Savannah or Bust—Part One: The Good, the Bad, the Holy Crapbags!

Take two lifelong friends, toss them headfirst into a notoriously haunted location, and watch them go!

Hello, gang! Hang on to your shorts because in this edition of ‘you gotta be kidding me!’, we will delve into what Cyndi and I found (or didn’t find) during our paranormal investigation of haunted Savannah! Video evidence or any EVP’s will be posted on my Quinn Noll Facebook page but here, you can see some pretty neat photos and get a vivid look into what it was like to traverse spooky graves, buildings that supposedly held dead bodies in their walls, and discover the outcome of our real-time paranormal investigation of the Savannah theatre!

So, let’s dive right in!

Our first stop when we arrived in Savannah’s historic district was, obviously, to check into our room at The Marshall House (affectionately known by Cyndi as ‘The Mission House” ) The looks —not to mention loose change—we accumulated when she explained we were staying at “The Mission,” was hysterical.

Cyndi (stopping the locals because, well because she’s Cyndi lol): Hi there! What a beautiful area! We are loving the history!”

Random man #1: Oh, yes we love our city! Where are you staying?”

Cyndi: Over on Broughton Street at the Mission House. So much to see and take in there! It’s overwhelming!”

Random man’s wife: (shakes her head in sorrow) Oh, I’m so sorry for your troubles. Here, (hands me a pocket full of change) take this. Buy yourselves a cup of coffee.”

Cyndi: Stares in silence at random man’s wife (a feat in itself if you know my girl, Cyndi…standing in silence is rarely a thing 😜)

Me: Jesus, Cyndi! There’s like 83 cents here! I think you’re onto something!”

Of course, I am joking, but only about the loose change. Calling it the Mission House is gospel lol. So freaking funny, but no worries…by the day we checked out, she had it nailed down!🤣

After checking in, we headed out to explore. We had a reservation for an evening walking tour—featuring Savannah’s darker history, sprinkled with some ghost stories—so decided to walk around and look for the meeting place for the tour. (P.S—fun fact…from our arrival Tuesday afternoon until the time we left Savannah on Thursday, we had walked over 50,000 steps! That equates to about 25 miles, nearly a marathon!)

The first area we checked out was—shocker here😜—the Colonial Cemetery. It is a pretty spot and was kind of quiet (yes, yes, I know they are dead there. I mean quiet paranormal-wise😉) until we approached the rear of the property. There, leaning against a wall, were dozens of headstones in poor condition. We assumed these headstones were separated from the graves they mark due to weather events, the aging process, or unfortunately as happens, vandalism. Walking along the wall, voice recorder in hand, I was minding my P’s and Q’s and simply asking questions when suddenly, I felt a freezing chill run the length of my neck and arms. Immediately, I notified my trustee sidekick, Cyndi, and she opened an app on her phone that supposedly tells you when spirits are near. Below is what she caught, hitching a ride on my back😳

The video shows this much better but…here is my “pal” hopping on for a piggyback ride. There should be only one green stick man representing my form. So who is my little friend here?

After we got this, we experimented a bit. I always want to assume a piece of evidence is NOT paranormal related until proven otherwise. Validation matters. So we tried taking my jacket off of my waist and still, the passenger remained. Then I put down my sling purse and Mr Green was still there.

Finally, I had Cyndi walk the same path and turned the app on her.

Nothing was there.

The next day we went back and tried to recreate the circumstances. That day, I walked alone. Pretty crazy.

After traversing all over God’s creation, we grabbed a bite to eat and got ready for our evening haunted walking tour. I had the voice recorder and camera going, Cyndi had the EMF (an electronic device that lights up in the presence of spirits) and her cell phone. That night, despite some very cool stories about ghost sightings and a ‘hanging’ tree in the big square, we saw and felt nothing.

Night shot of the cemetery. I don’t see anything. Do you??

That evening as we left I set up the laptop camera and let it run while we were out. We did that every night, trying to capture something. There are some pretty weird noises, bangs, pops etc that I could not explain, as well as some words or short sentences that are intelligible but are definitely coming from inside the room.

The videos are very long so once I figure out how to isolate what I mean, I will post on FB.

The next day, we walked all over that city, taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful day. We tried to get into a tour of “The Owen-Thomas House,” a building built in 1819 with a nearby carriage house that was the quarters of the enslaved workers of the property. Seeing the Owen-Thomas was honestly the main reason for the trip. I wanted to see it in person, mimic its construction and aesthetics into the fictional mansion at the center of Book 4, Rosemear. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get in on Wednesday but did get tickets for the next day.

We planned to tour the home and walk around a bit more before returning to our ‘home base’, Cyndi’s digs in Myrtle Beach.

Random guy #2 in front of the Owen-Thomas House. Yes, he is alive.

On the evening of the second day (Wednesday) we had tickets to tour The Sorrel-Weed House. This gem, built in 1837, was actually in the opening scenes of the movie “Forrest Gump.” It sits on a plot on land in Madison Square, an area where a tragic massacre took place during the Revolutionary War. Soldiers in the throes of battle fell in unfathomable numbers, so many that it was impossible to track the bodies piling up.

A surgeon on site, operating in the basement, contributed to the deaths of many Revolutionary fighters. It is said that his operative success rate was around thirty percent…meaning up to seventy percent of the soldiers who made it to his operating suite died there. A lack of knowledge regarding aseptic procedures, combined with the doctor’s atrocious surgical skills, meant certain death for many who may have survived under different circumstance.

And, as the body count rose, locals were having a hell of a time burying the dead. So, to assist in ‘clean-up,’ a trench was built and the dead were dumped inside.

Unfortunately, it turns out not all of the soldiers were actually deceased when they got thrown in. Apparently triage was not a thing and many of the ‘dead’ were actually wounded men who were buried alive. No wonder it is a hotbed of activity!

And, yeah, in case you are wondering…they never moved the bodies from beneath the city (key Poltergeist soundtrack here!) and instead, built over them. Hence, our guide tells us there are dead people buried beneath the entire historic district. It was kind of creepy walking around, wondering if you were stepping on someone’s head.

No wonder Savannah is considered one of the most haunted cities in the nation!

The Sorrel-Weed House is said to have several pulseless individuals who haunt the premises. Aside from the Revolutionary soldiers, the owners of the house are said to have never left.

Francis Sorrel, a wealthy plantation and slave owner, was first married to a woman named Lucinda. Lucinda died early in the marriage, so Francis did what anyone would do…he married her sister, Matilda.🤢They had a lovely marriage aside from one flaw…Frankie boy had a roving eye. He began an affair with a young slave girl called Molly.

Eventually, despite Francis’ best efforts to keep his affair hidden, Matilda found out. Distraught, she leapt over a second-floor balcony, landed head-first, and died. Soon after her death, Molly, sick with guilt and afraid she would be blamed for Matilda’s death, hung herself. Now, people claim to have seen all three women (Lucinda, Matilda, and Molly) walking around the home, appearing in mirrors, or speaking in hushed, female tones.

The Sorrel-Weed house has been featured on several paranormal investigation programs, namely Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, and Most Terrifying places on the Travel Channel. So, what happened while we were there?

Not too much objectively. But subjectively, the space feels ‘different,’ especially the cellar where the surgeries took place. Cyndi felt creeped out and mentioned how much heavier the air felt. I had a similar feeling and also felt, at one point, almost panicked. It was like I had to get out of there or I would die. Weird, but the God’s honest truth.

Basement where the Shadow man hangs—Sorrel-Weed House.

No sir, I did not like the atmosphere in that basement. At all. Especially when near an empty stool that is said to occasionally have an ass in its seat…the ass of a tall, shadowed figure that claims the space as his own. Is it the surgeon? Francis Sorrel? Or perhaps, one of the soldiers? I have no idea.

All I know is it felt heavy, threatening, icky in that space and it was the only place I felt scared a little.

You know me…takes alot to freak me out. Thanks, Sorrel-Weed House!

That’s a wrap for now. Next time, we will look at the Savannah Theatre paranormal investigation we took part in, as well as the Owen-Thomas results and our dinner evening in a haunted restaurant in Little River, SC called The Brentwood. Wild stuff!

Til next time, folks…keep your eyes open and message me if you have an active home or business you would like us to investigate! ( And you can join us! Extra eyes and ears are welcome!) We’ve been bitten by the paranormal investigative bug!

Peace out, scuba scouts!

—Quinn