The Pirates’ House

Posted: 03.14.2020 | Updated: 03.14.2025

The inviting aroma of oceanic favorites welcomes patrons to Savannah’s The Pirates’ House. It’s a 21st-century delight catering to travelers who come to Georgia’s earliest city for its rich and unique history. The Pirates ‘ House is a veritable gold mine of antiquities, from the building’s 18th-century foundation to the spectral relics that have yet to move on.

Since its construction in the mid-1700s, The Pirates’ House has taken on many forms. As a seaside inn, it attracted characters of all ilk, bearing the weight of the most unscrupulous seafarers. Now apparitions and poltergeists remain as a residue of the restaurant’s earlier years.

Dine among the dead in a quirky Savannah hotspot filled with over 320 years of memories. From pirates to Victorian beauties, residual hauntings and unsettling visions are all part of the restaurant’s charm.

The waters of the Savannah River flow nearby, acting as a conduit for the otherworldly. Embark on a ghost tour with Savannah Terrors to see what phantoms use that channel to tell the tall tales that unfolded within The Pirates’ House.

Is The Pirates’ House in Savannah Haunted?

A building over 300 years old is bound to house a specter or two. The Pirates’ House is no exception. Its basement, a lead-in to the underground tunnels that served many nefarious purposes, has echoed with the screams of the damned. 

Heavy footsteps, moving glassware, and other odd activities have plagued employees of this popular hangout for the living and the dead. Some even believe the projection of a literary character, or his real inspiration, remains a part of The Pirates’ House’s history. 

Quick Facts:

• The Pirates’ House is thought to be Georgia’s oldest standing building.
• Pages from a rare, early edition of “Treasure Island” are inside
• A secret chamber with no known purpose was found beneath the house.
• The spirit of an unknown young boy has been spotted at the restaurant.

The Pirates’ House History: James Oglethorpe’s Vision

The year was 1733, and settlers were fleeing England for a better, freer life in the budding colonies. General James Oglethorpe arrived on the shores of the Savannah River with 120 passengers. With access to the river, Oglethorpe hoped to strengthen trade by establishing a new colony. Thus, he laid the foundation for Georgia and, not long after, the first planned city of America: Savannah.

Among other efforts, Oglethorpe established the first experimental garden in Savannah. The hope was to be more self-sustaining and produce wine and silk. Instead, the colony succeeded in growing cotton and peaches, two staples of Georgia’s history. 

To watch over what was known as the Trustees’ Garden, a small shack was built nearby in 1734. Later, known as the Herb House, whoever cared for the garden lived there. 

Within 20 years, the need for the garden waned. Rather than demolish the Herb House, though, its location near the river made it the ideal spot for an inn for seafarers. In 1754, the house was converted into a tavern and inn, where the bulk of its spectral history stems.

An Inn by the Sea

Savannah was quickly growing into a flourishing port town. Seeing an opportunity to cater to captains and other seamen, the gardener’s house underwent a full conversion into a functioning inn and tavern.

Even at its onset, the establishment was seedy. When it started to attract the lowest dregs of the sea, like pirates and English and French privateers, it earned a damning legacy.

Though pirates proved enough of a problem to merchants, the foreign privateers were sent with an explicit mission. The English government encouraged them to raid ships and leave no crew alive.

In return, the privateers only had to salvage the ship, sell it, and split the earnings. In the tavern, they used intimidation and kidnapping to pad their crews. 

It’s believed the tunnels beneath the inn served as a rallying point where the less fortunate were corralled and, if not murdered, shanghaied onto privateer ships. 

It wasn’t until 1811 that the practice of impressment was outlawed. While it didn’t drive off the privateers completely, they did resort to more legitimate means of recruitment. 

Despite a lighter air, privateers were often met with contempt. One particular incident between American seamen and French privateers left several dead.

The Inspiration for Captain Flint’s Demise

Not everything about the tavern and inn left a negative energy. Though unconfirmed, it’s believed that the future pirate house played a role in a literary classic. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island,” Captain Flint, who oversaw the Walrus pirate ship, died in the second story of an unidentified Savannah inn.   

Stevenson was said to have visited Savannah and stopped at the infamous tavern. Seeing the pedigree of patrons, it seemed the perfect location for the pirate captain’s death. Some also suspect Captain Flint was based on an individual Stevenson met in the tavern. 

It would explain why there are accounts of Flint’s spirit being seen in The Pirates’ House. Either that or the residual energy from the inn brought a manifestation of the character to life, so to speak.

While likely a wholly fantastical idea, it would confirm a degree of sentience for a strong, concentrated negative energy.

Become The Pirate House Restaurant

The old inn and tavern were never what many would consider a nice place. However, by World War II, it had fallen into extreme disrepair. It was far from the active hangout for seamen, so in 1945, the Savannah Gas Company purchased the property with the intent to demolish it.

If not for Mary Hillyer, wife to the gas company’s president, Hansell Hillyer, The Pirates’ House wouldn’t stand as it does today.  

Along with several of her friends, Mrs. Hillyer preserved the old tavern. In 1953, Herb Traub and Jim Casey officially opened the doors to The Pirates’ House. 

It was a tea room at the time, but the restaurant has long since blossomed into the classy eatery guests know today. Of course, it’s not just the food and atmosphere that guests are hoping to experience.

The Many Ghosts of Georgia’s Oldest Building

The Pirates’ House’s time as an inn and tavern for the wicked and the rascally undoubtedly lends to the level of its ghostly activity. The seaside equivalent of a Wild West saloon, the inn was plagued by lawlessness. Tunnels from the basement to the shoreline led to many deaths and even more lives stolen and forced out onto the sea.

The only named ghost is that of the fantastical Captain Flint. The scarred ghost likely inspired Stevenson’s character, though everything surrounding the mysterious specter is speculation. 

This is less the case for the other haunts of The Pirates’ House. Echoes of the building’s chaotic past still emanate from the basement and second floor. 

The basement, full of heavy and unpleasant air, is especially unsettling. One employee complained of being physically affected with bouts of dizziness and nausea when she entered the sublevel.

Other manifestations are one-off occurrences, like the Victorian-era woman spotted outside or the young and unknown boy. 

With how haunted Savannah is, they may not even have direct ties to The Pirates’ House. Rather, they could be from a nearby haunt or carried by the energies of the Savannah River. 

Whatever their identity and purpose at The Pirates’ House, they add to the oft-creepy, albeit still alluring, vibe.

Haunted Savannah

The Pirates’ House, Savannah’s 18th-century relic, witnessed the city’s evolution. However, it’s limited to the stories that unfolded within and immediately without. You’ll need to branch out for a broader look into Savannah’s history and the many ghosts that make this one of the United States’ most haunted cities.

Book your Savannah Terror’s ghost tour today to hear more ghost stories from the city’s past. Be sure to catch up on our latest blogs and follow us on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram for even more haunted Georgia content.

Sources:

• https://thepirateshouse.com/history/
• https://visitsavannah.com/article/history-savannah
• https://hauntedhouses.com/georgia/pirates-house/
• https://www.savannahnow.com/story/entertainment/2021/10/13/the-pirates-house-savannah-ga-last-stop-captain-flint-treasure-island/8423696002
• https://www.wsav.com/news/local-news/savannah/the-tale-behind-the-haunted-pirates-house/