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The cowboy ghost and the ranch house treasure
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West of Ardmore, Oklahoma, on the north side of Highway 70, an abandoned old ranch house stood for many years before finally succumbing to nature and collapsing, the ruins eventually disappearing behind a curtain of scrub oaks, briars and brush. But, according to a story told by old timers who once knew the family that lived there before and during the Great Depression, this modest wooden clapboard structure had a strange and fascinating history.
One night, as the family sat down to supper, a dusty cowboy, dressed in chaps and boots, appeared outside the kitchen screen door, looking in at them, expressionless. Surprised by their unannounced guest, the family called out to him, asking what he wanted. Was he hungry? In those days, a hungry stranger was seldom turned away. There was no response from the quiet cowboy, just a blank stare as looked at them through the screen door. Then, slowly, he faded away as the family looked on, disappearing into nothing.
The next night the cowboy returned, and events repeated themselves. Without a word, the ghost again dematerialized in front of the frightened family. Every night, at suppertime, the silent apparition stood outside and looked at the family inside, saying nothing, ignoring their questions—and then vanishing.
Eventually learning not to fear their mysterious guest, the family became used to his regular visits, going about their suppertime ritual as usual, never unraveling the mystery of their otherworldly friend and why he kept returning, night after night.
One possible clue as to the motivation of this ghostly ranch hand might have been revealed one day when I stopped by the old home place to do some metal detecting and bottle digging. Knowing the paranormal history of the place, I planned, just out of curiosity, to do a little ghost hunting while I was at it.
First though, I stopped to ask permission from the landowner, who lived up the hill from the shadowy hollow where the ranch house had once stood. He was friendly and obviously glad to have someone to talk to, so I asked him if he had heard the “stories” about the place, and he responded that, yes, he had heard the stories—but nobody to his knowledge had ever found the money, if it ever was buried there in the first place.
This information took me by surprise—I had no idea there was a buried treasure story associated with the place. Wanting to know more, I asked the old man if he knew any details about the buried treasure tale, but he didn’t know an.jpg)
ything else—it was just a persisting legend whose origins were long forgotten.
I spent considerable time metal detecting the old place, with a lot of interesting finds. But I never saw the ghost, and no buried treasure came to light under the coil of my detector.
Was the cowboy ghost trying to tell the family about his treasure? Money he had buried, perhaps, and never had a chance to recover when he was alive? Had he come back to claim it or try to show them where it was located with his icy, unblinking stare that seemed to look right through them? Maybe he was staring right at the spot where the treasure was buried? Silly, maybe, but it is food for the imagination, and some research into the history of the old McCullough house might reveal the origins of the treasure story.
Exploring this mystery might not lead to buried treasure, but it makes for a captivating story around the campfire. And if you’re into treasure hunting and ghost hunting, pack a picnic, a metal detector and a lawn chair. Walk down the hill to the old home site and do some detecting (you’ll be able to see a few remains of the old house). Then, get comfortable in your chair, wait for dusk to descend—and see what happens….
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