Doctor Buzzard’s Goodtime Ghost Tour

Savannah’s ghost stories are rarely just about ghosts. They grow out of old jails, yellow-fever deaths, buried cemeteries, troubled marriages, and homes with long memories. Doctor Buzzard’s Goodtime Ghost Tour turns that darker side of the city into a roughly two-hour evening walk, with stops at places such as the Old City Jail, Colonial Park Cemetery, and several famously haunted houses.

I like the small group limit of 16, which gives the guide room to tell a story instead of shouting at a crowd. I also like the strong history angle, from Alice Riley’s execution to the Black burial ground beneath Taylor Square. The main thing to know is that this is an outdoor storytelling walk, not a series of building visits. You will cover plenty of ground, and admission to the Old Sorrel Weed House is not included.

Key points to know before booking

• Small groups make the storytelling personal: The tour allows no more than 16 people, and groups can sometimes be much smaller.
• Savannah history drives the ghost stories: Expect cemeteries, yellow fever, executions, slavery-era burial grounds, and tragic family stories.
• You visit many famous locations: The route includes the Old City Jail, Colonial Park Cemetery, the Gordon home, Hamilton-Turner House, Kehoe House, and more.
• Most stops are viewed from outside: The tour does not promise entry into homes or historic buildings.
• Janine receives especially warm praise: Her humor, storytelling, and command of local history suit the format well.
• Wear good walking shoes: The tour is not recommended if you have walking concerns, and bathrooms are not provided.

Why this ghost walk feels different from a standard haunted tour

Many city ghost walks rely on a string of spooky claims with little sense of place. This one has a broader frame. You hear about haunted houses, but also about prisons, cemeteries, root doctors, yellow fever, contested burial grounds, and the ways Savannah expanded over its dead.

That gives the tour more substance than a simple parade of haunted bedrooms. The story of the Old City Jail, for example, includes prisoners with mental illness, violent offenders, and an execution cell. At Colonial Park Cemetery, the supernatural tales sit beside stories of mass graves and disease. You are hearing about the city’s past as much as its spirits.

The price is $33.33 per person. I consider that fair if you want a guided evening walk with a strong narrative and a small group. The value drops if your main goal is to enter haunted buildings or use ghost-hunting equipment. The fee includes the guide and one download of the documentary America’s Most Haunted City: Savannah, but not bottled water, gratuity, or admission to the Old Sorrel Weed House.

Starting at the Casimir Pulaski Monument

The walk begins at the Casimir Pulaski Monument at 4 West Taylor Street. The guide ends near Colonial Park Cemetery, no more than about 15 minutes on foot from the starting area, so save the Pulaski Monument or Monterey Square on your phone if you need to find your way back.

The opening location places you near some of Savannah’s most atmospheric squares. It also helps to arrive ready for an evening outside. The tour lasts about two hours, and the route includes many stops, so comfortable shoes matter more than a costume or special equipment.

A mobile ticket keeps the start simple. The tour is offered in English, and confirmation arrives when you book. It runs with a maximum of 16 people, though the actual group can be smaller. One review describes a group of only four, which made the walk feel especially intimate. A very cold evening can also produce an unusually tiny group, so check the forecast and dress accordingly.

The Old City Jail and Greene Square

The first stop is the Old City Jail, a building once associated with about 600 prisoners. Its past included areas for people labeled criminally insane, violent prisoners, and an execution cell. That is already enough material for a dark opening, even before the ghost stories begin.

You will hear about the jail from outside, with the building’s history supplying the setting. If you want to walk through prison cells or inspect the interior, this tour is not designed for that.

At Greene Square, the mood shifts from institutional cruelty to stories involving an old female orphanage. Two bank robbers are part of the tale, along with a ghost connected to their loss of freedom. Another story centers on a teenage girl considering suicide and a ghost who offers comfort. This is one of the more emotionally serious parts of the walk, and it may not suit anyone looking only for light spooky entertainment.

Conrad Aiken Home and Taylor Square

The Conrad Aiken Home introduces a murder-suicide from the poet’s childhood. The stop also connects nearby properties with Colonial Park Cemetery, Police Precinct One, and other supernatural accounts.

This is where the tour’s method becomes clear. You are not simply told that a house is haunted. You are given a chain of people, events, buildings, and local stories that link one place to another. The result is more interesting if you enjoy biography and social history along with your ghost tales.

At Calhoun Square, now called Taylor Square in honor of a famed nurse, the guide discusses one of Savannah’s original Black burial grounds, built over as the city expanded. The square is also tied to the Espy House and 432 Abercorn. This stop offers a useful reminder that Savannah’s beautiful public spaces can conceal difficult layers of the past.

The burial-ground story is one of the tour’s strongest historical subjects. It gives you something to think about beyond the usual haunted-house formula, though the subject is handled as part of a fast-moving walking route rather than a long historical lecture.

Colonial Park Cemetery after dark

Colonial Park Cemetery is one of the route’s major stops. The cemetery dates to the 1750s and is associated with colonial hangings, mass graves, yellow fever, and later spiritual practices connected with root doctors.

You will hear about the Man in Blue apparition and other reported supernatural events. But the place matters even if you set ghosts aside. Old cemeteries show how disease, punishment, religion, and city growth shaped Savannah. Here, the stories work because the setting has genuine age and visible evidence of repeated burial and use.

The guide allows about 10 minutes at the cemetery. That is enough for several stories, but not enough for a detailed cemetery tour. I would pay close attention and avoid expecting time to wander among every marker. The tour ends near the cemetery, making this both a central stop and a practical finish to the route.

The Gordon home and Hamilton-Turner House

The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace Museum is presented as one of Savannah’s most thoroughly documented haunted homes. Accounts connected with the Gordon family go back more than 100 years, and the building also has importance as the birthplace of the founder of the Girl Scouts.

The tour focuses on the home’s haunted reputation from the outside. The name will be familiar to anyone interested in women’s history or the Girl Scouts, which gives this stop wider appeal than a typical ghost-story address.

At the Hamilton-Turner House, you hear about Savannah’s first electrified home, a major poltergeist account, an unsolved murder, and connections with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The house is also one of the city’s notable inns, adding a practical question to the story: what is it like to sleep in a building with such a reputation?

This section should please you if you like famous Savannah landmarks with several layers of history. It may disappoint you if you expect to step indoors and investigate rooms for yourself.

Kehoe House and Davenport House Museum

The Kehoe House has served as a funeral home and is now a high-end inn. Its ghost stories include frightening experiences during honeymoon stays and a sense of omen attached to the property.

That contrast, from funeral business to romantic lodging, gives the stop an easy hook. Still, keep your expectations in check. The tour presents the story from the street and does not include an overnight stay or a hotel interior visit.

The Davenport House Museum brings in yellow-fever victims, rootwork, and a shape-shifting cat. The stop is brief, about five minutes, so expect a compact story rather than a long account of the house.

These two locations show the tour’s range. One story leans toward haunted lodging and personal experience. The other adds disease, folk belief, and an unusual animal legend. If you enjoy variety, the quick pace works well. If you prefer one detailed case at a time, the number of stops may feel rushed.

The Old Sorrel Weed House and Wright Square

The Old Sorrel Weed House is one of Savannah’s most investigated properties. It is also linked with the first episode of Ghosthunters filmed outside that program’s home state. That connection gives the building a place in modern paranormal television as well as local folklore.

Admission is not included. The walking tour does not promise entry, so budget separately if you want to visit the museum and take a formal interior tour. This is the clearest point where the tour’s outdoor format matters. You see and discuss the property, but you are not automatically going inside.

Wright Square carries some of the city’s most troubling burial stories. It is associated with an estimated 300 remaining burials beneath the square, along with the early city jail and hanging gallows. The guide also discusses Alice Riley, an Irish sorceress who was held and executed there, and later accounts of her spirit in nearby homes and businesses.

This is a powerful stop because the square’s attractive public setting sits over a graveyard. The tour uses that contrast well. You may find the stories grim, but they help explain why Savannah’s historic center can feel so charged after dark.

The 1790 Inn and the final stretch

The 1790 Inn takes its name from the year before it burned in the great fire of 1820. The property is linked with Anna White, who ended her life there during a controlling marriage.

Later owners and developers reported continuing spirit activity, and the famous paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren are connected with an investigation of the property. The inn’s own guest register contains stories from people who left during the night, which adds a modern layer to an older tragedy.

This final stop combines fire, domestic suffering, reported hauntings, and the reputation of a working inn. It also illustrates a point worth remembering throughout the tour: historic buildings collect stories over time, and not every story carries the same level of evidence.

The guide’s job is to present those accounts in a way that is engaging without forcing you to accept every supernatural claim. Janine receives particular praise for being funny, engaging, and well prepared, and that style seems especially useful here. A good storyteller lets you enjoy the mystery while keeping your own judgment.

Walking demands, weather, and group size

This is a walking tour with a moderate physical requirement. It is specifically not recommended if you have walking concerns. The route covers many blocks and includes roughly 11 stops, even though some visits last only five or 10 minutes.

There are no bathrooms included. Plan ahead before meeting at the monument, since the route does not promise restroom access. Bottled water is also not included, so carry your own if you need it.

The experience depends on weather. Poor weather can lead to a new date or a full refund, and the tour also requires a minimum number of people. If you are booking close to your travel date, remember that the tour is often reserved well in advance, with an average booking lead time of about 24 days.

A cold night is not automatically a bad night for a ghost walk, but it changes the experience. Dress for the forecast, and do not expect the guide to turn an evening tour into a daytime activity. The darkness is part of the atmosphere, even though the stories remain the main attraction.

Who should book Doctor Buzzard’s Goodtime Ghost Tour?

I would choose this tour if you want Savannah history delivered through ghost stories, especially if you enjoy cemeteries, old buildings, local legends, and difficult historical subjects. It also suits you if you prefer a small group and a guide who can make a long walk feel conversational.

I would skip it if you need regular seating, have trouble walking, or want substantial indoor access. The tour visits many buildings but generally keeps you outside. One disappointed experience came from expecting entry into homes and buildings, so take the format seriously before booking.

The strongest reason to choose it is the combination of personal storytelling and serious local history. The best moments are not necessarily the loudest ghost claims. They are the stories of buried communities, executions, disease, family tragedy, and the city’s habit of building over what came before.

For $33.33, that is a worthwhile evening if you value context and atmosphere. If you want a haunted-house investigation, spend your money elsewhere. If you want a brisk, story-led walk through Savannah’s darker past, this is a solid choice.

FAQ

How long does Doctor Buzzard’s Goodtime Ghost Tour last?

The tour lasts approximately two hours.

How much does the tour cost?

The listed price is $33.33 per person.

Where does the tour begin?

It begins at the Casimir Pulaski Monument, 4 West Taylor Street, Savannah, Georgia.

Where does the tour end?

The guide ends near Colonial Park Cemetery at 200 Abercorn Street. The end point is never more than about 15 minutes on foot from the starting area.

Is admission to the historic buildings included?

No. The tour is primarily an outdoor walk, and admission to the Old Sorrel Weed House is specifically not included.

Is the tour offered in English?

Yes. The tour is offered in English.

How large is the group?

The tour has a maximum of 16 people.

Is the tour suitable for someone with walking concerns?

No. A moderate level of physical fitness is required, and the tour is not recommended for anyone with walking concerns.

What happens if bad weather cancels the tour?

If poor weather causes a cancellation, you will be offered another date or a full refund.