The Immaculate Nathan B.

Nathan Buchanan is a 21-year-old student at the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) at the University of Central Oklahoma. Music has been an important theme in his life and has become his dream for the future.

For Buchanan, performing and expressing himself lyrically through hip-hop has become an important part of his life. As a musician in Oklahoma, Buchanan hopes to change the face of music in this state and more so to change the face of hip-hop. Buchanan's passion and drive to change the music industry makes him a critical player for change within the state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma's hip-hop scene remains largely underground, although key artists have collaborated with mainstream artists. Rappers such as Johnny Polygon, Big8, Jabee and Josh Sallee have been collaborated with more widely known musicians.

Recording studios in Oklahoma do not have much of a presence in the United States but they are there and growing. Buchanan hopes to own his own studio in the future and produce music for other bands while creating and performing his own.

Skirvin Hilton Hotel

The Skirvin Hilton Hotel reopened in January 2006 and is considered haunted by many. It was formerly named the Skirvin Hotel and closed in 1988. The history and the haunting of the property are salacious and intriguing.

A wealthy oilman named W.B. Skirvin first built the Skirvin Hotel in 1910. During the prohibition era, the hotel became a popular speakeasy and a center for underground activity. Allegedly the founder of the hotel had an affair with a maid that worked for the hotel. When the maid became pregnant with Skirvin’s child, he locked her in one of the hotel room on the top floor to avoid scandal. Flooded with depression, the maid threw herself and her infant child out of the window.

According to former guests of the hotel, there have been multiple sightings of the maid, who they call “Effie” as well as figures of a naked woman. Some have reported disturbed sleep due to sounds of a child crying. Male guests report being propositioned for sex by a female voice when alone in their room as well as a naked woman showering with them. One man was allegedly sexually assaulted by an invisible entity.

Psychology sophomore Meghan Frizzell recently stayed in the Skirvin Hotel with her family this past summer when visiting family in Oklahoma City.

“I woke up one night when I heard a baby crying,” Frizzell said. “I thought it was my daughter so I went to check her crib and found her sleeping quietly. The crying stopped abruptly short after. The front desk said no children were on the eighth floor. I was freaked out.”

While the Hilton Skirvin Hotel may be haunted, they still perform business like a normal hotel and attract guests due to the alleged haunting. For more information, visit http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ok-skirvinhotel.html

Cry Baby Bridge

On Wednesday Dec. 8^th political science senior Joseph Duvall and Norman native Tabitha Randall visited Cry Baby Bridge in Moore to investigate the supernatural occurrences there. During their investigation they heard sounds of an infant crying and immediately left.

Duvall first visited Cry Baby Bridge when he was in high school with some classmates. He reported that he saw a car and a baby seat in the ditch below the bridge and that around midnight he heard a baby crying and saw what appeared to be a woman looking frantic. The figure of the woman suddenly disappeared and Duvall and his friends quickly left the bridge area.

“A lot of people go to Cry Baby Bridge with doubt in their minds,” Duvall said. “It’s not until you go that you realize how real and scary it can be.”

While Cry Baby Bridge is a local legend that has many believing, there is some evidence that the story is a lie. According to strangeusa.com, the car that is seen in the ditch was put there by “a group of kids” who stole it and pushed it into the pond. The story supposedly developed from a similar story of a couple fishing on a pond near the bridge with their infant on a boat that capsized and the baby drowned. That pond is called Cry Baby Lake.

Paranormal investigator Christie Clark spoke about the legend calling it “sensational.”

“There might be spirits there,” Clarke said. “But it seems like people hype the story too much and there is little truth of what actually happened left.”

The bridge still stands as a dilapidated wooden structure. The city of Moore plans to tear down the bridge in the future for safety reasons.

To learn more about Cry Baby Bridge visit http://theshadowlands.net/places/oklahoma.htm.