You may already be familiar with the Mercer-Williams House from the book written by John Berendt or the 1997 movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Kevin Spacey and John Cusack. You may also be familiar with the murder of Danny Hansford that took place inside the home, but did you know this house is the site of other strange deaths and occurrences? I got a chance to visit the home a few months back, and what I learned is wildly fascinating.

This hauntingly beautiful home is located at the southern end of the Historic District on Bull Street in Monterey Square. Nowadays, it is a living museum, which you can tour, but it was a private residence for years. John S. Norris first designed the house for General Hugh Weedon Mercer (great-grandfather of the songwriter Johnny Mercer). Construction of the house began in 1860. However, the building of the house was interrupted by the American Civil War and was not completed until around 1868 by the new owner, John Wilder.

In the 1900s, the building was used as the Savannah Shriners Alee Temple. It lay vacant for a decade until 1969, when Jim Williams bought and restored the house.

Jim Williams, played by Kevin Spacey in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, was an antique dealer and restorationist described as very “eccentric.” He would host Savannah’s most extravagant parties inside the Mercer-Williams House and, by all accounts, was well-liked.

This all changed after May 2, 1981, when Jim Williams shot his assistant Danny Hansford, with whom he had a sexual relationship.

Williams was subsequently charged with murder and tried an astounding four times before finally being acquitted in 1989 by a jury in Augusta, GA.

Jim Williams supposedly believed in Voodoo and would often call upon the services of Valerie Boles, known in the book and movie as Minerva. Valerie was the wife of the infamous Dr. Buzzard. When performing a ritual, Valerie would do it at her husband’s grave, which is located in the Beaufort, SC, area. She claimed that 11:30 to midnight was the best time to work good magic. From midnight to 12:30 is for working evil magic. In a few scenes in the movie, Williams (Kevin Spacey) goes to see Valerie “Minerva” in the graveyard to talk about Danny Hansford.

While on a Ghost Tour, our guide told us that Minerva was seen leaving the Mercer-Williams house right before Jim Williams died. It is rumored that during the trials, Williams asked Boles to work her magic and get him acquitted, but once he was, he did not honor the payment arrangement. Some believe this angered Boles and that she placed a death curse on Williams.

On January 14, 1990, six months after the trial, Williams died unexpectedly in his home at age 59 from “pneumonia and heart failure.” Reportedly, Williams fell dead in almost the exact spot where Danny Hansford was shot to death nearly a decade earlier.

Even before Hansford died in 1981, the Mercer-Williams house had already been the scene of two deaths. In 1913, a previous owner “tripped” over the second-floor railing, fractured his hip, suffered a concussion, and then died three days later.

In 1969, a boy chasing pigeons on the roof fell over the edge and impaled himself on the iron fence below.

The kid falling off the roof and impaling himself was also told to us while on the Blur Orb Ghost Tour. However, it was told a little differently. Apparently, when Jim Williams bought the house in 1969, the house was always left open, and not one but two kids went up on the roof to chase pigeons. According to our very enthusiastic guide, one of the kids started “acting funny” as if possessed. The boy then walked to the roof’s edge and threw himself off. Either way, the child did, in fact, fall from the roof, impaling himself.

If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor, read the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and then watch the movie. After that, book yourself a tour of the home (usually takes about 30 minutes ), and then that night, book yourself a ghost tour. All tours will go by Mercer-Williams house.

To me, the Mercer-House is an amazing place with a fascinating backstory. If you believe in ghosts and curses and the like…this is your place.