Savannah doesn’t need a holiday to lean into its spooky side. This elegant city has centuries of history with the dead. More than 9,000 graves are in Colonial Park Cemetery in the heart of the Historic District, while part of a burial ground used from about 1763 to 1844 overlaps what is now Whitefield Square. The city also endured the bloody 1779 Siege of Savannah and deadly outbreaks of diseases like yellow fever. Add oak trees draped in Spanish moss, sultry air and tales of pirates, and you have a perfectly eerie getaway mixed with Southern charm. Here are four ways I experienced haunted Savannah on foot.
Wander through Bonaventure Cemetery
This Victorian cemetery along the Wilmington River became even more famous after a photograph of the Bird Girl sculpture, then located there, appeared on the cover of John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Bonaventure spans more than 100 acres, so you’ll want to take your time strolling through its paths, stopping at gravestones and crypts that catch your eye. It’s beautiful, peaceful and eerie, with elaborate marble memorials under Spanish-moss-covered oaks.
Take a walking ghost tour
There’s no shortage of creative ways to do a ghost tour in Savannah, with options involving hearses, trolleys, doughnuts or even guides in kilts. I opted for the evening Grave Tales walking tour with Ghost City Tours, which included stops outside Colonial Park Cemetery and the Marshall House. The hotel served as a hospital during the Civil War, and human remains were discovered beneath the floorboards during renovations. During my visit, one of the letters on the hotel’s exterior sign kept flickering.
Explore Wormsloe State Historic Site
Although technically not a haunted site, Wormsloe is so atmospheric that you’re bound to feel chills. A visit to this historic estate takes place almost entirely outdoors, with the main house closed to the public. You’ll arrive in dramatic fashion, walking down a 1.5-mile avenue lined with more than 400 oak trees draped in Spanish moss. Deeper in the property, you can explore the tabby ruins, built with a historic material made from oyster shells, lime, sand and water. Miles of trails wind through the property.
Make your own spooky walking tour
Central Savannah is compact enough that you don’t need a car to explore some of its spookiest sites. Tuck into blue crab beignets on the patio of the Olde Pink House, said to be haunted by its founder, before a long walk across town to the Savannah Paranormal Museum. The creepy dolls, including a Shirley Temple doll said to have eyes that turned red, are a highlight. Along the way, stop by some of the city’s 23 historic public squares, which were originally designed as gathering spaces. Wright Square is said to be haunted by Alice Riley, an Irish servant who was hanged for murder in Savannah in 1735.