Southern Spirit: A Queer Vacay in Historic Savannah, Georgia
Lawrence Ferber, courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association
Read the full article online at thegavoice.com.
The ghost of Kevin Spacey haunts this room.
Actually, it’s the ghost of a rich, gay antiques dealer and preservationist, Jim Williams, who Spacey portrayed in the 1997 film, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” although the latter is more likely to impart chills and cringe these days. I’m touring the Mercer-Williams House, one of Savannah’s most famous 19thcentury homes, including the actual study where Williams shot and killed his hustler boy toy, Danny Hansford (played by Jude Law in the movie — I’m sure many queens would welcome his specter), reportedly in self-defense.
Adapted from gay author John Berendt’s bestselling 1994 nonfiction novel, director Clint Eastwood’s movie shined a Hollywood spotlight on Savannah and its quirky denizens, including iconic transgender entertainer The Lady Chablis, who famously played herself, regularly performed at LGBTQ bar Club One, and sadly, passed away in 2016. In 2019, 14.8 million visitors came for Savannah’s mix of historic architecture, gorgeous willowdraped parks, movie locations (including the spot where Forrest Gump sat on a bench babbling inane philosophies about chocolates), a buzzing riverside entertainment zone and live-and-let-live genteel Southern attitude. Bless their hearts!
Today the lush, compact and walkable port city boasts an even more progressive open queerness. There’s the vibrant Savannah Pride over Halloween weekend, the hipster Starland District, an influx of creative young energy thanks to Savannah College of Art and Design and — being one of America’s most haunted cities — an expanding population of spirits (including the drinkable type at Ghost Coast Distillery).
Digging Your Scene: Savannah’s To-Dos
To get one’s bearings in Savannah, a tour is well-advised, and there are dozens listed on official tourism website Visit Savannah, from trolley to bicycle to themed walking tours. The latter include Black heritage, food, local indie boutique shopping, ghost/haunted (I’ll get to that later!), and openly gay guide Jonathan Stalcup’s engaging Architectural Tours of Savannah, which we joined and enjoyed. Stalcup juxtaposes structures and stories with photos of Savannah’s evolving cityscape since its founding in the 1730s by General James Oglethorpe and, as it turns out, some sassy queer facts if you take him aside post-tour.
Many essential attractions are historic, educational and kid-friendly in nature, including the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, Bonaventure Cemetery, and 100-plus-year-old Leopold’s Ice Cream, which draws snaking, hours-long lines of tourists daily for old-timey frozen treats (pro tip: there are two satellite Leopold’s locations at the airport with little to no wait).
Incorporating an antebellum railroad depot in its design, the contemporary SCAD
Museum of Art hosts multidisciplinary, provocative exhibitions by international talents like queer French artist Mehryl Levisse, whose immersive “White Wig,” featuring five sculpted wigs by Parisian drag queens, will be on display through December 12, 2021. Artwork and home goods by SCAD’s own faculty, students and alumni, plus books, accessories and more, fill out sister retail space shopSCAD.
Nightlife in the Garden of Good and Evil
If you’re a natural at networking, befriending queer locals is well-advised, since even before COVID-19 hit, private house parties were Savannah’s dominant form of local socializing and nightlife for LGBTQs (Grindr and Scruff, we’re giving you the stink eye). Only one LGBTQ bar, the multilevel dancing and drag queen destination Club One, still stands — there are 18 and up nights, a plus for SCAD students — since the delightfully divey Chuck’s Bar closed in 2019.
As with many cities, drag shows have become a magnet for godforsaken decidedly un-gay bachelorette parties and rowdy (albeit ally-ish) heterosexuals. This certainly proved true with
Savannah’s Yes Queen! Drag Pub Crawl. My hubby and I were the sole queers participating besides the delightful Venezuela-born queen and aspiring fashion designer leading the tour, Marie Con, and her lowkey boyfriend. It basically entailed Marie creating a loud public spectacle while we searched for her fictitious sugar daddy, Richard (aka “Dick”), stopped at nongay bars for drink specials, and, at her insistence, grabbed each other’s butts to form human centipedes while crossing the street. It was a bit #MeToo and I really wished #TimesUp, but I did cull valuable intel from Marie about the scene and local drag collective, House of Gunt, before fleeing early.
We didn’t flee early, however, from another popular and quintessential Savannah afterdark activity: a ghost tour. Although hoping for the guide known as “Prince,” who styles himself like the iconic late musician, our adults-only Sixth Sense haunted tour was led by the black-clad “Lady Ravenwood,” whose ensemble included an LGBTQ rainbow and a shiny pair of steampunk glasses.
Being a skeptical Scully to my hubby’s I-want-to-believe Mulder, I rolled my eyes as Ravenwood told us of murder victim ghosts and flashed images of blue orbs hovering on her phone, and I begged for a spirit or demon to attach itself to us to spice things up (“Burn sage!” my hubby’s fellow true believer friend texted in a panic). Alas, no blue orbs or demons followed us home, but darned if glowing happy memories of Savannah don’t frequently haunt and beckon us back.
New York-raised entertainment and travel journalist Lawrence Ferber has contributed to publications including Entertainment Weekly, New York Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, The Advocate, NewNowNext, The NY Post and TripSavvy. He also co-wrote/cocreated the 2010 gay romcom “BearCity” and authored its 2013 novelization.