AP PhotoDid the Heat collapse in the second half because they were tired from lack of haunted-hotel sleep?
According to legend, the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in Oklahoma City -- where the Miami Heat are staying on their NBA Finals road trip -- is haunted.
A pair of onetime New York Knicks
believes it, including current Miami player Eddy Curry.
Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson
really believes it, as he
told ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell.
Shawn Marion
once saw something pretty scary there, which he shared with ESPN Dallas' Skin Wade.
While the Heat
might not believe it all that much, Bill Simmons in 2010
stayed the night and, well ...
... I woke up at 4:30 with my heart pounding. I swear on Tom Brady's ACLs that the following happened: At first, I heard a baby crying and realized that was why I woke up. I thought it was one of my own kids before remembering that my kids weren't babies anymore, then remembering that I was in Oklahoma City and not Los Angeles. Suddenly, it dawned on me that I wasn't alone. I had an overpowering sensation that someone else was in the room. Until you've experienced that feeling, you can't understand what it's like. Your blood is swishing through your veins at 200 mph, only you don't understand why. Your body reacts a few seconds before your brain does.
Spooked yet?
Yes or no, we can't help taking a look around this infamous inn:
AP Photo/Sue OgrockiJust a typical Bacchus gargoyle -- the kind of thing you see at roadside motels, of course.
AP PhotoIt's just a normal, everyday dim, shadowy room. Or is it ... ?
AP PhotoKeep telling yourself that chandelier is moving because of the wind. Wait, wind? We're indoors ...
AP PhotoLook at this creepy stairc -- never mind -- this is gone, after a $55 million renovation a few years back.
AP PhotoBut gargoyles were restored in that extensive reworking of this historic hotel.
Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE/Getty ImagesStill not convinced? Look at this Russell Westbrook photo from the Thunder's 2008 photo shoot at the Skirvin. They claim it's a stormcloud backdrop. But it does look a tad ghostly ...
