Savannah's Haunted Cemeteries

No discussion of haunted cemeteries in Savannah can begin anywhere other than Colonial Park Cemetery. Established in the 1750s and located at the corner of Abercorn and Oglethorpe in the heart of the Historic District, Colonial Park is the oldest burial ground in Savannah that can still be identified by visitors today.

Within its six acres lie more than 10,000 burials, though fewer than 1,000 grave markers remain. Many of the dead were buried in mass graves during yellow fever outbreaks, and others had their markers destroyed or displaced over the centuries. This history of disturbed graves and forgotten dead is one of the reasons Colonial Park is considered a paranormal hotspot.

Ghost City Tours guides have reported seeing shadow figures moving through the headstones on countless occasions, and guests on the Beyond Good and Evil Tour — which starts at Colonial Park's front gate — have witnessed green mists and unexplained movement within the cemetery after dark. Read more about the ghosts of Colonial Park Cemetery.

Bonaventure Cemetery is one of the most beautiful and most famous cemeteries in the entire American South. Located on a bluff overlooking the Wilmington River, the cemetery is known for its stunning Victorian statuary, its moss-draped oaks, and its connections to literary history — most notably its appearance in John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

But Bonaventure is also one of Savannah's most haunted locations. Visitors have reported hearing laughter from empty sections of the grounds, seeing ghostly figures among the monuments, and encountering cold spots near some of the cemetery's most famous graves. The spirits of Bonaventure seem to be as permanent as the stone angels that watch over them.

The cemetery's history stretches back to the colonial era, when the land was a plantation. A fire destroyed the original mansion during a dinner party, and legend holds that the hosts continued their meal outdoors as the house burned — a story that captures the defiant spirit of Savannah itself. Discover the full story of the ghosts of Bonaventure Cemetery.

Laurel Grove Cemetery was established in 1853 to serve as Savannah's primary burial ground after Colonial Park Cemetery was closed to new interments. The cemetery is divided into two sections — Laurel Grove North and Laurel Grove South — and its sprawling grounds contain the graves of Civil War soldiers, prominent Savannah families, and thousands of ordinary residents whose stories have faded from public memory.

The sheer size of Laurel Grove and its deep connections to the Civil War make it a natural setting for ghost stories. Visitors have reported seeing apparitions resembling soldiers walking through the grounds, hearing unexplained sounds near the older sections of the cemetery, and feeling a heavy, oppressive atmosphere that lifts as soon as they pass through the cemetery gates.

Laurel Grove is less visited than Colonial Park or Bonaventure, which gives it a quieter, more isolated feeling that many paranormal enthusiasts find even more unsettling. Read more about the ghosts of Laurel Grove Cemetery.

Cemeteries occupy a unique place in the human imagination. They are places of remembrance, built to honor the dead and provide comfort to the living. But they are also places where centuries of human emotion — grief, loss, love, fear — have accumulated in concentrated form, layer upon layer, generation after generation.

Historians and folklorists have long noted that places associated with death, particularly sudden or violent death, tend to generate ghost stories. Cemeteries that hold victims of epidemics, wars, and other tragedies carry an additional weight of collective trauma that seems to intensify their haunted reputations.

In Savannah, the connection between cemeteries and ghost stories is especially strong. The city's long history of yellow fever epidemics, its role in multiple wars, and its deep roots in Southern spiritual traditions have all contributed to a culture that takes its ghosts seriously. Whether the paranormal activity reported in Savannah's cemeteries is the result of genuine hauntings, the power of place and atmosphere, or some combination of both, these burial grounds remain among the most talked-about haunted locations in the city.

Visitors who want to explore Savannah's haunted cemeteries should plan their visits with respect for both the history and the communities that maintain these grounds. Many of Savannah's cemeteries are open to the public during daylight hours, and some — like Colonial Park Cemetery — close their gates at dusk.

Daytime visits offer the opportunity to read the inscriptions on centuries-old headstones, study the architecture of the burial vaults, and appreciate the natural beauty of the moss-covered oaks that shade the grounds. Historic preservation efforts have ensured that these cemeteries remain accessible and well-maintained, even as they age.

For those who want to experience Savannah's cemeteries in a different light, several Ghost City Tours ghost walks pass by or begin at the city's most haunted burial grounds. Walking through the Historic District at night, hearing the stories behind the graves, and feeling the atmosphere shift as darkness settles over the city is an experience that stays with visitors long after they leave Savannah.

While some cemeteries close after dark, Savannah's haunted history can still be explored throughout the Historic District on a guided ghost tour. Many of the ghost stories told on Ghost City Tours in Savannah originate from the city's historic cemeteries, and the guides who lead these tours know the burial grounds and their stories intimately.

The Grave Tales Tour focuses on Savannah's burial grounds and the spirits that refuse to leave them — a natural choice for anyone drawn to the city's haunted cemeteries. The Dead of Night Tour takes guests deeper into Savannah's darkest stories, exploring the crimes, tragedies, and hauntings that have shaped the city's reputation. And the Beyond Good and Evil Tour begins at the gates of Colonial Park Cemetery itself, setting the tone for an evening of haunted history that winds through the most atmospheric corners of the Historic District.

Many of the ghost stories told on these tours have their roots in Savannah's cemeteries — the mass graves, the forgotten dead, the soldiers buried far from home. Experiencing these stories firsthand, in the city where they happened, is something that no amount of reading can replace.

Savannah's cemeteries are some of the oldest in the American South. They preserve the city's earliest stories — stories of colonial settlers, of soldiers who fought and died in wars that shaped a nation, of families devastated by epidemics that swept through the city without mercy. These burial grounds hold the physical remains of the people who built Savannah, and many believe they hold something more.

The ghost stories connected to Savannah's cemeteries are not exaggerated tales designed to thrill tourists. They are reports that have been shared consistently, by credible witnesses, over many decades. Whether you believe in the paranormal or approach these stories as cultural history, there is no denying that Savannah's cemeteries carry an atmosphere that sets them apart from ordinary public spaces.

If you are drawn to the haunted side of Savannah, we invite you to explore the city's haunted history and discover for yourself why these cemeteries have earned their reputation as some of the most haunted places in America. Places like this are the foundation of Savannah's reputation as the most haunted city in America.