90 Minute Historic Savannah Walking Haunted Bar Pub Crawl

Savannah gets stranger after sunset. This 90-minute haunted pub crawl combines spooky stories, old squares, historic buildings, and drinks at several local bars. I like the compact route, which makes it easy to fit into an evening, and I like the mix of serious Savannah history with odd, unsettling tales. The guide, especially Craig, has earned praise for warm storytelling, humor, and personal details.

The main thing to know is that this is not a nonstop bar tour. You may visit only three or four pubs, and you buy your own drinks. The walk can also stretch beyond the advertised 90 minutes, sometimes reaching two hours, so allow extra time if your evening schedule is tight.

Key points to know before you go

• Colonial Park Cemetery sets the mood: Expect stories of yellow fever, mass graves, duels, premature burial, and the damage Sherman’s army nearly caused.
• Craig is a memorable guide: His storytelling, humor, and personal connections to Savannah’s sites have been a major strength.
• The pub stops are limited: Plan on roughly three or four bars rather than a bar at every stop.
• The route covers major sights: You pass Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Hamilton-Turner House, Madison Square, and Chippewa Square.
• Drinks cost extra: The guide is included, but every alcoholic beverage is your responsibility.
• Start and finish are central: Meet at Chippewa Square at 7:15 p.m. and finish at 332 Bull Street.

Why this Savannah night walk works

Savannah is a city built for walking, with squares, churches, mansions, cemeteries, and old commercial buildings packed close together. At night, familiar streets take on a different mood. A cemetery gate, an empty square, or a dim upper window becomes part of the story.

This tour uses that setting well. It is not only about ghosts. You hear about yellow fever, the Siege of Savannah, Civil War hospitals, famous residents, suicides, murders, fires, and local drinking traditions. The supernatural stories work best when they grow from real events and old buildings.

I also like the short format. A full evening ghost tour can be tiring, especially if you have already spent the day walking Savannah. Here, you get a concentrated dose of history and folklore, with time left for dinner or another evening activity.

The tour is offered in English and has a maximum group size of 30 people. That is large enough to create a social evening, but small enough for a guide to keep the group together on city streets. The published rating is 3.5 from 15 ratings, which reflects a generally enjoyable experience with some important service and pacing concerns.

Colonial Park Cemetery: a grim opening chapter

The first stop is Colonial Park Cemetery, Savannah’s last remaining above-ground cemetery from the Colonial period. You spend about 10 minutes here, and the setting does much of the work before the guide even begins.

The stories cover yellow fever epidemics, large communal graves, duels, tragic romances, and people who were reportedly buried before death had fully taken its course. You also hear how children once played among the graves. That contrast, between ordinary daily life and a place filled with the dead, gives the stop its uneasy power.

The cemetery also suffered during Sherman’s 1864 campaign. The tour explains how his troops nearly destroyed this landmark. This is a useful reminder that Savannah’s old sites survived not simply by luck, but through a long chain of conflict, neglect, and preservation.

Pay attention to where you step. The warning about walking on the dead is not just theatrical wording. The cemetery’s history includes mass burials and changes to the ground over time, which makes the location feel less like a tidy memorial garden and more like a crowded record of Savannah’s past.

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and Hamilton-Turner House

The next stop is the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, one of America’s finest examples of Gothic architecture. The tour allows about 15 minutes here. The cathedral is also tied to Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day tradition, when the celebration begins with Mass.

This part gives the crawl a welcome change of tone. After cemetery stories and plague tales, the cathedral brings you into a place shaped by faith, ceremony, and architecture. You should not expect a full interior visit or a long architectural lecture from the information provided, but the stop adds visual variety to the walk.

At Hamilton-Turner House, the subject turns back toward the unsettling. The home is connected with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the book that helped bring Savannah’s stranger side to a wider audience. The guide also tells stories involving accidental deaths, murder, and spirits said to remain around the house.

This is one of the more appealing stops for anyone who knows Savannah through its famous true-crime and Gothic reputation. It also shows the tour’s basic formula: take a handsome historic building, add a documented or locally repeated story, and let the guide explain where fact ends and folklore begins.

Madison Square and the memory of Sergeant William Jasper

Madison Square receives about 10 minutes. Its central figure is Sergeant William Jasper, a Revolutionary War hero whose statue gives the square a strong historical focus.

You hear about the Siege of Savannah and Jasper’s heroic actions. The guide also discusses General Sherman’s stay at the Green-Meldrim House in 1864. These stories broaden the tour beyond ghost hunting and place Savannah within the larger history of the American Revolution and Civil War.

The nearby Sorrel-Weed House supplies the darker material. The tour covers the unhappy fates of Francis Sorrel’s three wives, along with stories of suicide, hangings, and voodoo. These are serious subjects, and the experience will suit you best if you enjoy historical storytelling with a Gothic edge rather than a lighthearted haunted-house attraction.

Madison Square is also identified in the meeting information as being across from the Sorrel-Weed House and near the DeSoto Hotel. That makes it an easy area to recognize, but listen carefully at the start so you do not confuse the meeting location with a later stop.

Original Pinkie Masters: a real Savannah bar break

The Original Pinkie Masters provides the clearest pub element of the evening. This old local bar is associated with its former owner, Pinkie Master, and his friendship with President Jimmy Carter. You hear how the bar became a favored stop and why it remains linked with Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day customs.

The bar is known for its Bloody Mary tradition on the morning of St. Patrick’s Day. That detail gives the crawl a local flavor that a standard ghost walk might miss. It is not simply another old building with a tragic story. It is a place connected to Savannah’s political, social, and drinking life.

Your drink is not included. You are responsible for purchasing anything you want along the route. That is worth remembering when judging the value of the experience, since the tour price covers the guide and storytelling, not the bar tab.

The pub stops can be social and relaxed, but the crawl is not built around long stays at each bar. One participant found there were not enough pubs, while another enjoyed the route through attractive parts of historic Savannah and the pleasant taverns. I would book this expecting a walking tour with bar visits, not a full evening of drinking.

Chippewa Square and the City Built Upon the Dead

Chippewa Square is both a major stop and the meeting point. The tour uses it to explain why Savannah became known as the City Built Upon the Dead.

The guide connects the city’s ghost stories to repeated fires, murders, suicides, and wars. You also hear about paranormal experiences, orbs, bodies supposedly buried in the wall of a local bed-and-breakfast, and one of America’s oldest and most haunted theaters.

This is the point where the tour’s themes come together. Savannah’s ghost stories are not presented as isolated spooky anecdotes. They are tied to crowded burial grounds, war, disease, fire, and buildings that changed use over many decades.

Because Chippewa Square is the starting point, the guide may introduce some of these ideas early and return to them during the route. Arrive in time to find the group at the square for the 7:15 p.m. start. The meeting point is central, but the tour is on foot, so comfortable shoes are sensible.

McDonough’s Restaurant and Lounge: bars, war, and uneasy buildings

The final listed stop is McDonough’s Restaurant and Lounge, where the tour spends about 15 minutes. The site has served as a bar, restaurant, grocery store, and hospital for the Southern Army since 1850.

That former hospital use supplies some of the tour’s most disturbing Civil War material. You hear about dying men, blood, and the conditions that may have shaped the building’s reputation. The guide also tells the story of an unhappy grocer and explains how Billy Lee, who operated the Savannah landmark for 40 years, became frightened after moving into an apartment he built on the third floor.

This stop shows why Savannah’s old buildings make effective settings for ghost stories. A building can carry several past lives at once. A grocery store becomes a hospital, then a restaurant, and each use adds another layer of memory and rumor.

The stated end point is 332 Bull Street. Since the route can run longer than 90 minutes, do not schedule a strict dinner reservation immediately afterward. The published itinerary gives each stop a rough time, but the actual pace depends on the guide, the group, and the amount of storytelling.

What the guide can add to the evening

The guide is the main variable in a walking storytelling tour. The strongest comments focus on Craig, who has been praised for his humor, personal stories, smooth pacing, and ability to share details that are not always widely known.

That personal touch matters. Historic Savannah has no shortage of ghost tours, so the value comes from how well the guide connects places, people, and stories. A good guide can make a familiar square feel fresh. A weaker guide can turn the route into a list of names and dates.

Craig’s pace has not always been perfect. One account found that he could have kept the group moving a little better, even though the experience remained enjoyable. Another issue involved a missed booking and a poor phone response, so I would keep your confirmation available and check the meeting details before setting out.

The majority of the supplied comments are positive about the storytelling, friendly atmosphere, and attractive route. Still, the service concern is serious enough that I would book only through a channel that gives you clear confirmation and a dependable way to address problems.

Timing, group size, and value

The advertised duration is 90 minutes, with the practical range listed as about 90 minutes to two hours. One explanation for the longer finish is that the guide may continue beyond the scheduled time to provide a fuller experience.

That extra time can be a benefit if you enjoy stories and do not have another appointment. It can be a drawback if you have theater tickets, a dinner reservation, or a late-night transfer. I would allow the full two hours.

The group may include up to 30 people. That is not an intimate private walk, but it is still manageable on Savannah’s streets. The guide is certified and trained, and the experience is offered in English.

No tour price is provided in the available details, so I cannot judge the exact dollar value. In practical terms, the value is strongest for someone who wants a guided introduction to Savannah’s central historic area, with a few bar visits and a strong storytelling focus. It is weaker for someone who expects drinks to be included or wants to spend most of the evening seated in pubs.

Service animals are allowed, the tour is near public transportation, and most people can participate. You can cancel up to 24 hours before the experience for a full refund.

Who should book this haunted pub crawl?

I would choose this tour if you want a short introduction to Savannah after dark, especially on your first evening in town. It suits couples, friends, and groups who enjoy old buildings, local legends, Civil War stories, and a drink along the way.

It is also a good choice for people who want more substance than a theatrical ghost show. The route includes serious history, including disease, war, burial practices, and tragic deaths.

I would skip it if your main goal is a long bar crawl. The route may include only three or four pubs, and alcohol costs extra. I would also skip it if your schedule cannot absorb a possible two-hour walk.

FAQ

How long does the haunted pub crawl last?

The tour is advertised as 90 minutes, but the full experience may take between 90 minutes and two hours.

Where does the tour begin?

The tour begins at Chippewa Square in Savannah, Georgia.

What time does the tour start?

The stated start time is 7:15 p.m.

Where does the tour end?

The tour ends at 332 Bull Street in Savannah.

Are alcoholic drinks included?

No. Participants are responsible for purchasing their own alcoholic beverages during the tour.

What language is the tour offered in?

The tour is offered in English.

How many people can join the tour?

The maximum group size is 30 people.

Should you book it?

Book this experience if you want Savannah history with a spooky edge, a central walking route, and a few stops at old local bars. The best part is the blend of cemetery stories, historic squares, Civil War memories, and personal guide storytelling.

Go in with the right expectations: this is a haunted history walk that visits pubs, not a nonstop drinking tour. Allow two hours, bring your booking confirmation, budget separately for drinks, and meet at Chippewa Square on time. For a compact evening introduction to Savannah’s stranger side, that makes it a reasonable choice.