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Every NBA player knows the Skirvin Hotel in downtown Oklahoma. They just would not prefer to stay in the century-old hotel if they’re on the road against the OKC Thunder for some chilling reason.
The Skirvin’s story is well-documented by now. W.B. Skirvin, the widowed owner of the hotel, was rumored to have had an affair with Effie, a housekeeper. Not long after their romance started, Effie got pregnant.
The development supposedly horrified Skirvin, who forced her inside one of the upper rooms and locked her there even after the baby was born. Legend has it that the desperate Effie ultimately went crazy and threw herself out the window with the baby.
Some NBA players who have had the chance to stay at the Skirvin Hotel swore that it’s haunted by Effie the ghost.
In 2016, Metta World Peace, one of the NBA’s toughest enforcers, related his experience with the long-dead housekeeper. He had this to say about one of his encounters with the unseen in the iconic hotel:
"The ghosts were all over me. I just accepted it. They touched me all over the place. I’m taking one of the ghosts to court for touching me in the wrong places."
Most fans who were not familiar with the hotel could only laugh at the player formerly known as Ron Artest. They couldn’t believe what he told the media in 2016.
Metta World Peace wasn’t the only one who had an eerie encounter with Effie, though.
Several New York Knicks players blamed Effie and ghosts for losing an NBA game
In 2010, the New York Knicks were in town to face the OKC Thunder. One of New York’s best players was Eddy Curry, a bruising seven-footer who relished physicality against the biggest NBA players during that time.
Curry was in one of the rooms on the 10th floor where Effie supposedly leapt to her death more than a century ago. The big man was so terrified by the creaks and groans that he claimed he never got to sleep for more than two hours.
Eddy Curry ended up staying in teammate Nate Robinson’s room as he felt he couldn’t survive the night alone in his room.
A long list of players don’t want to spend another night at the Skirvin Hotel
Tim Hardaway Jr. was one of the unbelievers until a night at the said hotel changed his mind. He reportedly refuses to stay there whenever he’s in Oklahoma to play the Thunder.
Taj Gibson, one of the NBA’s toughest reinforcers, wouldn’t want to go to the hotel, let alone sleep there. Ditto for Lou Williams, who was more than willing to pay for accommodation instead of staying at the "haunted" hotel.
Derrick Rose, another tough guy who grew up in one of America’s roughest neighborhoods forced then-rookie James Johnson to share a room with him.
Winning an NBA game is hard enough. Having to deal with Effie is an entirely different thing, one which the OKC Thunder don’t mind having their opponents go through.
Guess the Lakers players!
