Savannah's Most Haunted Places

The charming, southern city of Savannah, Georgia, is considered by many to be the most haunted city in America. Fueled by some stories that have been told for hundreds of years and more recently in the book and movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, visitors tour the city every night with the hopes to witness something spooky.

 

As you read the stories behind Savannah's scariest places on the left, use the P.K.E. Meter on the map to search for the spectre who haunts that location.

 

Turn your lights off, press play, and explore Savannah's Most Haunted Places.

 

 

Created by Kelly Bigley (@kellybigley) and Jonah Adkins (@jonahadkins) , this 2015 Storytelling with Maps contest entry combines fun design and elements from multiple story map templates. The Story Map Journal℠ template is used to create the map-based narrative for the haunted sites. The spyglass element from the Story Map Spyglass℠ is used to allow the user to hunt for ghostly visitors to downtown Savannah. 

 

 

 

 

Moon River Brewing Company

 

Originally a hotel, the brew company staff have named two ghosts in the building. Toby lives in the basement, and seems to enjoy wreaking havoc in the offices. The office manager has had bottles thrown at him in his office. Mrs. Johnson is the ghost that lives in the upper floors. Wearing old style clothing, she has been seen coming up and down the stairs and has even been seen walking up to the bar as if to order a drink, although her body faded out at the arms and legs.

 

Savannah Cotton Exchange

 

The Cotton Exchange Tavern has a ghost that still enjoys its coffee right on time. One bartender recalls a regular patron that came in every morning at the same time to enjoy a cup of coffee. Now that the patron has passed away, the bartender still smells fresh coffee at that same time of morning even though no coffee has been brewed yet and all the pots are clean.

 

Olde Harbour Inn

 

The old warehouse caught fire in 1892, and the only fatality was that of an unhappy worker and suspected arsonist named Hank. Now a hotel, many guests report hearing banging on doors, hearing door knobs turning, and even having an invisible bed mate. One guest felt the mattress compress beside her, and she rolled over assuming it was her husband only to see her husband walking from the bathroom. Someone was in the bed with her and it was not her husband! Was it Hank?

 

The Pirate's House

 

Originally a bar and boarding house for sailors, the secret tunnel leading from the rum cellar in the basement was used to capture drunk men and carry them through to the river to force them into service on the ships. Many people have reported hearing voices and moans originating from the tunnel. Others have seen 'see-through' sailors walking through the rooms of the restaurant.

 

The Olde Pink House

 

This restaurant, originally the home of James Habersham, Jr., has many strange happenings throughout. One server was taking a tablecloth off one of the tables and something tugged back. She ended up in a tug of war match with something she could not see and lost! Another server extinguished all the candles in one of the dining rooms, stepped out of the room, and returned to find the candles relit with the smoke still hovering above from when she had blown them out. The downstairs tavern is perhaps, the most haunted section of the house. One bartender tells stories of wine bottles coming off the rack on their own behind the bar. This has been witnessed by others, and the bartender has even been hit with a flying bottle. Another man, ready to enjoy his drink, raised his glass and toasted with another man at the end of the bar. After enjoying a sip, looked back to the man, only to find he was no longer there. Some believe this is the ghost of James Habersham Jr. himself.

 

The Marshall House

 

This hotel was used as a hospital for Union troops during the Civil War, and is likely the source of several Union soldier ghost sightings throughout the house. Others have reported seeing the ghosts of children, and have even claimed the children ghosts like to tickle the feet of sleeping guests.

 

Bradley's Lock and Key

 

Bradley's Lock and Key is a locksmith shop owned by William Houdini Bradley. Bradley namesake is the Master Illusionist, Harry Houdini, and Bradley's father, Aaron, was very close to the Houdini family. Aaron was quite the spiritualist and was known to conduct seances in attempt to contact Houdini himself after he died. Perhaps this is why Bradley's Lock and Key is haunted. The front door of the shop opens and closes on its own, and perhaps it is Houdini himself coming in and out.

 

Owens-Thomas House

 

At one time the upper floors in the house were used as apartments, and there is more than one account of a strongly built, middle-aged man dressed in mid-19th century attire appearing at the doorway and moving around the room. Now a museum, the staff has heard footsteps in rooms that sound like tour group stragglers, yet there is no one in the rooms.

 

17 Hundred 90 Inn

 

Heartbroken and pregnant, Anna Powell committed suicide by jumping out of the window of room 204 at the inn. Her apparition has been seen sitting in the chair by the fireplace of her old room. She has been known to yank the covers off couples while they are sleeping and toss them into the air. She likes to collect undergarments and jewelry and hide them in strange places. One guest found her undergarments hanging on branches of the tree outside the inn.

 

Kehoe House

 

Twin children died in the chimney, and many say they haven't left. Now a bed and breakfast, reports of children's voices include the sound of a disembodied child's voice saying 'come play with me'. A woman was sleeping in one room and woke up to the sensation of small hands stroking her hair and face. She opened her eyes to the sight of a ghostly little boy eye to eye with her and then quickly vanished.

 

Davenport House

 

This house is host to one of the few four-legged varieties of ghosts. A white and orange tabby cat has been seen many times in several rooms of the house. It seems the cat likes young children, as witnesses have seen children calling to a cat that no one else can see and even petting the air as if it is a cat.

 

Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace

 

The birthplace of the founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low, is often visited by Girl Scout troops from across the country. Many believe that Juliette's mother and grandmother haunt the house by playing the piano and sliding down the banister at night. Some have even reported seeing an apparition during the daytime wearing an old-fashioned dress.

 

Colonial Park Cemetery

 

This cemetery has historically been home to Voodoo rituals and ceremonies as well as many good ghost stories. The cemetery has a mass grave of victims of the Yellow Fever epidemic, and it was often used as the grounds for dueling. The cemetery is home to one of the more famous ghosts in Savannah. Rene Asche Rondolier, a difigured orphan, was accused of murdering two girls whose bodies were found in the cemetery. He was lynched and left for dead in a nearby swamp, yet more dead bodies turned up in the cemetery several days later. People have claimed that Rene's ghost was to blame.

 

Sorrel-Weed House

 

This house has many claims of disembodied voices, and the stories go right along with it. The home was built by Francis Sorrel in the early 1840's atop the unmarked graves of 1500 Revolutionary War soldiers. Sorrel's first wife died soon after the construction was complete. The stories say he married his late wife's sister, but was later caught in an affair with a young slave girl named Molly. His wife was horrified at her finding and commited suicide by jumping from a balcony of the house. Soon after, Molly hung herself on the grounds. The stories of the deaths are debated, but many witnesses claim to have felt nausea, panick, and choking sensations in the basement of the home.

 

Andrew Low House

 

The former home of Juliette Gordon Low and her husband, William, the Andrew Low House is said to be haunted by the former butler, Old Tom. The sounds of his footsteps are often heard by staff and tourists as they go about in the house museum. Even the ghost of General Robert E. Lee, a frequent visitor during his lifetime, is reported to have been seen in the house.

 

Hamilton Turner Inn

 

Built in 1873, the Inn was originally constructed after the Civil War by Hamilton Turner. The Inn is reported to be haunted by a Civil War soldier walking the halls, and he has even been sighted at the foot of the bed by a guest who had woken in the middle of the night to shuffling noises in the room. Other stories tell of sounds of children laughing and balls rolling around on upper floors.

 

Clary's Cafe

 

Clary's Cafe, made famous by the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, is a favorite of the locals for breakfast and one place where you can surely solicit many great stories of local hauntings.

 

432 Abercorn

 

The hauntings of 432 Abercorn are hotly debated. The home sits atop a slave cemetery and hosts one of the more unique ghost stories in the area: one about orb catchers. An orb catcher is the energy manifested when the universe attempts to restore balance between supernatural activity and the natural order to facilitate the crossing over of paranormal energies. This appears as a burst of light and is often times orb shaped. Orb catchers have been witnessed many times at 432 Abercorn, and a witness even captured one in a photograph. The witness' photograph shows a large orb with illuminated tentacles radiating outward.

 

Mercer House

 

The Mercer House was originally owned by General Hugh Mercer, the great-grandfather of singer Johnny Mercer. Its famous notorious resident, Jim Williams, restored the house and used it for his intenational antique business and would often throw lavish parties. In 1981, Williams shot a young hustler named Danny Hansford, and the story lives on in the novel and movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Williams was acquited, but died almost 9 years after the murder. Since then, many people claim to have witnessed parties happening in the house when no one was home.

 

Killer Credits

Savannah's Most Haunted Places

The charming, southern city of Savannah, Georgia, is considered by many to be the most haunted city in America. Fueled by some stories that have been told for hundreds of years and more recently in the book and movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, visitors tour the city every night with the hopes to witness something spooky.

 

As you read the stories behind Savannah's scariest places on the left, use the P.K.E. Meter on the map to search for the spectre who haunts that location.

 

Turn your lights off, press play, and explore Savannah's Most Haunted Places.

 

 

Created by Kelly Bigley (@kellybigley) and Jonah Adkins (@jonahadkins) , this 2015 Storytelling with Maps contest entry combines fun design and elements from multiple story map templates. The Story Map Journal℠ template is used to create the map-based narrative for the haunted sites. The spyglass element from the Story Map Spyglass℠ is used to allow the user to hunt for ghostly visitors to downtown Savannah. 

 

 

 

 

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Moon River Brewing Company

 

Originally a hotel, the brew company staff have named two ghosts in the building. Toby lives in the basement, and seems to enjoy wreaking havoc in the offices. The office manager has had bottles thrown at him in his office. Mrs. Johnson is the ghost that lives in the upper floors. Wearing old style clothing, she has been seen coming up and down the stairs and has even been seen walking up to the bar as if to order a drink, although her body faded out at the arms and legs.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Savannah Cotton Exchange

 

The Cotton Exchange Tavern has a ghost that still enjoys its coffee right on time. One bartender recalls a regular patron that came in every morning at the same time to enjoy a cup of coffee. Now that the patron has passed away, the bartender still smells fresh coffee at that same time of morning even though no coffee has been brewed yet and all the pots are clean.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Olde Harbour Inn

 

The old warehouse caught fire in 1892, and the only fatality was that of an unhappy worker and suspected arsonist named Hank. Now a hotel, many guests report hearing banging on doors, hearing door knobs turning, and even having an invisible bed mate. One guest felt the mattress compress beside her, and she rolled over assuming it was her husband only to see her husband walking from the bathroom. Someone was in the bed with her and it was not her husband! Was it Hank?

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

The Pirate's House

 

Originally a bar and boarding house for sailors, the secret tunnel leading from the rum cellar in the basement was used to capture drunk men and carry them through to the river to force them into service on the ships. Many people have reported hearing voices and moans originating from the tunnel. Others have seen 'see-through' sailors walking through the rooms of the restaurant.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

The Olde Pink House

 

This restaurant, originally the home of James Habersham, Jr., has many strange happenings throughout. One server was taking a tablecloth off one of the tables and something tugged back. She ended up in a tug of war match with something she could not see and lost! Another server extinguished all the candles in one of the dining rooms, stepped out of the room, and returned to find the candles relit with the smoke still hovering above from when she had blown them out. The downstairs tavern is perhaps, the most haunted section of the house. One bartender tells stories of wine bottles coming off the rack on their own behind the bar. This has been witnessed by others, and the bartender has even been hit with a flying bottle. Another man, ready to enjoy his drink, raised his glass and toasted with another man at the end of the bar. After enjoying a sip, looked back to the man, only to find he was no longer there. Some believe this is the ghost of James Habersham Jr. himself.

 

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The Marshall House

 

This hotel was used as a hospital for Union troops during the Civil War, and is likely the source of several Union soldier ghost sightings throughout the house. Others have reported seeing the ghosts of children, and have even claimed the children ghosts like to tickle the feet of sleeping guests.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

Bradley's Lock and Key

 

Bradley's Lock and Key is a locksmith shop owned by William Houdini Bradley. Bradley namesake is the Master Illusionist, Harry Houdini, and Bradley's father, Aaron, was very close to the Houdini family. Aaron was quite the spiritualist and was known to conduct seances in attempt to contact Houdini himself after he died. Perhaps this is why Bradley's Lock and Key is haunted. The front door of the shop opens and closes on its own, and perhaps it is Houdini himself coming in and out.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

Owens-Thomas House

 

At one time the upper floors in the house were used as apartments, and there is more than one account of a strongly built, middle-aged man dressed in mid-19th century attire appearing at the doorway and moving around the room. Now a museum, the staff has heard footsteps in rooms that sound like tour group stragglers, yet there is no one in the rooms.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

17 Hundred 90 Inn

 

Heartbroken and pregnant, Anna Powell committed suicide by jumping out of the window of room 204 at the inn. Her apparition has been seen sitting in the chair by the fireplace of her old room. She has been known to yank the covers off couples while they are sleeping and toss them into the air. She likes to collect undergarments and jewelry and hide them in strange places. One guest found her undergarments hanging on branches of the tree outside the inn.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

Kehoe House

 

Twin children died in the chimney, and many say they haven't left. Now a bed and breakfast, reports of children's voices include the sound of a disembodied child's voice saying 'come play with me'. A woman was sleeping in one room and woke up to the sensation of small hands stroking her hair and face. She opened her eyes to the sight of a ghostly little boy eye to eye with her and then quickly vanished.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

Davenport House

 

This house is host to one of the few four-legged varieties of ghosts. A white and orange tabby cat has been seen many times in several rooms of the house. It seems the cat likes young children, as witnesses have seen children calling to a cat that no one else can see and even petting the air as if it is a cat.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

LEARN MORE

Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace

 

The birthplace of the founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low, is often visited by Girl Scout troops from across the country. Many believe that Juliette's mother and grandmother haunt the house by playing the piano and sliding down the banister at night. Some have even reported seeing an apparition during the daytime wearing an old-fashioned dress.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

LEARN MORE

Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

Colonial Park Cemetery

 

This cemetery has historically been home to Voodoo rituals and ceremonies as well as many good ghost stories. The cemetery has a mass grave of victims of the Yellow Fever epidemic, and it was often used as the grounds for dueling. The cemetery is home to one of the more famous ghosts in Savannah. Rene Asche Rondolier, a difigured orphan, was accused of murdering two girls whose bodies were found in the cemetery. He was lynched and left for dead in a nearby swamp, yet more dead bodies turned up in the cemetery several days later. People have claimed that Rene's ghost was to blame.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

Sorrel-Weed House

 

This house has many claims of disembodied voices, and the stories go right along with it. The home was built by Francis Sorrel in the early 1840's atop the unmarked graves of 1500 Revolutionary War soldiers. Sorrel's first wife died soon after the construction was complete. The stories say he married his late wife's sister, but was later caught in an affair with a young slave girl named Molly. His wife was horrified at her finding and commited suicide by jumping from a balcony of the house. Soon after, Molly hung herself on the grounds. The stories of the deaths are debated, but many witnesses claim to have felt nausea, panick, and choking sensations in the basement of the home.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

Andrew Low House

 

The former home of Juliette Gordon Low and her husband, William, the Andrew Low House is said to be haunted by the former butler, Old Tom. The sounds of his footsteps are often heard by staff and tourists as they go about in the house museum. Even the ghost of General Robert E. Lee, a frequent visitor during his lifetime, is reported to have been seen in the house.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

LEARN MORE

Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

Hamilton Turner Inn

 

Built in 1873, the Inn was originally constructed after the Civil War by Hamilton Turner. The Inn is reported to be haunted by a Civil War soldier walking the halls, and he has even been sighted at the foot of the bed by a guest who had woken in the middle of the night to shuffling noises in the room. Other stories tell of sounds of children laughing and balls rolling around on upper floors.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

Clary's Cafe

 

Clary's Cafe, made famous by the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, is a favorite of the locals for breakfast and one place where you can surely solicit many great stories of local hauntings.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

LEARN MORE

Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

432 Abercorn

 

The hauntings of 432 Abercorn are hotly debated. The home sits atop a slave cemetery and hosts one of the more unique ghost stories in the area: one about orb catchers. An orb catcher is the energy manifested when the universe attempts to restore balance between supernatural activity and the natural order to facilitate the crossing over of paranormal energies. This appears as a burst of light and is often times orb shaped. Orb catchers have been witnessed many times at 432 Abercorn, and a witness even captured one in a photograph. The witness' photograph shows a large orb with illuminated tentacles radiating outward.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Tap to get back to the Map Swipe to explore

Mercer House

 

The Mercer House was originally owned by General Hugh Mercer, the great-grandfather of singer Johnny Mercer. Its famous notorious resident, Jim Williams, restored the house and used it for his intenational antique business and would often throw lavish parties. In 1981, Williams shot a young hustler named Danny Hansford, and the story lives on in the novel and movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Williams was acquited, but died almost 9 years after the murder. Since then, many people claim to have witnessed parties happening in the house when no one was home.

 

Tap for details Swipe to explore

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Killer Credits

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