GA is home to one of the most haunted cities in the U.S., Travel + Leisure says

Caption

A ghastly line-up of jack-o’-lanterns.

Credit: Craig Sailor/The News Tribune

This time of year brings out the ghost-hunter in all of us and as Halloween approaches, the urge to dabble in the supernatural grows. According to a ranking by Travel + Leisure, a few American cities have such spooky reputations that they’re known as the “Most Haunted Places in America.”

Savannah, Georgia is the title of the third most haunted city in the nation, and is among the most prominent centers for paranormal activity, up there with New Orleans and Salem.

Savannah’s haunted reputation

Savannah’s haunted reputation is deeply rooted in its complex history. As Georgia’s First City, there is just something about this place that inspires souls to stay put.

Known for its eerie cemeteries, haunted inns and resident ghosts, visitors flock to its cemeteries and historic homes, hoping for a glimpse of lingering spirits from its colonial and Civil War past.

If you want to participate with Savannah’s supernatural side, the Visit Savannah tourism site has a few recommendations, and you can actually visit these places.

Here are the three spookiest places in Savannah:

• Hamilton-Turner Inn was made famous by the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and notorious for the sound children laughing and sightings of a cigar-smoking man.
• The Marshall House was used as a hospital for Union soldiers and twice for yellow fever outbreaks and ghosts are reported to roam the hallways.
• 17 Hundred 90 is a restaurant and inn and is visited by the ghosts of a formerly enslaved cook, a scorned woman and a little boy.

Other haunted cities in America

CryptoCasinos, a leading platform reviewing paranormal activity, investigated over 20 cities, and assigned each a weighted score out of 100.

Top 10 most haunted cities in the U.S.:

1. Austin, Texas (68.06)
2. Las Vegas, Nev. (37.42)
3. Orlando, Fla.
4. New Orleans, La. (34.23)
5. Gettysburg, Pa. (33.95)
6. Houston, Texas (32.38)
7. San Antonio, Texas (28.26)
8. Portland, Ore. (25.62)
9. Savannah, Ga. (25.62)
10. Chicago, Ill. (25.25)

How the rankings are determined

The study analyzed existing surveys for paranormal activity, ghost folklore, reported sightings and haunted locations. This was combined with Google search popularity used keyword data for “haunted [city]” and “ghosts in [city]” terms.

The Haunted Score was calculated using Min-Max normalization to scale values between 0 and 100, then weighted: ghost sightings (60%), haunted places (25%), and paranormal societies (15%). Cities were ranked by their final composite scores.

If you’re interested in learning more about Columbus’ haunted history, check out the Spooky Columbus series on the Ledger’s website.

Have you seen a ghost? Email me at srose@ledger-enquirer.com or find me on social media.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.