Unearth The Voyage
There is a Victorian mansion in a small Oklahoma town where the floorboards creak at night, the scent of jasmine drifts through empty hallways, and guests wake up at 3 a.m. for reasons they cannot explain. This is not a horror film set.
It is a real bed and breakfast with a fascinating past, a stunning historic interior, and one of the most entertaining murder mystery dinner experiences you will find anywhere in the country. The house has been welcoming curious guests since long before most of us were born, and its stories only get richer with time.
Whether you are a history lover, a fan of the paranormal, or just someone who wants a truly one-of-a-kind overnight stay, this place delivers in a way that a standard hotel simply never could.
The Address, Location, and Setting of Stone Lion Inn
Tucked inside the charming historic district of Guthrie, Oklahoma, the Stone Lion Inn sits at 1016 W Warner Ave, Guthrie, OK 73044. The mansion was built in 1907 and carries every bit of that early twentieth-century character in its bones.
Guthrie itself is one of the most beautifully preserved Victorian towns in the entire United States, and arriving here feels like the calendar rolled back about a hundred years.
The inn sits about 0.8 miles from Noble Park, making it easy to squeeze in a morning walk before breakfast. The surrounding neighborhood is a historic one, full of homes that have their own stories to tell.
The streets are quiet, the architecture is stunning, and the pace of life slows down in the best possible way.
From Oklahoma City, the drive is roughly 30 miles north, so this is a very accessible weekend escape. The location works perfectly as a base for exploring downtown Guthrie, which is packed with antique shops and preserved Victorian storefronts.
Arriving here for the first time, I genuinely felt like I had stumbled onto a movie set that nobody told me about.
The Rich History Behind the Mansion
The Stone Lion Inn has one of the more layered histories of any bed and breakfast in Oklahoma. The mansion was constructed in 1907 for a prominent local family, and over the decades it served several different purposes before becoming the beloved inn it is today.
One of its more striking former uses was as a funeral home, a fact the current owners share openly and that adds a whole extra layer of atmosphere to your stay.
That history is not just a marketing trick. The basement and attic both carry traces of the building’s past, and the owner has been known to offer tours of both spaces after breakfast.
The house has twelve individually decorated suites, each named and furnished to reflect a specific piece of its history. The Cora Diehl Suite, for example, comes with its own backstory that guests find genuinely fascinating.
The building has been carefully maintained to preserve its original character while still offering modern comfort. Original woodwork, period-appropriate furnishings, and Victorian iron beds are found throughout.
History here is not just decoration; it is woven into every corner of the structure, and spending a night inside it feels like a genuine conversation with the past.
The Murder Mystery Dinner Experience
The murder mystery dinner at Stone Lion Inn is the main event that draws most guests through the front door, and it absolutely earns its reputation. There are twelve different plots to choose from, which means you can come back again and again without repeating the same story.
Each scenario involves guests as active participants, with assigned characters, costumes, and scripted roles to play throughout the evening.
The format works well even for people who are not natural performers. The staff guides the event with energy and keeps things moving at a comfortable pace.
Food is served during the show, and the meals arrive generously portioned and well seasoned. The combination of a theatrical storyline, a delicious dinner, and a century-old haunted mansion creates an atmosphere that is genuinely hard to replicate anywhere else.
Groups of friends, couples celebrating anniversaries, and even corporate teams have all found this experience to be a memorable one. Dressing up in costume adds a playful element that tends to break the ice quickly among strangers.
The house itself does half the work just by existing, since every creaking floorboard and dim hallway adds to the suspense. By the end of the night, most guests are already plotting their return visit to try a different storyline.
The Rooms and Suites: Victorian Comfort at Its Finest
Each suite at Stone Lion Inn is individually decorated, and no two rooms feel the same. The Wedding Suite is one of the most popular options, featuring beautiful furnishings and a romantic atmosphere that has made it a favorite for anniversary visits.
The Cora Diehl Suite carries its own eerie reputation and tends to attract guests who are specifically hoping for a paranormal encounter during their stay.
Several rooms include claw-foot tubs, which feel like a genuine luxury after a long day of exploring the town. Victorian iron beds are a common feature throughout the inn, and the mattresses are comfortable enough that most guests sleep soundly, unexplained 3 a.m. wake-ups aside.
Separate sitting rooms are attached to most suites, giving guests a little extra space to relax or read.
The rooms are kept clean and well maintained, and the period decor is handled with care rather than feeling like a costume party gone wrong. There is no television in the rooms, which sounds like a drawback until you realize how refreshing it is to simply sit in a beautiful historic space without a screen competing for your attention.
The silence, the antique surroundings, and the faint creak of old wood make for an atmosphere that is genuinely one of a kind.
Breakfast: The Morning Reward
A stay at Stone Lion Inn includes a daily breakfast, and this is not the kind of continental spread where you grab a sad muffin from a plastic container. The breakfast here is cooked fresh each morning and served at a set time, creating a communal dining experience that feels warm and unhurried.
The quiche has earned particular praise from guests, arriving hot and packed with flavor.
Coffee and orange juice come alongside the meal, and the portions are generous enough to keep you fueled through a full morning of exploring Guthrie. The staff who prepare breakfast have a talent for making guests feel genuinely welcome at the table, and the meal often becomes a casual storytelling session about the house’s history and the paranormal encounters guests have reported over the years.
Eating breakfast in a 1907 Victorian mansion while your host shares stories about former residents and unexplained events is a very specific kind of morning experience, and I mean that as a compliment. The dining room carries the same period charm as the rest of the house.
By the time you finish your second cup of coffee and push back from the table, you will feel like you have already gotten your money’s worth before the day has even properly started.
The Paranormal Side of Stone Lion Inn
The paranormal reputation of Stone Lion Inn is not just a marketing angle. Guests across many years have reported specific, consistent experiences that are hard to brush off as coincidence.
Multiple visitors have woken up at exactly 3 a.m. without any apparent reason, often in separate rooms and on different nights. The second floor carries a faint scent of tobacco smoke that has no obvious source in a strictly non-smoking building.
One of the most striking reports involves guests seeing what appears to be a floral arrangement draped over a sleeping companion in the middle of the night, only for it to vanish completely when the lights come on. The Cora Diehl Suite has a particularly active reputation, and guests who stay there often come away with stories that are difficult to explain rationally.
The inn’s history as a former funeral home adds context to why so many people feel a particular kind of energy inside the building. The owner does not shy away from discussing these encounters and treats the subject with honesty rather than exaggeration.
Whether you are a firm believer in the paranormal or a healthy skeptic, the atmosphere inside this Oklahoma mansion is thick enough to make even the most logical guest pause and listen a little more carefully to the sounds of the house at night.
The Owners and the Hospitality That Sets This Place Apart
The heart of Stone Lion Inn is its people. Owner Becky has built a reputation as an exceptional storyteller and host who makes every guest feel genuinely at home from the moment they walk through the door.
Her knowledge of the house’s history is deep, and she shares it with the kind of enthusiasm that makes you lean forward in your chair and ask follow-up questions.
Her son Grant has also become a beloved part of the experience, particularly as the chef behind those memorable breakfasts. The warmth between the family members and their guests creates an atmosphere that feels more like visiting a relative’s extraordinary home than checking into a commercial property.
That personal touch is something that simply cannot be manufactured.
The staff involved in the murder mystery events bring the same energy to their performances, keeping guests engaged and entertained throughout the evening. Even when things have not gone perfectly, as with any small business, the underlying character of the people running this inn tends to leave a positive impression.
Hospitality at this level is genuinely rare, and it is one of the main reasons guests return to Stone Lion Inn year after year rather than simply crossing it off their travel bucket list and moving on.
Exploring Historic Downtown Guthrie
One of the underrated bonuses of staying at Stone Lion Inn is the town itself. Guthrie, Oklahoma was actually the first capital of the state, and its downtown district is one of the largest contiguous historic districts in the United States.
The streets are lined with beautifully preserved Victorian-era architecture, and walking through the area feels like an outdoor history lesson that nobody is forcing you to take.
Antique shops are scattered throughout the downtown strip, and they are the kind of places where you can spend an hour without noticing. Local boutiques, small restaurants, and historic buildings fill out the area and give visitors plenty to explore on foot.
The Victorian Walk weekend is a particularly popular time to visit, when the town leans fully into its heritage with tours, events, and decorated storefronts.
The inn is well positioned for accessing all of this, close enough to walk or take a quick drive. After a night of murder mystery theatrics and an unexplained 3 a.m. wake-up call, spending the morning browsing antiques and admiring century-old architecture turns out to be the perfect way to decompress.
Guthrie rewards slow, curious exploration, and Stone Lion Inn puts you right in the middle of it all.
The Gardens, Gazebo, and Outdoor Spaces
The grounds surrounding Stone Lion Inn are a quiet and genuinely lovely part of the overall experience. The garden features mature pecan trees that provide generous shade, and a gazebo sits at the center of the outdoor space as a perfect spot to sit and decompress after a full evening of murder mystery intrigue.
The outdoor areas are well maintained and carry the same period character as the interior of the house.
Morning guests often drift outside with a coffee cup before breakfast is officially served, and the garden offers a peaceful contrast to the dramatic atmosphere inside. The combination of old trees, manicured greenery, and Victorian architecture creates a setting that feels both timeless and deeply relaxing.
It is the kind of outdoor space that makes you want to sit down and stay a while.
For guests visiting in spring or fall, the garden is especially beautiful, with the trees in full color and the air cool enough to make outdoor sitting genuinely comfortable. The gazebo has also served as a backdrop for photographs, and it is easy to see why.
Few bed and breakfasts in Oklahoma can offer this combination of haunted history indoors and peaceful natural beauty just outside the back door, and Stone Lion Inn delivers both without effort.
Practical Tips for Planning Your Visit
A few practical notes can make your stay at Stone Lion Inn go more smoothly. The inn is reachable by phone at 405-282-0012 and has a website at stonelioninn.com where you can check availability and book directly.
The murder mystery dinners require advance reservations and often fill up quickly, especially on weekends, so booking early is strongly recommended if that experience is your main draw.
The twelve available murder mystery plots mean you can return multiple times and never repeat the same story. Bringing a costume that fits your assigned character adds a lot to the evening, and the staff will share character details in advance so you can prepare.
If you are visiting as a group, the inn works particularly well since taking over the full house creates a much more intimate and memorable experience.
Parking is free on site, and the inn is pet-friendly, which is a genuinely appreciated detail for travelers who hate leaving their animals behind. Free Wi-Fi is available, though many guests report that unplugging entirely and leaning into the historic atmosphere is actually the better choice.
Stone Lion Inn sits about 30 miles north of Oklahoma City, making it an easy same-day trip or a very worthwhile overnight escape from the city.
Why Stone Lion Inn Deserves a Spot on Your Travel List
There are plenty of bed and breakfasts across the country that promise charm and deliver a generic room with floral wallpaper. Stone Lion Inn is a different animal entirely.
The combination of a genuinely historic 1907 mansion, a well-crafted murder mystery dinner experience, paranormal activity that guests keep reporting with remarkable consistency, and hosts who treat every visitor like a welcomed friend adds up to something that is very hard to find elsewhere.
The inn has maintained a strong reputation across more than a decade of guest reviews, with a 4.5-star rating built on experiences that people clearly feel compelled to talk about long after they leave. The fact that guests return multiple times, specifically to try different murder mystery plots or stay in different suites, says a great deal about the quality of the experience.
Oklahoma does not always get the credit it deserves as a travel destination, and places like Stone Lion Inn are exactly why that reputation needs updating. This Victorian mansion in Guthrie is not just a novelty stay.
It is a layered, atmospheric, and genuinely entertaining experience that rewards curious travelers who are willing to step off the beaten path and spend a night somewhere that has real stories to tell. Your next unforgettable weekend might be closer than you think.
