Savannah's Haunted 17Hundred90 Inn

While researching hotels for your stay in Savannah, you’re sure to come across the 17Hundred90 Inn. This charming inn boasts an on-site restaurant and pub that is quite popular among locals, gorgeously decorated Victorian-style rooms, and of course, friendly faces all around. However, the 17Hundred90 is not all cheers and smiles. Room 204 has a particularly dark history- a history that still lingers to this day.

There are many variations of the story behind the hauntings at the inn, but one in particular stands out among the rest. The story tells of a young woman named Anne. She was married off to a man who used the bottle as a cane. Drunk and angry, it is said that he was cruel to poor Anne. Despite this, he was the owner of the inn, which he built for the sailors that came into the city from Savannah’s riverside ports. He lived with Anne in the Innkeeper’s Room, (now Room 204) so that they could run their business at close range.

One summer, a ship arrived from England. Anne was sent down to the port to welcome the sailors and offer them hospitality at her husband’s inn. As she approached the vessel, a young man stepped onto the docks. When their eyes met, it was kismet. They would spend the next few months meeting with each other in secret as they fell in love underneath the golden Spanish moss, their hearts just as intertwined with each other as the tendrils that swayed from the branches in the warm breeze.

As the sailor’s departure date neared, Anne realized she could not be without him. Together they formulated a plan to help Anne escape her tumultuous marriage: just before the ship departed, Anne would stow herself in the cargo that was to be loaded onto the ship. She would stay hidden until the vessel reached England, and her beloved would whisk her away into an English sunset. 

Before long, it was time to put their plan to action. Anne packed a small case of her essentials and began to tiptoe out of the inn to the ports where her sailor waited for her. Just as she approached the threshold of the front door, her husband appeared in front of her. The scent of whiskey wafted off of him, and he swayed as he took note of her frightened expression and the tiny case of belongings she carried in her arms. Even in his drunken state, he put two and two together. Furious at her attempted escape, he yanked her up by her arm and dragged her back to their room. He locked the door and stomped down the hallway as she collapsed in a sobbing heap on the floor. Staggering to her feet, she dragged herself to the window, just in time to see the ship leave the port. Her true love was gone forever. She remembered the day she realized she could not live without him, and now that a life without him seemed inevitable, she took one last look out at the water; the ship was now just a speck on the horizon. She opened the window, stepped onto the ledge, and jumped.

Nowadays, those who stay in Room 204 claim to hear a woman sobbing in the corner of the room. Others have reported something unseen tugging at their covers and scratching at their bedposts in the middle of the night. Most peculiar, however, is what happens to women’s wedding rings. Several times, women have removed their wedding rings before bed, setting them on the side table to keep them safe. Upon waking, the woman will reach over to the table to find that her ring is nowhere to be seen! She will look all over the room, panicking, before leaving the room to report it stolen. Upon opening the door, however, she will find her ring sitting Just. At. The threshold. Would you ever stay in Room 204? Is this sobbing specter the ghost of poor Anne, still mourning the loss of her true love? There’s only one way to find out!