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February is widely known as the month of love featuring the ever popular Valentine's day. Attraction and passion are keywords of Februray complete with red roses, candy, and stuffed toys foisted upon the beloved.  For the more promiscuous indulger, sexy negligees and body oils are the way to go. Obviously human beings enjoy Valentine's Day.

But what about those who have left this human realm and have crossed over to the netherworld? Does amorous behavior cease?

Apparently not. Let's take a look at the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma, USA.

Kool Cats Photography/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0

The Skirvin Hotel, built in 1910 by oilman W.B. Skirvin, determined to have the finest hotel in the Southwest. Opening its doors in 1911, the plush hotel had two 10-story towers containing 224 rooms, was one of the first buildings in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to have air conditioning, then called “iced air,” had running ice water in each room, a ballroom that seated 500, and imported Austrian chandeliers that cost more than $100,000 each. In 1930, a third wing was added, raising the structure to 14 stories and increasing capacity to 525 rooms.

And then there's Effie...

"There's the spooky, sad Effie, and then there's the Effie that wants to get it on to Barry White music," said Steve Lackmeyer, co-author of the book Skirvin, You have even these famous people claiming they've had encounters with a horny Effie." *

The Oklahoma showplace became a popular speakeasy during Prohibition. During this time that W.B. Skirvin was said to have had an affair with one of the hotel maids. According to legend, the maid soon conceived, and to prevent a scandal; she was locked in a room on the top floor of the hotel. The desolate girl soon grew depressed, and even after the birth of her child, she was still not let out of the room. Half out of her mind, she finally grabbed the infant child and threw herself out of the window along with the baby.

The maid’s name remains unknown, but her ghost haunts the Skirvin Hotel, and former employees nicknamed “Effie”. Though the old hotel closed in 1988, former guests would often report not obtaining a decent night’s sleep due to the consistent sounds of a child crying.

Effie was a woman of loose morals, and many men who have stayed in the hotel have often reported being propositioned by a female voice while alone in their rooms.  Others have seen the figure of a naked woman with them while taking a shower. One man even claimed an invisible entity sexually assaulted him during his stay.

Other strange noises and occurrences were reported by staff and guests, including things seemingly being moved around by themselves, such as the maid’s cart being pushed down the hall when no one was there. *

"People will tell us their lights will flicker at night or a closet door will slam unexpectedly or there will be a creaking door," said Don Jackson, the Skirvin's director of sales and marketing. "There are some haunted stories floating around out there about the hotel, but we prefer to stay away from them since they have never been proven to have happened." A guest who was attending a conference at the hotel claimed her colleague discovered the words "HELP ME" written in the post-shower mirror fog. Jackson responded: "We've had recent reports that that verbiage may appear in the mirror."

Hotel guests hav always been known to complain about strange Effie encounters - the incessent sound of a child crying, make guests being proposotioned by a naked Effie while they are showering and items moving by themselves. Despite all this, there is no historical evidence for the Effie haunting.

Yet it happens.

*https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ok-skirvinhotel/

* *https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20211028-the-skirvin-the-us-most-haunted-hotel Ross kenneth Urkin