Rivalled only by New Orleans for the title of ‘most haunted city in America’, Georgia's Savannah is one of the country’s top spots for spooky stories and supernatural encounters. With its oak trees dripping in creepy-looking strands of Spanish moss and a history that has witnessed the brutality of slavery, nation-shaping wars and deadly epidemics, it seems there’s not a street or square in the city without a chilling tale to tell. Join us as we dive into the most fascinating and fear-inducing sites in Savannah, proving why it takes the crown of the spookiest city in the US.
The oldest city in Georgia and the birthplace of the Georgia colony, Savannah was established in 1733 by the state’s founder and British army officer James Edward Oglethorpe, though Native Americans had inhabited the land long before European arrival. In its early years, Savannah lived through major yellow fever epidemics, as well as the American Revolution and later the Civil War – the latter leaving a huge scar on the city’s (and state’s) legacy. Many soldiers, enslaved people and settlers lie entombed in cemeteries and mass graves across Savannah, earning it the nickname of ‘the city that lives upon her dead’, as many old burial sites have since been covered over and forgotten.
Many of the city’s most haunted places fall within the Savannah Historic District, a national landmark containing picturesque green squares and stirring old buildings. Some were also immortalised in John Berendt’s book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, published in 1994. Set in Savannah and combining both fact and fiction, it is based on events surrounding the shooting of male sex worker Danny Hansford. Pictured here is a still from the 1997 film adaptation, starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey. Take a tour with the likes of Ghost City Tours or Savannah Terrors and they’ll point out the locations that feature in the novel.
Walk anywhere in Savannah and you can’t fail to notice this strange foliage cascading down from the boughs of the city’s live oak trees. Spanish moss is prevalent throughout the Deep South, but seems to be particularly abundant in this historic port. Allegedly there are only two places in Savannah where Spanish moss is absent, one of them being Wright Square – the 'Hanging Square'. It's said never to grow where innocent blood has been spilled…
In 1739, Wright Square (then Percival Square) became the final resting place of the Yamacraw chief Tomochichi, who purportedly requested to be buried in Savannah among the English settlers he had become friends with. But when Tomochichi’s grave was desecrated in the 1880s to accommodate a new monument, his remains were disturbed and allegedly scattered throughout the square. It is said that his spirit now haunts this plain, along with the ghost of Alice Riley – an indentured Irish servant executed here after being found guilty of murdering her abusive master. She always maintained her innocence.
Davenport House opened to the public as a museum in 1963. But long before that, it was the home of architect Isaiah Davenport, who lived here with his wife and their children during the first half of the 19th century. As a family, they experienced great losses – only six of the 10 Davenport children survived into adulthood. Yet it is not a human spectre that appears in the ghost stories most often told about the Davenport House, but a feline one. Sightings of a mysterious phantom cat have been reported multiple times down the decades, in identical ways, leading even cynics to question their belief in the supernatural.
Tragedy has followed the Mercer-Williams House like a dark and malevolent cloud, so it’s no surprise that passers-by have claimed to see ghosts at the windows. Its history is especially marred by the unsolved murder of Danny Lewis Hansford, who was shot dead here in 1981. The mansion’s then-owner and Hansford’s lover, Jim Williams, was tried four times for the crime, but a killer was never brought to justice. These were the events that inspired Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Now a museum, the Mercer-Williams House is owned by Dr Dorothy Kingery (Williams’ sister), who has rejected any notions of paranormal activity occurring at the property.
Spanning over 100 acres, Bonaventure Cemetery was established in 1846 on land that was once a colonial plantation. Nowadays, this popular attraction is festooned in ethereal drapes of Spanish moss and frequented by people looking for a quiet, contemplative escape. More than 500 of the graves here belong to Confederate soldiers, but the cemetery’s most famous burial of all is that of Little Gracie, who died on the Easter weekend of 1889 at just six years old. You can visit Bonaventure for free either at your own pace or on a guided tour.
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Built in what it is rumoured to be the most haunted area in all of Savannah (more on that later), the Olde Harbour Inn opened in its current guise in 1987 as a boutique hotel. Long before that, the site on which the building now stands peddled in cotton and slave labour, but was ravaged by fire in 1892. Despite there being no record of any casualties in the blaze, the ghost of an alleged victim is since thought to have moved into the Olde Harbour Inn. Known simply as ‘Hank’, he is said to have taken a particular liking to rooms 405 and 406...
Before Madison Square became the pretty plot of green space it is today, it was the location of a bloody battle. Fought during the American War of Independence, the Siege of Savannah took place on 9 October 1779, and a bronze statue dedicated to one of its heroes – Sergeant William Jasper – now stands in the centre of Madison Square. Gruesome local legends suggest a mass grave from the Revolutionary era lies beneath the manicured square, where soldiers were tossed regardless of whether they were dead or alive – though this has not been proven. Nevertheless, shadowy figures have still been spotted wandering in the vicinity.
Named after a Scottish-born cotton tycoon and Confederate captain who had this Italianate mansion built as his family home, the Andrew Low House is now a museum that traces the history of Savannah through the building’s past inhabitants. It is one of two addresses on Lafayette Square often visited on ghost tours of the city – though the current managers are keen to distance the house from any ghoulish tales. There’s likely a perfectly rational explanation for why the Low family’s rocking chair moves of its own accord, but what about the disembodied scent of perfume?
The Hamilton-Turner Inn, named after two previous owners, is the second eerie property found on Lafayette Square. Guests have gone on the record to share the otherworldly encounters they’ve experienced here, including sounds of ghostly footsteps and seemingly inexplicable blood-red stains in the closet. Perhaps the most chilling of all, though, is the ominous groaning of billiard balls heard rolling around on the upper floors. Could this be the work of Samuel Hamilton himself – whose cigar-wielding spirit has been seen on the hotel’s roof? Or perhaps it’s the little girl who fell down the inn’s stairs one night to her death...
While many of the haunting yarns spun about the house at 12 West Oglethorpe Avenue are little more than fantasy, they’re no less spine-tingling. One morbid legend goes that, before the current building (now a restaurant) at the address was erected, another stood in its place. Supposedly, it was home to a doctor who served the city during the yellow fever epidemic, which subsequently killed his entire family. Unable to live with the guilt of having brought the disease home, the doctor is said to have taken his own life. His is just one of the ghosts reported to roam here.
Having appeared on television shows like Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures in the past, the spooky goings-on at Moon River Brewing Co. are well documented. The brewery’s guests and employees alike have spoken about instances of bottles being thrown without the aid of earthly hands and encounters with strange ladies dressed all in white. Are the claims unfounded? Likely not, as the building was a hospital for yellow fever patients in a past life, as well as the site of a fatal shooting. Who knows what unfinished business the victims of those events might have to attend to...
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There is no shortage of ghost stories forged in the world’s theatres and cinemas – something about those cavernous corridors and dimly-lit auditoriums just lend themselves to a good scare. After all, no one can hear you scream while the tapes are rolling! Savannah’s Lucas Theatre first opened in 1921 as a movie theatre and has since emerged as a multi-arts venue, showing films, cabaret and live music performances. Former staff members have made cases for various hauntings in the building, which range from phantom projectors and applause emanating from an empty theatre, to disquieting feelings of being watched.
Built in the Regency style by British architect William Jay in 1819, the Owens-Thomas House became a museum after its last owner, Margaret Thomas, passed away. The mansion had been in her family for over a century and bore witness to a significant period of Georgian history. During this time, enslaved people were kept at Owens-Thomas House, which has the wretched accolade of containing the oldest intact slave quarters in an urban property. If you visit, you’ll see the ceiling of the slave quarters is painted blue, a measure believed by the enslaved workers to keep evil spirits at bay.
How can the oldest landmarked burial ground in Savannah possibly not be haunted? Since it opened in 1750, thousands of bodies have been interred here, including some of the city’s earliest European settlers snuffed out by yellow fever. Local folklore says that, in retribution for Savannah being surrendered to the Confederate army during the Civil War, vengeful Unionists desecrated some of the graves in Colonial Park, changing dates on headstones with their bayonets and even digging some of them up. In reality, many graves were exhumed and moved to make way for more bodies as diseases like malaria continued to rampage through the city.
Marshall House isn’t just one of Savannah’s spookiest places – it is widely regarded as one of the most haunted hotels in the US, and the world. Having served as a hospital on three separate occasions since 1851 – once for Union troops during the Civil War and twice as a yellow fever facility, the property has certainly seen its fair share of death. And it would seem that many of those that succumbed to their afflictions here never actually made it past the pearly gates, if the countless reports of supernatural entities are anything to go by.
When Colonial Park Cemetery had reached its full capacity by the mid-19th century, a new place was needed to lay Savannahians to rest. So, Laurel Grove was established on a plot that once fell within the Springfield Plantation. More than 1,500 Confederate soldiers are buried here, as well as many enslaved people and their owners, whose graves are mostly segregated on the north and south sides of the cemetery. One of Laurel Grove’s most chilling sections is the Stranger Grounds, where thousands of poor or unknown individuals from the Victorian era are interred.
Fort Jackson’s military service started in 1808, when its construction began on the Savannah River as part of President Thomas Jefferson’s system of coastal defences, just outside the city centre. The brick-built fortress, in a barely-finished state, got its first taste of battle four years later when it was tasked with protecting Savannah during the War of 1812. Not long after, it became a Confederate stronghold until they were forced to abandon the site in 1864, when federal troops took control. A maritime museum since 1964, Old Fort Jackson is said to be haunted by the lost souls of soldiers who fought and died here.
This popular watering hole has been welcoming Savannahians, Anglophiles and other visitors alike since the middle of the 20th century, though its appearance might suggest it’s been around since the days of colonial Georgia. First opened as Wally’s Sixpence by a British couple, the iconic pub had already been operating for more than 40 years when the current owners took over in 1999. But according to staff of the Six Pence, it’s not just the patrons that enjoy it here; paranormal presences have been felt throughout the building, with pots and pans reported to fly off kitchen worktops, and lights and temperatures said to suddenly dip.
Finished in 1789, this historic mansion-turned-restaurant first belonged to cotton planter James Habersham Jr, who died 10 years after moving in. Plenty of hearsay swirls around the manner of his death; some accounts say he took his own life, but that the family covered this up so that he could be buried in consecrated ground (suicide was regarded as a sin at the time). Reports have placed Habersham Jr's apparition in the restaurant, complete with ale in hand, while figures of a Revolutionary War veteran and a weeping woman have also been spotted.
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Various diners, workers and paranormal investigators claim to have had run-ins with spirits at the 17Hundred90 Inn and Restaurant, which spans three buildings dating back to the 19th century. The ghost of Anne has been most often felt, especially in Room 204, where she has tugged on the bedsheets while guests slept and been heard sobbing in the dark. But who is Anne? Her identity remains somewhat a mystery, though the usual story goes that she no longer wanted to live after losing her lover. The restless soul of an enslaved cook has also been reported in the kitchen.
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the stories surrounding Kehoe House are enough to give anyone goosebumps. While there's little evidence to substantiate many of the tales told about this foreboding mansion, it is hard to deny the uneasy feelings they evoke. According to local lore, two of the Kehoe family's 10 children died here; the most elaborate versions say they got stuck in the chimney. Regardless of the fact or fiction, guests have allegedly heard eerie sounds of children playing. It's now a bed and breakfast, so the only way to experience Kehoe House for yourself is to stay the night. Are you brave enough?
Renamed in August 2023 to disassociate the site with an unapologetic slavery supporter, this square now bears the name of Susie King Taylor, who taught formerly enslaved individuals to read and write. Taylor Square is the first of Savannah’s squares to be named after a person of colour, and it is unique in other ways too. It is the only square in the city with all its original buildings still intact, a fact which has helped breed several urban myths – particularly surrounding the address of 432 Abercorn Street. The house was built atop a forgotten graveyard, so it’s easy to understand why it is shrouded with ghost stories.
Built in 1818, Savannah Theatre is one of the oldest theatres in America. Across its 200-year history, the venue has presented films, live theatre and music – and collected its share of tragedy and tribulations. From fires nearly destroying the historic building to a hurricane ripping off its roof, Savannah Theatre has itself risen from the dead a number of times. There are also at least three ghosts said to inhabit the Savannah; an actress, a young boy and a man known only as the Director. Could it be cursed? After all, they don’t call it ‘stage fright’ for no reason...
Just half an hour outside modern Savannah, you’ll find Fort McAllister. Now a sobering Low Country tourist attraction and state park, it was the site of violent Revolutionary War and Civil War battles, and was even used as a prison camp for Confederate soldiers. Hardly surprising, then, that there should be a whole host of lost souls still occupying what remains of the ominous grounds. From headless soldiers standing sentinel on the old earthworks to a phantom feline caller, visitors and park rangers have encountered a range of supernatural beings.
When a historic house runs its own ghost tours and paranormal investigations, you know some spooky stuff has gone down. At the Old Sorrel-Weed House, a dramatic story of adultery and death keeps wannabe ghostbusters coming – regardless of how true or not it is. The saga goes that plantation owner Francis Sorrel lived here with his first wife Lucinda until her untimely passing. Sorrel then married Lucinda’s sister Matilda before cheating on her with Molly, one of his enslaved workers. Heartbroken, Matilda jumped to her death from the second-floor balcony; a guilt-stricken Molly is also said to have taken her own life.
Regarded as Savannah’s most haunted area, the alleyway known as Factors’ Walk dates back to the late 1700s and early 1800s, when the city was making its fortunes in exporting cotton. ‘Factors’ – men who set the prices for cotton – worked in many of the buildings that still stand in this riverside location, which was also where ships loaded with thousands of enslaved people arrived in Georgia. Around Factors’ Walk today, despite its trendy contemporary reimagining, are the remnants of this dark past: sealed-off tunnels, possibly used to transport enslaved men and women to the auction block, are said to echo with their moans.
The crumbling facade of this old locksmith’s shop belies the fascinating tales that lie within its walls. Opened in the 1800s, Bradley’s Lock and Key has been in the Bradley family for five generations. World-famous illusionist Harry Houdini was said to be a close friend of the family (the founder even called his son William Houdini Bradley), and rumours abound that the ghost of Harry himself resides in the building today. This may seem tangential, but with potential spectres reported in the shop and the apartment above it, it would seem that someone certainly haunts the place.