Ghostly Tuesday is here again! Did you know that Savannah, Georgia is the most haunted city in America? Nearly every building in the Historic District has a ghost story associated with it, not to mention the numerous cemeteries and burial grounds. The city was the scene of multiple battles, disease outbreaks, slave trading, even pirate attacks. Here a small list of 5 of the most haunted sites in the city. 1) Colonial Park Cemetery: Established about 1750, it was the original burial ground for the Christ Church Parish. The cemetery was enlarged in 1789 to become the cemetery for people of all denominations. More than 700 victims of the 1820 Yellow Fever epidemic are buried in Colonial Park Cemetery.The cemetery was already closed to burials before the start of the Civil War and no Confederate soldiers are buried there. But the war did leave its mark on the cemetery. Federal troops took over the cemetery grounds during their occupation of Savannah and many of the graves were looted and desecrated. It has been said that Union soldiers changed the dates on many of the headstones. The Colonial Park Cemetery is also home to one of Savannahs most famous ghosts, that of Rene Asche Rondolier (or Renee Rondolia Asch), a disfigured orphan who was said to have called Colonial Park his home in the early 1800s. Accused of murdering two girls whose bodies were found in the cemetery, Rene was dragged to the nearby swamps and lynched and left for dead. More dead bodies turned up in the cemetery in the days that followed. The townspeople were convinced it was Renes ghost and some still call the cemetery, Renes playground. 2) The Marshall House, built in 1851, is the home to several strange paranormal happenings. Taken over by Union General William T. Shermans men in December of 1864, this hotel was used as a hospital for the Federal troops. The winter of 1864 was an extremely cold year and the ground was frozen. Rather than bury amputated legs and arms, the doctors were forced to bury them under the floorboards. When the hotel was restored in 1999, workers were replacing some damaged floorboards downstairs when they found human remains. The area was closed and treated as a crime scene, but they soon learned that the downstairs had once been the hospital surgery room. Guests today report seeing a Union soldier with just one arm wandering through the lobby, carrying his lost arm, looking for a surgeon. Down in the basement, men are seen carrying stretchers with bodies on them. 3) The Pink House Restaurant, which is the Habersham House on Reynold’s Square, is home to some of Savannah’s most mischievous ghosts. Perhaps the most famous ghost at the Pink House is the ghost of James Habersham Jr. Mr. Habersham had the house constructed in 1789. His family earned their wealth through cotton and rice farming. Patrons of the bar in the bottom level of the Pink House have reported seeing James Habersham hanging out taking in the scene. As fanciful as it may seem, other guests have had conversations with someone dressed in a style that would have been common in Mr. Habersham’s time. They would believe it is an reenactor, until their eyes leave him for a second and their partner in conversation disappears without a trace. The restaurant staff have also witnessed the apparition of a slave girl in the basement. 4) The Hampton Lillibridge House, built in 1796, has been home to some truly strange Savannah hauntings. The only house in Savannah to ever receive an exorcism, the blessing ceremony apparently failed to even slow down the strange forces within. A womans scream has frequently been heard, a man was dragged by an unseen force, and a Savannah police officer once chased something unseen (but felt) inside the house with his sidearm drawn. In 1963, Jim Williams purchased it and moved it four blocks from Reynolds Square to its current location. A worker was killed when part of the roof collapsed during this tricky transition. Williams hired a crew to begin work, but they quickly reported strange footsteps, voices, laughter, and the sound of furniture being thrown around. Several workers left after they experienced the sense that unseen others were present in the house. A news crew that caught wind of the rumors entered the unoccupied house one evening and saw a piece of construction material come flying at them. One worker reportedly went to an upper story to investigate a loud noise in a room supposed to be empty. When he failed to return, others went to find him and discovered him lying facedown on the floor. He was terrified. He told them hed walked into the room and felt as if he had plunged into ice-cold water. 5) Built on Columbia Square in Savannah, the Kehoe House was completed in May of 1892. It was built for William Kehoe and his family. The lived in the house for a number of years with their children. It is known that some of their children passed away inside of the house. Guests to the Kehoe House have reported all sorts of haunted events happening to them while staying at the Kehoe House. With children passing away in the home it is no coincidence that the ghosts of children and some of the most reported ghostly occurrences in the house. No one knows how many other Kehoe children not counted in the 10 which grew up, died as infants or young children through illness or other causes.It is reported that William and Annies twin (4-5) year olds, (probably boys, who must have been a handful), are said to have died in a dumb kid accident, while playing in one of the chimneys. The chimneys were consequently blocked up and decorated with angels. Guests to the Kehoe House also often report the feeling of someone touching them while they sleep. The smell of perfumes from an age past have also been noticed wafting their way through the hallways or bedrooms. I have attached two photos I took a few weeks ago at the Colonial Cemetery. The first photo was with a flash, the second without and were taken seconds apart. The second photo appears to have some kind of fog in front of the crypt on the right side of the photo that cannot be seen in the previous flash photo. Nothing conclusive but odd just the same.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 01:56:34 +0000
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