Alice Riley Story, New Brunches & Movies, and TV casting

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Good morning, Savannah!

In today’s newsletter:

• Alice Riley Story

• New Brunches on Savannah's Food Scene

• Movies and TV shows casting in Savannah

Let’s get to it.

-Jay Paszamant

INBOX INSIDER

The Ghost of Wright Square: Alice Riley's Tragic Tale

A Haunting Journey from Irish Dreams to Savannah's Most Famous Specter

In the misty, moss-draped streets of old Savannah, a city steeped in Southern charm and ghostly whispers, a tale still sends shivers down the spines of locals and visitors alike. It's the story of Alice Riley, a young Irish lass whose dreams of a new life in the New World turned into a nightmare of betrayal, murder, and eternal unrest.

Picture, if you will, a cold January morning in 1734. The air is thick with the salty tang of the nearby Atlantic and the promise of opportunity. A ship creaks into port, its deck crowded with weary travelers. Among them stands Alice Riley, her fiery red hair whipping in the wind, her green eyes wide with hope and trepidation. At just 15 years old, she's barely more than a child, yet she's crossed an ocean to escape the crushing poverty of her homeland.

But Alice's dreams of a fresh start quickly sour. As an indentured servant, she's little more than property, assigned to work for a man named William Wise. Now, folks in Savannah still debate the true nature of Wise. Some say he was a stern but fair master. Others... well, they whisper darker things behind closed doors.

On March 16, 1734, a fog rolls in off the Savannah River, shrouding Hutchinson Island in an eerie mist. It's there that William Wise's body is discovered, his unseeing eyes staring up at the gray Georgia sky. The colony is thrown into an uproar. Who could have committed such a heinous act?

Suspicion falls quickly on Alice and another servant, Richard White. The tale they spin is one of desperation and revenge. They claim Wise was a monster, prone to drunken rages and unspeakable cruelties. Some say Alice bore the bruises of his "attention," her young body a canvas of abuse. In a moment of despair, they drowned Wise in his own bathtub, using the very bucket he'd commanded Alice to fetch countless times before.

The trial is swift and merciless. Colonial justice cares little for the plights of servants, especially Irish ones. Alice and Richard are convicted, but fate has one more cruel twist in store. As they await the gallows, a startling discovery is made – Alice is with child.

Richard White swings first, his protestations of innocence lost to the wind. But Alice? She's granted a stay of execution, forced to carry her child to term in the dank confines of a Savannah jail. Can you imagine the torment? The mix of joy at feeling new life grow within her, coupled with the knowledge that she'll never see that child grow up?

On a bitter cold morning in January 1735, Alice Riley takes her final walk. Wright Square, usually a place of bustling trade and gossip, is hushed. As the first woman to be executed in the Georgia colony, Alice's death is a spectacle.

To her last breath, Alice proclaims her innocence. As the trapdoor opens and her body falls, a wail rises up – some say it was the cry of her babe, others swear it was the tormented scream of Alice's spirit, doomed to wander Wright Square for eternity.

To this day, on foggy nights when the Spanish moss sways in a breeze no one can feel, people claim to see a young woman in colonial dress, her arms outstretched as if cradling an invisible child. Tour guides regale wide-eyed visitors with tales of Alice's ghost, still searching for the baby she left behind.

Is it true? Was Alice Riley an innocent victim of circumstance, or a cold-blooded murderer? The sands of time have blurred the lines between fact and fiction, history and legend. But one thing's for certain – in Savannah, a city where the past never truly dies, the ghost of Alice Riley serves as a haunting reminder of the thin line between justice and vengeance, and the tragic consequences when that line is crossed.

_{LOCAL WEATHER}

Today - 🌦️ A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 🌡️ 84. 🍃 Northeast wind 6 to 9 mph.

Tonight - 🌦️ A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 🌡️ 73. 🍃 Northeast wind 7 to 9 mph.

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More Live Music This Weekend

Friday, September 13th

• Brayerwood at Huc-A-Poos 🎵 Time: 10:00 pm - 1:00 am/

Saturday, September 14th

• Hitman at Two Cracked Eggs 🎵 Time: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

• Open Bluegrass Pick at Savannah Guitar Lutherie 🎵 Time: 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm

• Bluegrass Brunch at Sea Wolf 🎵 Time: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

• Eric Daubert at Broken Keel 🎵 Time: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

• Hunter Price at Barrelhouse 🎵Time: 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

• Joey Manning at A-J's Dockside 🎵Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

• Claire Frazier & Frank Bright at Vic's on the River 🎵 Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

• Jody Jazz Trio at Rancho Alegre 🎵 Time: 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm

• Carroll Brown at Wexford Pub 🎵 Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

• Brendan Nolan at Wexford Pub 🎵 Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

• David Duckworth at Planters Tavern 🎵 Time: 7:30 pm - 11:00 pm

• Basik Lee at Water Witch 🎵 Time: 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

• Eric Culberson at the Britannia Pub 🎵 Time: 8:30 pm - 11:30 pm

• Voodoo Soup at Huc-A-Poos 🎵 Time: 10:00 pm - 1:00 am

Sunday, September 15th

• Equinox Jazz Brunch at Fleeting 🎵 Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

• Open Mic at Flashback 🎵 Time: 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

• Blake Eason at Vic's on the River 🎵 Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

• Open Mic at Mint to Be Mojito 🎤 Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

• Roy Swindelle at Nickie's 1971 🎵 Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

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