Many supernatural stories persist about the structure. Separating the folklore and myths from the real stories is difficult work—any time you have a group of young, impressionable, and creative people all living in a confined space, you will hear tall tales. Sometimes, too, the stories are fueled by more than caffeine and an over-active imagination. Dismissing the easily distinguishable urban legends (any tale involving deranged killers, messages written in blood or the like are standard fare), several stories told about the space have the ring of truth.
One such tale involves the Emerald Room, which is now demolished but at the time was located across the street. When Savannah entered her great decline in the 1960’s, bars such as the Emerald Room were inevitable. Several ladies of ill repute would ply their trade at the bar, and the convenient proximity of the Downtowner Motor Lodge made it a prime spot for business to be conducted. One of these ladies of the night met an awful fate at the hands of a client on the fifth floor. It has been said that her heels can still be heard clicking on the walkways, when no one is visible.
One young lady insists that it isn’t high heels she hears clicking, but marbles. She and her roommate have heard marbles being dropped and rolling outside her room on numerous occasions. Her room is located on the top floor of Oglethorpe House, so the sound definitely has to be coming from right outside their room, but nevertheless they find no one outside and nothing amiss. The legend, unverifiable but persistent, concerns a young boy who died in the old hotel while playing with marbles. Perhaps then, if the stories are true, his spirit still plays in the old hallways.
Conservative Savannahians, viewing the blue hair and multiple piercings, often say that SCAD students have lost their marbles—but this is one case where the marbles were lost long before SCAD was on the scene.
‘Hollywood’ Ron
Ron Higgins, known as ‘Hollywood’ to most locals, was many things in his lifetime: a tour guide, business owner, entrepreneur, sports fan, lover of great food, consummate prankster, and one of my best friends. Ron founded Savannah Movie Tours, which was (and is) a tour of the film locations used in major motion pictures throughout Savannah’s beautiful Historic District. Hollywood Ron was involved in the production of many award-winning films, including Training Day, Amistad, Pearl Harbor, Remember the Titans, Armageddon, and Sweet Home Alabama.
In addition to being deeply involved in the city’s film industry, Ron was a textbook example of what Malcolm Gladwell described as a “Connector” in his seminal book about marketing: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. A Connector, as described by Gladwell, is a touchstone for the community and flashpoint for ideas, two qualities that Ron certainly embodied for us Savannahians. It seems like everyone in town knew Ron, and he never met a stranger. Which is why it pains me so much to type these words: Ron Higgins passed away in the summer of 2010. He was only 45 years young, and one of my very best friends.
It is possible that Ron’s time here on earth didn’t end with his much-too-soon death. A few weeks after his passing, I had a strange incident. One night while I was leading a tour, a lone woman on the pub crawl approached me. She seemed to have something on her mind, but seemed unsure if she should say it. Finally, she seemed to make up her mind, and placed her arm on my own in a comforting manner. “I have the ability to ‘see’ or ‘hear’ things, sometimes, that others can’t. Do you understand?”
I answered her in the affirmative. I have a few friends who have the gift of ‘second sight,’ and can see, hear, or even interact with spirits. After I reassured her, she said, “Did you have a friend pass away recently?” This conversation occurred about two weeks after Ron had passed away. I told her yes.
“Was he a… big fella?” Again, I answered yes, that my friend who had passed was pretty tall and was a former football player.
“Was his name either ‘Ron’ or ‘John’?” At this, I’m sure I went dreadfully pale. “Well,” she continued, “Ron has been following you around all night.”
“Does he… does he have a message for me?” I asked.
“I asked him that very question, and he said no. He just wanted to mess with you!”
Is this in fact not a passing, but instead a new beginning for a man who was constantly reinventing himself? And more importantly, is it possible the be ‘pranked’ from beyond the grave?
Coda: Or, An Insider’s Advice For Experiencing “Ghost Ground Zero”
I probably get asked the question: Why is Savannah so haunted? about twice a week. I used to provide pithy, easily-digestible answers, ones citing extreme tragedy and connections to water and energy. Lately though, as I stated in the intro, I have become less and less satisfied with those responses. As I’ve delved deeper over the last decade plus, I’ve begun to realize that the truth is much murkier than that, while at the same time being a much too simple idea to express in words. Have you ever been seated next to an obnoxious bore (a.k.a. the Party Killer) who drones on ad nauseum over descriptions of the flavors of a particular dish, or the layers of meaning in a film, or the hidden subtext in a painting? I would be willing to bet that you found the experience incredibly frustrating, as have I, but have you ever stopped to wonder why, exactly? The person that I’m picturing has zero social skills, true, but they’re also attempting to put into words a purely visceral experience, which is a fool’s errand. How is an amateur ‘Foodie’ or kneejerk film/art critic going to succeed in an area where most poets dash themselves to pieces? Whereas the novice doggedly describes the textures and flavors (and how informative is it, really, to call a piece of tuna ‘creamy’?), the truly gifted ones just tell you what the experience made them feel. The obnoxious bore is so frustrating because they have failed to realize their role in the process: they are attempting to interpret the creative process for you, rather than telling you whether or not it is worthwhile to experience it for yourself.
The statue of Corinne Lawton in Bonaventure Cemetery.
The statue of Corinne Lawton in Bonaventure Cemetery.
The question remains, though: why is Savannah so haunted? Come find out for yourself. This book is intended solely as an entry point to give you proper historical and experiential context when you visit. Much as you should never give sashimi right off the bat to someone who has never had sushi, or force a fledgling art historian to immediately confront a Jackson Pollack, one needs a frame of reference to properly appreciate Savannah. I will not be sucked into tilting at windmills by trying to describe Savannah’s haunted reputation by citing ‘evidence’ provided by infrared cameras or ghosts ‘caught on film’ in the form of orb photos. I have never needed a blurry photograph or a fancy piece of equipment to beep me into believing that a location is haunted, because Savannah is entirely a visceral, personal experience. My advice instead is to come sit at the bar at the 17Hundred90 Restaurant, for instance, and pay careful attention to how that place makes you feel, ghosts or otherwise. I feel the experience is entirely worthwhile, and cannot imagine the 17Hundred90 without feeling the tugging of long-departed souls as I enjoy a drink there. Describing that my electrostatic-whatsis-gadget lit up twice as much as normal would do nothing to describe that feeling of noble, unrelenting tragedy that has seeped into the old bricks at that particular location.
Living in Savannah means that it is impossible to shake that feeling that there are much deeper forces at work. I’ve lived here for over twenty years, and I’ve been a tour guide for well over half of that time. The greatest compliment I can bestow on this city is that it constantly surprises me, both with new stories, and new twists on stories I thought I knew. It is daunting to try to collect all of the best haunted tales into one volume. I’m reminded of a Buddhist parable which details a monarch who gathers a group of blind men, and asks them to describe an elephant by what they could feel. One of the men touched the tail and described it as a brush. Another traced his hand along the tusk and asserted tha
t it was like a plowshare, and a third man, feeling a leg, told them they were all wrong, that they were touching a column. The men began to argue over what they each asserted was a true description of the object they were feeling, much to the monarch’s amusement.
This parable describes precisely how I feel about Savannah’s reputation for hauntings: the subject is too big and my grasp is too limited to ever accurately describe the entire scope of our subject. This book is intended as a preamble only, and what is lacking from our narrative is you, and your take on Savannah. Rather than tediously trying to explain the complexities (the flavor, the eccentricities, and deeper meaning) of your potential paranormal adventure, I will now urge you to sample America’s Most Haunted City for yourself. I promise you, it is an experience is worth having.
Library of Congress Citations
O’Sullivan, Timothy H. Fort Pulaski, Georgia. The Breach. April 1862. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-cwpb-00779.
O’Sullivan, Timothy H. Fort Pulaski, Ga. Interior view of the breach. April 1862. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-cwpb-00777 (digital file from original neg. of left half) LC-DIG-cwpb-00778 (digital file from original neg. of right half).
Selected Bibliography
Caskey, James. 2013. The Haunted History of New Orleans: Ghosts of the French Quarter. Savannah, GA: Subtext Publishing, LLC.
Cordingly, David. 1995. Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates. New York, NY: Random House.
Daiss, Timothy. 2002. Rebels, Saints & Sinners: Savannah’s Rich History and Colorful Personalities. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Company.
DeBolt, Margaret Wayt. 1984. Savannah Spectres and Other Strange Tales. 1995 ed. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company.
Diamond, Jared. 1999. Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Co., Ltd.
Dick, Susan E. and Mandi D. Johnson. 2001. Savannah 1733 to 2000: Photographs from the Collection of the Georgia Historical Society. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing.
Fraser, Walter J. Jr. 2005. Savannah in the Old South. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
Freeman, Ron. 1997. Savannah: People, Places & Events. Savannah, GA: Freeport Publishing.
----. 2002. Savannah Under Siege: The Bloodiest Hour of the Revolution. Savannah, GA: Freeport Publishing.
Gamble, Thomas. 1923. Savannah Duels and Duellists: 1733- 1877. 1997 ed. Savannah, GA: Oglethorpe Press.
Georgia Writer’s Project. 1940. Drums and Shadows: Survival Studies among the Georgia Coastal Negroes. 1986 ed. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
Gordon, Peter. 1963. The Journal of Peter Gordon: 1732- 1735. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
Linley, John. 1982. The Georgia Catalog: Historic American Buildings Survey. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
McGriff, Tobias. 2012. Savannah Shadows: Tales From the Midnight Zombie Tour. Savannah, GA: Blue Orb Publishing.
Morrison, Mary, ed. 1979. Historic Savannah: Survey of Significant Buildings if the Historic and Victorian Districts of Savannah Georgia. Savannah, GA: Historic Savannah Foundation.
Piechocinski, Elizabeth Carpenter. 1999. The Old Burying Ground: Colonial Park Cemetery- Savannah Georgia 1750-1853. Savannah, GA: Oglethorpe Press.
Russell, Preston and Barbara Hines. 1992. Savannah: A History of Her People Since 1733. Savannah, GA: Frederic C. Beil, Publisher.
Smith, Derek. 2007. Civil War Savannah. Savannah, GA: Frederic C. Beil, Publisher.
Sorrel, General G. Moxley. 1905. At the Right Hand of Longstreet: Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer. 1999 ed. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
Stalcup, Jonathan E. 2008. Savannah Architectural Tours. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing.
Weeks, Carl Solana. 1997. Savannah in the Time of Peter Tondee: A Road to Revolution in Colonial Georgia. Columbia, SC: Summerhouse Press.
Weeks, Carla Ramsay. 2012. The Sorrels of Savannah: Life on Madison Square and Beyond. Denver, CO: Outskirts Publishing.
Wilson, Amie Marie and Mandi Dale Johnson. 1998. Historic Bonaventure Cemetery: Photographs from the Collection of the Georgia Historical Society. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing.
Other Titles from Subtext Publishing
The Haunted History of New Orleans: Ghosts of the French Quarter
by James Caskey
New Orleans: is it the most haunted city in America? This book chronicles one writer’s journey to New Orleans, LA, and his quest to find the most haunted locations in the French Quarter. Uncover the arcane and chilling aspects of ghosts and Voodoo in the Necropolis of the South. Tag along as he interviews eyewitnesses, historians, tour guides, and even a particularly spot-on fortune-teller in one of the most haunted cities in North America. Discover how he experienced the wrath of a long-dead Voodoo Queen, had an amazing revelation about one of New Orleans’ most famous haunted spots, and even got to experience his very own haunting, right in the middle of an interview.
Lavishly illustrated with over 35 pen and ink drawings and photos!
This Side of the River by Brayton Price
How do you discover yourself, much less life or love, in an increasingly digital age? This is one of the many questions posed by Brayton Price in this collection of over 35 original poems. This Side of the River explores nature, modernization, and imagination, and their effects on the human experience.
If Your Dream Doesn’t Scare You, It Isn’t Big Enough
by Kristine K. Stevens
In honor of her 40th birthday, Kristine K. Stevens sold her house, quit her job and traveled solo around the world. Carrying a backpack and the naïve belief that the trip was nothing more than a six-month long vacation, she hit the road.She braved monsoons in Zanzibar, a safari in Kenya, trekking in Nepal, kayaking in Thailand, caves in Laos, red plaid fish and lava in Hawaii, and grizzly bears in Alaska. Little did Kristine know that she was completing a pilgrimage that would change her life forever.
About the Author
James Caskey is a tour owner, licensed guide, historian, and author. In 2001, he founded Cobblestone Tours, a walking ghost tour based in Savannah, Georgia, where he currently resides. His tour company has always been devoted to telling the true history and real stories of Savannah. This search for accuracy naturally led Caskey to the world of writing: his first two books about the paranormal (including his second effort, 2013’s The Haunted History of New Orleans: Ghosts of the French Quarter) have been received with strong sales and positive reviews.
He and his work in the paranormal field have been featured on the top-rated Savannah episode of Ghost Adventures, as well as the Travel Channel, the New York Daily News, New York Magazine, CNN, PBS, FSN, Inflight Magazine, the Savannah Morning News, WSOK Radio, and local weekly Connect Savannah.
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