Haunted Savannah, Pt. 3

Colonial Park Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia is considered one of the city's most haunted locations giving it the moniker of "Paranormal Central." Today's first photo shows how it looked in 1960; black and white seems appropriate, doesn't it?

Colonial Park Cemetery opened in 1750, making it one of the oldest in the city. Although approximately 10,000 people are buried here, there are less than 1,000 grave markers. Here comes the reason why it is considered to be a hub of paranormal activity: many lost their tombstones to vandals and even more were buried in mass graves, some the result of the yellow fever epidemic of 1820.



Here's another vintage 1960 shot showing the surrounding area of Colonial Park:



Colonial Park closes early every evening, making it virtually impossible to get evening photos inside the cemetery's gates. Most likely this is a result of the Voodoo rituals and ceremonies held after dark that left remnants for early morning visitors to gawk at, such as graves that had been raided to obtain human bones. Yikes!



One of the tours I was on discussed the basketball court and playground located on the south side of Colonial Park, saying it had been the site of countless pistol duels…to the death.



Whether or not this is true, it makes for a good chilling story when told by the right tour guide.



Even in a cemetery one can find a spot of springtime color:



The back wall is full of headstones; I can only guess that they were moved here at some time and that the people they commemorate are buried elsewhere.



The trunks of the crape myrtle trees make me think of open screaming mouths.



It's as if somebody is trapped inside screaming to get out.



Swirl that one around in your head for a bit!

Experience more Colonial Park photos on my main website.

Haunted Savannah, Pt. 2

Known as "The Pink House," this Savannah restaurant favorite is also known for its haunted history. This vintage 1958 photo shows it when it was functioning as the Georgian Tea Room.



The house itself is not necessarily scary looking. Supposedly its pink hue comes from the red bricks whose color continually seeped through to the white stucco, much to the consternation of its original owner, James Habersham. Now they just paint the place pink and therefore don't have to wait for the bricks to do their magic.



The basement area is where most of the ghostly apparitions have been seen. According to the Haunted Houses website, patrons and employees have seen slave children ghosts running around the basement area who like to throw dice against the wall in the hallway by the bathrooms. These children used to take wine bottles out of their places behind the bar and hit the bartender with them. The wine bottles are now chilled in a glass-enclosed refrigerator.



Some entity liked to lock women in the bathroom. The management finally took the lock off the door, which curtailed the problem somewhat, though a force does on occasion hold the door shut for a bit, keeping the annoyed patron stuck inside for a short time.



About the only thing that haunts me about this place is its Fried Pork Chop.



Need more Pink? Visit my main website.

Haunted Savannah, Pt. 1

Savannah, Georgia is often referred to as America's Most Haunted City. Literally built on its dead, many of its homes and buildings sit atop Native American burial grounds. The roads cover forgotten cemeteries of slaves and colonialists. The restless spirits that haunt Savannah are the result of bloody battles, fires, yellow-fever epidemics, and hurricanes. The Kehoe House is one of the more famous "haunted" hotels where visitors can sleep (or not sleep) at night. On my last visit, unbeknownst to me, I stayed in one of the two rooms that has become notorious for supposedly being haunted.



Room 203 is known as the Juliette Low room (named after the Girl Scout founder). I can't vouch for whether spirits haunt this room, but I can tell you that the owners seem to be confused about the spelling of Low's name.



Built in 1892 for William Kehoe, this Queen Anne style mansion has this story oft told about it: twins born into the family supposedly died while playing in a chimney in one of the rooms. The fireplaces have all been blocked up (I can vouch for that!) and decorated with angels. Many of the hauntings have been attributed to these children. Guests staying on this floor have complained to the front desk staff about the loud children, not realizing that children are actually discouraged from staying at the inn.



One reported occurrence of a haunted room 203 tells of a guest awakening with a feeling that someone was sitting next to her. When she opened her eyes, she saw that her sister was sound asleep on the other side of the room, but there was an impression of someone unseen sitting right next to her on the bed. Queue the spooky music!

I shot this photo at about 3 am without using a flash. I think it's appropriately spooky enough for this post. Again, I can't say if this place is haunted, but I didn't sleep very peacefully. The alarm clock going off two nights in a row at midnight didn't help. The problem was solved on night two but unplugging the durn thing.



Maybe this is what kept the spirits out of my room. Next time I should take it off the door; might make for a more exciting post.



Walking home from dinner one night, I was startled when I looked up at another nearby Inn to see this. It creeped me out, causing me to stand and stare to see why this little girl in Colonial garb was staring at me.



The next day, I got my answer.



This stuffed dummy sure made a dummy out of me.



For more Savannah photos, find your way to my main website.