Teri French has always had a connection to the paranormal. As a young girl, she saw fairies and gnomes. She knew who was calling when the phone rang in the house.
That calling followed her into adulthood.
While working at a place that showed signs of paranormal activity, French’s interest in Tulsa’s haunted history grew undeniably. She decided to look into local ghosts and hauntings, and started the Paranormal Investigation Team of Tulsa in 2003 — the first haunted history tour company in Oklahoma.
Tulsa Spirit Tours started out as an event posted on Myspace to support the cost of research French was conducting with PITT. Eventually, it grew into its own year-round business.
“The momentum just kept going and going, to the point where it almost forced me to quit my job,” French said. “I’d rather do this. It’s way more fun.”
French always makes sure there’s something new for returning guests to look forward to on tours.
“My 10th anniversary, I started the haunted pub crawl,” French said. “My 20th anniversary, I started the Broken Arrow Tours. This year, I’ve created the Thrift Store and Dark Market Tours.”
At each spot on her haunted Tulsa tours, French plays electronic voice phenomena she recorded in the late 1990s and early 2000s during her paranormal investigations. These EVPs, along with old Tulsa photographs, enhance the tour’s spooky experience.
For French, Tulsa Spirit Tours isn’t just a business. It’s a way to share her lifelong passion of all things paranormal and historical with the Tulsa community. French says her main goal is to help educate Tulsans on the history of their city, even if it might not be a pleasant one.
“What we learn from, we will not repeat,” she said.
Haunted highlights
Among the many sites featured on Tulsa Spirit Tours, French points to Cain’s Ballroom as one of the most underrated. Although Cain’s is celebrated as a historic music venue, its haunted side is less widely known — emerging only after the music stops, when the crowds have gone home and the building falls silent.
Another hidden gem is the Tulsa Garden Center. French recalls a chilling story from the 1980s, when the Tulsa Police Department was called out on Halloween night. Alarms were blaring, and all of the doors on the front side of the house stood open — but no intruders were present. The incident remains unexplained.
Hitch a ride on a haunted Tulsa tour
Find out more about classes and tours offered by Tulsa Spirit Tours at tulsaspirittour.com.
French also notes the Gilcrease House as one of Tulsa’s most haunted spots. With such a rich history, it’s no surprise many people on her tours have had strange experiences while just being next to the house. For French, these experiences are a natural way of blending Tulsa’s history with the eerie ghost stories she tells on her tours.
Sarah Kate Synar is a freelance contributor to the Tulsa Flyer.
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