Pawnee Bill himself and other ghosts have been detected by visitors here; his image is said to eerily appear in a painting on the second floor. A fierce chill has been noted in an upper bedroom, and May Lillie, Pawnee Bill’s wife, is believed to haunt her favorite chair near the front door. The ghost of their child has been seen playing with toys nearby. Also, a cold chill has been felt by witnesses walking past the water tower where Pawnee Bill’s son hanged himself.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 1141 Pawnee Bill Rd
Pawnee, OK 74058
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 36.33179163687889, -96.81610822655784
- County:
- Pawnee County, Oklahoma
- Nearest Towns:
- Pawnee, OK (0.8 mi.)
Skedee, OK (7.0 mi.)
Glencoe, OK (9.4 mi.)
Maramec, OK (9.8 mi.)
Morrison, OK (11.0 mi.)
Blackburn, OK (12.6 mi.)
Ralston, OK (12.8 mi.)
Quay, OK (13.3 mi.)
Hallett, OK (15.4 mi.)
Yale, OK (16.4 mi.)
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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
I went here for a school field trip a few years ago. I was separated from my group and went upstairs looking for them. I saw a painting that intrigued me but when I continued up the stairs the painting morphed into something else. I panicked and ran outside to find the group talking about how Pawnee Bill’s son hung himself. There is a lot cross on the water tower and we were forbidden to climb it. As I glanced up to the lit cross a shiver ran over my body and I heard child laughter. I visit there every summer to put flowers at the water tower.
Years ago I was visiting with my family-we were touring the house. Upon entering the playroom upstairs, I felt a definite”electric” feeling up my back and neck. Like electrical energy was running through me. I also felt a presence very close to me.
What about the ghost of will rogers in the painting of two men in a boat?
As a boyscout I came here and felt uneasy with nightmares of what seems to be a child(Pawnee Bills son?).
Back in 2001 I took a trip from Tulsa to a company in Pawnee that sandblasted glass. After I dropped my glass off they told me it could be a while and they suggested I look around town. I am interested in history and old architecture so I knew I could easily fill my time enjoying the sites of the old town. The sandblasting company was located on the square. They told me about Pawnee Bills ranch and the theatre and mentioned an antique store around the corner from it. I decided to take my van thinking I would maybe drive out to look at the Pawnee Bill ranch. I was not familiar with the town of Pawnee or any of its history including Pawnee Bill as I’m not from Oklahoma. I drove past the theater and turned the corner and saw the antique store. I parked my van in front of a small cafe that had a couple tables on the sidewalk and a girl on a ladder hanging some decorations. I browsed the antique shop and decided to head outside and wander. I walked in front of the cafe and noticed a place where a building had once stood. I stepped through what had once been a doorway or a window and looked into the vacant lot for a couple of minutes wondering what had once stood there. When I stepped back on to the sidewalk I noticed a woman standing across the street. It was so odd. She was dressed in an outfit that looked old. She had her hair up on top of her head an a large hat was hanging behind her head from a strap. I thought she was dressed kind of like Annie Oakley. I was watching her and she was on the sidewalk across the street from where I was. She was pointing her finger at me and shaking it angrily like she was scolding me. I was thinking she must be the town kook dressed like that and acting that way. Then I realized that her mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. I thought how weird. I was not afraid of her but I was very uncomfortable. I half smiled at her and gave a little wave then I looked at the girl on the ladder and cocked my head toward the crazy lady across the road thinking she would look. As I did that I looked back over at the woman…but she was gone! I stood still for a moment wondering where could she have gone that fast. There wasn’t a car where she was and the closest door was too far away for her to get too that quick. I felt numb. I got in my van and drove west. Still numb I turned around at the ranch and headed back to town. I pulled into Sonic and noticed I was shaking. My adrenaline was crazy fast. I felt like I was in shock. I was running all of it back through my mind and came to realize that I had possibly just seen a ghost. When I got back to town I looked back at the area where she was to make sure there wasn’t a door close to where she was standing and confirmed there was not. When I went to pick up my finished table tops I asked the owner if there was a special event happening where townspeople would be dressing in period costumes. He said no. Not at that time (August). I didn’t say anything to anyone for weeks. I finally told my husband. He looked at me weird. The following summer I was working with a man that mentioned he had grown up in Pawnee. I got excited and told him what I had seen. After I had described the woman to him he said that he knew of several ghost sightings in Pawnee and that I wasn’t the first to see that lady. The next day he bright me a copied photo that he had taken from the Internet. I couldn’t believe it! I said “that’s her! That’s the crazy woman I saw!” He asked me if I had ever heard of May Lilly? She was the wife of Pawnee Bill. I hadn’t heard of her. But believe me. I googled her after that!
In 2001 me and my best friend visited The Pawnee Bill ranch and went on the tour and heard the story of how son son died on the water tower. As we entered the roon where Bill Cody stayed, it was single file and I was the first one in. On the way out, I was the last one to leave, as it was roped off. As I was walking out of the room, I felt a brisk tug on my purse like 2-3 times. I figured it was the little boy.
A close family friend of ours has worked at the ranch for years and has told us stories for years about how pawnee bill liked to mess with him and was quite the prankster spirit. He was closing one night and locking up and was locking windows by the painting when he said it smiled. At which point he said damn you bill and the doors all shut and locked themselves, locking him inside for a few hours. He said they finally unlocked about 3am once he nodded off in a rocking chair . He was woken up by a laughing spirit.