The Haunted House restaurant, which has sat off the 1950s-1980s alignment of Route 66 in Oklahoma City for more than 50 years, soon will be auctioned because of declining health of its nearly 90-year-old owner, reported The Oklahoman newspaper.
The steakhouse will be auctioned by Dakil Auctioneers on April 16. The eatery sits on a dead-end road (map here) and doesn’t advertise, relying only on word-of-mouth. Even many longtime Oklahoma City residents don’t know of its existence.
Yet people find their way to it and like it, if the Yelp reviews are to be believed.
The semi-obscure site also seems to have attracted celebrities wanting a semi-secluded meal, according to owner Marian Thibault:
“Bob Hope, Liberace, Hoss from ‘Bonanza,’ Sarah Ferguson, Lauren Bacall,” Thibault reads in a German-accented deadpan from the list, scribbled in faded ballpoint pen. “And the Bee Gees, whoever they are. … Foreigner, I guess that’s a rock and roll band or something.” […]
Thibault and her late husband, Arthur Thibault, opened The Haunted House restaurant in 1964, which then sat not far off the old Route 66 highway. There were no credit cards when the restaurant debuted, and for decades, the Thibaults mailed bills to many patrons.
“It was a restaurant that really catered to the legislators at the Capitol,” said Thibault’s son, Pete Holcomb. “It was all charge accounts and they would just send out statements to people every month.”
The 1935 stone-walled former residence is named because three deaths — including a homicide — were linked to it. Automobile dealer Martin Carriker was found shot to death there in 1963. Carriker’s wife died before the murder trial started. Their stepdaughter, who was indicted but acquitted of organizing the killing, died of a drug overdose not long after that.
The interesting part is although the restaurant plays up its spooky past and atmosphere, Thibault doesn’t believe in ghosts.