The Pirate's House

The history of the property dates back to 1734, just one year after General James Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia. Oglethorpe designated a ten-acre plot east of the city grid as the Trustees' Garden, an experimental botanical garden modeled after London's Chelsea Physic Garden. A small wooden structure known as the Herb House was constructed on the site to house the garden's head botanist. Today, the Herb House structure forms the innermost core of The Pirate's House, officially recognized as the oldest surviving building in Georgia.

By 1754, as Savannah grew into a bustling transatlantic seaport, the building expanded and opened as an inn and tavern catering to international seafarers, privateers, and buccaneers. The inn quickly gained a fearsome reputation as a den of lawlessness and violence. Ruthless sea captains frequented the tavern to recruit crews for long voyages through the practice of 'shanghaiing'—drugging unsuspecting tavern patrons with laced rum or knocking them unconscious before dragging them down subterranean trapdoors into dark brick tunnels leading directly to waiting ships anchored in the Savannah River.

In 1883, author Robert Louis Stevenson drew heavy inspiration from The Pirate's House for his iconic novel 'Treasure Island', specifically citing the tavern as the site where the feared pirate Captain Flint died in an upper room, uttering his final words, 'Darby M'Graw, fetch aft the rum!' In 1948, the Savannah Gas Company acquired the dilapidated property, and Mrs. Hansell Hilyer led a historic preservation effort that restored the tavern, reopening it in 1953 as a premier dining landmark.

The primary ghost lore of The Pirate's House centers on the spirits of ruthless pirates, shanghaied sailors, and the legendary Captain Flint. According to local maritime folklore, Captain Flint himself haunts the upper dining chambers of the Herb House. Staff members and evening diners report seeing the looming apparition of a weather-beaten 18th-century pirate captain wearing a tricorne hat and long sea coat pacing the upper floorboards. The phantom is often accompanied by the distinct smell of stale dark rum, pipe tobacco, and salty sea air.

Another famous legend surrounds the subterranean shanghaiing tunnel that opens beneath the Captain's Room. According to restaurant lore, dozens of sailors who were drugged, beaten, or killed during kidnapping operations remain bound to the cellar. Visitors peering down into the illuminated brick tunnel shaft report hearing disembodied groans, heavy iron chain clanking, and faint muffled cries for help echoing up from the dark earth below.

Spooked restaurant servers working late night closing shifts frequently report feeling unseen hands touching their shoulders, seeing heavy wooden chairs slide across empty dining rooms, seeing cold mist form in doorway arches, and witnessing ghostly figures dressed in colonial seaman attire walking through solid walls near the original hearth. Local guides also claim that phantom footsteps echo across the second-floor hayloft late at night when no staff remain in the building, and visitors report feeling an eerie, unseen presence standing directly behind them near the historic fireplace.

Staff members, diners, and historical ghost tour participants at The Pirate's House report frequent supernatural encounters across the tavern's fifteen historic dining rooms. The most common occurrence is the sighting of shadowy human figures dressed in 18th-century seaman attire walking through doorways or standing quietly near the historic brick fireplaces before vanishing into thin air.

Near the subterranean shanghaiing tunnel shaft in the Captain's Room, visitors routinely hear disembodied groans, iron chains dragging across brick floors, cold drafts, disembodied footsteps, and faint whispers pleading for help. Servers closing the restaurant at night describe heavy wooden dining chairs moving across the heart-pine floorboards on their own, room lights flickering unexpectedly, doors unlatching, feeling unseen hands touching their backs, smelling fresh pipe tobacco, experiencing sudden chills, seeing shadowy spectral forms, hearing disembodied laughter in empty hallways, feeling an eerie cold gust, and sudden drops in temperature accompanied by the unmistakable aroma of dark rum.

The Pirate's House is a rambling, multi-room historic complex encompassing 15 distinct dining rooms spread across two stories. The core structure, the 1734 Herb House, features authentic hand-hewn hand-sawn timber framing, exposed ceiling joists, heart-pine floorboards, wide plank wooden walls, monumental brick chimneys, exposed mortar, hand-carved mantels, and massive historic brick fireplaces.

Architectural highlights include authentic colonial-era wainscoting, multi-pane sash windows, exposed brick arches, antique sea chests, maritime artifacts, hand-forged iron hardware, heavy wooden ceiling beams, heart-pine ceiling trusses, historic wood paneling, decorative brass lanterns, iron lanterns, and an authentic brick-lined subterranean tunnel entrance visible beneath the Captain's Room floor.

The Pirate's House is located at 20 East Broad Street, situated at the eastern edge of the Savannah Historic District near Trustees' Garden. The restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner, serving classic Southern cuisine, fresh coastal seafood, pecan pie, signature rum cocktails, and delicious family meals.

Visitors dining at the restaurant can explore the historic rooms, view authentic early editions of 'Treasure Island', and take guided historical tours led by costumed pirate guides. The site is highly accessible, family-friendly, and a featured stop on daytime historical and evening ghost walking tours. Group reservations are recommended for dinner service due to high visitor demand throughout the year.

The Pirate's House earned its legendary reputation due to its status as Georgia's oldest building, its documented 18th-century shanghaiing tunnel, its connection to Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island', and consistent reports of pirate apparitions. Its unique combination of rich pirate history, authentic architecture, maritime lore, ghost stories, reported supernatural phenomena, and active hauntings makes it an iconic Savannah destination for visitors and ghost hunters worldwide.