I wanted to write a few more blogs about the evidence my wife and I collected on some of Savannah's best ghost tours before moving even further down South to New Orleans. We love ghost tours, and we find that taking a paranormal tour (or ten) in a city is a great way to orient yourself to a location before branching out on your own to re-visit some of the more potentially active locations. From our experience, the best ghost tours that Savannah has to offer (and at this point we have taken almost all of them), are the Ghost City Tours' Dead of Night Ghost Tour, Sixth Sense's Savannah Truth Seekers Tour, Sixth Sense's Midnight Tour, & Blue Orb's Uncensored Zombie Tour conducted by author, film maker, historian and founder of Blue Orb Tours, Tobias McGriff. Of all the tours we have taken in Savannah, these are the most informative, entertaining & extensive. And if you are interested in a truly comprehensive book about the hauntings of Savannah, then you will thoroughly enjoy Tobias McGriff's book, "Savannah Shadows: Tales from the Midnight Zombie Tour". This blog is composed of some of the highlights of the evidence that we captured during these four tours at Colonial Park Cemetery, as well as from our own private investigations of the site.
Colonial Park Cemetery was founded in 1750, and is the oldest cemetery in Savannah. There are reportedly over 10,000 people buried on this 6 acre site but there are currently less than 1,000 grave markers. The burial site has been desecrated several times, most notably by union soldiers towards the end of the Civil War, when General Sherman's troops took Savannah just before Christmas in 1864. The soldiers allegedly destroyed many head stones, mixed up grave markers and dug up bodies while camped on the cemetery grounds during the occupation of Savannah. You can click on this link to hear the whole story about the legend of Rene Rondolier, Voo Doo Rituals & the Dueling Grounds in Colonial Park Cemetery. Most ghost tours take you by the gates of the cemetery because, with all of its' unsettled history, it is believed to be one of the most haunted locations in all of Savannah. On our multiple late night ghost tours and private investigations, we have collected several photos of orbs. These two photos were taken back to back, a few seconds apart at the location where the duels used to take place. Yes, the city decided to build a play structure for children just outside the gate of a haunted cemetery, and directly on top of the site where many people were killed in duels over the years (that's Savannah in a nut shell). As you can see, the first photo has multiple orbs and the second photo has none.
In the first of the next four photos, you can see a faint orb initially come into view along the right edge of the image.
In the second photo of this series, the orb passes over the graves in the middle of the image.
In the third photo photo you can see the orb move past the right side of the brick grave marker.
And finally, in the fourth photo, the orb is gone.
The following anomaly was recorded while we were on Blue Orb's Uncensored Zombie Tour. This evp goes from soft to loud, is in a heavy southern accent & does not use proper English.
This evp has a breathy feminine quality to it.
This evp also sounds like a woman's voice.
The final evp recorded on the tour was in a man's voice, once again with an accent.
The following evening we went back to Colonial Park Cemetery on our own.
The Haunted Holidaze Crew Hard At Work Investigating Colonial Park Cemetery
The Haunted Holidaze Crew Hard At Work Investigating Colonial Park Cemetery
While exploring through the cemetery, just before closing time, my wife and I captured the following pictures of orbs.
Colonial Park Cemetery - Bright Orb At The Base Of The Tree
Colonial Park Cemetery - Orbs Floating Above Grave Stones
Colonial Park Cemetery - Orb Large & In Charge
Around the same time that we took these photos, the following evp was recorded.
This was a stunning recording to hear for the first time. Not only is it one of the loudest and clearest evps I have ever recorded, but it was amazing to hear since there were no kids in the cemetery at this time (in fact there were only two other people and they were both adults). It is always disturbing to hear the desperate wail of a child in a recording (and sadly, we have heard quite a few), but this particular evp really tugs at my heart strings every time I hear it. And, what's more, this evp correlates with the now famous video taken by 17 year old Jesse Greathouse while visiting Savannah with his family in 2008.
Is the boy in the evp & in the video the same person - it is impossible to say. However, correlating results such as these may some day provide adequate data to allow for proper scientific investigation of paranormal occurrences.
Well, that is all from Colonial Park Cemetery. In the next blog, we will explore some of the famous historical house-museums of Savannah with haunted pasts.
Legend has it that the fictional character of Captain Flint from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Treasure Island", was based on an actual pirate that died in the building that currently houses The Pirates House Restaurant. As the story goes, Stevenson sailed from Scotland to America in the Spring of 1879 when he heard of the failing health of a woman from San Francisco that he had met and fallen in love with at Fontainebleau in 1876. Many believe that his trans-Atlantic journey took him to Savannah prior to his arduous venture across the country. It is during this time period that Stevenson would have come into contact with the seafaring scoundrels who frequented the tavern near the river, which is now referred to as The Pirates House (click this link to learn more about the hauntings of The Pirate House). It is here where he would have heard the stories about the men who were plied with alcohol, dragged through the tunnel that connected the basement of the inn to the river and shanghaied (or killed if they tried to resist) by unscrupulous sea captains who needed sailors to help them make raids on British and Spanish galleons in the Caribbean. Also, he would have heard of the sea captain who died in the upstairs bedroom while screaming for more rum (now that is dedication). From these tales came the legendary character of Captain Flint and the story of Treasure Island, which references Savannah several times throughout the book. With such a storied past, it is no wonder that The Pirates House is believed to be haunted. In fact, The Pirates House was even included in the book "The World's Most Haunted Places, Revised Edition: From the Secret Files of Ghostvillage.com" written by Jeff Belanger, writer/researcher/for Ghost Adventures & founder of ghostvillage.com.
Skull Crusher In A Souvenir Mug @ The Pirates House
The Pirates House is not only haunted but it actually has really good food and a fantastic atmosphere. The cuisine is top notch even though it does play heavily to tourists and some might think it is a little kitchy. I have eaten at the restaurant twice, been on three tours of the building and hung out at the bar a couple times, and I have never been disappointed. As far as the hauntings go, we have never seen a pirate walk through a wall or a disembodied voice scream out for rum at The Pirates House, but we have taken many photos in the rum cellar with orbs. The following images were taken during our first visit to Savannah in 2011. Notice that most of the orbs are focused in the area around the center of the infilled wall (where the entrance to the tunnel leading to the river used to be), and at the top of the wall where the hole is located.
Two Orbs Near The Lady's Head & Multiple Orbs At The Hole At The Top Of The Wall
Single Orb On The Lady's Back
Two Orbs Over The Woman's Shoulder At The Filled In Tunnel Entrance
Single Orb On My Hand Holding The Chain
Several Orbs Near The Wall Opening & Between The Floor Joists
We also recorded the following evps during our first visit to the rum cellar. This evp is of a woman who evidently doesn't believe the tour guide's theory about large bodies of water amplifying spiritual energy. A evp, such as this, that responds to the statements or behaviors of the living, is usually characterized as an intelligent haunting.
The next evp was recorded in the restaurant near the entrance to the rum tunnel. The voice that comes forward in the middle of the audio clip is very out of place and creepy. Also, in contrast to the first evp, the statements made in the recording don't seem to relate to anything that was happening in the room at the time. This is pretty typical of what is referred to as a residual haunting (see stone tape theory).
On our second visit to Savannah, we once again booked the Ghostly Nights and Pirates House Tour & Dinner in Savannah through Savannah Tours. We realized how great a deal it was during our first visit, so we decided to give it another shot. It turned out to be a great value since the price (+/- $52.00) includes a dinner at The Pirates House, tour of the rum cellar and a paranormal tour (which included multiple stops, including a full tour of the Sorrel Weed House). It is a particularly good deal since it is the only tour that I know of that allows you to go down into the rum cellar of The Pirates House. During this visit, we once again encountered visual and auditory anomalies during the tour. In the following two photos, you can see an orb near a Halloween display that the staff set up in the rum cellar.
Single Orb Above The Skull On The Pirate Flag.
Single Orb In The Upper Right Hand Corner Of The Photo
The next photo was taken in another portion of the rum cellar with a Halloween display of a person hanging upside down. Over my left shoulder you can see an orb near the ankle of the hanging figure.
Single Orb On The Right Side Of The Photo Near The Ankle Of The Hanging Figure
In the last photo you can see a bright orb towards the top of the stairs leading up to the second floor.
Single Orb Near Top Of Stair Leading To The Second Floor
Finally, the audio recordings that we took in the rum cellar and in the restaurant that evening yielded the following evps. These seem to be totally random evps that don't connect in any way to one another.
Even without knowing the back story to the following evp, it still is really sad when you hear the tone in the little boy's voice.
Don't ask me what is going on in this next recording. My best guess is that there are two guys fighting over a girl and she is loving every minute of it (in fact she is excited about it apparently).
I know that those of you who have recorded & listened many evps are used to hearing random, disturbing things during playback. However, just in case you have not encountered this in the past, I would like to make you aware that the following evp may be offensive to some people. If you do not wish to listen to material of this nature, please do not play the following audio clip.
Well that is a heck of a way to end it, but that's all I have from The Pirates House. Please share your thoughts about the evidence as well as your experiences at The Pirates House if you have been there.
In the next few blogs, I will present the remaining evidence that my wife and I have collected at various locations throughout Savannah, before we move on to our next location; New Orleans!
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker, wherever you're going I'm going your way. Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. We're after the same rainbow's end-- waiting 'round the bend, my huckleberry friend, Moon River and me. Moon River, wider than a mile, I'm crossing you in style some day. Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker, wherever you're going I'm going your way. Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. We're after the same rainbow's end-- waiting 'round the bend, my huckleberry friend, Moon River and me.
This haunting melody, composed by Henri Mancini, with mystical lyrics, written by Savannah's favorite son Johnny Mercer, helped catapult Audrey Hepburn to super stardom and eventually won the Academy Award for best song in 1961. It is from this great song, whose title and story line sprung from the amazing lyrical mind of Savannah native Johnny Mercer, that our next location took its' current moniker. However, the building that currently houses the Moon River Brewing Company has had an extremely storied past filled with tragedy, death & murder (click here to read more about the history of The Moon River Brewing Company). You would never know when you walk into this unassuming tavern, that the building is filled with multiple spirits, many of whom are not at all pleasant. Some of these spirits have even attacked patrons, employees and the occasional television personality. Ghost Hunters & Ghost Adventurers have both filmed episodes at Moon River. And I think it is safe to say that each group of paranormal investigators left Savannah with a new found respect for the spiritual activity that they encountered at Moon River, and some even left a bit confused about what actually happened to them there.
Moon River Brewing Company - Savannah, Georgia
During our two trips to Savannah, we made a special point to investigate the basement and second floor of Moon River Brewing Company. These two areas are known to be some of the most active in Savannah, a city that is believed by many to be the most haunted city in the country. On our first visit, my wife and I managed to tour the basement and second floor of the brewery as part of the Haunted Pub Crawl, led by James Caskey of Cobblestone Tours, which I mentioned in my previous post about the 17 Hundred 90 Restaurant & Inn. The very last stop of the tour that evening was at Moon River. At that point it was around 11:00 PM and everyone was feeling pretty "happy" after visiting several bars during the course of the evening. I believe that the liquid courage that I possessed that evening made me believe that it would be a good idea to start provoking the nasty entities that I heard haunted the basement and upper floors. While we were in the basement we took the following pictures after the rest of the group had already started up the stairs to the second floor.
The first photo shows an orb in the room adjacent to where we were standing. In the second photo the orb has disappeared in a matter of seconds.
Moon River Brewery - Basement
Moon River Brewery - Basement
In the next three photos you will be able to see an orb move from one part of the room to another before finally disappearing in the third photo.
Moon River Brewing Company - Basement
Moon River Brewing Company - Basement
Moon River Brewing Company - Basement
By the time we made it up to the second floor and met up with the others, the tour guide was wrapping things up and people were starting to head downstairs and make their way to the exit. We stayed upstairs for a while after the tour, walking from room to room snapping photos in rapid succession and taking audio recordings. While taking photos in the keg storage room, we captured the following images.
If you look closely above the four pony kegs lined up in a row, you will see a large orb against the dark gray wall.
Moon River Brewery - Second Floor
In this photo you will notice that the orb is gone.
Moon River Brewery - Second Floor
On the left side of the following photo you can see two small, bright orbs appear, and in the lower right hand corner (towards the bottom of the keg) is a blue orb.
Moon River Brewery - Second Floor
The last image in this series of photographs, shows a large, very luminous ball of light form in the vicinity of where the blue orb was in the previous picture.
Moon River Brewery - Second Floor
After getting this visual evidence, I began to think that there might actually be something to legends I had heard., so I decided to try to provoke the spirits even more to see if it would increase the amount of activity we were receiving. After I did this, the following evp was recorded in the keg storage room. At the beginning of the audio clip you hear me speaking to my wife. Next, you hear a voice that sounds like a little girl at first, but soon changes as the entity completes its' statement. Keep in mind, we are in a bar on a 21 and over pub crawl late at night - there were no children in the building! Finally, the clip concludes with a sinister sounding laugh.
In the final evp that we captured on the second floor that evening, you will hear the same exact sinister sounding laugh from the previous clip recorded a few minutes later. However, what is even more impressive to me is what follows. The recording concludes with a woman saying "Hitchhiker Ghost".
Now, you have to understand that I reviewed these audio clips two years ago, and when I first came across this part of the recording all I heard was the laugh. But when I gathered up the audio clips that I wanted to use for this post last week I listened to it again and heard, to my amazement, "Hitchhiker Ghost" for the first time. What makes this astonishing (and you will have to take my word for this one), is that last year after a trip to Disneyland, my wife and her brother decided that they would start putting together a You Tube Channel so that we could finally share the evidence we were collecting with other people who are also interested in the paranormal. Being big fans of Disneyland, they decided to call the channel Hitchhiker Ghost, after the hologram apparitions that end up in your car to take their picture with you at the completion of the Haunted Mansion Ride. I know this sounds hard to believe, but I had not heard those words in the recording until last week (two years after the recording was made and one year after my wife and her brother named our You Tube channel. Is this a coincidence, possibly. However, I have learned since I started doing paranormal investigations, that a lot of things similar to this start to happen when you go poking your nose into places that are spiritually active. I have encountered this type of pre-cognition during other investigations, most notably outside a private residence in Albuquerque (but that is a story for another time). I'll leave the final decision to the reader, but the order of events is still extremely troubling to me since the presence of pre-cognition is one of the signs that exorcists use to verify that an individual is in fact possessed by a demonic entity and is not just psychologically disturbed. I need to stop now because I'm freaking myself out and I need to go to sleep soon.
On our second visit to Savannah, we scheduled another pub crawl, but we weren't able to make it work with our other plans. Therefore, we decided to head out to Moon River on our own one night after we ran ourselves ragged site seeing during the day and early evening. After we had a couple of beers, we asked our waiter if we could go into the basement and up to the second floor to look around. The waiter said that it would be fine so we headed to the basement with a few ladies that we had met at the bar that night who were also interested in the paranormal. While we were in the basement that evening, we took the following pictures.
Now you see it.......................
Moon River Brewery - Basement
Now you don't.
Moon River Brewery - Basement
Now you see it...........................
Moon River Brewery - Basement
Now you don't.
Moon River Brewery - Basement
We took several other photos like this in the basement before we finally decided to go to the second floor. Once we were on the second floor , we found a door that led to the roof where the mechanical units are located. When we got outside, we took this picture with a large orb floating above the heating unit.
Moon River Brewery - First Floor Roof
When we went back inside, we took these photos up the stairs leading to the third floor (which is closed off due to structural problems with the floor framing). In these four images, you will see an orb appear and disappear on two separate occasions.
Moon River Brewery - Third Floor
Moon River Brewery - Third Floor
Moon River Brewery - Third Floor
Moon River Brewery - Third Floor
Next, we joined the others in a large room near the stairs leading down to the first floor. In this room we took the following series of pictures (please note that the girl seated in the chair has an electronic device in her hand that emits a yellow light - that is not an orb).
Moon River Brewery - Second Floor
Moon River Brewery - Second Floor
Moon River Brewery - Second Floor
Moon River Brewery - Second Floor
If you believe that orbs contain spiritual energy, then these photos should provide adequate proof that there is a great deal of activity on the second floor of the Moon River Brewing Company. Finally, I decided I would leave the group and do an evp session on the opposite end of the second floor where it was quiet. While I walked around by myself, I captured these two evps.
Pretty interesting evps considering I was walking in an area that was really quiet and far away from the rest of the group. To say the least, I was really impressed with the paranormal occurrences that took place during our two visits to The Moon River Brewing Company and I look forward to investigating it again in the future.
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