The Pirates' House

This building has been swallowing sailors since before the United States was a country.

The Pirates' House opened its doors around 1753, just steps from where the Savannah River meets the bluff. Back then, this was rough country. Sailors came ashore here after months at sea, with pay in their pockets and thirst in their throats, and this inn was often their first stop—and sometimes their last.

Beneath the building lies a network of historic tunnels long associated with Savannah's waterfront. Local tradition says they were used to move untaxed rum from the river. Legends claim they also carried unconscious sailors who awoke aboard ships already at sea after being "shanghaied" into service. While forced recruitment did occur in many port cities, the specific stories connected to this building remain part of Savannah folklore.

During later renovations, workers discovered a hidden chamber beneath the building whose original purpose has never been fully explained.

Another famous legend arrived much later. Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island is said to have drawn inspiration from this inn, and the fictional pirate Captain Flint is traditionally said to have died here.

Captain Flint himself never existed, but Savannah has happily adopted the story. Today, many visitors believe his ghost still walks the upstairs rooms.

Staff have reported unexplained footsteps after closing, glasses falling from shelves without explanation, moving shadows, and sightings of a figure standing in an upstairs window. Others point to a dark stain in the floor of the Captain's Room that many claim never completely disappears.

Whether the haunting belongs to a fictional pirate... or to the countless real sailors whose stories have been lost to history... is something every visitor must decide for themselves.