Come on boys and ghouls! It's time to hop on Route 666 for a spooktacular Paranormal Road Trip.
This week's stop is Savannah, Georgia and our special guide is Elaine Calloway author of the Elemental Clans series, the Southern Ghosts series, and NO GRITS NO GLORY.
Savannah's Top 5 Spooky Places
Many people know Savannah, Georgia, as the locale for the famous book
and movie
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. However, what you may
not know is that haunted tales are threaded through this port city,
enough to make a supernatural tapestry with all its haunts! Savannah
without ghosts is like a sandwich with no insides!
So many places abound in the city of lush squares and haunts, but here are my favorite top five Savannah Haunts...
The Pirate’s House
The building was erected around 1753 and is home to the famous Shanghai
stories in Savannah. Seamen and crews came into the port, thirsty for
their favorite drink. And when they imbibed too much, they’d wake up the
next morning to find themselves trapped on a pirate ship setting sail
to new lands.
The Pirate’s House is now a restaurant that serves local seafood, but
visitors can still take a peek at the Shanghai tunnel entrances that
transported goods and supplies. When dining there, people have reported
seeing ghosts of sailors who were shanghaied floating from table to
table. Some hear moans and voices from the tunnels. Others see the ghost
of Captain Flint, who died there many years ago.
The place offers a ghostly tour of the building, complete with someone
dressed as a pirate who tells visitors about the haunted history.
The Marshall House
Located in the downtown shopping district, the Marshall House (built in
1851) is now a bed-and-breakfast inn with an eerie history. At the
beginning of the Civil War, the building was a hotel but was taken over
by Union General William Sherman’s men in 1864 and became a hospital for
Union troops.
In the winter of 1864, the ground was frozen and the physicians were
forced to bury amputated body parts under the floorboards. In the
twentieth century during a remodel, owners found the remains and were
forced to close down, thinking it was a crime scene.
Eventually the place reopened and is now a wonderful place to stay, just
a few blocks from the excitement of River Street. Guests report hearing
and seeing apparitions of soldiers roaming the hallways at night.
The Kehoe House
Built in 1892, The Kehoe House was a funeral home until the early 1990s.
Now a luxurious bed-and-breakfast inn Victorian building, the place
sits proud on Columbia Square in the historic district of Savannah.
Apparitions of the former owners, William and Annie Kehoe, along with
their three sons, have been seen and heard—particularly on the second
and third floor rooms of the house. Visitors have reported hearing
groups of children laughing and playing. Some have seen ghosts of small
children inviting them to play.
Others have seen Annie Kehoe’s ghost sitting at a desk in Room 203. One
of the hotel rooms now used was once the place where bodies were
embalmed. If you want a haunted (not to mention luxurious) stay in
Savannah, the Kehoe House is a great choice.
The Olde Pink House
The Olde Pink House, which sits on Reynolds Square, was built to be a
private residence for James Habersham but is now one of the best places
for fine dining in Savannah. The food is exquisitely delicious, but this
place also has a haunted history. Women visitors have seen ghostly
apparitions flash across the mirror in the women’s restrooms. Others
have reported lamp fringes moving suddenly, when there was no wind or
gust of air to create the motion.
Some say the ghost of James Habersham still haunts the place, that he
loves having lit candles on the tables. Everyone on the staff has come
in contact with his ghost, including a surprised waiter who’d blown out
all the candles. When he turned back around to grab something, every
candle was lit once more.
Be sure to check out the downstairs piano bar and enjoy the haunts in the Olde Pink House.
The Moon River Brewing Company
The brewery was originally built in 1821 as a hotel for high society
folks, but when General Sherman captured the city in 1864, the place
became a hospital just like the Marshall House did. Hundreds of people
were stricken with yellow fever and died in the rooms of the building.
Today, poltergeists roam the place dressed in period attire.
The Moon River Brewing Company is known as one of Savannah’s most
haunted locations and has been visited by Ghost Hunters and Ghost
Adventures television shows.
Thank you Elaine for giving us such a haunting tour of Savannah!
Learn more about
Elaine Calloway and her books by visiting her website. You can
add No Grits No Glory here on Goodreads.
What did you think of Elaine's picks for spooky places?
On our last Paranormal Road Trip we visited
York, Maine with J.E. Taylor. Next time we will be visiting
Baltimore with Rachel Rawlings.
Join us for another spine-tingling Paranormal Road Trip...
if you dare!