A ghost hunter claims to have spotted a “little girl” lurking in a supposedly haunted house – which previously served as the setting for the horror film A Savannah Haunting.
Kalani Smith, 24, of Nashville, Tennessee, claims he was invited by the crew to examine the set after they wrapped filming.
Released in April 2021, the film tells the story of a family who loses their young daughter in a tragic drowning incident and moves to Savannah.
But as it turns out, the true life story behind the film could be even more sinister than the on-screen story — at least according to ghostbusters and TikToker Kalani, who was stunned by what he believes to be the ghost of a young child who inhabited the property Savannah, Georgia, “haunted”.
Tennessee ghost hunter Kalani Smith claims he saw a “little girl” in the horror film “A Savannah Haunting” that was being filmed
In a video that went viral, he captured the moment he saw a “side profile of a little girl.”
The film was shot in the haunted house where film director William Mark McCullough grew up
After the film was completed, Kalani said he was hired to investigate the premises and brought his wife to camp in the allegedly haunted house for four days.
As soon as the ghostbuster entered the five-bedroom house, he immediately felt uncomfortable.
“The building has a unique energy – sometimes you definitely feel that something is watching you,” he said.
In a series of TikTok videos recorded inside the Savannah home – the most popular of which garnered 12.8 million views – he claimed to have captured a spooky image of someone on camera inside the house.
A white shape is sketched behind a lamp on TikTok – Kalani says “side profile of a little girl”.
He said, “Well, if you’ve seen the film, you know that’s an integral part of the story.”
Kalani explained that he was scared but proud to have captured such an impressive image on camera.
The 24-year-old explained that he was invited by the team to examine the set
As soon as the ghostbuster entered the five-bedroom house, he immediately felt uncomfortable
Kalani explained that he was scared but proud to have captured such an impressive image on camera
Kalani added, “We had a variety of different tools for ghost hunting, but catching the apparition on camera and turning on the camera were two of my best catches so far.
“Many people have reported strange experiences at the house before they even knew it was rumored to be haunted.
“The standards of paranormal activity here were very high and I wanted to see it for myself.
“It has always been a home, but the land it stands on has a dark past.
“I’m not sure of the original construction date, but the house was bought and renovated by the current owner’s father in the 1970’s.
“A multitude of people and investigators have said they believe a little girl is stalking the building – she served as inspiration for parts of the film.”
TikTok users were stunned, with some claiming to have spotted the ghost and others convinced there were more reasonable explanations.
He said: “Many people have reported strange experiences in the house even before they knew it was said to be haunted.”
“A multitude of people and investigators have said they believe a little girl is haunting the building – she served as inspiration for parts of the film,” he added
“The claims of paranormal activity here were very high and I wanted to see for myself,” the ghost hunter explained
One person said: “Sweet Jesus this is creepy and you stay there bbbsaallllssss 4.” [sic]
“To the right of the lamp is another face,” commented another user.
Someone else said, “Definitely looks like something trying to manifest.”
“Looks like an old lady to me,” said another user.
However, one critic claimed, “And that’s the reflection of the lamp in the window.”
“That’s dust reflected off the light!” Another user insisted.
The house is currently home to A Savannah Haunting director William Mark McCullough and is not open to the public.
McCullough did not live in the house during his childhood as his parents divorced and he mostly lived with his mother. But when he visited his father, he previously spoke of “scary” incidents he witnessed at the property.
The house is currently home to A Savannah Haunting director William Mark McCullough and is not open to the public
The film was released in April 2021 and follows the story of a family who loses their daughter and moves to Savannah
Speaking to Savannah Morning News, he revealed that “weird and creepy” things were always happening in the house and said it got “so bad” that he wouldn’t “go upstairs alone in the middle of the day.”
When McCullough’s business partner Alexis Nelson visited the home and experienced similar sinister events, she encouraged the director to write a screenplay based on the very haunted home he grew up in.
Filming on the film began in March 2020, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, production was pushed back just days before cameras started.
However, the film ran in August, but not without new challenges, leading both the cast and crew members to become increasingly frightened by their experiences in the haunted house.
The film could not hire extras due to the budget not being able to support the amount of COVID testing that had to be carried out on a regular basis, so the crew often acted as extras.
But when both the cast and crew began noticing spooky happenings, like tools disappearing, lights turning on and off, and even things reaching out and grabbing them, it presented an even greater obstacle for McCullough, as he didn’t want to lose its cast or crew, but the film director noted that it added an extra touch of authenticity to the set.
When production halted again due to COVID, the team decided to make a documentary about the story of the spooky house.
Speaking to Savannah Morning News, he revealed that “weird and creepy” things were always happening in the house
Both the cast and crew noticed spooky happenings like tools disappearing, lights turning on and off, and even things reaching out and grabbing them
The film director noted that they hired mediums, voodoo priestesses and a paranormal investigation team
The film director noted that they hired mediums, voodoo priestesses and a paranormal investigation team.
But as more and more experiences were made, several crew members and cast members threatened to leave the film because of the chilling events that had transpired inside.
Luckily, the “amazing” cast and crew stayed on set, which McCullough says helped get their “creative juices” flowing.
Before filming began, the team hired experts to hunt down the spooky ghosts and clean up the house, but each investigator noted that “there was a multitude of things going on in the house, it wasn’t just one thing.”
As the experts studied the haunted house, they asked the film director and his siblings about their personal experiences.
TikTok users were stunned, with some claiming to have spotted the ghost and others convinced there were more reasonable explanations
And since the siblings had never shared their stories with each other, they were shocked to learn they had experienced similar occurrences.
“Every day I went outside to check the mail and the TV was on.
“I went in and turned it off and that went on for weeks. I finally unplugged the TV. The next morning I went out to check the mail and the TV was on again.
“I go in there and it was unplugged, so I threw away the TV. My brother tells a story when he was there as a teenager, the same TV was on over and over.
“He’s never had a problem unplugging, but it’s interesting that the exact same thing happened to both of us, separated by about ten years,” the film’s director told Savannah Morning News.