FindersCreepers Ghost Hunters in Oklahoma - 12-04-2010 - The Haunted County Line Barbeque in Oklahoma City

Case #BCL120420101

Haunting Investigation of a Business

04 December, 2010

The County Line Barbeque in Oklahoma City, OK

With records dating back to the early 1920's, the County Line Barbecue Restaurant in Oklahoma City has a colorful history full of booze, gambling, prostitution and even murder. The buildings have been used as a restaurant, night club, and speakeasy, but are suspected to date back even further in time to the early days of the wild-west, where it was known to be a popular brothel frequented by lonely cowboys looking for a distraction from the dry-hot-dusty winds of central Oklahoma.

Although we could not find evidence to verify the rumors, it is said that the buildings were once taken over by the mob in the early 30's to be used as a a hangout for gangsters. What we do know is that is was a very popular hideout for mobsters and that Pretty Boy Floyd, the notorious outlaw was one of their best customers!

Note: One interesting feature of the County Line is the private rooms that flank both sides of the main dining area. What is not so well-known is that the tables in all those side rooms sit above trap doors that lead to an area beneath the building, and they were put in place so that the patrons of the establishment could make a hasty exit when the law was seen to be heading their way. One moment you're drinking black market booze and enjoying a game of blackjack, with a sweet little honey on your lap and the next moment you're throwing everything under the building and making a run for it... those were the days!

Russell was a frequent guest of the establishment and was typically found on the prowl of a new lovely lady to cuddle up to. One dreadful evening, Russell's luck ran out when he picked the wrong lady to solicit and he was shot dead in front of the fireplace. Dead, yes – but Russell hasn't left yet. The FindersCreepers team, along with a few other paranormal research teams in the area have all gathered evidence to suggest that he is still there. I suppose he is still enjoying a cold bear and waiting for another pretty lady to walk by.

Throughout it's colorful past, the building housed the “Oak Cliff Club,” the “Kentucky Club”, and the “County Line Restaurant.” I'm sure it had other names as well, but documentation is hard to dig up from that far back in the past.

Until it's recent closing, guests as well as the staff of the County Line have shared with us countless stories of their experiences in this seemingly haunted location. They have described everything from cold spots to full-blown apparitions. Brenda, who used to run the place told me of a time when she had gotten off work and just arrived home when the phone rang. She looked at the caller I.D. and it said, “County Line.” How could that be? She thought, for she is the one that had locked the doors! She picked up the phone. Nothing. She hung up. The phone rang again... and again, she picked it up. Nothing. Her and her husband jumped back in the car and high-tailed it back to the restaurant... and they found.... nothing.

During one of our visits to the County Line, we had teamed up with the PROS team in Oklahoma and were in the middle of a group sit-down in the main dining area. Ron asked if someone would bring him a beer and said that it had better be a Budweiser! A second later, a noise was heard, and Tim marked audio stating that there was the noise he had heard earlier, but much louder that time. Upon review of that audio file, Susie found that we had indeed captured the disembodied voice of a gruff sounding male saying, “That'll be a buck.”

Here is that audio file for your review:

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Many EVP have been recorded at the County Line, and many anomalous photographs have been taken as well. Here is one that was captured by Tim under the building. It was incredibly dark down there and no flashlights were illuminated. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face, and yet – there is a very interesting light beam coming down at an angle through the picture. If you look closely, you will see that the beam of light is actually comprised of a multitude of orbs. We are not sure what this is that we captured. Some say it is a vortex, but who really knows? All we can do is call it, “interesting” and move forward from there.

Interesting photos depicting possible paranormal phenomenon at the County Line Restaurant in Oklahoma City.

Possible Vortex	Interesting Light Anomalies
Note: Larger views of these photos are available in our photo album, or by clicking the photos. (Photo's will open in a new window)

In the same area under the building, but at a later investigation, Tim captured yet another set of interesting photos. In the first photo, you can see a very small but extremely bright – possibly “self-illuminated” orb. A second later, in the next photo, you see what appears to be the same orb, but this time a little closer to Tim ,and now showing itself to us as two “rings.” Again, we don't know what it is that we actually captured here, and like much of the evidence we capture in the world of paranormal research, we have to chock it up as an interesting example of a possible paranormal phenomenon. And leave it at that.

On December 5th of 2010, the FindersCreepers team was honored to have received an invitation to join the management staff and their families for a final closing party and one last investigation of the County Line. We were honored to have received the investigation and readily accepted. Although it was too busy in the building to obtain any credible evidence of the haunting that night, we were thrilled to be a part of it all and had a great time saying goodbye to our friends and this incredible place. We will miss the entire staff – Brenda and Jerry who did such an amazing job running the place. Oscar who was one of Oklahoma's most beloved waiters and always had a dose of ghost stories to share with us and always treated us like absolute royalty! And then, who could ever forget Phil? He was the amazing hostess always greeting you with a smile and proudly showing you to your table. He loved the place, and the place loved him.

The County Line is now closed forever at that location. What will happen with the buildings now is anyones guess. I'm hoping that soon it will reopen and the FindersCreepers team will be once-again invited to return. And who knows; when we do, maybe Russell will still be waiting to sit down and enjoy a drink with us.

The following is a video clip of a news story covering the closing of the County Line. In it, you will hear from Brenda, (the prior Manager of the restaurant and a great friend to the FindersCreepers family) as well as Tim Doyon, (our Founder) speak of the restaurant's closure in hopes of getting the owners to reconsider their decision to shut it's doors. Unfortunately, however, the restaurant is now closed forever.


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