Meanwhile the two young women slept in a cold basement on orange crates, dressed in threadbare clothing and were denied makeup.

Neighbors reported a mysterious midnight burial in the yard, prompting police to dig up two small coffins containing the remains of dogs.

Extensive news coverage hinted at lurid details involving a shocking discovery made at the Hex House which “tends to bear out the sex angle,” the Tulsa World reported. The discovery was never revealed.

In October 1944, Smith was found guilty of inducing the two younger women to testify falsely against a neighbor and sentenced to a year in prison following a three-day trial.

A month later, Smith pleaded guilty to federal charges of using the mails to defraud and making false statements to obtain a war-time ration book in the name of her bulldog, Bon Bon.

The Hex House was eventually sold and demolished with the grounds turned into a parking lot for the Akdar Shrine Temple. The steps can still be seen on 21st Street.

And the tale lives on as one of the strangest in Tulsa history.