Most Haunted Places in Savannah, GA

Savannah, Georgia was established back in 1733 and it has become known for being an incredibly welcoming city with broad city streets and stunning shady town squares. However, as hospitable as Savannah seems by the light of day, when night falls it becomes a far more sinister place to be.

There is history in Savannah, much of it dark and disturbing. Let’s dive in and look at this dark history by exploring some of the most haunted places in Savannah, GA:

Savannah’s Bonaventure Cemetery is one of the most beautiful cemeteries in North America and it was made famous when it was featured in the well-known murder mystery novel ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’.

However, no matter how pretty this final resting place looks by day, we don’t know how many people would be up for visiting it after dark since it is said to be one of the most haunted places in Savannah.

There are many spirits that are said to haunt here, but one of the most well known is a little girl known as ‘Little Gracie’ who is said to be inhabiting a lifelike statue that marks her grave.

People often leave gifts for the little girl and apparently if they are cleared away the statue cries tears of blood. Creepy!

What is now Calhoun Square, was once a slave burial ground and it is believed that some 1000 slaves were laid to rest in pits with no grave marker or proper burial preparations.

When Savannah was founded by James Edward Oglethorpe on 1733 he banned slavery, but by the 1940s this was overturned and slaves were brought to the city. When they died, either from disease or plain old exhaustion they were disposed of as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

That probably explains why locals say that their restless spirits are still roaming the square!

One house in Savannah which is said to be particularly haunted is the Sorrel-Weed House. Visitors to the property have described feelings of nausea, tightening of the throat and having electronic devices malfunction – all hallmarks of the presence of spirits.

The hauntings have been traced back to the behavior of plantation owner Francis Sorrel who apparently had a long-term affair with one of his slaves named Molly. When Sorrel’s wife Matilda discovered his indiscretions she flung herself from the second-floor balcony and killed herself.

Just a few weeks later Molly was found hanged in the house. Could it be these two ladies who are haunting the property?

Perhaps. However, some say it could also be due to the location of the house which is on the battle lines of the 1779 Siege of Savannah.

The 17Hundred90 Inn is a bed and breakfast that dates back to 1820 and is apparently so well loved that guests do not check out even after they die!

If you are looking to have your own encounter with the property’s most well known spook then you will want to request the infamous room 204!

The legend says that Anna was left heartbroken when her sailor skipped town and she ended up jumping to her death from the balcony of the inn.

Now she remains haunting her former room. She has been seen standing by the bed and is often heard sobbing in the night. She also tends to move guests’ belongings around as well.

A word of caution for the ladies who come to visit. Anna does not like female competition and has been known to harass female guests.

The Gribble House is another one of the most haunted locations in Savannah and the reason for this can be traced back to a terrible tragedy in 1909.

A warehouse now stands on the property, but back then 3 women were brutally murdered there and their killer was never found.

It seems that this has left a permanent mark on the land because even although the house is long gone, the spirits of the victims remain.

Paranormal enthusiasts can take a tour of the warehouse that has taken its place to see if they can experience the strange things that others have on the property.

This includes strange light anomalies, a woman in white and a shadowy figure that runs through the building.

The building that now houses Savannah’s East Bay Inn has had a number of different uses over the years including a steam bakery, foreign consul offices, cotton merchants and even storage for cotton and groceries. The building was then left empty and abandoned between 1965 and 1983.

In 1984 it opened in its current incarnation as the East bay Inn. As for its haunted reputation, well that can be attributed to a male spirit known as Charlie who haunts the building.

Guests and staff alike have reported seeing the man in a dark suit and top hat who is simply staring off into space before gradually fading away.

Others have complained of heavy footsteps outside the room followed by a jiggling doorknob, flickering lights and objects suddenly disappearing!

The Pirate’s House was established in 1753 and even back then it had a very dark and disturbing reputation. It is said that sailors were lured to the inn by the promise of a hot meal, a bed for the night and plenty of alcohol.

However, once they had passed out for the night they would be dragged by smugglers down to the basement and through a tunnel leading to the Savannah River. When they woke up the next day they would be miles away, sold into service on ships.

Some of the sailors did not make it out of the tunnel and it has been said that the moans and disembodied voices of these men can be heard drifting up from the tunnels.

There have also been reports of apparitions in the upstairs rooms which now serve as a restaurant.

Old Candler Hospital was the first hospital in Savannah and it was built in 1804. The land on which it sits contains the mighty Candler Oak which is more commonly known as ‘The Hanging Tree’.

There have been many reports of apparitions swinging from the branches of the tree. However, this is not the only paranormal activity that is going on over at the old hospital. In fact, what makes it one of the most haunted hospitals in Savannah, GA is the morgue tunnel.

The tunnel runs all the way from the hospital to Forsyth Park and when the hospital was in operation it was used to transport, store and dispose of the diseased corpses from epidemics of yellow fever and the like.

The passage is now a hotbed of eerie phenomenon including orbs, apparitions and unexplained noises.

One of the most well known haunted locations in Savannah has to be Moon River Brewing Company. While it is now a popular microbrewery, the building was originally the very first guest house in Savannah – City Hotel.

The guest house was established in 1821 and if local records are to be believed then it saw more than its fair share of violent and seedy behaviour.

Bar fights, beatings and shootings are just some of the things known to have happened there. Armed with that information, it is no surprise that the building is now haunted by some fairly aggressive spirits!

The Olde Harbour Inn has been around since 1812 and it is one of the most haunted places in Savannah GA. The original building was destroyed by a fire in 1892, but it was rebuilt on the stone foundations.

Over the years the property has served as an oil company and a factory making overalls and blue jeans. It then sat vacant for two decades before reopening in 1987 as the Olde Harbour Inn.

It is supposedly haunted by a male spirit named Hank.

Guests have reported a variety of strange occurrences including coins mysteriously dropping from the ceiling and the smell of cigar smoke with no apparent source.

Staff also say that objects disappear only to return in a different room a short time later.