Oklahoma’s Fort Washita Has A Headless Ghost And A Strange History

I don't know what it is about old military forts in Oklahoma, but they seem to have more than their fair share of ghost stories. We've already talked about Fort Sill and Fort El Reno, and now I've got another one for you down near Durant.

This tale deals with a headless woman, a child who supposedly became possessed, and a lot of real Oklahoma history that goes back to the days before we even had a state.

Fort Washita

The most famous ghost story from Fort Washita is all about a woman known as Aunt Jane, and if you believe the stories, she didn't exactly have a peaceful end to her time on earth.

According to Oklahoma's official tourism website, Aunt Jane was a strong-willed woman who was murdered by thieves in the very early days of the fort. Typical of the day, the bad guys wanted her money, and she wouldn't tell them. The story says the thieves beheaded her, scattered her remains, and buried what was left of her around the fort.

The money was never found.

It sounds brutal because it is brutal, but it was also a really common thing back then in the lawless territory. I had a distant great-uncle who struck it rich in the 1920s and made a habit of showing it around the then-booming town of Hollis. Bandits followed him home, killed him, and tossed his body into the dugout behind his house. They got every last dollar, and as far as I know, his spirit didn't stick around.

You know I'm a skeptic of the paranormal. I don't believe in any of it... But money is the one thing I don't joke about. If somebody killed me over a stash of money, I'd want to haunt my home too. Of course, I'd prefer to keep my head while doing it, but apparently Aunt Jane had other problems to worry about.

Her ghost is said to appear near the ruins wearing a white gown, sometimes without her head. I like to think the last hundred years of Hollywood movies might make seeing a ghost not a big deal, but Aunt Jane's story gets really dark.

Aunt Jane isn't the only reason Fort Washita is rumored to be haunted either. There's a lot more history.

The Possessed Little Girl

Somewhere around the late 1800s or early 1900s, a child named Molly Stalcup was reportedly possessed by Aunt Jane's spirit.

According to the story, little Molly made it a habit of pestering Aunt Jane. Being the rough-and-tumble person she was, Jane hopped into Molly's body and threatened to cut off the little girl's hair. I can't imagine the ordeal it must have been, but Molly's mother began praying, and that's when Jane's spirit supposedly fled.

I can only assume there's more to the story that got lost along the way, but that's all I found. Either way, the tale has stuck around long enough to become part of Fort Washita's reputation.

I gave it due diligence, though. I haven't found enough reliable historical documentation to establish exactly who Aunt Jane was or verify the details of either story, so we're dealing with local legend here, not a documented murder case. That doesn't make the stories any less interesting, but it's worth keeping the two things separate.

The Fort Washita Dogs

One of the stranger stories associated with the old fort involves Charles Colbert, a member of the Chickasaw Nation who reportedly lived on the property after the military years.

According to accounts repeated in Oklahoma's haunted-history coverage, Colbert moved into the old buildings with 32 dogs. Then, one night, all 32 dogs disappeared.

He reportedly spent the next day rounding them up, only to have the same thing happen again the following night. All thirty-two dogs. Gone.

Now, I can't decide if the dogs are "disappearing," or if they're just running away from a bad vibe or some ghostly apparition, but it's worth mentioning.

Want To Explore Fort Washita After Dark?

You can. Today, Fort Washita is managed by the Chickasaw Nation, and visitors are free to explore the historic site and buildings. There are also creepy, candlelit ghost tours you can take after dark if you don't want to go it alone.