hauntingly beautiful...Literally

Historical District in Savannah

I had heard about Savannah, Georgia from friends when they told me about their visits to the beautiful yet eerie city. I didn't have an image of Savannah, and I tried to restrict myself from doing a quick internet search on the city, because I wanted to experience the city wholly for the first time in person. When my husband got days off for spring break, and the talk of taking a spontaneous trip started, I brought up Savannah. He smiled and said "So when are we heading out?" We were on the road the next day, a duffle bag packed with our clothes, and a bag full of snacks that we bought from a gas station. We drove north, shedding off the miles toward what is known as one of the most beautiful, yet haunted cities in North America. 

We drove into the historic district, where the old buildings are breathtaking. The streets in Savannah are filled with trees looming, Spanish moss hanging from the branches, swaying along with the wind. While walking around the city during the day, I forgot about the haunted tales my friends had told me, but these stories were quickly remembered when we decided to take a haunted tour that evening. During the tour, the whole place took on a completely different face. The city that during the day was gorgeous, I found was build on top of a Native American burial ground. During the tour, the beautiful houses took on a more eerie shape as the tour leader told us stories of death that flooded the area. The law school building that I saw during the day turned out to be a hospital used during the Civil War time for soldiers. Many terrifying stories of its hallways are rumored through the city of Savannah. 

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Savannah Law School, Historically a Hospital

The tour leader dropped us off at the Marshall House, the hotel in the heart of the historic district where we were staying at. I asked her if the hotel had any stories behind it, and surely it did! The hotel was also used to house soldiers during the Civil War, and there are many accounts of guests experiencing goosebumps inducing occurrences. Despite the stories, I had a wonderful sleep in the gorgeous hotel, and woke up wondering if I had missed anything that might have been lurking in the dark corners of the room. 

​As the sun rose into the next day, the haunting feeling washed away, and the trees were warm again. Savannah is littered with wonderful independent shops, including little bookstores, coffee shops, and cafes with some of the best vegetarian food I've had! Savannah also has the childhood home of the American queen of Southern Gothic writing, Flannery O'Connor. Alongside the history, Savannah also has some of the most beautiful cities voted by people in North America. Savannah is inviting by day, and sinister at night. I don't know how much of the ghost stories I believed, but whether you believe in ghosts or not, Savannah is a must see city.

An Independent Bookstore in the Historic District

Lunch at The Diplomat Luncheonette

​At the end of the trip, I thought how odd but wonderful it must be to be considered one of the most beautiful and haunted cities in North America. I fell in love with Savannah, and even though the city has thousands of dead bodies that you hear stories about during ghost tours, the living bodies are very warm and welcoming, displaying southern hospitality so much so that you might even forget the chilling wind that blows on your neck while you stroll alone through a bookstore, or the little giggle you hear while walking through a hallway where there are no children to be seen. 






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Click HERE to check out the website for The Diplomat Luncheonette! 
Click HERE to check out the website for The Booklady Bookstore!
Click HERE if you want to book the same haunted tour that we went on!