If you need an excuse to spend a weekend in Tulsa, the Cave House, 1623 W. Charles Page Boulevard, is a great one, especially at this time of year.

Built in the 1920s in the side of a cliff overlooking Newblock Park, the Cave House was originally a fried-chicken restaurant and, according to local legend, a speakeasy. Stories of a secret door leading to an underground bar and tunnels for hiding liquor are probably the least disturbing of the rumors that surround the Cave House. Other tales involve visits by notorious outlaws such as Pretty Boy Floyd; a mass grave for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot; and even a few ghost stories.

Current owner Linda Collier — who fell in love with the property as a child, bought it several years ago, and offers “I’ve Always Wanted to See Inside” tours to raise funds for restoration and maintenance — tells stories of unearthly visitors such as “The Rag Lady,” a former occupant who used to collect scraps of fabric from trash cans and wash them out so she could reuse them, and “The Key Lady,” who collected lost keys.

Collier has told local media outlets how fabric from her own rag bag mysteriously appeared in the very window where the Rag Lady used to hang laundered cloth to dry, and how visitors’ keys often seemed to go missing, only to turn up in the same spot, regardless of whether the visitor in question had been near that area.

Collier has decorated the building with recycled materials that pay homage to previous tenants. Below are interviews Collier gave to This Land Press and Discover Oklahoma:

For more information or to schedule a tour of the Cave House, visit CaveHouseTulsa.com — and while you’re planning your visit to Tulsa, why not make a weekend of it and stay in another historic building?

We can’t promise ghosts or 1920s gangsters, but we’re listed on the National Register of Historic Places and might have sheltered a few customers who enjoyed dinner at the Cave House before stopping for the night. An evening in our dark, elegant Lunar Eclipse Room might be the perfect companion to an afternoon in the Cave House. To book your room, call (918) 744-5500 or visit www.thecampbellhotel.com.