"One cannot walk down Savannah's streets at twilight without feeling evidence of her supernatural side. The old beautiful homes practically emanate the aura of lost loves, lives cut short, and other misfortunes." Thus begins James Caskey's "Haunted Savannah," the latest entry in the growing list of books about the city. I suspect many of you know Caskey, at least by sight. He's a tour guide and founder of Cobblestone Tours, and many nights he's dressed in Civil War Era garb while leading a group of visitors on his Savannah Haunted History Tour. Such tours have become a big hit with tourists who otherwise find little to do downtown at night. His new book, published by the locally based Bonaventure Books, is the official guide to the tour, and it's chock full of history, legends, stories, and personalities. The 200-plus page book is broken up into literally scores of readable small chapters. I suspect many local readers will find themselves reading the book as I did - by flipping through and randomly reading stories about places that interest us. Some of the places are familiar - The Olde Pink House, 17Hundred90, the Kehoe House. Other stories are less familiar, like the one about the Willink House on St. Julian, where mysterious goings-on might be linked to a clandestine school for blacks in the decade before Emancipation. Or the story of Irish immigrant Alice Riley, who was the first person to be executed in Georgia. She was hanged for murder in January of 1735. In addition to the stories about ghosts and other hauntings, the book is sprinkled with tales about the strange and notorious. Last weekend, "Haunted Savannah" was fittingly launched with a big party in the basement at Moon River Brewing Co. Originally the old City Hotel, the ancient building allegedly has hauntings of its own, and the close confines and dense brickwork of the basement appropriately evoked Savannah's mysterious past. And present. "Haunted Savannah" is available at bookstores and gift shops throughout downtown. --billdawers@comcast.net for Savannah Morning News
IT SEEMS LIKE everyone wants to live in a haunted house in Savannah. "It's almost a status symbol," says James Caskey, tour guide, historic re-enactor and author of the new book,
Haunted Savannah. "Old seaports have that reputation," Caskey says. "Southern seaport cities, especially." Caskey's book is subtitled
The Official Guidebook to Savannah Haunted History Tour. It details all the stops made during tours led by Cobblestone Tours, Inc., which Caskey owns. The tours cover Savannah's extensive and often tragic history, including duels, wars, plagues and murders. In addition to the stories, the book includes some photographs of what appears to be spectral energy. The photo of Caskey that is on the back of the book depicts him with streams of energy shooting around his face. The photo was taken by his brother.
Caskey's book came about over time. "I originally started just writing out scripts for tour guides," he says. "I found if they had written material, it helped them a lot more than me telling them the same things over and over." At one point, Caskey opened the file of scripts he kept on his computer. "I was very surprised to see how much I'd written," he says. Then Caskey met Savannah author Murray Silver. "We must have talked a couple of hours," Caskey says. "He urged me to get in touch with his publisher." The publisher is Cristina Piva, owner of Bonaventture Books. "She was very enthusiastic about it," Caskey says.
The book not only has ghost stories, there is a lot of history about Savannah. The book is selling briskly locally. "The response has been overwhelmingly positive," Caskey says. Readers have turned out for readings and signings Caskey --Linda Sickler for Connect Savannah
IT SEEMS LIKE everyone wants to live in a haunted house in Savannah. "It's almost a status symbol," says James Caskey, tour guide, historic re-enactor and author of the new book,
Haunted Savannah. "Old seaports have that reputation," Caskey says. "Southern seaport cities, especially." Caskey's book is subtitled
The Official Guidebook to Savannah Haunted History Tour. It details all the stops made during tours led by Cobblestone Tours, Inc., which Caskey owns. The tours cover Savannah's extensive and often tragic history, including duels, wars, plagues and murders. In addition to the stories, the book includes some photographs of what appears to be spectral energy. The photo of Caskey that is on the back of the book depicts him with streams of energy shooting around his face. The photo was taken by his brother.
Caskey's book came about over time. "I originally started just writing out scripts for tour guides," he says. "I found if they had written material, it helped them a lot more than me telling them the same things over and over." At one point, Caskey opened the file of scripts he kept on his computer. "I was very surprised to see how much I'd written," he says. Then Caskey met Savannah author Murray Silver. "We must have talked a couple of hours," Caskey says. "He urged me to get in touch with his publisher." The publisher is Cristina Piva, owner of Bonaventture Books. "She was very enthusiastic about it," Caskey says.
The book not only has ghost stories, there is a lot of history about Savannah. The book is selling briskly locally. "The response has been overwhelmingly positive," Caskey says. Readers have turned out for readings and signings Caskey has done so far. "One woman drove in from Pooler to meet me," he says with surprise. Caskey moved to Savannah 13 years ago to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design to study painting. At that time, he did not believe in ghosts. "Then I took a job at the Fort Screven Inn on Tybee Island," Caskey says. "The owner warned me it was haunted, but I didn't believe in it at all. I thought he was a little off." Then Caskey began to hear strange noises in the hallway -- the sound of heavy boots walking, even though there was no one there. He blamed the sounds on the settling of an old building. There was a door leading down to the basement that was always kept locked, yet often while Caskey was doing his daily duties, he would find the door unlocked. One time, he locked it and turned to walk away, only to hear the door unlock behind him. Still, Caskey wasn't convinced, so he locked the door and backed down the hallway so he could watch the bolt. It didn't move, so he walked back to the door. As he reached for the knob to test it, the lock unlocked itself.
To write the book, Caskey conducted several lengthy interviews. I spent a lot of time with the people who own these haunted buildings, he says. Tourists often share their personal ghost stories with him during the walking tours. I have found people from all over who have ghost stories, Caskey says. Some have had frightening things happen that they don t understand. The tours began as an outgrowth of Caskey s interest in history and his fascination with Savannah. I don t know what ghosts are, Caskey says. I do know there is something out there because I ve experienced it. It s something we can t explain with science yet. Savannah deserves its reputation as America s Most Haunted City, Caskey says. It would be hard to imagine any others as haunted as us. --Linda Sickler for Connect Savannah
The owner and operator of Savannah's most popular walking tour, Jamie Caskey is also the author of the bestselling local guide,
Haunted Savannah. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, Jamie is also a gifted painter. But living in the Victorian section of America's Most Haunted City practically forced this Florida transplant into taking a closer look at that which most people would prefer not to see at all: ghosts!
Jamie's research into Savannah's haunted history and his own personal experiences with the paranormal have made him a popular speaker whenever ghost hunters in need of a competent guide convene. His facts and findings have been featured on the Travel Channel, and he can be seen narrating a new series for PBS, Southern Haunts. Jamie is regularly featured in the Savannah Morning News and the local weekly Connect Savannah, and is routinely mentioned by travel writers in major newspapers, including the New York Daily News.
That Jamie dresses in period costume while conducting his highly informative and entertaining tour is not the mere affectation of an art student; Jamie's other passion is historical re-enactment, with an emphasis on the Civil War. He took part in the color guard that escorted the crew of the Confederate blockade runner Hunley from their watery grave to a more permanent resting place.
