Most Haunted Places in America: The Pirates’ House

We just came from a tour of some of the haunts in Savannah, Georgia. We got to see some great places and I even managed to save a place for our next visit Halloween weekend. Of course my team says I forgot about it but I know better. The Pirates’ House has been around since 1753 and in the beginning it was just that, a house for sailors, smugglers and pirates. Today it still is serving up nourishment as a very unique restaurant and holds its own as one of the most haunted places in America.

The Pirates’ House is joined to the house next door considered to be the oldest house in Georgia. Over time more buildings merged together and today the result is several different dining rooms each with its own fantastic décor and feel. During the early days, men would drink, eat and party downstairs and sleep on the second floor but today the second floor is mostly used for storage.

The most interesting part of the house though seems to be the Captain’s Room. Here there is a spiral stone staircase leading down to a tunnel which is said to lead right out to the ocean. Captains with shorthanded crews would send teams out to find men who would be already unconscious from to much grog, too drunk to fight and would even drug men to shanghai them. These men would often come to their senses on a strange ship bound for anywhere and would have no choice but to work their way back to Savannah.

The most popular link from the Pirates’ House has to come from Robert Louis Stevenson and his book Treasure Island. Early pages of the book are framed and on display on the walls of the Captains Room and the Treasure Room. Some say the Captain that died at the Pirates’ House was the inspiration for the Captain Flint in the book.

Some of the paranormal activity reported includes footsteps walking up the steps from the dining area to the storage room on the second floor. Employee’s claims that the storage room at the top of the stairs has had items fly off the shelves across the room when they enter.

There has been an apparition seen of an old sailor, now called by most Captain Flint, in and around the Captains Room and stair case leading upstairs. Music and dishes rattling have also been heard coming from the Captains Room. On the second floor, which used to be sleeping quarters, staff has reported seeing shadows moving around the room that is supposed to be where the Captain died.

Other strange events include laughter coming from the upstairs area, two more apparitions seen on the first floor of which one is reported to be a crusty old sailor. Another nightly event is chairs being rearranged in one particular dining area and on occasion’s staff have reported becoming physically ill around one area when first arriving for work.

It seems the management and staff at the Pirates’ House love to talk about the ghosts walking around the rooms, like most people in Savannah. I have also seen great reviews of the food as well so looks like I know where our crew will be searching out dinner and maybe a few paranormal experiences as well.

Related posts:

1. Hauntings at Moundsville State Penitentiary
2. Emmitt House Hauntings
3. The Hauntings of Harpers Ferry
4. Hauntings of the Woodruff-Fontaine House
5. Hauntings at Fort Pulaski