The jury is still out for me. I've searched many places for ghosts. I've felt chills from being in the dark as my mind played tricks on me. But so far, no ghosts, no moving objects and no disembodied voices.

It's not that I don't want to believe; I am waiting to believe.

That's why I so enjoyed “Ghosts and Legends of Oklahoma” by Mike Ricksecker, 37, of Yukon.

I met Ricksecker when he came to work with me as a programmer. I was surprised when he mentioned he investigated hauntings with his team, Society of the Haunted.

I found myself asking him likely the same questions he's heard 100 times before: What have you seen? Scariest incident? He happily answered with a knowing look in his eyes.

A recent transplant to Oklahoma, I know little about the state. That's why some of my favorite parts of Ricksecker's book are about Oklahoma's history. The author includes a history lesson for each place the team researched.

The stories in “Ghosts and Legends of Oklahoma” illustrate Oklahoma's distinct times of prosperity, periods of decline and some of its darker days. Many of those dark times led to the stories and legends of the supernatural that Ricksecker writes about in his book.

Whether you believe is your choice.

The book begins with some fascinating history of Guthrie. I've visited Guthrie several times, but the visits were always short because of my limited knowledge of the town's history.

For example, I didn't know Guthrie has its own Boot Hill. When I was younger, I thought Boot Hill was one place somewhere out West, but I discovered years ago that it refers to multiple cemeteries throughout the Old West, primarily for gunslingers.

Guthrie's Boot Hill cemetery is near what was called the Black Jail. Like its name, it's a place where dark shadows of its former occupants of notorious gangs and outlaws can supposedly be seen by some, still lurking its corridors.

Guthrie also has some bawdy locales such as the Blue Belle Saloon, which Ricksecker writes once included a bordello. The building has changed names and owners many times, and rumor has it that's because of all the supernatural activity there including apparitions, objects moving on their own and disembodied voices.

Santa Fe Depot and the Harvey House also are fascinating haunts in Guthrie included in the book. One of the haunted locations I've been to that is featured in the book is the Logan County Memorial Hospital. I parked on the street out front and stared up at the windows where legend has it you can see the apparition of someone walking around on the third floor.

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