Journeys With Jani

If the walls could talk in the South, they’d have more to say than just “bless your heart.” They’d whisper of battles fought, families lost, and spirits who never left. History here doesn’t stay locked in books—it lingers in the air, in the bricks, in the shadows. And sometimes… in the dark.

The South wears its history like Spanish moss—draped, tangled, and impossible to ignore. Every corner has a story, and some of those stories come with a chill up your spine.

Savannah & Charleston: Ghostly Southern Sisters

You can’t talk haunted South without starting with Savannah, Georgia. By day, it’s a postcard of antebellum squares, fountains, and mossy oaks. By night, the whispers rise. Stroll through Bonaventure Cemetery and you’ll swear those marble angels are watching you. Take a ghost tour, and you’ll hear about restless soldiers, tragic children, and spirits who prefer to keep their front porch lights on.

Charleston, South Carolina, carries her hauntings in silence and charm. Old cemeteries, narrow cobblestone streets, and historic homes echo with the voices of the past. The Old City Jail is as bone-chilling as it gets—host to pirates, prisoners, and folks who refused to go quietly.

Battlefields that Still Echo

The South’s haunted history isn’t just tucked into houses—it sprawls across fields. Civil War battlefields like Gettysburg and Chickamauga are said to be alive with more than just tourists. Soldiers in gray and blue still march in the mist, cannons rumble when no cannons fire, and the weight of history sits heavy in the stillness.

Mansions, Inns & Spirits Who Never Checked Out

From Natchez, Mississippi, to New Orleans’ French Quarter, antebellum mansions and old hotels stand proud—and sometimes, occupied by more than paying guests. The Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana is infamous for its ghostly residents, with legends of poisoned pie and spectral children.

Even in Kentucky, where bourbon runs deep, there are distilleries rumored to have a few spirits other than the bottled kind.

Why We Love Haunted Stories

Maybe it’s the way Southerners hold on to history—good, bad, or bone-chilling. Maybe it’s because storytelling is in our blood, and what’s a story without a little fear and fascination? Whatever it is, haunted places remind us that history never really leaves us.

Travel the Haunted South

Reading about these places is one thing—but walking through them? Whole different ballgame. Take a ghost tour in Savannah, explore Charleston after dark, or road trip through Civil War sites. Sit on a porch in New Orleans at dusk and listen to the city hum with life… and maybe something else.

The haunted South is more than ghost stories—it’s living, breathing history that refuses to be forgotten.

👻 Up next in the series: Food That Hugs You Back (because what better way to chase a ghost story than with fried chicken and biscuits?).

XOXO, Jani