Georgia is known for a lot: warm weather, golf, and ghosts. Let’s take a look at 5 haunted places in the Peach State.
B. Matthews Eatery
On Bay Street in Savannah sits the B. Matthews Eatery, one of the oldest buildings in the state. The building has darkness in its past that continues to linger today. As the stories go, the basement of the building was used to imprison slaves as part of a human smuggling operation. Such a vicious trade would have certainly taken its share of victims.
In the 1950s, race played a part in another violent occurrence at the eatery, at the time a tavern. During segregation, the tavern had two separate rooms for black and white. One day, the African American bartender was shot and killed by the White bartender’s wife. The offense was that the African American bartender had begun a relationship with the daughter of the White bartender.
Today the eatery is the site of a number of strange happenings. Objects seem to move on their own, or are even thrown across the room by unseen hands. One day, the eatery’s knives were found buried in the floor.
Ballastone Inn
Also in Savannah is the Ballastone Inn. The inn has a colorful past, to say the least. It began life as a private mansion, but spent time as a boarding house and, yes, a bordello before becoming the inn it is today.
Bordello’s are infamous for hauntings, but the Ballastone’s most famous ghost is that of Sarah Anderson, original matriarch of the Ballastone. She’s seen walking the halls of the inn as the sun sets, even riding the elevator between floors. Perhaps she just isn’t ready to depart the place she called home.
The Warren House
The Civil War was a murderous conflict that took the lives of thousands as American fought American. The South is riddled with battlefields and, as you might expect, ghost stories. In Jonesboro, Georgia stands the Warren House, a home that was pressed into service as a hospital.
Civil War hospitals were horrific places as the medical care offered was often done too quickly with primitive tools. The screams of men being operated on would have echoed over those awaiting their turn with the surgeon.
During renovations of the Warren House, the signatures of Civil War soldiers were found on the walls, presumably the wounded, and maybe, the dying. Today, people say that the spirits of soldiers continue to haunt the Warren House. At night, it’s said that you can see shadows in the windows that do not belong to the living.
The Pirates’ House
Another Savannah haunted hotspot is the Pirates’ House tavern. The Pirates’ House dates back to the 1700s, and gets its name from its supposed connection to one of the most famous pirates in history. If you’ve ever read Treasure Island, you know of Captain Flint. Flint is generally accepted as a fictional character, but there are those that believe he was based upon a real person, though that pirate’s identity is a mystery.
According to the Pirates’ House lore, Captain Flint, or the pirate upon which he was based, died in the building. The tavern’s patrons claim the specter of a pirate continues to stalk the halls. If it is Flint, perhaps he’s waiting for his quartermaster, the infamous Long John Silver.
The Partridge Inn
Most people know of Augusta, Georgia as the home of the Master’s golf tournament, but there are a number of ghosts puttering around town. At the Partridge Inn, a tragic bride spends her days within the walls, even many years after her death.
Emily, as she’s known, can be seen at the Partridge Inn wearing her 18th century wedding gown. As the legend goes, she died of a broken heart after her fiancé’s untimely death. Perhaps she stays, hoping to finally find happiness with her long lost love.