrive and I hear music -just a bar or two- while I stood on the porch snapping shots of the autumnal decorations. The music sounded like 19th century chamber music. It was almost too anachronistic to have floated on the air somewhere, so I assumed they leave period music playing inside the home to add to the historical experience. Well, as I found out a short while later from the curatorial staff, they never leave music playing when they are gone. Those rare times when they play music, I was informed, it's either rock or country.
The next night, as I took another private tour of the home to discover its hidden gems, I felt something brush against my arm as I stepped from the 2nd floor landing into the hall. I may have just brushed past a web (although the place is very clean) or it could have been an errant thread falling from my jacket sleeve. I can't say for sure. But with the strange music the night before, I wasn't willing to dismiss anything out of hand quite yet.
Is the Overholser haunted? According to many visitors and staff, it most certainly is. I can't yet say for certain whether I felt a brush with its ghosts or heard the dulcet tones of a party long since concluded. I will, however, keep my mind open to the possiblity and my eyes open for anything that goes bump in the night in the heart of Heritage Hills.
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