This real-life Oklahoma 'haunted' mansion is for sale. What's the dark story behind it?

SEMINOLE — This 12,000-square-foot mansion is up for sale, and its buyer will be the owner of a significant piece of Oklahoma history.

But will they get more than they bargained for?

The Grisso Mansion in Seminole is once again up for sale, this time listed for $1.8 million by its decade-long owner, the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.

Built in 1926 by a local oil baron, the Zillow listing boasts the 4-bed, 6-bath mansion is fully furnished, and sits on about 11 acres. The property includes a vineyard, 1,600 square-foot garage, an in-ground pool, pool house, gazebos, fountains, statues, courtyard, tennis and basketball courts, lily and koi ponds and an arboretum.

There are also the guest quarters, once meant for servants, made up of two bedrooms, two bathrooms and two living rooms.

Who built the Grisso Mansion in Seminole?

William Edward Grisso, also known as "Doc" Grisso, came to Oklahoma in 1904 to be a doctor at the Seminole Indian Mission, according to The Oklahoman.

He eventually became the town's pharmacist, having left school early before finishing his medical degree.

The story goes that Grisso began acquiring mineral rights from others, including tribal members, and when oil was discovered in Seminole, he became one of the wealthiest men in the county. He built the mansion for his wife, Margaret "Maggie" Grisso.

The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma bought the mansion and its lands in 2012, and used it for weddings and other events. The tribe's General Council voted to dissolve operations and then to sell the property in 2019, said Assistant Chief Brian Palmer.

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Is the Grisso Mansion haunted?

Palmer said Grisso acquired much of his mineral rights through deals with Seminole tribal members, a commonality they share with other tribes in Oklahoma during the oil boom.

It has also been alleged that some of his land holdings were inherited from a Seminole woman he married who later died, but there is no record of this and the family disputes these rumors.

Palmer said that other families during this time had various attempts to exploit tribes because of how valuable oil became during this period.

"There was a lot of shady deals with either someone marrying someone in the tribe, or a judge awarding somebody custody of a minor, becoming their guardian, and being able to essentially steal their mineral rights," Palmer said.

Stories of paranormal activity include "seeing a woman that can be best described as Maggie Grisso roaming the halls, to seeing a little Indian boy in the basement/ballroom," according to the Native American Paranormal Project which filmed a documentary in the mansion in 2013.

The project was an attempt to capture paranormal activity, as well as share tribal member perspectives on the mansion and the history of the town's oil boom.

"Seminole Nation is essentially one of the poorest, (most) economically deprived tribes in Oklahoma," Palmer said. "Even though we had one of the highest producing oil regions in the world. It was basically all stolen."

Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect that there is no record of Grisso being married to a Seminole woman, and that the family holds this is just a rumor.