New Orleans Haunts

New Orleans Haunts

Vampire lore in French Quarter, New Orleans
December 20, 2024
Uncover centuries of vampire lore in New Orleans, from blood-curdling tales of the French Quarter to haunting legends of immortal beings that still captivate the city today.
a foggy photo of french quarter
October 21, 2024
The LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans' French Quarter is notorious for its dark past under Madame Delphine LaLaurie, where enslaved people faced brutal torment. Known for eerie sightings and unexplained sounds, it's one of the city's most haunted and chilling landmarks.
A sugar skull wearing a top hat surrounded by flowers
By Mike Huberty November 1, 2023
Join us in exploring the vibrant traditions of the Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, a celebration of the departed widely observed in Mexico and Latin America that is a fusion of cultures.
A poster for paranormal plantation : the haunting of the myrtles
By Mike Huberty August 1, 2023
Spanish moss hanging from towering oaks, garden statues resembling a woman and children turned to stone, and a grand antebellum home filled with curious antiques, The Myrtles Plantation certainly looks the part of a haunted Southern plantation house. Located in Louisiana's West Feliciana Parish, in the town of St. Francisville. It's about 100 miles northwest of New Orleans and 30 miles north of Louisiana's capital, Baton Rouge. It was built circa 1796 by General David Bradford, who was a leader in the Whiskey Rebellion, a protest against the newly-formed federal government's whiskey tax. After George Washington himself ordered Bradford’s execution, he fled to Louisiana, where Bradford eventually acquired the land that would become his plantation which he called Laurel Grove. The Myrtles Plantation has been called the most haunted house in America. The first reports of paranormal activity likely originated long ago within the families of former owners but were first written about in the 1900s and some of the Myrtles' ghost stories were documented during the Federal Writer's Project in 1941 and in the 1948 photolog, "Ghosts Along the Mississippi," by Clarence Laughlin. Many vacationers seeking a scare, including Hollywood luminaries Dan Aykroyd, Nicholas Cage, and Hilary Swank, have stayed the night. Unsolved Mysteries filmed there in 2002 and the Ghost Hunters shot an episode there in 2005 as well.  Chloe, a vengeful ghost? While David Bradford died in 1808, his daughter Sara married one of David’s law students Clark Woodruff and they operated the plantation there until Bradford’s wife died in 1831. The most famous of the reputed ghost stories at the house comes from this time. A slave named Chloe there was reportedly pressured or forced Chloe into being his mistress. According to Hester Eby, who gave tours at the Myrtles for almost thirty years, in an interview that we did in 2012, tells the story: The story of Chloe and the children began with the second owner Judge Clark Woodruff who supposedly took Chloe on as a mistress. She was caught eavesdropping some of the family's business that was not allowed. It was during the time that they believed whatever caused you to sin should be removed. So Judge Woodruff cut off her left ear. That left her so upset that she baked the birthday cake for his oldest daughter and used the juices from the Oleander leaf in that cake, killing the judge's wife, Sarah, and 2 of her children. And there are 3 of the ghosts along with Chloe that are still seen and heard here. And, of course, Chloe is a slave, but a lot of guests that tell us they see Chloe from the shoulders down, they see nothing but a blue mist of a shade from the neck up. She's a black woman with the large earring on the right ear, the left ear missing, and, of course, she's wearing a turban. This turban-wearing ghost, would come up in several pictures of the plantation, including the most recent one taken in 2017.
A painting of a woman wearing a turban and a necklace
By Mike Huberty July 12, 2023
New Orleans is a city full of contradictions. It's a place of great joy and great tragedy, of jazz and football, of Mardi Gras and haunted history. But perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this city is its association with voodoo, a religion that has a unique history and has been the subject of countless misconceptions. In the book "New Orleans Voodoo: A Cultural History" , written by Rory O’Neill Schmitt and her mother Rosary O’Neill, the authors provide an insightful and respectful exploration of a topic that is often misunderstood and demonized. Voodoo is not the black magic of Hollywood movies, nor is it a religion practiced by some "other" group of people. In fact, it is a spiritual practice that has its roots in West African animism, Roman Catholicism, and New World necessity. The authors offer a respectful and insightful exploration that shows how Voodoo is a normal way of seeing the world and finding spirituality in everyday life.
A large white house with a black fence in front of it
By Chris Callaghan June 14, 2023
Step inside American Horror Story Coven House, the iconic Buckner Mansion in New Orleans. Experience its haunting history and ghostly encounters firsthand.
A poster for the ghosts of magazine street shows a man walking down a sidewalk.
By Chris Callaghan April 26, 2023
When flames tore through the timber streets of New Orleans during the Great New Orleans Fire of 1788, they reduced the city to a shadow of its former self. But from the ashes, the seeds of progress were sown. With a blank canvas to work off, New Orleans could begin anew – and Magazine Street was at the heart of it.  Among the bustling markets, high-end hotels, family homes, and noisy schools, community life played out here against a backdrop of immigration, disease, and wild natural disasters. Residents and visitors have come and gone over the years, building a rich tapestry of curious myths and urban legends. Here, we’re taking a closer look at a few of the unexplained stories and paranormal mysteries surrounding this eclectic city, centered around historic Magazine Street. Deanie’s
A Haunted History of New Orleans
By Chris Callaghan April 19, 2023
Sitting on the banks of the swirling Mississippi River, New Orleans is known across the world for its rich jazz and blues heritage, delicious local cuisine, and melting-pot culture drawing on influences from Africa, Native America, Spain, and the Caribbean. But beyond the soaring high notes, sweeping river views, and bubbling bowls of gumbo, there lies a darker side to the Big Easy which you don’t read about in the travel brochures. Time to remove the Mardi Gras mask, and take a look at the more sinister face of this southern coastal Louisiana city. The New Orleans we see today traces its history back to 1718, when it was founded by the French. In the decades that followed, the city fell in and out of Spanish control, and then back to French control in 1803 – when the United States acquired the city in the Louisiana Purchase. Throughout the 19th century, New Orleans was the southern United States’ largest trading port – exporting most of the US’ cotton over to the West Indies and New England. By the time the Civil War broke out in 1861, New Orleans had become one of the largest cities in the south – and was one of the first to be captured by Union forces. Even as late as the early 20th century though, New Orleans’ Francophone character was still very much in evidence – with up to a quarter of the city’s population still using French as their first language. But this city has seen real suffering over the years – ravaged by outbreaks of yellow fever, malaria, cholera, and smallpox at the turn of the century, deluged during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, and battered in recent years by powerful storms such as Katrina (2005) and Ida (2021). And yet, even against this challenging backdrop, the city’s residents keep a resolute smile on their faces.  New Orleans Vodou and its Queen, Mary Laveau
 

Learn about the most spine-tingling, eerie and ghostly buildings in New Orleans, where paranormal activity is said to occur. From the iconic LaLaurie Mansion, notorious for its history of brutal torture and murder, to the historic Bourbon Orleans Hotel, which is rumored to be home to several spirits, each location has a unique and fascinating story to tell. Join us as we delve into the dark and mysterious world of haunted structures in New Orleans. Are you ready to explore the supernatural side of this iconic city?

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