Seven (Supposedly) Haunted Haunts of the South
Reports of haunted locations - houses, buildings, lakes, cornfields, you name it - come from around the world and as far back as recorded history. But there’s just something about the American South that makes it perfect for a good scare. Maybe it’s the history of places like Lalaurie Mansion or Sloss Furnaces, the Spanish moss in Savannah or the dusty heat of Eureka Springs, but these places are creepy and we’re here for it. Whether you call them ghosts, ghouls, hot steam, boogers, wraiths or just spirits, here are seven places on our to-visit list:
Crescent Hotel and Spa
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Marshall House Savannah, Georgia
Set high above the Victorian Village of Eureka, this hotel was built in 1886 and is truly a sight during the holidays, but for now, we’re more interested in the less glittery past. Guests - including ghost hunters - have claimed to see the ghosts of an Irish stonemason (who fell to his death), a child who died of appendicitis, a 19th century doctor, a cancer patient and even the famed hotel cat (Morris). Crescent boasts that it’s America’s Most Haunted Hotel (move over Stanley!) and it comes alive with séances and zombies during Halloween. Ghost tours are available throughout the year.
Marshall House
Savannah, Georgia
You’ve seen the design - especially the wrought-iron decor - of the Marshall House before, even if you didn’t know it. Marshall House, built in 1851, is Savannah’s oldest hotel and it served as a hospital during the Civil War and throughout two yellow fever epidemics. That’s definitely enough heartache to leave a mark! If you take any of the city’s haunted tours, you’re likely to hear about the fourth floor… guests have reported faucets turning on by themselves, children running down the halls at night, ghosts in the foyers and hallways and more. USA Today called Marshall House the #2 Best Haunted Hotel in 2021.
Driskill Hotel
Austin, Texas
The Driskill is a huge and ominous building right in the heart of Austin at the corner of 6th and Brazos streets that was built in 1886. For more than a century, this 189-room hotel is now part of the Hyatt hotel chain’s “Unbound Collection” and neither the website nor the official communications from the hotel mention a haunting… but Austinites know better. Ghost tours throughout the tour frequently stop by the Driskill Hotel to talk about a cowboy, a bridge, a child and even a haunting painting. Supposedly this all started because the hotel was commissioned by Jesse Driskill, a cattle baron who made bank during the Civil War. You’ll have to Google this one because the blood money runs deep… and then runs out, leaving a haunted (although beautiful) hotel in its wake.
Battery Carriage House Inn: 20 South Battery
Charlestown, SC
Apparently building a hotel in the mid-1800s is just asking for a haunting. The Battery Carriage House Inn property was purchased in 1843 and a single-family house was built. From the Battle of Charleston to housing sailors in the 1920s to becoming apartments for college students in the 1960s to Hurricane Hugo in 1989… the Battery Carriage House Inn had to get through a lot of history to become the hotel you see today. And that history has apparently left a mark. Guests have reported waking up next to a restless spirit, seeing orbs, a floating headless torso and, of course (because it’s the South) a gentleman ghost.
Sloss Furnaces
Birmingham, Alabama
This historic landmark in central Alabama has been in the news recently. A national historic landmark, this location was long home to a major horror event called Sloss Fright Furnace. Although the reason the event was suspended is somewhat unclear (we’ll let each side argue that out on their own blogs), there’s no question that guests find this place super creepy. As if the stacks and shoots and towers of old, slightly-rusted metal aren’t enough, there’s also an urban legend that James “Slag” Wormwood, the foreman of the night shift, forced workers to take dangerous risks in the name of profit, resulting in the death of 47 employees. Rumor has it that Wormwood later fell into a pool of melted iron ore. That’s enough to give us the willies!
Lalaurie Mansion
New Orleans, Louisiana
If you’re an American Horror Story fan, this one is going to sound familiar. The Lalaurie Mansion was built in 1832 and was home to the infamous Madame Delphine MacCarthy Lalaurie, a wealthy New Orleans socialite and notorious enslaver. Multiple books about Lalaurie say that she was first investigated for cruelty toward enslaved people in 1828 and, six years later, the mansion caught fire. According to The New Orleans Bee’s reports at the time, firefighters discovered “seven slaves, more or less horribly mutilated” locked inside the building as they attempted to control the flames. The mansion was ransacked, the Lalauries fled the country and today the site is a hotbed for tourists and ghost stories.
St. Augustine Lighthouse
St. Augustine, Florida
Like the Sloss Furnace, this one isn’t quite a haunted house, but it definitely warrants being part of this list. This old Spanish watchtower has a tragic history dating back to the years following the Civil War. When the war ended and the light was turned back on, the community realized the lighthouse was losing the battle to Mother Nature. Restoration efforts began in 1871 and the Superintendent of Lighthouse Construction, Hezekiah Pittee, moved his family to St. Augustine to oversee the project. Two years later, while playing at the construction site, two of this three daughters - as well as a young African American girl - fell into the water and became trapped under a cart. All but the youngest daughter died. Since then, visitors have reported strange occurrences with the otherworldly - from girls giggling to footsteps throughout the building to spirits playing hide and seek. We definitely want to check this one out.
We know the list of haunted places in the American South is almost endless. We can’t wait to check these off our list and start on a fresh list next year!
