A Witch in Savannah

One of the first squares in Savannah, Wright Square was the hanging square. Permanent gallows once stood where tourists now tread. Gallows upon which swift “justice” was served to those so condemned. But justice didn’t always favor the innocent…nor did it favor the fairer **. For it was with Irish immigrant Alice Riley that the first woman in Georgia was executed. Ms. Riley, like the majority of poor immigrants at the time, was an indentured servant—paying back through labor, the price of her p**age to the new world. William Wise, the man to whom she was contracted, was a wealthy but particularly cruel bloke. He beat and abused Alice daily until she could take it no more. One night while giving the less than charming fellow a bath, Alice took advantage of this and sliced his throat killing him. The servants fled but were quickly captured, convicted and sentenced to death. After watching her Lover drop through the gallows, his neck snapping and body writhing, Alice began begging for mercy, claiming she was with child. The local physician verified her claim and Alice was allowed to live—for eight more months. She was held in the city jail until the time in which she delivered old a son,one she never laid eyes upon. Then she was dragged back out of the jail, up the gallows and was hung by the neck until dead. Alice and the man servant were also speculated to be lover's and Alice was accused of being a witch before her execution in February 1735. Yet before leaving this world for the next, she curses Savannah from the platform and is a name that has lived on through every Savannah tragedy. 

What they didnt know was that she spent alot of time with the Indians who lived on the islands and marshes was she a witch at all?

Witnesses have claimed to have seen a woman in Wright Square, dressed in rags and wondering about looking for her lost baby. It is believed to be the spirit of Alice Riley. Unfortunately, Alice's search is in vain.  Poor Alice will forever roam Wright Square looking for her lost baby.