[Phil] This forest is awfully still.
[strange sweeping noise]
-What the [bleep] was that? -It was that way.
It was that way. Let's go. Let's go.
[Josh] On this episode of Expedition X...
my team continues its terrifying investigation
into Savannah, Georgia...
[Phil] Look at this.
-What? -That is too [bleep] crazy.
...supposedly the most haunted city in America,
exploring a legendary theater...
[Phil] Wow, there's the stage.
...that was the site of a terrible tragedy.
A little boy named Ben
got trampled to death in that stampede.
[Josh] And an infamous creek with a truly horrifying past.
They went from enslaved to free,
and perhaps they were free for an hour or two.
Some were shot and drowned in the river.
[Josh] They discover disturbing secrets long hidden,
uncovering the possible source
of powerful paranormal activity.
[Phil] Our first night at Savannah's Sorrel Weed House
was an unforgettable experience.
[screams]
But there's much more to explore
in what's allegedly America's most haunted city.
With reports of unexplained activity surging all over town,
Heather and I have organized a town hall
for locals to share their experiences
and hopefully point us to our next investigation.
Well, thank you so much for being here.
I love seeing so many faces,
although that also tells me
there's a lot of work to be done here.
Who here has experienced anything they can't explain
by a show of hands?
Wow, that's a lot of hands.
Okay, let's get some stories.
One night, me and one of my partners,
we was walking and we heard in the distance,
you know, a... [moaning]
And it was a lady, and she had on long clothes,
and she was just strolling.
And by the time she walked about 20 feet,
then she disappeared.
Faded away.
My jaws kind of dropped.
But I'm seeing a lot of people in this room nod
and just be like, "It makes sense.
It's Savannah."
I've had many experiences all around Savannah
my whole entire life since I was a child.
And I did have an experience at the Savannah Theatre.
All of a sudden, I felt something kind of brush against my hair
and touch my back.
So it was-- it was pretty interesting.
[woman] I definitely recommend you guys hit
the Savannah Theatre while you're here.
It is the oldest operating theater in America.
Personally, I've experienced shadow figures.
I've seen things move.
I've had disembodied voices when there's nobody in there.
It's definitely a hot spot here in Savannah.
I've had numerous experiences in Wright Square.
Wright Square was the gallows
from the original colony in 1733.
It is where the first woman in the state of Georgia,
Alice Riley, was executed by hanging.
Alice Riley is arguably the most famous spirit in the city,
so I always have crazy experiences
seeing her in the square.
You guys definitely need to hit Moon River Brewing Company.
It used to be the finest hotel in the city.
But also there has been a number of tragedies.
We are talking about multiple deaths in the building.
Now we have shadow figures in the building,
REM pods going off,
spirit box activity,
and it's been going crazy.
I live outside of Savannah, off of Ebenezer Creek,
and there's a lot of paranormal activity out that way.
Orbs, dust clouds.
There's been some strange noises down there.
I've never believed in a lot of stuff like that
and never had experiences like that
until I moved there.
I'm a photographer and a kayak guide out on Ebenezer Creek.
A lot of history out on that creek.
A lot of slaves died out there during the Civil War.
What they refer to as the Massacre of Ebenezer.
There's multiple places that draw me on that creek.
Highly recommend it.
[Phil] Okay.
You gotta go to Ebenezer Creek.
I am a 7th-generation descendant of enslaved people.
My ancestors are there in the water.
Their remains are on the ground,
and they are angry.
And maybe we could give them some solace that all is well.
They're waiting for you there at Ebenezer Creek.
[Heather] As we hear about one haunted hot spot after another,
it's clear Phil and I have our work cut out for us.
We map the most compelling locations,
the Savannah Theatre,
Wright Square,
and the Moon River Brewing Company,
continuing out of the city to Ebenezer Creek.
Tracing a line from the Sorrel Weed House,
where we first investigated,
an interesting pattern emerges.
All of the hot spots line up almost perfectly.
We've got almost a straight line.
Right through the center of historic Savannah.
Right! This could be something like a ley line.
Theoretical lines of energy that are said
to enable paranormal activity to manifest.
It could explain
why there's so much activity along this line.
[Phil] It is an interesting pattern.
So I think it is worth us dividing and conquering.
Let's reach back out to some of the witnesses,
see if they can meet us at these locations.
You know, I always wanted to do musical theater,
so maybe I'll start at the theater.
That's perfect.
I always wanted to go grab a beer.
I will start at Moon River Brewing Company.
Let's keep in touch.
-Stay on walkie. -You got it.
Let's go.
[Phil] While I'm not sold on Heather's ley line theory,
it's definitely notable that most of the stories we heard
involve locations in Savannah's historic downtown.
I reached back out to one of our town hall witnesses, Cat,
and arranged to meet her
in front of downtown's Savannah Theatre.
-Hi, Cat. -Hey.
-Good to see you. -Good to see ya.
So this is the Savannah Theatre.
This is the historic Savannah Theatre.
-[Phil] Should we head in? -Let's go.
[Phil] Cat Galagan is a tour guide
who has traced the Savannah Theatre's paranormal history
to its earliest days.
I'm hoping she can shed some light
on why it's considered one of the most haunted locations
in all of Savannah.
Wow, there's the stage.
[Cat] Gorgeous, right?
[Phil] Yeah.
[Cat] Now this is the oldest continuously operating theater
in the United States.
Originally built in 1818.
[Phil] Wow.
This is amazing.
A beautiful theater.
So, obviously, there's a lot of history to this place.
But what about these stories of hauntings
and strange occurrences?
Is that a modern thing,
or is there a history to that, too?
The hauntings basically date back from when the building opened.
We actually have newspaper articles dating back to 1895
talking about disembodied voices.
Even people running from the building screaming.
[Phil] Wow. So that's well over 100 years
of documented potential hauntings here.
-Yes. -What happens these days when people come in?
What is it that-- that people encounter?
I've had people nightly get touched, hair pulled.
We've had shadow figures throughout the whole building.
Do you want to see something that we've actually caught?
Yes, I do.
So this is the camera basically right here at the stage,
giving you a view up into the balcony
all the way to that emergency exit door up there.
-Gotcha. -We're going to watch that closed door.
[Phil] Whoa!
Are you kidding me?
It looks like something is coming through that door.
[Cat] Yes.
That looks like a person,
-but it's transparent. -Right?
[Phil] And then it just disappears.
[Cat] It disappears.
[Phil] You knew where everybody in the building was at that time?
Yes, we were cleaning up that night.
'Cause there was only two people in the building.
Was anybody up there?
No.
One was actually coming down to grab the camera.
The other was putting everything away in the lobby.
So no one actually saw this happen.
It wasn't until the footage was reviewed the next day.
Yes.
That is wild.
-If we're looking at it from down here... -[Cat] Yep.
...that is the door,
and it just comes right out from there.
[Cat] Yep.
[Phil] For me. I can never look at a video of a shadow figure like this
without at least trying to recreate it.
-Definitely. -Okay.
So I'm gonna get a camera set up here.
Of course.
-Micah. -Hey, Heather.
-How are you? -Great.
-Great to see you again. -Good to see you again as well.
[Heather] Micah Watkins is a tour guide
at Moon River Brewing Company.
He claims some of the bar's patrons
are much more spirited than others.
Do you want to take a walk through history?
I would love to. Please lead the way.
Let's go.
Micah takes me to Moon River's fourth floor,
considered the most active spot in the brewery.
Judging by the paint peeling off the walls,
it's also the creepiest.
Wow, this is a huge room.
It definitely does not feel like we're in a bar anymore.
[Micah] No, definitely not.
[Heather] What was this space?
Was this an attic?
So this was actually built in 1821,
and it was named the City Hotel.
So there would have been hotel rooms up here.
What kind of activity have you had up here?
We've had shadow person activity,
things moving, things being thrown.
We actually just found out last week maybe why.
-Really? -Yeah.
We just found a newspaper article
about a man named William Sartelle
that comes up here and rents a room.
He actually plunged a knife into his own throat,
killing himself.
-In this very room. -In this very room.
We haven't even investigated with the name yet.
So this is research that we can use tonight
in our investigation?
Absolutely.
[Heather] Let's get started.
With a promising new lead
on why Moon River could be so haunted,
Micah and I get to work
attempting to establish communication
with William Sartelle.
I place a REM pod at the top of the stairs...
I gotta put a REM pod right there.
...where Micah says disembodied noises
and shadow figures are often reported.
And I pull out the Ovilus.
If William is present,
perhaps he'll use it to respond.
Gonna turn on my Ovilus.
My name is Heather.
My name is Micah.
If there's anyone here with us...
please feel free to use this device in my hand to communicate.
Is there a William here?
[footsteps]
Did you hear that?
[Micah] That was on the staircase.
That was footsteps on the staircase.
[footsteps resume]
[Heather] There's no one there.
[Heather] It sounded like someone coming up the stairs.
[Micah] Yeah.
[Heather] William, is that you?
You can use our REM pod,
and we'll know it's you.
[REM pod beeping]
[Heather] Okay.
My name is Heather.
Again, you can tell us your name
through this Ovilus.
Or you can continue to communicate through the REM pod.
We're not gonna disturb anything.
We just want to communicate with you.
[voice on device]
"Bill." Bill.
-Bill! William! -Bill. William!
William, do you prefer to go by, Bill?
We can call you Bill from now on.
Bill probably hasn't heard his name called
in over 100 years.
Yeah.
[REM pod beeping]
[Phil] I set up a camera on the theater's stage
to match the angle seen in the shadow figure video.
All right. I'm gonna press record.
Then Cat and I head up to the balcony.
I want to see if I can debunk that footage
by creating a similar shadow with my flashlight.
So here's the door.
Can you pull up the video one more time?
Of course.
[Phil] I'm most curious about the height of the shadow
from where we are.
Its height is here.
-Yeah. -Very short.
It's almost like if it were a person,
they stood up here,
stayed low to stay out of sight,
and then the light cuts out.
[Cat] The light cuts out.
All right. Let me try one thing real fast
with just my light and a shadow.
So...
can I create a shadow that starts there,
works its way across.
Now, there's no chance that you guys would have left
some kind of flashlight up here or anything.
Nope. Once this door's closed,
that signaled everything up here is cleaned out,
and no one returns back up here for any reason.
No chance someone did sneak in?
Nope. You can't open the door from the outside.
I am at a bit of a loss here.
It's definitely one that gives people chills
-when they see it. -Yeah.
[Phil] So what is your theory?
Who do you think this might be?
So in 1948, there was a fire inside the building.
It started up in the projection room,
and that caused an evacuation.
That caused panic
and which turned into a stampede.
A little boy named Ben got trampled to death in that stampede.
-Hmm. -And his body was found in the dressing room
after the balcony collapsed.
Straight below us.
Wow. How old?
-Eight. -Eight.
I hate to say it, but 8-year-olds are about this tall.
Well, I'm not giving up yet.
Let's leave that camera running because
I want to review the footage of what we just did.
-[Cat] Yeah. -Maybe we'll get a good compelling shadow
up here of our own.
But before I leave,
I want to do one last walk-through downstairs.
We'll see if I can't cast any strange shadows
from a lower angle.
Maybe I'll get lucky.
All righty.
Bill, do you want your story to be told?
[device beeping]
[Micah] There it is. There's your answer.
[Heather] Oh, my God.
[voice on device]
"Weeps."
Bill.
Are you weeping?
What happened to you?
Did you stay in this hotel?
Is anyone still here with us?
I feel like the activity's died off.
[Micah] Yep. But whoever that was earlier,
they reacted to us.
Yeah.
We got Bill,
footsteps coming up,
Ovilus activity,
and REM pod activity.
With Moon River living up to its haunted reputation,
I'm eager to investigate the next hot spot we heard about,
Wright Square,
where Alice Riley became the first woman
in the state of Georgia to be executed.
Hung for murder.
Before I leave, Micah gives me a piece of evidence
to aid our investigation,
a video he took on the anniversary of Alice Riley's death
that he believes proves she still haunts the square.
[Micah] A thermal picture that actually shows
somebody walking by the camera.
What?
With Micah's evidence in hand,
I radio Phil to meet me at Wright Square.
-Hey. -Hey. Wright square.
What's up?
I've got something to show you.
This video was taken on the anniversary
of the day that Alice Riley died.
-Okay. -This is where the gallows would have been set up.
Micah believes this is actually the spirit of Alice Riley.
That?
I mean, it's all red.
It's a solid color.
It's weird.
It is a little unusual that the color is all solid.
You would expect to see a lot more contrast.
But also, depending on the calibration,
occasionally, you can get video like that.
Actually, let me look at that tree.
I think I saw that tree when I walked in here.
How about this? I have the FLIR in my bag.
Let's go to that exact same spot.
I'm gonna have you walk behind that tree
and see if we can't recreate this.
Okay, I'm always game for an experiment.
Okay, let's go.
I think it was this tree right over here.
-Yeah. -So that means this would be the gallows.
This is where Alice Riley would have been hung.
Oh, you know what I see back here, Heather?
-Look at this. -Oh.
There's a path.
-Yeah, I see it, I see it. -Which means, in that video,
maybe someone was walking on the other side of that.
All right, let me get the FLIR out.
Same orientation.
Go for it.
-How do I look? -You pretty clearly look like a person.
Come here. I'll show you.
Okay, let's see.
So here's the deal.
Our FLIR is essentially a professional military-grade FLIR,
so it has a lot more contrast than I'm guessing his does.
See how there's only roughly three different color tones in that entire thing?
You don't see a lot of variation.
In this one, I've got similar color tones.
-Okay. -But, when you walk,
you could see a lot more contrast.
You could see that your face is hotter.
But my assumption is, for his camera
and that quality of thermal imaging,
it's probably not that strange.
But we didn't totally debunk it.
Micah believes that no one was walking over there at the time.
If he didn't see a person walk by there,
but only the FLIR picked it up,
that would be unusual.
So how about I set my FLIR up on a tripod in the same spot,
and we'll see who shows up?
While you're doing your experiment,
I'm gonna do my own and bring out the spirit box.
Okay.
My name is Heather.
Is anyone there?
You can use this spirit box to communicate with me.
-[voice on device] -Hello!
Who is there?
Are you trapped here?
-[voice on device] -"Dead."
I just got "dead."
Is this the place that you died?
Can anyone show themselves right now?
[voice on device]
-Alice! -Alice.
Yes.
Alice, do you still walk this square?
Can you show yourself right now?
All you have to do is just walk
right behind the tree.
Okay. What the [bleep] was that?
Oh, my God.
Heather.
You got something?
There's no one over there right now, right?
No.
-You are sure? -I'm positive.
Look at this right here.
-That. -What?
Oh, my God. What is that?
I don't know.
If you asked me to recreate that right now,
I could not.
That looks like a spirit.
I mean, there's no legs.
It's a solid color.
I just have to make sure there's no one over there,
because that is too [bleep] crazy.
So, yeah, it would be right here.
I don't know what to make of that.
Is there anything back there?
Absolutely nothing back there.
There's no one there.
I mean, listen, I've used this FLIR
probably well over 100 times.
And you have never seen anything like that?
Never.
[Heather] You got that after I heard the name Alice.
And I was asking for her to show herself.
So, listen, we're not the only ones out here.
I've seen a couple of people on bicycles
go by on that path out there.
And they've shown up on the FLIR.
Okay?
Were they legless?
No, but... I don't know.
I don't. I don't.
This is what people say happens here.
I still don't want to believe it,
but I also...
don't really know what to make of that.
[Heather] I think we have some more digging to do in the morning.
[Phil] I agree.
[Heather] With so much evidence of paranormal activity
in Savannah already secured,
we decided to broaden our investigation
beyond the city limits.
We turn our focus towards the swamps
of nearby Ebenezer Creek,
where we heard multiple accounts of strange activity.
Phil stays in Savannah to learn more about the creek's history
while I venture out to the water's edge
to hear a firsthand account
of the area's paranormal activity.
-Wendy, good to see you again. -Hi.
Good to see you again.
Thanks for having me out.
Wendy Higgins' family has owned land on Ebenezer Creek
for over 100 years.
She recently moved onto the family property
and began witnessing activity near the creek
that she can't explain.
There's a couple of things I've seen.
That field in that direction, for the whole property,
I think that the backside, right there,
is probably the weirdest.
[Heather] What activities have you seen?
My husband called me outside and said
that he saw something in the driveway.
So when I walked out,
I could see like a tall-shaped dust figure.
It was just moving real slow
across the field and towards the wood line.
We watched it for like 10 minutes.
And when it got to the trees,
you just couldn't see it anymore.
That's creepy.
[Phil] Sister Patt.
Hi, Phil. How are you?
I'm very good.
-Very nice to see you. -Welcome.
-Thank you. -Nice to see you.
[Phil] Sister Patt Gunn is a local historian
and descendant of Savannah's enslaved people.
She has made it her mission to chronicle and publicize
the horrific history of the Savannah slave trade.
How important was Savannah to the slave trade in the US?
Essential.
Auctions three times a month for 116 years.
That's over 4,100, plus slave sales.
So, yes, this is a very dark city.
So what was life like
for the enslaved people of Savannah?
There were laws in Savannah
that forbid planters from being kind to their enslaved
because of the fear of others seeing the kindness.
-It was illegal to be kind to slaves? -It was illegal
in a public setting.
There were whipping stations all over downtown
for the enslaved to be beaten.
The children were placed at the feet of the owners
as bed warmers in the winter to keep their bodies warm.
The treatment was unimaginable.
-Hmm. -And until we have conversations
to talk about what happened here,
then we're going to have darkness
and we're going to have spirits that are angry.
That's Ebenezer Creek.
Mmm-hmm.
Is there any other experiences
that you've had around the water or down here?
If I tell you what I saw, you're gonna think I'm crazy.
What did you see?
[Wendy] I was walking where the water is here.
I heard the leaves rustling.
I heard, like a high-pitched whistling noise,
like air being pushed through real small space real fast.
And I turned around and looked.
And what I saw, whatever it was, was awful.
It was just a white shape.
It was pale-colored, like what a dead person looks like
when they turn that bluish color.
It was that kind of shade of pale.
It didn't have any features in its face.
There was like indentions, but no eyeballs.
You couldn't see anything.
But you could see like a head shaped like a person.
How big was it?
Human size.
Was it moving at all?
It was coming up with its arms like that,
like it was something trying to army crawl.
[Heather] Was it going towards you?
-Mmm-hmm. -That's terrifying.
That's the fastest I ever ran in my life.
And when I turned around, I didn't see anything.
There was nothing there.
Do you think maybe that thing
could have made the whistling sound?
Anything's possible.
I don't know what that was.
We've heard about Ebenezer Creek.
What can you tell us about it?
Ebenezer Creek is a sacred place in space
because of the atrocity and the horror
of the drownings that occurred there
during the Civil War.
The eve before freedom came in Savannah,
word got out that the Union soldiers
were coming to free these enslaved people
in Sherman's famous March to the Sea.
The records show that there were approximately 2,500 freed slaves
following those generals.
And some of the generals did not want them to follow
because they felt they would slow them down...
-Hmm. -...in arriving to Savannah.
Ebenezer Creek runs directly into Savannah.
On the other side of that river
is the Confederate soldiers that are shooting.
There was a pontoon bridge.
The general was at the end of that trek,
when they got all of those soldiers out,
cut the pontoon bridge's ropes.
-They cut the ropes. -They cut the ropes,
so that all that was following were shot at.
Some were shot and killed,
and others were shot and drowned in the river.
And they went from enslaved to free,
and perhaps, they were free for an hour or two.
And then they drowned.
What kind of numbers are we talking about here?
I would say about 200 or so.
But no direct number has been given,
nor any names.
Hmm.
And those souls are not resting.
Have you experienced anything unusual at Ebenezer Creek?
That land is troubled.
I went there and did a libation.
The libation is just water
that you're pouring into the earth.
And it's paying homage
to those who have come here before us.
So if you have anyone beloved in your family,
you call the name of that ancestor,
and they will come because you're asking their permission
for their protection.
And as I poured the water into the creek,
the water rippled, began to kind of talk.
And to my left, I could see the swiftness
of two or three people dusting away,
like a poof of dust.
Those are spirits.
So do you believe that the spirits
are still here and being seen because they are unsettled?
I do.
I believe it with all my heart because I've seen it.
[Phil] Now, knowing the full extent
of the horrors of Ebenezer Creek,
I'm eager to meet back up with Heather
and get to work investigating the strange activity
reported around its waters.
We start on the edge of Wendy's property,
which Heather tells me could be the home
of some kind of otherworldly creature.
So, Heather, I've been thinking about it,
and I think I agree with you.
Wendy did see something special.
What'd she see, then?
Well, have you ever heard of an albino alligator?
-No. -They're incredibly rare.
We're talking like maybe one in 100 million.
But they are real.
Think about it.
It's not camouflaged very well.
It gets attacked.
It gets eaten.
There's a chance that Wendy saw
this incredibly rare albino alligator
essentially on its last legs.
Well, that doesn't explain the whistling Wendy heard.
It sounded like a ton of air
going through a really small opening.
-It was very loud. -[branch snaps]
Whoa!
-[rustling] -[Phil whispering] Do you hear that?
It sounded like a branch breaking.
I definitely heard it in that direction.
[Phil] All right, let's keep pushing this way.
This forest is awfully still.
[strange sweeping noise]
What the [bleep] was that?
It was that way. It was that way.
Let's go. Let's go.
[Phil] [bleep] It's getting thick back here.
Whoa, whoa! Water.
This, to me, looks like a dead end.
I don't see any tracks, do you?
I don't see any tracks. Have you seen any movement in the water?
No, the water is smooth as glass.
[Phil] It does look very still.
But maybe we just didn't get here fast enough.
That had to be the noise that Wendy heard.
I mean, it was loud.
It sounded like a lot of pressure,
and it led us directly to this creek.
[Phil] This must be Ebenezer Creek.
I think all these signs are pointing to us getting out on that water.
-[Heather] All right. -[Phil] Let's move.
[Heather] With our evidence pointing us toward Ebenezer's waters,
we planned an investigation for the following afternoon.
Grabbing our kayaks and a couple of maps,
we plot a course to Ebenezer Crossing,
the site where over 200 enslaved people were killed.
All right. You got the maps out, huh?
Ready to go.
[Phil] I see here, this is the boat launch
right at Ebenezer Creek, where we are right now.
-[Heather] Uh-huh. -[Phil] If you keep following downstream,
you get to the Ebenezer Massacre location right there.
And if we keep going downstream from that,
-Ebenezer Creek turns into Savannah River. -Mm-hmm.
Savannah River...
Leads us right to Savannah, right to the locations in Savannah.
Some people believe that water is a conduit for paranormal energy,
and at the site of such a horrific massacre,
it has to hold a lot of energy.
Could it be that this is a highway for paranormal energy?
And that is why Savannah is the most haunted city in America.
It's a bold theory.
But I think the only thing left to do is we got to get paddling.
-Let's get out on that water. -All right.
[mysterious music playing]
[water splashing]
[Heather] Look how many cypress trees there are.
[Phil] Everywhere.
It seems real easy to get lost in here too.
But at least we got those coordinates.
[Heather] We pushed deeper into the heavily wooded cover of the creek
towards the site where hundreds of enslaved people
reportedly died.
As night falls, Phil and I put on our headlamps,
keeping a lookout for signs we've reached the crossing,
searching for the ruins of the pontoon bridge cut by Union soldiers.
[Phil] All right, Heather, GPS says we should be
basically right on top of the crossing.
You seeing anything?
[Heather] Oh...
Wait, is that what we're looking for?
[Phil] I think that's it.
This is pretty incredible.
Look at the aging on these posts.
This is clearly a very old structure.
I think this has got to be the remnants of the bridge that crossed the stream.
[Heather] I mean, I think you're right.
[Phil] I'll try to find some dry land.
[Heather] Yeah. What about over there?
That would have been where the bridge ended.
[Phil] Yeah, I think you're right. Lead the way.
[mysterious music continues]
[Heather] Once we reached dry land,
Sister Patt recommended pouring a libation
to ask Ebenezer spirits' permission for us to investigate.
We want to pick a spot close to the crossing
where any residual energy left behind by the massacre may be at its strongest.
[Phil] Whoa, whoa.
Look at that.
I'm no expert in old meta or anything,
but this looks like a cable anchor.
This is definitely strong enough to hold up parts of a suspension branch.
[Heather] Yeah, that's pretty clearly cut,
and you cannot pull this out.
[Phil] This could be one of the spots where it was cut
and hundreds of people died because of it.
And this is in the middle of the woods.
No sign, no acknowledgement of what happened.
Sister Patt mentioned that she believes the spirits are present here
because of that.
I think this is where we need to do the libation.
Okay.
So the important thing to do here
is to ask for permission to be here
as you pour the water.
To do that, to actually thank your own ancestors,
your ancestors can--
Can then essentially reach out to those who were lost here
and ask permission on your behalf.
It's really important for us to acknowledge that this is a sacred space.
This is us saying you are not forgotten.
We ask your permission to be here.
We honor you.
And we remember you.
I ask for permission to be here.
I reach out to my ancestors
those who lost their lives here
so that we may remember and acknowledge them.
-So... -[frogs croaking loudly]
[whispers] It just got really loud.
-My God. -Yeah.
Lots of times when a group of frogs kicks up like that,
that means there's something around them.
In the aftermath of the Ebenezer Creek Massacre,
one true villain emerged,
Union Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis.
His callous order to sever the Creek's pontoon bridge
condemned countless innocent people to death.
But this wasn't the first time General Davis's actions were cruel.
Two years earlier, Davis got into a heated argument with a superior officer,
General William Nelson.
Things got ugly fast, and Davis ended up shooting Nelson
-in the chest at point blank range. - [gunshot]
He died hours later.
But desperate for experienced commanders,
the Union shockingly turned a blind eye to Davis's crime,
sending him back to the front.
The killing of General Nelson remains a singular event in American history,
the only instance of one US general killing another.
And if there had been repercussions for Davis, who knows?
Perhaps the horrors of Ebenezer Creek could have been averted.
[frogs croaking]
[whispers] So we've had this baseline of frog call tonight,
but that...
That's a really loud group and that sounds close.
What could have disturbed 'em?
I don't know, but they're really sensitive
to presence in their environment.
By the sounds of it, something has shifted.
Sister Patt said that when she was here,
the moment she poured the libation
is the moment she started seeing the dust
and shadow figures around here.
According to her, the spirits will be out.
[Heather] I want to do a call and response on the spirit box.
-What do you think? -Okay.
-[Heather] Recording. -[spirit box crackling]
My name is Heather.
You can use this device to communicate.
[incoherent music crackling]
Is there anyone here with me?
-[spirit box voice] -[Heather] You're here?
Did you die here?
[spirit box voice]
[Heather] You're hurt.
[spirit box voice]
"Target". I just heard "target".
Mmm.
You were targeted.
I'm so sorry it happened to you.
[spirit box voice]
I just got "help" and I just got "angel".
-[spirit box voice] -"Peace".
-[spirit box voice] -[sighs] You are free.
And you are finally safe.
Is there anything you would like to say?
[spirit box crackling]
It seems like the spirits have quieted down.
[Phil] It seems like it.
I heard "free", I heard "peace".
It's powerful.
And it's gotten [whispers] much quieter.
[whispering] Yes.
I don't think we should disturb this place anymore.
Before we go, if there is someone listening,
thank you for letting us be here.
I know that I will not forget this place.
[Josh] Is Savannah, Georgia, the most haunted city in America?
My team undertook an unprecedented investigation
throughout its streets and its surroundings
to discover the truth.
The Polaroid taken by Heather at the Sorrel Weed house,
seemingly showing a shadow entity...
[Phil] Woah! Look at that behind you.
...was further analyzed.
The image does appear to contain a figure-shaped shadow,
but crucially, we could not determine
any light source or object that would create it.
The entity remains unexplained.
Our attempts to capture a shadow figure
at the Savannah Theatre were less successful.
The camera Phil left behind did not record anything
like the evidence we were shown.
Ultimately, it would be the sounds of Ebenezer
that would prove the most disturbing.
[frogs croaking loudly]
[whispers] It just got really loud.
[Josh] We'd heard reports of eerie whistling.
I heard like a high pitched whistling noise
like air being pushed through a real small space real fast.
[Josh] And then encountered them ourselves.
[high-pitched whistling]
What the [bleep] was that?
It's that way! It's that way! Let's go!
[Josh] Phil undertook a detailed analysis,
but could not match them to any known source.
And there was an even more disturbing revelation to come.
As Heather reviewed her recordings
from her final EVP session at the Creek...
-My name is Heather. -[spirit box crackling]
You can use this device to communicate.
[Josh] ...she discovered the same strange whistle
as if something had been following them.
[Heather] And you are finally safe.
[high-pitched whistling]
[Josh] Heather is certain Savannah deserves its haunted reputation
and is convinced she's uncovered the reason why.
Plotting the many places the team investigated,
Sorrel Weed, Moon River, Savannah Theater, Wright Square,
a remarkable pattern does emerge.
Heather believes a paranormal conduit
or ley line links all of these locations to the Savannah River.
And that the river itself may be carrying
paranormal energy downstream from Ebenezer Creek.
Could the unforgivable massacre at Ebenezer be the root cause
of Savannah's paranormal activity?
[Phil] Okay, what the [bleep] was that?
[Josh] Whether that's the case or not,
we can confidently say the so-called City of Spirits
lives up to its deadly reputation.