Wooden warehouse with barrels on fire

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The Old Harbor Inn Savannah

River Street is the place to be in Savannah. Shops, restaurants, and boutiques line the old cobblestone streets. But if we go back a few hundred years, we’ll see a very different scene. African slaves were shuffled into the stone tunnels to be sold on Factor’s Walk.

Slaves and immigrant workers broke their backs to load up idling cargo ships with cotton. Thieves, drunks, and low-lives hang around the alleys waiting for their next victim. The same buildings that served as warehouses to store cotton and slaves are now hotels, cafes, and offices.

One of the historic inns in Savannah is the Olde Harbour Inn. Originally a dockside warehouse, the building was later demolished and reconstructed as the headquarters of an oil company. In 1892, a mysterious fire broke out, and many believe it was deliberately set by a disgruntled employee named Hank.

Would you dare spend the night in one of the most haunted places in Savannah, where whispers echo through the halls and shadows seem to move on their own?

Is The Old Harbor Inn in Savannah Haunted?

Savannah, Georgia—often hailed as one of the most haunted cities in America—is home to centuries of ghostly legends, and this haunted Savannah inn is no exception. Nestled along the picturesque River Street, this historic inn is more than just a charming place to stay—it’s a hotbed of eerie experiences that have left guests and staff alike questioning what lingers in the shadows.

So, if you ever find yourself staying at The Old Harbor Inn Savannah, keep your eyes—and ears—open. You never know who (or what) might be sharing the space with you.

Early Days of River Street

River Street is nice now, but boy, it was a bad place back in the 1800s. Like many port cities, the docks were crime-infested. Alcoholism, thievery, pick pocketing, and brawls were common. The docks brought in slaves and exported cotton.

Slaves who were recently taken from Africa would arrive in droves and be shuffled into the warehouses and alleyways before being sold on Factor’s Walk. Many died of undernourishment, disease, and heatstroke.

Some of the slaves were put to work on the docks alongside German and Irish immigrants, many of whom were indentured servants. Many died while working and were either crushed under the weight of the massive bales of cotton or were worked to death until succumbing to exhaustion.

The River Street Fire

Street fire
Copyright by US Ghost Adventures

The warehouses that line River Street were used to store cotton and slaves before and after being packed into ships. Many of the buildings still have the metal latch to which the slaves were attached. The Olde Harbor Inn Savannah site was first constructed in 1812 by the Johnson and Jones families.

The buildings were used as storage until about 1890 when they were demolished to make way for a mega warehouse. This new three-story building would serve as the primary headquarters for the Tide Water Oil Company.

As was the norm at the time, the buildings were made of wood. It was a cheap and easy choice for building materials, but the threat of fire was always looming. Given Murphy’s Law, it was only a matter of time. In 1892, just two years after the building was constructed, a fire broke out on the east end of Factor’s Walk.

The strong breeze helped the fire spread, and within minutes, the entire city block was shrouded in a massive inferno. It didn’t help that 500 barrels of oil were being stored inside the building at the time. Try as they could, firefighters couldn’t put out the fire; it had grown too big. By the time the fire subsided, the building was completely destroyed.

The fire was one of many in Savannah, and so city leaders passed an ordinance that required all new buildings to be made out of brick. The warehouse was rebuilt, requiring over 700,000 bricks to complete. Not only was the warehouse now flame-resistant, but the building was also revered as a marvel of construction at the time.

Shortly after, the Rockafeller Oil Trust took over Tidewater and moved into the building, occupying it until 1907. They were known for selling a high grade of kerosene, which they called Guardian Oil. The building then served as a denim factory, manufacturing blue jeans and overalls for the Alexander Brothers Company until 1980.

The Olde Harbor Inn is Born

While the Savannah Historic District was undergoing a majestic revitalization, HLC Hotels bought the property and began renovations in 1985. The Olde Harbor Inn opened for business in 1987, and today, it’s the premiere luxury hotel on Savannah’s riverfront. The inn is noted for being one of the few pet-friendly hotels in the city, and in the evenings, they deliver free ice cream straight to your doorstep.

Ghosts of the Olde Harbor Inn

The resident ghost of the haunted Savannah inn is a mischievous spirit named Hank. Nobody knows who Hank was in life, but they do have a hunch. Apparently, Hank was the only casualty of the fire in 1892. Not only was he killed in the fire, some even say that he actually started the fire. The blaze started near his office, and Hank had gotten into a nasty argument with his bosses earlier in the day.

Many suspect that he started the fire in an ill-fated attempt at revenge. Though no casualties were actually recorded, many believe that he was the only fatality of the blaze. When the ghost began to appear after the building was rebuilt, nobody knew who he was, so they affectionately named him Hank.

Ghost in a sheet standing at the end of a bed with arm out
Photo Property of US Ghost Adventures.

Today, Hank is well-known amongst the staff and guests of the Olde Harbor Inn Savannah. Despite the hotel prohibiting smoking indoors, many say they smell the aroma of cigar smoke when his ghost appears, and many report seeing a mysterious man smoking a cigar around the hotel.

Hank appears mostly in rooms 405 and 406. Nobody knows why he chose these rooms in particular, but he seems to like these the most. Staff encourages guests looking for a thrill to book either of these rooms to raise the chances of encountering the mysterious ghost.

Hank is also known to inhabit the kitchen as well. Despite the lack of a need for ghosts to eat food, Hank seems to have an affinity for good grub. He likes to play pranks on the chef and is often blamed for unplugged and malfunctioning appliances. Sometimes, entire dishes even go missing.

Haunted Savannah!

HLC Hotels, which also owns a number of other Historic Savannah Inns, such as The East Bay Inn is another recently renovated building that was repurposed as a hotel. And like Hank, the East Bay Inn’s ghost is known to pull a few pranks on the guests. The ghost of Charlie has been accused of stealing, spying on, and spooking the guests of the East Bay Inn.

The Marshall House is one of the oldest buildings in the city. Now a hotel, the building once served as a medical facility for Union soldiers during the Civil War. Many of the soldiers who died in the building still haunt the hotel to this day, and sometimes, one can even catch a whiff of rotting flesh, still charred from the battlefield.

Haul yourself over to beautiful Savannah, GA, to find out for yourself. When you get there, book your guided ghost tour with Savannah Terrors. Our experienced tour guides will take you all around the historic city, looking for the spirits and their true stories.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real Georgia hauntings.

Sources:

  • https://www.oldeharbourinn.com/history.htm
  • https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/sights-and-scenes-savannahs-river-street/
  • https://www.wsav.com/news/history-in-savannah-revealed-at-vaults-at-factors-walk/
  • https://www.savannahnow.com/story/news/2008/10/17/olde-harbour-inn-hank-ghostly-prankster/13346237007/
  • https://www.britannica.com/money/Standard-Oil

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