You’re walking down Broughton Street, the humidity is sticking to your neck, and the Spanish moss is doing that creepy swaying thing it does. You think you’re here for the pralines and the architecture. Honestly, though? You’re here because you want to know if the stories are true. You want to know if Savannah is actually as haunted as everyone says or if it's just a clever marketing ploy to sell trolley tickets.
It’s not a ploy.
Savannah is built on its dead. Literally. The city is a literal grid of parks and historic homes sitting directly on top of old cemeteries, yellow fever pits, and Revolutionary War battlefields. When you check into certain haunted hotels in savannah georgia, you aren't just getting a room with a view. You’re checking into a space where the veil between "then" and "now" is thin enough to walk through.
I’ve spent a lot of time poking around these old buildings. Some people get spooked by a creaky floorboard. That’s just old wood. But when the faucet in your bathroom turns on full blast at 3:00 AM while you’re alone in bed? That’s something else entirely.
The Marshall House: More Than Just a Hospital Story
If you ask a local where the real activity is, they’ll point you toward The Marshall House. It opened in 1851. Since then, it’s been a hotel, a Union hospital during the Civil War, and a refuge during the yellow fever epidemics that gutted the city.
Most people talk about the "ghostly children" running in the halls. You’ve probably heard about the marble-rolling sounds or the giggling. But here’s the detail that usually gets left out of the glossy brochures: the floorboards. During a 1999 renovation, workers pulled up the floorboards and found a massive collection of human remains. It wasn’t a secret burial ground in the traditional sense. It was surgery.
Because the ground was too frozen or the chaos was too great during the war, surgeons just tucked amputated limbs under the floor.
- The Amputee Soldier: Guests frequently report seeing a man in a tattered uniform wandering the lobby. He isn't menacing. He looks lost. He’s usually seen holding his own severed arm, looking for a surgeon who hasn't been there in 160 years.
- Room 414: This is the big one. If you want the "full" experience, this is the room to request. People have reported their bags being moved, the bathroom door locking from the inside, and a distinct feeling of being watched from the corner of the room.
- The Smell: This is the part that isn't fun. Occasionally, a wave of what smells like "old death" or rotting flesh drifts through the fourth-floor hallways. It vanishes as quickly as it appears.
The Foley House Inn and the Body in the Wall
The Foley House Inn is a gorgeous bed and breakfast, but it has a darker "physical" history than most. In the late 80s, during some routine construction, workers found a skeleton hidden inside a wall.
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Talk about a mood killer.
The story goes that the original owner, Honoria Foley, had a boarder who wouldn't take no for an answer. He allegedly tried to force himself into her room, and she killed him in self-defense. To avoid the hangman’s noose or the scandal, she hid him in the architecture.
Nowadays, he’s nicknamed "Wally." Guests feel rushes of cold air in the middle of a hot Georgia summer. Others hear footsteps on the roof when nobody is up there. It’s a weirdly cozy place, but if you stay there, you’re basically sleeping in a crime scene that never went to trial.
Why 17Hundred90 Inn Still Freaks People Out
This place is actually three separate buildings joined together. It feels disjointed, which adds to the vibe. You’ve got a tavern on the ground floor and rooms upstairs.
The most famous resident here is Anna.
People say she was a lovesick bride who threw herself from the window of Room 204 after her sailor lover left her. Some historians argue she was actually pushed by an angry husband-to-be. Regardless of how she ended up on the pavement, she’s still in that room.
Honestly, Anna is a bit of a prankster. She likes to move jewelry. If you leave your rings on the nightstand, don't be shocked if they're in the bathroom sink the next morning. She’s also known to "tuck people in." Male guests especially report the feeling of someone sitting on the edge of the bed or smoothing out the sheets while they’re trying to sleep.
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The Kitchen Spirit
Don't ignore the restaurant. There’s a spirit in the kitchen that is—to put it bluntly—a jerk. It’s supposedly a former cook who doesn't like how things are being run. Pots and pans will fly off hooks. Spice jars get launched at the staff. It’s one of the few places in Savannah where the haunting feels genuinely aggressive rather than just "lingering."
The Kehoe House: The Legend of the Chimney Twins
This is a high-end, luxury stay. It’s stunning. But it also used to be a funeral home for about fifty years. That alone is enough to give most people the willies.
The "core" haunting here involves the Kehoe children. William Kehoe had ten kids. The legend—though some historians contest the exact details—is that two of his twin boys were playing hide-and-seek and decided to hide in the chimney. They got stuck.
If you stay here, you’ll notice the fireplaces are all blocked off now. Guests hear the sound of small feet sprinting down the halls. Since the Kehoe House is an adults-only inn, there aren't supposed to be any kids around. When you hear a child’s laugh at 2:00 AM while you’re sipping a glass of wine in the parlor, it hits different.
Olde Harbour Inn and "Hank"
Down by the river, things get grittier. The Olde Harbour Inn was originally a warehouse built in 1812. This area—Factors Walk and River Street—was the epicenter of the slave trade and the cotton industry. The energy down there is heavy.
The resident ghost is "Hank."
Nobody knows exactly who Hank was. The story is that he was a worker who died in a fire in 1892, possibly a fire he started himself during an argument with management. Hank isn't scary, but he’s annoying. He smells like cheap cigar smoke. He drops coins on the floor. He likes to pull on guests’ feet while they’re sleeping in Room 405 or 406.
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Practical Advice for Ghost Hunting in Savannah
If you're actually planning to book one of these haunted hotels in savannah georgia, don't just show up and expect a Victorian ghost to hand you a towel. You have to know how to navigate the city's unique "energy."
- Book Months in Advance: Especially for October. Room 204 at 17Hundred90 or Room 414 at The Marshall House are usually booked out six months to a year ahead of time.
- Talk to the Staff: The front desk people have seen it all. They usually won't volunteer stories unless you ask, but once you get them going, they’ll tell you which rooms have had the most recent "activity."
- Respect the History: These aren't just spooky sets. These were places of immense suffering—hospitals, funeral homes, and sites of labor exploitation.
- Check the Floor Level: In Savannah, the "ground" level is often actually the second or third floor because of how the city is built on the river bluff. The "tunnels" you hear about under River Street are real, and they’re where a lot of the darkest history happened.
The Reality of a Haunted Stay
Is every creak a ghost? No. Savannah is old. The plumbing is loud, the windows rattle in the wind, and the humidity makes the wood expand and contract in weird ways.
But there’s a reason why people from all over the world keep coming back to these specific spots. There’s a reason why hardened skeptics leave The Marshall House at 4:00 AM to go sleep in their cars.
Savannah doesn't try to hide its past. It just lives right on top of it. Whether you believe in spirits or just like the thrill of a good story, sleeping in a room where history refuses to stay dead is an experience you won't forget.
To make the most of your trip, start by mapping out the Historic District. Most of these hotels are within walking distance of each other. You can easily spend an evening doing a self-guided walk from the Kehoe House on Columbia Square over to the Marshall House on Broughton. Just keep your eyes open—and maybe leave a light on in the bathroom.
Next Steps:
- Verify room availability for specific "active" rooms like 204 or 414 at least six months before your trip.
- Research the "yellow fever" maps of Savannah to see which hotels sit directly on former quarantine sites.
- Download an EMF meter app—while not professional grade, they can be a fun way to "scan" your room when you first check in.