The Marshall House – Haunted Hotel in Savannah, Georgia

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Full Address: 123 E Broughton St, Savannah, GA 31401, United States
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The Marshall House isn’t just Savannah’s oldest operating hotel—it’s also one of the most actively haunted buildings in a city famous for its ghosts. Built in 1851, this elegant hotel has served as everything from a luxury accommodation to a Civil War hospital, and the suffering and death that occurred within its walls seem to have left permanent supernatural residents who continue to check in but never check out.
Historical Background
Year Built: 1851
Original Purpose: Luxury hotel catering to Savannah’s wealthy visitors and businessmen
Significant Events: During the Civil War, the hotel was converted into a Union hospital where countless soldiers died from battlefield wounds, amputations, and disease—their agonized screams are said to still echo through the hallways. The hotel also served as a hospital during two separate yellow fever epidemics, with bodies reportedly stored in the basement before burial, and construction workers renovating the building in the 1990s discovered human remains and Civil War-era medical equipment hidden beneath the floorboards.
Paranormal Activity Summary
Guests consistently report seeing Civil War soldiers wandering the hallways in blood-stained uniforms, some missing limbs or bearing visible wounds that vanish when approached. Faucets turn on by themselves in multiple rooms, water running at full blast despite no one touching the handles—many believe these are the spirits of doctors who worked frantically to wash blood from their hands during the hospital days.
Children’s laughter and running footsteps are heard on the upper floors, particularly late at night when no children are registered as guests. The scent of antiseptic, blood, and decay will suddenly fill certain rooms despite the hotel’s immaculate cleanliness, transporting guests back to the building’s darkest days as a makeshift hospital.
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Ghost Stories & Reports
Room 414 is home to a male spirit who targets female guests specifically—women report waking to find a man standing at the foot of their bed, only to watch him fade away when they turn on the lights. This entity has allegedly tugged on women’s feet while they sleep and even whispered in their ears, leading some guests to demand room changes in the middle of the night.
A ghostly nurse has been spotted on multiple floors, still making her rounds as if the Civil War never ended, carrying phantom medical supplies and checking on patients who died over 150 years ago. Children’s spirits are frequently encountered throughout the hotel, with guests reporting seeing young faces peering around corners or feeling small hands tugging at their clothing—these are believed to be the souls of children who died during the yellow fever epidemics.
The spirit of a Union soldier named “Private Miller” has been identified through paranormal investigations, and he seems particularly attached to the second floor where he allegedly died on the operating table. Local paranormal experts believe the hotel houses at least a dozen distinct spirits, making it one of the most densely haunted locations in Savannah.
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Most Haunted Spot Inside
Room 214 is notorious as the hotel’s most actively haunted room, where guests report being touched by invisible hands, hearing Civil War-era conversations, and witnessing full-bodied apparitions of soldiers and medical staff. Many guests refuse to stay in this room after experiencing overwhelming feelings of sadness and pain, and some have captured photographic evidence of ghostly figures standing near the window or sitting on the bed.
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Can You Visit?
Open to the Public? Yes—it’s a functioning hotel where you can book overnight stays
Entry Fee: Room rates vary by season (approximately $150-$350 per night)
Tour Availability: The hotel offers free nightly ghost tours for registered guests at 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM, led by staff members who share the building’s haunted history and guest experiences. Non-guests can sometimes join tours by inquiring at the front desk, though priority is given to hotel guests.
Photography Allowed? Yes, in common areas and your own room
Visiting Hours: The hotel operates 24/7 for guests; non-guests can visit the lobby and restaurant during business hours
Best Time to Visit
Paranormal activity remains consistent year-round, though many guests report increased supernatural encounters during the fall and winter months. The most intense experiences typically occur between 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM—the traditional “witching hour”—when guests are jolted awake by unexplained sounds, touches, and apparitions.
First-Hand Accounts & Eyewitness Reports
A couple staying in Room 314 in 2019 captured video footage of their bathroom faucet turning on by itself at 3:00 AM, the handle physically rotating without anyone touching it. Guest Jennifer Martinez posted on social media about waking to find a Civil War soldier standing in her room, so realistic that she initially thought someone had broken in before the figure dissolved into mist.
Hotel staff members have their own collection of experiences—housekeepers report making beds only to return minutes later and find them unmade, and front desk employees have witnessed the elevator traveling between floors with no passengers inside. A maintenance worker named Thomas reported in 2021 that he clearly heard someone call his name while working alone in the basement, followed by the sound of footsteps running toward him, but no one was there when he looked up.
Paranormal Investigations & Findings
The Marshall House has been featured on multiple paranormal television programs including “Ghost Hunters,” “Most Haunted,” and “Haunted Hotels,” with investigation teams documenting compelling evidence across multiple visits. Investigators recorded EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) of a man saying “help me” in Room 214 and what sounds like surgical instruments clanking together in areas that once served as operating rooms.
Thermal imaging cameras have captured human-shaped cold spots moving through hallways and entering guest rooms, with temperatures dropping as much as 20 degrees in the presence of these entities. One particularly remarkable investigation captured a shadow figure on full-spectrum camera walking through a solid wall in the exact location where a doorway existed during the Civil War era, suggesting the spirits are navigating the building as it appeared over 150 years ago.
Safety Warnings & Legal Restrictions
While the hotel welcomes guests interested in its paranormal reputation, management asks that paranormal investigators request permission before using specialized equipment that might disturb other guests. Some guests have reported feeling physically ill or experiencing extreme emotional distress in certain rooms, and the hotel staff is understanding about room changes if the supernatural activity becomes too intense for comfort.
Cursed or Haunted Objects
During the 1990s renovation, workers discovered Civil War-era surgical tools and bone saws hidden beneath the floorboards—these items are now displayed in the hotel’s lobby, and some psychics claim they still carry the pain and suffering of the soldiers who endured amputations without anesthesia. A particular antique mirror in the second-floor hallway is said to show figures that aren’t physically present, with multiple guests capturing photographs of faces appearing in the reflection that weren’t visible to the naked eye when the picture was taken.
