- This building has had many different
hats throughout history.
- [Shane] Alright, well let's try 'em on.
- I'd say this, the
exterior looks quite nice.
- [Shane] Yeah, it does, they've really
done quite well for themselves.
- [Ryan] Let's see why this place has
the reputation it does.
(spooky instrumental music)
This week on BuzzFeed Unsolved,
we investigate Moon River Brewing Company
in Savannah, Georgia,
as part of our ongoing
investigation into the
question, "Are ghosts real?"
This building has plenty of rich
and perhaps violent history.
- Rich and violent, that's
a package right there.
- Yeah, it's all been
leading up to this moment
for when the boys come in.
A mustachioed Shane and Ryan.
- Feels good to hear ya say it.
- Sorry to everyone who has
to look at that this episode.
Just know I don't like it either.
- It's a mustache town, Savannah.
- Alright, well let's get into it.
Moon River Brewing Company is said to be
one of the most haunted
institutions in Savannah.
One of the bar's owners,
Gene Beeco, said, quote,
"I have seen and experienced things that
I don't understand and I
can't explain," end quote.
Though the brewing company's
other owner and brewmaster,
John Pinkerton, has said,
quote, "I personally cannot
"claim any experiences
that I call paranormal.
"What I often point out
is that the scariest
"things on this planet are living people.
"I don't worry about the
spirits of dead people.
"I worry about living
people, and in particular,
"drunk living people," end quote.
Regardless of which owner is right,
there is plenty of
history in this building
that could contribute to a haunting.
- [Shane] So Pinkerton, he
thinks this is all baloney.
- [Ryan] Yeah, and then the
other guy, he's like me.
If we opened a bar, I'd be like,
"I saw bottles moving off the shelf,"
and you'd be like,
"Yeah, it's all baloney."
- [Shane] Yeah, "He's full of shit!"
- [Ryan] I love that he's scared of
just drunk, living people too.
He turned it into a commentary on
how it sucks to own a bar.
- [Shane] He did, yeah, I did like that
it came around to that.
I thought he was gonna say, "I
spend my time worrying about,
"you know, fraud and serial killers."
But no, just his unruly patrons.
- [Ryan] You get some of the devil's juice
in someone, you know, things happen.
- [Shane] Yeah, their darkness comes out.
- Yeah, yeah, we don't
know anything about that.
Or maybe we do, Jesus Christ.
Is this why you did the mustache?
Did you do something last night?
- Oh, you think this is a disguise?
(Shane and Ryan laughing)
Surely no one will recognize me
with my thick, full mustache.
- [Ryan] The building in which the
Moon River Brewing Company is housed
was originally built as a hotel
known as the City Hotel.
It is said to be the city's
oldest surviving hotel/inn,
built by Elazer and Jane Early.
Construction on the hotel began in 1819,
opening eventually in 1821.
The hotel was known as
a luxury establishment,
but violence was not uncommon
among the hotel bar patrons,
especially as it was often frequented by
hotheaded politicians and businessmen.
In 1832, one troubling
incident of violence occurred
with a belligerent lobby bar
patron named James Stark.
Stark was bad-mouthing the
local doctor, Philip Minis.
The feud between the two
had been said to be ongoing
and reports suggest Stark's
verbal attack on Minis
included anti-Semitic
barbs, as Minis was Jewish.
Stark also accused the
doctor of being a coward,
which reportedly set the
doctor over the edge.
Stark allegedly reached into his pocket,
and Minis reacted by drawing his gun
and killing Stark first.
Minis was charged with, quote,
"Justifiable homicide,"
end quote, as it was a,
quote, "Affair of honor," end quote.
Stark was reportedly seen
as a town troublemaker
and some have posited
that Minis got off so easy
because of Stark's
unpopularity with the locals.
Much of the ghost
activity, including people
being pushed inside the
brewery, has since been
attributed to Stark's vengeful ghost.
This is where we're gonna
find Mr. James Stark.
- [Shane] The a-hole.
- [Ryan] The a-hole, correct.
He was shot right around
this area, right here.
- [Shane] Oh, right here.
Yeah, this looks like a
good place for a duel.
- He was an anti-Semite so, like I said,
this guy was kind of a dildo.
I think we should reach out
to him right about here.
This is where we'll find him.
Alright, well Mr. Stark,
we've traveled a long way to see you.
- Well, I didn't come here just for him.
- We didn't come here just for you,
don't flatter yourself,
but my name's Ryan.
- My name's Shane and
we're the Ghoul Boys.
- Yeah, we're the Ghoul Boys and we hear
that you were kind of a dick.
- That's a very light way of putting it.
- Yeah.
- You didn't get along with your doctor.
He's just trying to look out for you.
Their job is to make sure you live
and your doctor killed you.
- Yeah.
- What kinda asshole do you have to be?
That violates the Hippocratic Oath.
- It does.
I haven't read the oath
myself but I'm pretty sure
shooting somebody is against the oath.
- I don't think they even put it in there.
They don't say, "Hey, by the
way, don't shoot your patient."
- Anyways, James, now that
we've really gone in on you,
I hear that a woman was pushed
down this set of stairs.
It's not conclusive that it was you.
- Stairs are tricky.
- So why don't you go ahead and push us?
- Push me, I'm right here.
I'm very top heavy so you
just give it a slight push.
- How about it, James,
you got anything to say?
James Stark, that's who we're reaching out
to right now, are you here?
Gonna give you some silence to show us
that you're here and
that you want to talk.
You could say something,
you could move something.
How about it, James?
Alright, James, so if you don't wanna talk
to us right now I'm
gonna bring out something
that's really gonna piss you off.
- You're gonna hate it.
This is the one time that
I'm glad we're using this
'cause guess what, James, this sucks.
This thing's fucking stupid, James.
If you thought getting shot was bad,
wait 'til you hear our spirit box.
- Ah!
Alright, James or any
spirits who haunt this floor,
who's up here with us?
Me.
- Oh, I thought it said James.
- My name's Ryan, that's Shane.
Can you say our names back
to us if you wanna talk?
Right now we're reaching out
to James Stark specifically.
Mr. Stark, do you have anything
that you wanna say to us?
Use this device to talk to us.
- Never.
- Why not?
We're not here to hurt
you, we just wanna talk.
- Blue diamond.
- Go.
What's the name of this building?
I'm gonna ask that again, what's
the name of this building?
- What city are we in?
- I'm turning it off.
Alright, James, we're
moving to a different
part of the building, you
didn't wanna talk to us.
We're gonna be around, though, so,
you know, you know where to find us.
We're gonna be down the hall.
- Feel free to really pound us.
- Yeah, or go fuck
yourself, how 'bout that?
- Yeah, either, or, up to you, dickbag.
- [Ryan] In the mid-1800s,
violence escalated
because of the many Northern guests
and political tensions at this time.
There were allegedly violent outbursts
between locals and hotel visitors.
Reportedly, in 1860, a Northerner
visiting from New York
named James Sinclair
was lynched and nearly killed by locals,
who resented his presence in town.
- [Shane] What year was this?
- [Ryan] This was 1860, around
the time of the Civil War.
- [Shane] I feel like
you should read the room
when you're making vacation
plans during the Civil War.
- [Ryan] If you are a white
dude like this guy was,
I'm gonna assume you could
just go wherever you want,
just don't start saying,
"I fucking hate the South.
"I'm from the North."
- "I'm a yankle-doodle dandy, oh!"
(Ryan laughing)
- [Ryan] The hotel closed
in 1864 at the onset of
the Civil War allegedly
because the violence between
the guests and the locals
had reached a tipping point.
Tour guides today actually
warn guests to not
taunt the ghosts too much,
as they may become violent.
- [Shane] I find that
the places that people
consider most scary out of
all these places we go to,
you're bathed in darkness,
it's usually very quiet,
I find it relaxing.
- [Ryan] I don't know,
people are normally just
scared of very dark, decrepit places.
- [Shane] I was born in the darkness.
- [Ryan] Oh my God, did
you just quote Bane?
- [Shane] Yeah.
I did, it's fun.
- Is there anybody here who's upset about
what happened to them in
this hotel that wants to
talk to us right now
'cause we'll hear you out.
We're not here to hurt ya.
I know this guy's mustache
suggests otherwise.
- You don't have to bring up the mustache.
- It's creepy, I get it.
- I probably look like
a lot of your friends.
- That's probably true, actually.
Oh, is that what this is,
you committed to the role?
- I did this for the ghost hunting.
- Yeah, that's what you did it for?
- Yes, I'm a paranormal investigator
and I take my job seriously.
- Weird, I remember you saying that,
"Oh, I was shaving my
face and then I stopped."
- Well, I did, that's just a
play-by-play of what happened.
- It's the reason you stated before,
but okay, now it's because you're a
serious paranormal investigator, I get it.
- Oh, hello there, ma'am.
Aren't you sweeter than a dewdrop?
Why you look finer than honey
butter on a June afternoon.
- Did you just whisper?
- No.
Did I get a whisper?
- Yeah, you did.
- It's me, Banjo, your
old pal from the bank.
I saw you strolling
with your son, Bradley.
- Who is that?
Those are people, right?
I mean, they have to be people,
they're so God damn clear.
- I don't hear people.
- If anybody was talking
can you talk again?
Oh God, I'm gonna have to ask you to
say that in that stupid voice.
- Would any of y'all
like to pull up a chair
and join me in some conversation?
Like a cat on a hot tin roof.
- Well, we're gonna leave now.
We're gonna go to a different
part of the building.
- Thank you kindly.
- During the Civil War, the hotel served
as a Confederate hospital,
sometimes referred
to as the River Battery Hospital.
Some say the building
was used as a hospital
for soldiers from both
the North and the South.
So now we're heading
up to the fourth floor.
Definitely one of the more
active areas of this bar,
this is where the hospital used to be.
- [Shane] Oh, okay.
- So yellow fever
patients, mostly children,
and of course Civil War soldiers.
- [Shane] Okay.
- We already had our
static cam set up here
so that's been recording all night.
This seems like a good
place to turn off our lights
because it truly is dark in here.
- [Shane] Okay, you wanna kill 'em?
- Why don't we do that
and then we'll reach out.
If there's anybody up here
you could say something.
- [Shane] You could scream.
- Bang on something.
There are rumors that this
was a Confederate hospital.
You have anything to say about that?
You angry you lost the
war, you lost your life?
I get it.
Are there any kids up here?
Sorry we scared you before.
- [Shane] Yeah, we're
fun, we're nice guys.
- I know you're sick.
Do you wanna play?
It doesn't matter to us
you got the yellow fever,
we got it too.
- [Shane] We got it too?
That's a weird thing to say.
- Yeah, I know, it felt weird.
- I feel like this season
you've gotten very aggressive
with the ghosts in a way that
maybe betrays your belief.
- How is that?
- I feel like if you
truly believed in them
you'd be a little more respectful.
- Imagine you went to lunch with someone
and the whole time you're
like, "Oh, so how was your day?
"How'd you get here?
"You got stuff to do after this?"
- To be fully accurate here,
you'd have to be sitting at a table alone,
staring at no one, asking 'em questions.
- Well, I'm comparing it
because ghosts to me are people,
so then it would be, to
me, like going on an outing
with somebody and the whole
time they say nothing.
Eventually you're gonna go, like, "Hey!"
- "What the fuck's wrong with you?"
- "What's the deal here?"
Over time, the building would become
a coal and lumber
warehouse, a supply store,
and now, in present day,
Moon River Brewing Company.
Let's go over some of the other
hot spots of the building.
The restaurant area is
said to be a place where
servers report being touched
or pushed by unseen figures
and bottle/silverware
have reportedly been seen
being pushed off of
tables by unknown forces.
Startlingly, the apparition
of a woman from the 1800s
was spotted walking
across the crowded bar.
A bartender thought she was an actress
or a re-enactor about to order a drink;
however, she disappeared in front of
his eyes as she reached the bar.
There were reportedly many other witnesses
to this incident and as she disappeared,
it's reported a hush fell over the room.
- Here we are in the restaurant now.
- We hear that somebody likes
to walk around down here.
We're walking around too, just exploring.
I wanna know why you're still here.
Little girl?
- [Shane] What'd you do?
- Dropped my headphones.
- Did you drop them or did they get--
- No, I dropped them.
We'll do a quick flashlight,
what if I pan my flashlight
over there and there's a face?
- [Shane] Why would you
think that would happen?
- I don't know, worth a shot.
That same woman has also been seen
on the top of the first floor stairs.
She was spotted by a
manager who reportedly
asked her if he could help her,
which startled her and then she vanished.
I'm gonna go to the top of the stairs.
- Okay, good luck.
- It'd be really unfortunate if someone
snuck up on me right now.
- Push him as hard as you can.
- You could do that if you want.
- Make him tumble.
- Rock me down these stairs.
- Push him down the stairs.
- Look, I'll make myself an easier target.
- Ryan, yell "show me the money".
- What do you even mean,
why am I doing that?
Why am I quoting Jerry Maguire?
- Well the money is like the,
you know, metaphorical evidence.
- Alright, show me the money!
Let's go!
Come on.
- What the fuck are you doing?
- I'm dancing.
They don't like my dancing,
do you like the dancing?
- It's not great.
- Give me the business, come on.
- Give me the business.
- Come on, give me the business,
give me the business, business.
This has been fun.
- This is a very serious
ghost investigation.
(Ryan laughing)
- [Ryan] There was one well-known
ghost who they call Toby,
who is often seen in the basement.
Some have referred to
him as a negative spirit,
while current staff have
characterized him as a young boy.
A bartender has also seen
a shadowy black figure
emerge from the wall.
In this spot, one local
woman was attacked.
She recalled the incident,
saying that she was
alone in the back room
in the basement when she
felt someone choking her
and pushing her backward.
One prominent paranormal
investigator reported
being momentarily possessed
in this particular room.
Could this dark figure be Toby?
Hey, Toby.
Toby, what's down in this basement?
Why do people feel so oppressed down here?
- Toby, are you actually Lucifer?
- Is there actually a
boy named Toby down here?
People say they see you.
We're here just to talk,
we wanna play actually.
- Yeah.
- Wanna come play with us?
- If you don't you're
gonna be in big trouble.
Tobester?
- Can you move something
to show us you wanna play?
- What's Toby doing hanging
around the basement of a bar?
- Why are you down here, Toby?
- Why are you down here, Toby?
What are you doing down here?
- Why do you choose to stay down here?
- Doing some weird Hardy Boys stuff?
- Especially if there's
something dark down here,
why are you here?
Is there something down
here that scares you?
What was that?
- So much moving around.
- Maybe you're intimidated
by the both of us
so we're gonna split up.
We're gonna investigate this one by one.
- What do you think of that?
- And you could do whatever
you want to us, I guess.
- You could really fuck with us then.
Alright, I'm down here
in the basement now,
all by my lonesome.
Where'd my Toby go?
Tobester.
Tobester.
I know there are rules here.
- I'm gonna be honest, this
may be famous last words,
but I'm not very scared
of what's down there.
- I think sometimes
there's value to darkness,
so I'm just gonna turn
off my light and sit here.
Stare down at this empty room.
Maybe someone will see
that as an invitation,
maybe a dark entity in general
would like to possess me.
I'm a pretty good candidate.
Come on.
- Wouldn't it be crazy
if Shane comes back up
and he's like, "I saw a fucking ghost."
- Don't be afraid of my mustache, Toby.
- Is the series over then,
is that the end of Unsolved?
- Come on.
I've only got a couple more minutes, guys.
Shit or get off the pot.
- Five minutes is a long
time for something to
happen to me down there
without Shane realizing it.
I could've been choked to death by then.
- No, nothing, okay.
- [Ryan] How was it?
- What?
- [Ryan] How was it?
- It was great.
- What if you call out for me down there,
I don't respond and when you find me,
I'm just standing in the corner?
- I'm gonna close the door and leave.
- You would just leave me?
- Yeah.
- Why?
- If you're possessed
we're not taking you home.
- [Ryan] Well, this is kinda horrifying.
I don't like it, don't
like it one bit actually.
- I felt nothing down there.
To be fair, I feel
nothing everywhere we go,
but this place more so than usual.
Will Ryan have better luck?
Maybe, he's insane.
- Alright.
Who's down here in this basement?
Huh?
Who?
Did I hear Toby?
Who's down here in this basement?
My name's Ryan, can you say Ryan back?
You use this device to talk to me.
Or show yourself, I guess.
What was that?
Is there anybody down here with me?
Looks like this ain't working.
Gonna go straight EVP now.
- I don't know, Ryan's been a
little too confident tonight.
I think it doesn't suit him.
It's obviously annoying
when he walks around being,
"Oh, there's stories about
floating candlesticks,"
but when the pendulum swings
in the other direction
he's pretty insufferable.
So I think we much prefer terrorized Ryan.
Will the basement put him in his place?
It solely depends on how
much he gets in his own head
because his mind is his own worst enemy.
And it's my greatest ally.
- Who's down here in this basement
and why do you haunt this basement?
What happened to you?
Toby, are you actually a little boy?
Do I wanna know the
answer to that question?
Gonna turn my light off, here we go.
Anybody down here with me?
I'm not here to hurt
you, I just wanna talk.
I hear people see you all the time.
I've got the chills right now, actually.
So I wonder if that means anything.
Why do you hurt people?
Fuck, man.
Who's down here with me?
Why do I feel like I'm being watched?
Oh, boy.
Who's down here?
- That's your time, Ryan.
- That's my time?
I feel like you extended my time again.
- I think that's healthy for you.
Did you get all worked up down there?
- A little bit.
- Did you?
Oh, hey.
I'm pretty pissed we didn't
get to hang out with Toby.
- I'm a little glad we didn't
get to hang out with Toby,
but yeah, in the long
run I'm probably angry
we didn't get to hang out with Toby.
Another investigation in the books.
What do you gotta say about this one?
- We fuckin' nailed it.
- [Ryan] Moon River Brewing Company has
plenty of rich history as
a hotel and a hospital.
After numerous accounts
of paranormal activity,
it's not a far stretch to say that some
patrons and patients never checked out,
but whether or not Moon River Brewing
is definitely haunted
will remain unsolved.
(spooky instrumental music)
