There’s a lot of charm in Savannah, although many visitors don’t come for the scenery. Instead, they’re going on ghost tours or hunting them down in the city’s historic district. And it’s all to do with the city’s dark history.
Let’s find out what makes this city such a hotspot for ghost tours & some of the alleged sightings of ghosts.
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Key takeaways
You’ll learn all about:
- How popular ghost tours are in Savannah
- How Savannah came to be known for ghosts
- Why the layout makes it easy for ghost-hunting
- The most famous haunted places & experiences people have had
The popularity of Savannah’s ghost tours
Since the 19th century, Bonaventure Cemetery has been drawing out-of-towners, even before ghost tours became an industry. Many travelers walked through the city to see its elaborate headstones & family plots.
These days, around 400,000 people stop by every year, although they’re not all looking for spirits.
Ghost tours run constantly through the city. Some companies actually have multiple groups heading out at once, each taking different routes through the historic district. Usually, early evening walks fill first. They’ll then add more time slots as the night goes on.
Such constant availability makes it easy for visitors to fold a ghost tour into a short stay, even midweek.
Record Tourism
The second the Halloween season kicks in, tour companies are packed & extra routes pop up. Sure, spring weekends can get busy too. But nothing compares to late October.
Even cemeteries and squares that are usually easy to visit are crowded with ghost tour groups.
Travel reports show billions spent each year by people staying overnight & booking experiences. Part of that goes straight into nighttime activities, which is why so many companies keep adding more options.
By 2024, tourism spending crossed four billion dollars for the first time. The steady flow of travelers means there’s always an audience for ghost walks.
Epidemics that left a record of death
One of the reasons there are so many alleged ghost sightings here is the sheer number of deaths. Savannah faced waves of yellow fever in the 1800s. Outbreaks hit hard in 1820 & again in 1854. They resurfaced in 1876.
Each time, hundreds of lives were lost, and many people were buried quickly in city cemeteries because the death rate was overwhelming. Stories about those epidemics are still part of tours today.
Usually, tour guides will tell them while standing near a square or lane that saw heavy loss during those years.
A Revolutionary War siege with heavy casualties
In 1779, Savannah was also the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the American Revolution. French troops teamed up with American forces to try & take the city from the British. The siege lasted weeks.
Sadly, the failed assault led to somewhere between 800 and 1,000 allied troops dying.
In the historic district, you can still see the battlefield markers. They’re common stops on night tours.
The book that popularized Savannah’s ghosts
Even before the 1990s, Savannah had a reputation for haunted spots. But it was the release of the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in 1994 that made the crowds bigger.
The book’s success sent readers straight to Bonaventure Cemetery to see the setting for themselves. Such a surge in attention made the city’s ghost tours more popular, too, since visitors were ready to connect Savannah with mysterious stories.
Historic streets and squares that set the scene
Savannah’s grid of squares was part of the original city plan.
Today, since the streets & parks are still intact, guides can map out a full night’s walk without ever leaving the historic district. The setting does half the work to make people believe they’ll find spirits. There are gas lamps everywhere and old brick facades, as well as Spanish moss overhead.
It’s this atmosphere that makes even skeptics question their beliefs.
Olde Pink House
One of the allegedly haunted places is the Olde Pink House, which doesn’t exactly try to hide its reputation. People say strange stuff happens almost daily. Servers claim candles light themselves when no one’s around, while others claim bottles slide off the bar without a hand in sight.
The stories get stranger downstairs, with locks clicking shut on their own & chairs moving after closing time.
James Habersham Jr. built the place in the 1700s, and guests swear they’ve seen a man in period clothes quietly walking through the rooms. He doesn’t stick around long.
Interestingly, most of these sightings happen in the basement, usually late in the evening when the tavern’s busy & the lights are low.
Hamilton–Turner Inn
Another haunted place is the Hamilton–Turner Inn. Guests claim there’s a distinct cigar scent that comes & goes, sometimes in the middle of the night, often near the upper floors.
A few have claimed they saw someone on the roof or near the top windows, holding what looks like a cigar.
Downstairs, visitors said they’ve heard billiard balls clacking on a covered table & footsteps passing their doors when the hallway’s empty.
Moon River Brewing Company
Moon River Brewing Company is another regular stop for ghost tours. It usually comes down to one thing, which is the basement. Employees have given the presence down there the name “Toby,” although nobody seems to know exactly where the name started.
Allegedly, tools go missing late at night, and workers say they’ve felt patches of cold air that only hit one side of their body. Visitors on nighttime tours have seen unexplained shadows, with a few saying something brushed past them.
Some nights it’s quiet. Other nights, the motion sensors trip over and over again for no clear reason. Of course, not everyone notices something. But there are enough stories to make you wonder. Could something really be happening there?
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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