Club Purgatory

Oklahoma City, Ok

We have all heard the saying “sometime buildings choose their owners”, in this case, that old saying may stand true. The recent owners of the old Episcopal Church have had great success with the club, now a heavy/death metal venue. They are working hard daily to restore the structure and preserve the edifice from any more elemental damage that has occurred over the years. They take pride in the building for what it was and what is can be in the future. Special thanks goes out, for working so hard to preserve such a magnificent building. That had just so happen to have escaped Urban renewals in the 1980’s. EVP's were collected and are located at the bottom of this report.

The history and attached haunting rumors.

Built in around 1910 the original Episcopal Church stood about a half of a mile north, closer to Belle Isle Station of its current location on 31st & North Classen Blvd. After opening the doors to the church a few years later for some anonymous reason, the church was literally moved to its current location. Church reports and elders stated that the upper portion of the building was moved via rolling logs and workhorses. Upon examining the building evidence of a rumored move is very evident. The building appears to have a full basement, but at closer inspection, the basement begins where the main worship all ends. Perhaps the rumored move is true. Why they would build a church with only half of a basement? All remnants of the old Episcopal Church have vanished to date. Nothing left but the outer shell and simple gothic cathedral architecture of long ago.

The church has been several things in the past years; including the longest running business outside of the church was a medieval times restaurant. During the 1970’s through the mid 1980’s patrons enjoyed a wonderful and very themed meal at this unusual place to eat. Bits and pieces of the restaurant still linger within the club today. The old renaissance chandeliers hang prominent within the high ceilings and the wooden floors on the upper levels continue to add that medieval but dark charm.

Some of the more infamous types of businesses that were involved with the building have been many underground clubs. Infinity, Babylon and many others attempted to reopen and restore the old structure and have failed vastly. One very local rumor is that one of the balconies had fell and many club goers died, this legend has turned out to be false. Outside of a few broken bones, scrapes and bruises there are no deaths reported while the building was operational as a club.

The Star Winds connection?

 For many years there was a local shop not so far away from the old church. Anyone who grew up or is familiar with Star Winds has heard the rumors of “witches” and “black magic”. When I was a teenager during the late1980’s & early 1990’s I personally remember the sudden popularity with Satanism and careless black magic rituals. It was a huge phase and I remember it very well. During that time, it is rumored that the old church was rented out and elite members of the dark religious movement practiced rituals, harmful curses and even living sacrifices at the church. I personally remember speaking with a friend who practiced black magic during that time, mentioning to me that they were conjuring spirits and practicing things that I wouldn’t understand, including corrupt sexual acts, orgies, drugs and vampirism. I believed her and never asked about it again. All we can do now is wonder if in fact these are just stories or they hold truth.

 The Priest Legend:

Rumor has it that a priest of the original Episcopal Church committed suicide. Speaking with the new Episcopal Church, now located 2 miles west. It has been told by staff that in fact a member of the clergy did hang himself within the church shortly before the church doors closed in the late 60’s. We are currently searching for historical records to support this claim. Where he hung himself is unknown at this point.

With such an eclectic bunch of businesses there is always the possibility of a haunting. GHOULI team members spoke with the previous owners when it was Club Babylon. The reports were compelling enough to merit an investigation, but the owners had a fear that they were not yet ready to face. So GHOULI decided to wait for he next set of owners. Receiving a call from a friend that the kind folks of Mystical Illusions/tattoo & body piercing and the owners of former heavy metal club Stars & Bars now operated the club, we were excited to speak with them.

Talking with the owners, we realized that they were reporting almost identical occurrences as the people who owned club Babylon. Two stories, matching with people who have never met. In our eyes that was motive for an investigation.

Some of the reports have included, cold spots, shadows out of the corner of ones eye, smells, voices talking, radios turning on and off, a couple reported apparitions, footsteps, sensations of being watched and objects being moved around.

 August 7th, 2005 Investigation report:

 Members present at the investigation. Tonya, Tammy, Tricia, Scott (Eerieok) , Jennifer (EerieOk), Julie, Suzy (EerieOk), & Todd. Weather: A wonderful thunderstorm. A perfect ambiance for the evening.

Equipment used:

 Several Digital Cameras, Several analog recorders, 35mm IR Film Experiment (Scott), Night Shot Video Standard Stationary video, temperature meters and EMF detectors.

Protocol:

 Independent rotation was utilized at this particular investigation. Due to neon signs and highly reflective surfaces, photographic evidence will be scrutinized. Each member rotated within a time limit to collect possible EVP per the owners’ request. No groups of people, everyone remained quiet focused and alone while investigating. Team members would rotate and cover areas only of those ahead of them. Key areas: Per mild cognitive trial. There are a few areas within the club that have more of a strange/unwanted feeling attached to them. One of which was in the basement the other in the east side of the building behind the stage area.

Notes:

Is Club Purgatory Haunted? Not %100 sure yet. Witness accounts point in that direction. We did obtain EVP’s (see below) during the investigation. We will return for further investigations in time and per the owners’ request.

NOTICE:

 Please do not enter Club Purgatory asking about “ghosts”. Please be respectful that the owners are operating a business and they more than likely do not have time to answer your questions. The Club is under heavy surveillance 24-7, breaking and entering would just be a stupid thing to do, and you will get caught!

Once again, please do not solicit the owners of this club. They are very cool people, but they do grow weary of people’s inquiries, especially during business hours. If you would like more information about Club Purgatory, please visit their live music venue link or contact us here.

We will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Click here for more information.

EVP Collected 8-7-05

Strange Voice in Basement- Tonya was all alone in the basement during her quiet time. She was quiet about a minute before this EVP was heard and she was quiet about 20 seconds after this EVP. She would occasionally ask a random question. None were answered directly. But this strange audio was collected. 

Voice behind the curtain- During our rotation, EErie team member Scott was handed the Tonya's tape recorder. He then made his rounds up by the stage area. There is a male voice under his voice. Some say it sounds like "let me out", but team GHOULI is unsure of the interpretation. 

Random Woman's Voice-  After 3rd rotation, Tonya's tape recorder was passed on to another Eerie team member, Suzy. You will hear her comment and a faint voice following hers. Unknown to what she is saying. 

These 3 EVP were collected on Tonya's recorder. As other audio analysis is complete, we will add our data and hopefully more EVP!

As always! Your opinion counts! Tell us what you hear! Click here!

OUTSIDE OF PURGATORY BEING POTENTIALLY HAUNTED, ITS A GRET PLACE TO GO AND WATCH LIVE MUSIC, LOCAL AND NATIONAL BANDS, GREAT SOUND SYSTEM AND JUST A GREAT TIME! IF YOU ENJOY METAL/HARD ROCK/DEATH METAL OR ANYTHING DARK AND DANGEROUS, YOU WILL LOVE PURGATORY! TELL THEM GHOULI SENT YA!

CLUB PURGATORY HAS CLOSED DOWN... As of 5-2006 :(