- Holy shit! - Hey. Hey, ghosts! - I'm shaking. Well, here it is, the
infamous Sorrel-Weed House. It's quite creepy. - [Shane] Yeah? - As a horror fan, I love it. But the fact that we're about to go inside of it, not my
favorite, but you know. We gotta do what we gotta
do to get this evidence. - [Shane] This looks scary to you, though? It's just a--
- [Ryan] How does this not look scary to you? I do kind of get Haunted
Mansion vibes from it. - [Shane] Yeah, a little bit. - Are you...ah, no point in
me asking if you're nervous. Could you say that, like,
if this was a horror movie, this obviously would be,
you know, yeah, makes sense, checks out that this is a haunted mansion. - I actually don't get
haunted vibes from it. It doesn't feel like
a haunted house to me. That's fine, we can disagree. - [Ryan] Let's just get going here. - [Shane] Okay. - This week on BuzzFeed Unsolved, we investigate the Sorrel-Weed House in Savannah, Georgia, as part
of our ongoing investigation into the question, are ghosts real? This house has a lot
of interesting history associated with it, and
this house perhaps sits on a patch of land that
may have been the site of one of the bloodiest events
in the American Revolution. - Hm, history. - So when we're, you're feeling bored and you're not feeling the ghostly energy, just think about all the sweet history, and then you could... - I'll just put my hand
on one of the doorjambs and just really connect to the past. - I don't like how you
moved your hand right there. I don't know, maybe don't
think about the history. - It's too late. - Okay. Well, it's gonna be a fun night. Let's get into it.
- Okay. - [Ryan] Built in 1840 by Francis Sorrel, the Sorrel-Weed House is said to be one of the most haunted homes in the U.S. The house was both a
home for Francis' family and a gathering place for
the affluent of Savannah. In 1859, Henry Davis
Weed bought the house. Hence why the house is
called the Sorrel-Weed House, referring to its first two owners. Tour guides believe the
spirit of Francis Sorrel, the original owner, has made itself known in the dining room by moving
a chair to and from the table. In one instance, a candle
was tossed across the room. A floating candlestick
is pretty on the nose. - [Shane] Pretty on the nose, yeah. - [Ryan] But sometimes
things are on the nose because they actually happen all the time. - I think the fact that it's, you know, I want to respect the history of it, and while that's happening, I have to deal with all
this stupid bullshit about candlesticks floating in the air like it's the Haunted
Mansion in Disneyland. - Well, it's actually not bullshit. It happened, so... - Okay. - I...
- Great. - I don't know what to tell you, bud. - No, that's good. - It is good. - Let's keep going. - So right now we're
heading to the dining room. This is actually a room that's
not often investigated, so... - [Shane] Is it because it's... Is there... - No, there's no particular reason, they just don't offer this
part on the ghost tours. - [Shane] Oh, I see. So this is a little treat for us. - This is a little treat for the boys. All right, so...hello,
whoever lives in this room, or if there's anybody
here with us right now. My name is Ryan, that's Shane. If you would like to communicate with us, now is the time to do so. Is there any members of the Sorrel family here with us today? Francis, are you here? We hear you like to move
things on this table as well. Could you maybe move one
of those candlesticks? - [Shane] Maybe make that napkin wiggle? - [Ryan] We heard a lot
about Southern hospitality. We're from California. Ow. Could you pass me that cup over there? - [Shane] You're talking to the ghost? - Yeah. - I could sure go for a coffee. - [Ryan] Francis Sorrel
was said to host parties in the two connected parlor rooms. Guests often report the
smell of cigars and brandy. - [Shane] Okay, so the parlor room. - So back in the day, they
would have parties here. The gentlemen would be drinking
brandy and smoking cigars. They'd be on this side of the room. - [Shane] Looks like they
had a hell of a party. - [Ryan] Yeah, they'd be
talking about business. And on this side of the room, this is where the women would sit. - [Shane] Oh, not too far. Women sit in here, stare at their portrait of Christian Bale. - [Ryan] You know what? I kind of want a picture
of Christian Bale. - [Shane] Yeah, you've gotta
get one of Christian Bale. - Big fan. Shall we begin? Oh. Hello to whoever is in this room. I would say ladies, but
any time I say ladies, it makes me sound like a creep. - Yeah, true. - Well, how do you announce yourself to a room without saying... - Oh, ladies. (knocking) There's footsteps. - We'd better check it out. - Shh. (knocking) You hear that, right? - Yeah. - What the fuck? Who's upstairs? - Can we go upstairs? - No, it's condemned. - Oh. - We'll fall through the fucking ceiling. I swear to God... (knocking) - There's someone up there, Ryan. - There is. I know it. (Shane laughs) I'm getting chills. Let's go outside and look, come on. - Look at what?
- The staircase at the least. Who's up there? Well, we can't go up here
because it's not safe up there to walk, but there is
definitely somebody up there. I know that sounds like a cop-out. Did you hear that? - I kind of think
there's someone up there. Are there, like, open
windows up there or anything? - I mean, I don't know how
that explains footsteps. Maybe say something that's nice that'll make them come down here? - Hi, please come downstairs! - That's what you landed on? What the fuck was that? - It sounded like a dog. - Come on, boy, come on! (Shane whistles) Come on, you want a treat? I'm shook. Francis' son, Frank Sorrel, was a doctor that used the basement
of the Sorrel-Weed House as his office for a few years. Guides call this room
the Surgery Room and say that Dr. Frank Sorrel used
it as a trauma surgery unit. This room is reportedly very active. People have allegedly
experienced unexplained touching, shadows, and bizarre
feelings, and have seen an apparition pacing in the room. In the Surgery Room, a
little girl is also seen who likes to play hide and seek. A chair is often moved as well. We hear that Frank, if
you're in here with us, you used to perform surgery in here, and that you were quite prolific at it. Is there anybody down here with us? Make your presence known. - Are their patients in here? - Is there anybody in here?
- Is this is your last place that you remember being alive? - [Ryan] You know, we hear that there is a little girl in here. - [Shane] Oh, is this the ankle biter? - [Ryan] Yeah. - Go on, here's some ankles if you wanna give 'em a little bite. - We hear that you like
to play hide and seek. So what we're gonna do right now is we're gonna play with you. - Yeah. - [Ryan] One... Two... - [Shane And Ryan] Three... Four... Five... Six... Seven... Eight... Nine... Ten. - Ready or not. Here we come. Oh God, I'm actually
scared to open my eyes. - It all looks the same. - It does look the same. Let me scan with my
little flashlight here. Are you actually hiding? Are you playing or no? Is there anybody here with us? Can you move something? Give us a hint? - You don't ask for hints when
you're playing hide and seek. - If the hiding spot's really good, you eventually will ask for a hint and they'll usually,
like, tap or something. - What? I would never give hints. - You just stayed hidden? How long would you do that? - As long as I had to. - All rightie, well, let's
fire up that spirit box. Ooh, God, did you hear that spring? - Yeah. - Here we go. This is a device that you guys may be able to use to speak to us. - (laughs) So matter of fact. This is a device you may
use to speak with us. - Well, that's what it is. How else am I supposed to describe it? - No, you nailed it. - Okay. (static) Who is in this room with us? - Sandwich? (Ryan laughs) Is there anyone here in this room with us? Please tell us your name. Is there a girl here? - If there's a little girl in here, could you tell us your name? We hear you like to play hide and seek. (static) What happened to you? I'm gonna need to hear
some clearer responses for me to know I'm talking to somebody. What in the name of God was that? What did you just say? Who was that? Hi, sorry, whoever just
spoke, could you speak again? If you want to talk, we're right here. - Son? - If you want to talk, we're right here. Hello? - Ooh, spooky. - All right. - [Shane] Yeah, I'm satisfied. - I think you're always satisfied. - [Shane] Well, no. - Two seconds on, satisfied. All right, we're gonna
leave the Surgery Room now. By the way, we never found you, so you could come out
of your hiding spot now. - [Shane] We never found you? Oh, hide and seek, yeah. - We didn't forget about that. Where are...I guess
you'll just stay hidden. - [Shane] Yeah. The game's over. - [Ryan] The game's over, by the way. - [Shane] What if she doesn't
know, and she's just hiding for the rest of her ghost life? - We're serious. Just don't say I didn't tell you. I'm serious right now. The game is over. I don't have any more energy to look. - Game over, man. - This house was also a site
of tragedy for the Sorrels. On March 27, 1860, Matilda
Sorrel, Francis' wife, died at the age of 54
after falling, quote, from the second or third story window of her residence on
Harris Street, end quote. Her cause of death was
listed as concussion, but many have speculated
that her death was a suicide. And this is actually the courtyard that Matilda fell into and died. - [Shane] Oh, okay. - We're not really sure
how it happened, but... - [Shane] Concussion. - [Ryan] Or why she fell, I should say, but this is where it happened. This is the floor we were at, right here. It was this balcony. She fell right down here. Quite the fall. Matilda, are you out here? What happened to you? Did you fall? Why did you fall from the balcony? Did someone push you? Did you jump? Could you shut that door right
there, if you're out here? Hm, she doesn't want to talk to us. - [Shane] No. - I wouldn't want to talk to us either. I don't blame you! - I don't blame her. - [Ryan] This house may
be haunted by past events that didn't occur in the house at all, but rather on the ground
it is situated on. In the fall of 1779, America was in the midst of the Revolutionary War. The Siege of Savannah,
which some historians call the bloodiest hour of the Revolution, pitted the Americans,
with aid from the French, against the British, who at
the time occupied Savannah. The Americans were unable
to liberate Savannah, and the battle claimed over 1,000 lives according to local historian
and author James Caskey. Part of the British
fortifications were situated on what is currently
Madison Square, which is across the street from
the Sorrel-Weed House. According to tour guides at the house, the site that the Sorrel-Weed
House was built on may have served as barracks
for British soldiers during the Revolutionary War
and the Siege of Savannah. In one tragic instance,
a cannonball crashed into the barracks, killing
12 British soldiers. It's said that they are often seen in one part of the basement. - [Shane] I remember I
used to think cannonballs were hilarious until I saw The Patriot. (Ryan laughs) And that thing goes
rolling through the field, just knocks people's legs off. - To be fair, cannonballs
are pretty hilarious. - Yeah, they're just a big metal ball. - In cartoons, they're just a big ball. Also when you're like, what's the funniest thing you can do at a pool party? Cannonball! - Yeah, good point, good point. - Splashing everybody.
- That is very funny. Everybody loves it.
- Everyone has a great time. Everyone loves it, they get all wet. - Very good, you're the life of the party.
- [Ryan] Yeah, yeah, yeah. As I said before, according to
the historians in this house, this house was perhaps
the barracks for former British soldiers, maybe a
command center of some sort. Either way, it's said
that a cannonball fired through this building
killed 12 British soldiers. - Yeah, that's crazy. - And they're seen in this area, and over here in this room, primarily. Just seen lurking. - I guess it kind of makes
sense, because it is... This is the first floor, it's slightly below ground, but it's, like, halfway. - Yeah, this is where...
- A cannonball... - Yeah, yeah, if a cannonball came through the building, right? It would fall down a certain amount of floors, carry things with it. All rightie, well, I'm Ryan. - [Shane] That's true. Oh, I'm Shane.
- That's where you say you're Shane. As I said, we're both Americans. The war happened a long time ago, so... If there's any soldiers
with us here today, it's a friendly zone right now. You could talk to us,
you could move something, you could make your presence be known. Or, if you're not feeling that friendly, maybe you're feeling a little salty. I get it. Sucks to lose. - [Shane] Yeah. - Maybe you could show
us some of that anger. - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Really let loose. - Let off a little steam. - I don't request that very often, but I officially request. (clatter) - Holy shit! - What? What'd you see? - I just saw a figure, head,
shoulders, walk right there. - [Shane] Right here? - [Ryan] No, no, no. Right here. - [Shane] Right here? You saw a figure, head, shoulders, walk right over here? Now, it couldn't be that the light might be playing tricks on you. - No, no, no, no, this was a person. - You saw a person. - It was either a ghost or a person. I don't know which one it was, but something 100% walked right here. - [Shane] Well, you had your, uh... Did you have a camera pointing at it? - [Ryan] I mean, my chest. I don't know if it saw it. Holy shit! - [Shane] What? Well, let's hope. Otherwise... We have to depend on your... Oh boy, here he goes. He's off! - What the fuck. That's not even opened up to the street. I saw it. - [Shane] Okay. - Honestly, my first
impulse was it's a person, because it looked like a person. - [Shane] I'm saying you're a jittery guy. - I know what I fuckin' saw. It was a fucking person. - [Shane] Okay. - [Ryan] In the basement
there's also a small breezeway where guests can sit in a chair and are sometimes visited
by a shadowy apparition. Who this apparition is, nobody knows, but one guest reported
feeling every possible emotion at the same time and ran out of the house. To finish this out, we'll investigate this area individually. So this is your little viewing of the
shadow man in the breezeway. - So here's the breezeway. Gonna sit in this chair. I'll try not to fall asleep. (Ryan laughs) I'm very tired, so... - [Ryan] Fuck you. - [Shane] All right. - [Ryan] Okay. - [Shane] Wish me luck. - [Ryan] Yeah, 'cause
you definitely need it. - Yeah, Ryan's gonna go nuts down here. There's a lot of light
pouring in, shadows. - I'm already doing it. I'm starting to freak myself out. Nope. Not today, not today, not today. - Hey, if there's any ghosts down here, it's just me now. There's no one else on this floor. Just you and me and the dark. - I'm a little concerned about what I'm gonna see when I'm down there, but I don't think it's
gonna hurt me, I think. - Come on. Hey. Hey, ghosts. Tickle me. Tear my eyeballs out. Grab my nipples. - [Ryan] All right, Shane. - That's five? - [Ryan] Yeah. - Oh, Jesus. - [Ryan] Was that quick? - [Shane] Yeah. - [Ryan] I feel like if I close my eyes for a little bit and open them, it would almost feel like I got abducted. - All right, well, have fun. - Did you feel a rush of emotion? - No, I didn't. It's nice, though, when you... Don't forget to--oh fuck. - Goddammit. Okay. - All right. Good luck. - Oh boy, I'm gonna lose my fucking mind. Welp, I have once again guided myself into quite the pickle, haven't I? - I really hope we hear him screaming. - I guess I'll bask in some
silence for a little bit here. 'Cause I hate doing that. So let's do that for a sec. This is a shitty situation. I'm very scared right now. (clears throat) But, you know, I've been
given the opportunity to maybe catch a ghost on camera, so maybe it'll happen right now. I saw one of you earlier. Whoever was walking
around earlier, I saw you. - I hear him talking quite a bit, which means he is rattled. - Is there anybody down here with me? This is where the infamous shadow man is. Who are you? Okay, two and a half minutes. Come on, Ryan, you could do this. - I don't want him to have,
like, a full mental break. Maybe close. Close would be good. - I'm not ready for you, but if you want to come out, now would be a good time. God knows I'm scanning this whole room. I feel like I've been down
here for five minutes. Why have they not come to get me? - Ryan's five minutes
are up, but I'm gonna just give him a few more minutes. Make him think that he's going nuts. - I'm shaking. - [Shane] All right. - I feel like that was
longer than five minutes. - [Shane] We thought we'd give you 10 and just see how you did. - You son of a bitch. - Well, I figured you might not notice the passing of time down here. - Jesus Christ, yeah, it sucked. - How'd it go? Yeah, it wasn't great? - No, it wasn't great. I don't think anything happened, though, or at least I didn't catch it, but I was scanning pretty wildly. - [Shane] You seem very twitchy right now. - Yeah. Why--my eyes hurt because they were open for eight straight minutes. - [Shane] You didn't blink? - I don't think so. - [Shane] I was just giving
you more time with the ghosts. - How about this, let's
just get out of here. - [Shane] That sounds good. - Let's do that. Well... Sorrel-Weed House, it's been fun. - Yeah. - We've been introduced to a whole cast of characters tonight. - Howler monkey. - There were some
noises, there was a weird thing going on upstairs, I saw one of you walking around down here. But uh, I think I've had enough. So, you know, toodle-oo, I guess. - See ya. - [Ryan] The ghoul boys are out. I am out. I'm done. You coming? - Yeah, you got a flashlight? - [Ryan] Oh, yeah, I do. - I can't see anything. Okay. - [Ryan] As I said up
top, the Sorrel-Weed House is said to be one of the most
haunted homes in the U.S. After spending a night within its walls, I can see why it makes that claim. With dark history and a front-row seat to one of the bloodiest
events in American history, there's plenty of reasons
why some spirits remain. But whether or not the Sorrel-Weed House is definitively haunted
will remain unsolved.
"Hey, hey ghosts!" -Shane 2018 Edit: Also doesn't the spirit box scan through loads of radio stations really quick? If so the weird noises might be from some songs/the people talking