Killers, Crimes and Bloody Times

In his newest book, author Derek Smith recounts a grisly decade as a Savannah crime reporter

Written by ZACHARY HAYES

TALES OF SAVANNAH'S FAMOUSLY DARK AND MYSTERIOUS UNDERBELLY have long been dominated by restless spirits and haunted mansions, but author Derek Smith is here to make the case for another uniquely blood-curdling horror: the deeds of man.

Known for his series of historical nonfiction titles, in his 10th and latest book, "Bloody Savannah," Smith breathes new life into some of the most twisted, deranged and downright strange cases he covered during his tenure as a crime reporter for the Savannah News-Press during the '80s and 'gos, including the particularly brutal year of 1985, when metro Savannah held the undesirable superlative of the nation's highest murder rate.

Alongside the city's brushes with infamous serial killers and cop-killer manhunts lie peculiar accounts of a "Scarecrow" killer, a slain voodoo priest and fatal squabbles over chicken dinners and $4 hamburger debts.

"I was going to cover whatever it was," says Smith. "Good, bad or ugly."

The book, published by McFarland, also features a number of Savannah's most gruesome and frustrating cold cases, a chilling dose of mystery that Smith hopes might bring justice to some of the city's forgotten victims. "I wanted to bring these cold cases back to the public attention," says Smith. "Just on the chance that it might rattle somebody's memory."

To add this book to your Halloween reading list, visit mcfarlandbooks.com/bloody-savannah.