An 1852 cotton warehouse on East Bay Street where a third-floor worker known as Charlie fell from a window and reportedly never left — flickering lights and locked doors follow in his wake
225 E Bay St, Savannah, GA 31401
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Hotel rates vary by date and room type. Pet-friendly rooms available with private patio access. Check the hotel website for current pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Elevator access available; historic building one block from River Street
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1852 · Antebellum Cotton Trade Savannah · Savannah National Historic Landmark District
The building at 225 East Bay Street was put up in 1852, at the peak of Savannah's role as one of the largest cotton-export ports in the United States. The three-story brick structure served as cotton warehouse and commercial space — several cotton merchants held offices there during the antebellum period, with the building functioning as part of the commercial corridor linking the River Street wharves to the factor houses above.
After the Civil War disrupted the cotton trade, the building cycled through other commercial uses. Foreign consul offices occupied portions of the structure, as did grocery warehouse operations. In the 1920s, the Columbia Drug Company established its headquarters in the building, using it through that decade.
The building sat vacant for approximately twenty years before being renovated and opened as the East Bay Inn. It sits one block south of River Street in Savannah's National Historic Landmark District and is part of a cluster of historic commercial conversions that includes several other boutique hotels and inns. It is managed under the same umbrella as the Eliza Thompson House, Kehoe House, and The Gastonian.
Sources
The East Bay Inn's ghost tradition centers on a young man who fell to his death from a third-floor window at an unspecified point in the building's history. Staff gave the spirit the name Charlie sometime after the inn opened. No historical record specifically documenting the fall or the identity of the person involved has been publicly cited — the account circulates as part of the inn's in-house ghost lore and regional paranormal tourism circuit.
Charlie's reported behavior is consistently described as mischievous rather than threatening. He walks the third floor at night, generating footsteps audible to guests on lower floors. Lights flicker in Room 325 — identified as his primary location — right before and after reports of his presence. Doors lock without apparent cause. Water turns on in unoccupied bathrooms. Shampoo bottles fall from shelves. One account mentions 'his friend Minnie,' suggesting an additional presence in the building, though this is less consistently reported.
The inn acknowledges the haunting directly on its website's dedicated haunted page and arranges access to Afterlife Tours for guests interested in the broader Savannah paranormal circuit.
Notable Entities
The East Bay Inn occupies a restored 1852 building one block from River Street in Savannah's historic district. Room 325 on the third floor is where Charlie is most often reported — guests describe lights flickering just before and after an encounter. Corner King Suites are the most-requested rooms. The inn offers arrangements through Afterlife Tours for guests who want to extend into broader Savannah ghost-tour programming.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Bakersfield, CA
Built in 1928 as Bakersfield's tallest building, the eight-story Spanish Colonial Revival Padre Hotel stood at the center of downtown commercial life for decades. A fire damaged the seventh floor in the 1950s during the 45-year ownership of Milton Miller (1954–1999). The hotel closed for eleven years before reopening in 2010 after a full renovation, and now actively markets the seventh floor's haunted reputation.
Savannah, GA
The Forsyth Park Inn was built in 1893 as a Queen Anne Victorian mansion for Captain Aaron Flint 'Rudder' Churchill, a Nova Scotia-born sea captain who founded the Churchill Steamship Line. The property transitioned through several uses — including a boarding house and apartment building — before being converted to a bed and breakfast in the 1980s. The Harrison Family purchased and has operated the inn since 2016.
Savannah, GA
The property at 508 E Factors Walk began as a warehouse adjacent to the Savannah River, used for cotton storage from approximately 1812. Between 1888 and 1889, the original structure was demolished and replaced by a new three-story building erected for the Tide Water Oil Company by contractor Dennis J. Murphy. A fire broke out on January 3, 1892, destroying the building; the Tide Water Oil Company rebuilt immediately using over 730,000 fire-resistant bricks. The rebuilt structure housed oil operations until 1907, then sat largely vacant before being taken over by the Alexander Brothers Company (garment manufacturing) in 1930. Major renovation in 1985–1987 converted the building to a boutique hotel.