Do You Believe In Ghosts?

Well? Do you believe in ghosts?

I sure do, and my love of all things paranormal was one of the biggest reasons why I wanted to take this quick trip to Savannah. A planned city founded in 1733 by General James Edward Oglethorpe, of England, Savannah is a city ripe with history. Tales of piracy, murder, suicides and debauchery are prevalent. What better place for me to do some ghost hunting?

General Oglethorpe

Our first night in Savannah Jimmy wanted to eat somewhere nice and we settled on The Olde Pink House, first owned by James Habersham Jr. In 1771 construction of the mansion began, but was interrupted by the the British military during the Revolutionary war. They thought the mansion was a great place to camp. Construction on the house was not complete until 1789.


Although I took a couple of pictures while we dined in one of the 11 formal dining rooms, I didn't pick up any ghosties. It was a gorgeous place though and the food was beyond incredible.

My view from where I sat.

The furnishings of this room are not original, as you can tell by some of the mirrors and such, but the woodwork was still done beautifully.

Jimmy loved his dinner of barbecued grouper over creamy grits.

My dinner was unlike anything I have ever tasted before. Red snapper over roasted tomatoes, pureed corn and baby zucchini. Three gorgeous tortellini were stuffed with goat cheese. The flavors were so complex that every time I took a bite I tasted something different.
After dinner, Mikayla and Jimmy went exploring and found the old tavern in the basement. It's much as it was in the 1700s with very low ceilings, all the original beams and paneling, etc. A very close, intimate space. As I walked in the room for a look, the barmaid told me to take a seat if I'd like. Jokingly, I said, "Only if I can meet a ghost or two." She said, "I can't promise you'll see one tonight, but there is a lot of activity in this part of the house, things I have experienced over and over. I even have a picture to show you."

OMG, my heart rate kicked up at the thought of what she would show me. She brought out a picture which had been sent to the restaurant from a patron. It was a picture of a good looking guy, hanging out in the tavern. The unusual thing is that right next to his head was another head, that of a pirate! Although not solidly there, the image of the pirate was clear enough that I could make out his hair, his eyes, nose, mouth and even his teeth! The barmaid then told me that since that picture was taken, two more separate patrons have emailed the restaurant with pictures very similar to that, only in each successive one, the pirate's face becomes clearer. She had many more tales to tell, but it was getting late and time for us to walk back to our hotel.

The next day we ate lunch at The Pirate House Restaurant, which was built in 1753 as a saloon, restaurant and boarding house. It got its name because pirates sailing into the Savannah river would often stay there, wreaking havoc in their wake.




Our waitress was wonderful, told us to wander the rooms and take as many pictures as we'd like, and she'd tell us her personal experiences after we'd been served. First, let me tell you that between me and Mikayla, we took over 200 pictures. I did not get any apparitions or even any mists in my pics. But what I did get in a few were orbs. Now yes, you can say, "It's a dust particle" or "It's a bug". Much of the time that's just what I think. It's just kind of interesting that out of over 200 pictures, the only ones that have orbs in them are taken in places known to be very haunted. Mikayla took tons of pictures when she, Jimmy and Madison visited the Catholic Cathedral. She also took a whole bunch of herself inside the hotel. All of them using the flash too. No orbs.

Anyway, the oldest part of the Pirate House is the old herb room, where a 10-year-old boy died of yellow fever. These days this room holds one table, seating for 8, and a stairway that's been blocked off at the top, where a storage room used to be. The waitress told us that the boy is sometimes seen, but only in this room, usually on or under the stairs.




The room was empty that afternoon, so Mikayla and I wandered in there, took a seat, and starting talking to the boy. I know that sounds silly, but this is what they do on Ghost Hunters, so we figured we'd give it a try. It went something like this:

Me: Hello little boy. You can come out and see me if you'd like. I'm not here to harm you.

Mikayla: Hi there. We're nearly the same age. I bet we could play a game or something.

Me: If you come sit right here next to me on the stairs I'll give you a sweet.


Unfortunately, the boy didn't want to play, but I think someone else may have.

We ate in the Captain's Room.


Arrrrrrrrrrgh!

Please ignore my sweaty, lip-biting self, k?

But please take notice of this next picture that I took of the fireplace. There was no one seated over there to kick up dust, I hadn't seen any bugs flying around the room, and really? This is the oddest orb I've seen to date. There's sort of an orb within an orb.

Please click to enlarge.

Our waitress told us one story that was really kind of funny. She had been standing on our side of the room, looking toward a couple who had been in a heated argument for some time. She said the woman was being a total bitch to the man and just would not stop. The waitress was actually starting to get annoyed because this couple was disturbing other diners. Well, someone else was getting ticked off too, because she said the next thing she knew, the coffee ground basket came flying out of the machine (which was about 4 feet behind and to the side of the woman) and smacked her square in the back, leaving grounds all down her shirt.

The woman finally shut up.

Another time she overheard a patron saying adamantly to his wife, "There are no such things as ghosts!" Just then the picture above the table fell straight onto his head.

He shut up too.

That night, we took what would turn out to be a humorous ghost tour of the city, Colonial Cemetery and The Sorrel-Weed House.


First we sat on a trolley for 45 minutes or so, crawling along the city streets in the sweltering heat with nary a breeze coming through the open windows. Miss Violet was our undead guide for the evening. Whereas the stories she told were done very theatrically, they were all based in truth, which for me, made up for the silliness of the rest of it.

First stop, the Sorrel-Weed House, built in 1839. This house was investigated by TAPS, (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) founded by my boys Jason and Grant from Sci-Fi's Ghost Hunters. Their conclusion? HAUNTED. Do they always come up with that conclusion? Absolutely not!



I was almost as excited to be stepping where they had stepped as I was with the hope of seeing an entity!

First we stood in a circle around this room where our hostess for the house tour told us some ghastly tales of things that have happened in the house. We only got to see two rooms, plus the slave quarters in the basement because believe it or not, this house is occupied by a family!

This room is lovely, but didn't feel at all spooky to me.

It was only when we stepped into the room adjacent to this that things changed for me. My heart started racing, I was sweating and felt the need to run. Panic attack! But why? Just after I leaned over to whisper in Mikayla's ear that I was having a panic attack, our hostess told us that many people feel a sense of dread or depression in this room. I was feeling something, that's for sure!

Do you see those cardboard fans being held? I later found out that at this time, Mikayla felt one being slid down her cheek. She turned in that direction and Jimmy was the only one there. He swears he did not touch her.

Here, our hostess tells us of a woman who committed suicide by throwing herself from the third- floor balcony above us, down to the garden below.
Just after this picture was taken, the lady in the orange shirt's cell phone rang. We all turned our phones off at the beginning of the tour.

Next it was down into the nearly pitch-black basement where the slaves were housed. These fake candles you see below were the only light source in the room. It was dark people!

I was the first person to enter the room and got this shot. Orb!


Funny how my camera takes better shots in the pitch black than it does in dim light.
More orbs! (Remember to click on the pictures to enlarge!)


Orb! Orb!! Orb!!!

Orb! Orb!!

Orb! This one seems to be following Jimmy around.

Next, we stepped out into the garden. Here, looking up to the 3rd-floor balcony where the lady plunged to her death.


Interesting, don't you think?

Next, we stood outside the gates of Colonial Cemetery. I did not capture anything paranormal here, but I did get eaten alive by skeeters and have a baby spider or two crawl on me. That's creepy, no?

Although there area over 10,000 remains buried here, only a little over 600 grave markers remain. Opened in 1750, the last body was buried in the year 1853.




Miss Violet felt there was an aura of danger around Jimmy, so she reached inside her cleavage and brought out a vial of graveyard dirt and crushed bones. She then proceded to blow it all over Jimmy for protection.

There! Now he's completely safe from any restless spirits!

So what do you think? Are these orbs I caught simply dust? Or do you believe they are the energy of souls departed trying to manifest themselves?

Do you believe in ghosts?





Pssst! If you love me, you might love my sister more. Go visit her at Jill's Believe it or Not, and tell her I sent you!