Reviewed by Carol Sullivan
Photography By: Wayne Howard
Walking down the historical streets of Savannah, Georgia, it's not hard to see why some call this gem of the South "The Most Haunted City in America." One local, retired history professor was once quoted as saying "Savannah is such a beautiful city, if you were a ghost, you'd want to stay here, too."
Locations Featured:
Bonaventure Cemetery
Old Town Trolley's Ghosts and Gravestones Tour
The Gastonian Hotel
The Sorrel-Weed House
Overall: Recommended
Bonaventure Cemetery
Located on the site of a plantation originally owned by John Mullryne, the plantation was converted to a cemetery in 1868, (originally called Evergreen Cemetery; its name was changed to Bonaventure Cemetery in 1907), the cemetery became famous when it was featured in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, as well as in the film directed by Clint Eastwood. The book's cover photograph, taken by Jack Leigh, featured an evocative sculpture of a young girl that had been in the cemetery—essentially unnoticed for over 50 years—and which has come to be known as the "Bird Girl". The original sculpture had been placed on the family plot of Lucy Boyd Trosdal.
Sorrel Weed House
(Also known as the 'Francis Sorrel House') Completed in 1840, The Sorrel-Weed house is one of Savannah's most beautiful historic mansions -- haunted by a terrible history of infidelity, suicide and even murder.
In their 2005 Halloween Special, Sci-Fi Channel's 'The Ghost Hunters' were able to capture an audio recording of a woman's voice screaming and pleading for help in the carriage house, yet no source of the voice could ever be found.
The House was also featured on HGTV's "If Walls Could Talk" in March of 2006.
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YOUR HOSTESS
dystopia Magazine
Editor of Theater & Entertainment
You know her, and we love her.
The wonderful Carol Sullivan, with her great passion of travel and scares, initiated dystopia Magazine's haunted tours section to keep you in the know of everything scary around America.
Check back for her next installment!
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 Courtesy of: The Savannah Visitor's Bureau
According to the legends, not all of the past has vanished into history. There just might be someone looking back at you from that upstairs window, or if you wish, you can stay in one of the many haunted bed and breakfast inns that pepper the city. The 17-room Gastonian, circa 1868, is perhaps the most famous.
One story is that guests have seen a marmalade-colored cat wandering about the inn, yet no one there has a cat. Another story involves a woman in 1790, who was staying in room 204: the woman committed suicide by leaping to her death from the balcony. Guests say that they feel someone brushing past them, and even pushing them, in the fabled room.
Some of the best tales, however, center on the cemeteries. In the famous Bonaventure Cemetery, the ghost of a small girl is heard crying at night near the grave of Gracie Watkins. Visitors often bring gifts and leave them in the hands of a life size statue that marks her grave. It is said that if someone removes the presents, her statue cries blood-like tears. Packs of ghost dogs are rumored to haunt the cemetery, as well, and have been heard panting and barking at the heels of visitors.
 Photography By: Wayne Howard
When you visit Savannah, be sure not to miss Old Town Trolley's Ghosts and Gravestones tour. It's a family-friendly tour and I found it to be a lot of fun. Our 'Trolley of the Doomed' was aptly decorated with black under-carriage lights and black funeral bunting. As we bumped along the dark streets of Savannah, our tour guide, Ted, regaled us with haunted tales of the city in his southern, yet Vincent Price-like drawl, as we were on our way to the Sorrel-Weed House.
Completed in 1840, The Sorrel-Weed House is one of Savannah's most beautiful historic mansions--one which is rumored to be haunted by a terrible history of infidelity, suicide and even murder.
Our guide explained that in 1861, Mr. Francis Sorrel, Lord of the manor, was having an affair with one of his slaves named Molly. When his wife Matilda found out about her husband's infidelity, she jumped to her death from the second story balcony. To add to the mystery, Molly the slave was found hung from the rafters of the carriage house two weeks later. The mystery of their deaths has never been solved.
In a 2005 Halloween Special, the Sci-Fi Channel's 'The Ghost Hunters' spent a night in the famed haunted mansion and recorded some strange goings-on. They have an audio recording of a woman's voice screaming and pleading for help in the carriage house, yet no source of the voice could ever be found. No living one, that is.
Now knowing the history of the mansion, our trolley finally rolled to the front of the Sorrel-Weed House. Waiting, in the eerie shadows, was another tour guide who led us through the shadowy gardens and into the back of the mansion. We were then shown into a first floor room with a large voodoo symbol drawn in the middle of the floor and along the walls. As the tour guide told us of the home's voodoo history, my son, Ryan, told me that he heard scratching sounds in the empty hallway behind us. We could not discover the origin of the sounds, though there were others present that did not seem to hear it.
Next, we were led upstairs into a ballroom with an adjoining balcony. (The balcony that Matilda supposedly flung herself from back in 1861.) The tour guide then shut off the lights, plunging all of us into darkness and began to play the "Ghost Hunter's" EVP recording of the woman's screams in the carriage house. Goose bumps crept up my arms as he then asked each of us what we had heard in the recording.
 Photography By: Wayne Howard
A great time was had by all and I highly recommend the "Ghosts and Gravestone's" Tour. The trolley tours run every half hour and reservations are required.
So if you are a fan of things that go bump in the night and find yourself in the steamy South, be sure to put Savannah, Georgia, on your list. The many ghosts of the past are waiting for you....
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