Happy haunts materials in the city where the dead rise from their graves; New Orleans, Louisiana. On October 31, the streets of The Big Easycame alive with more than walking-dead tourists, but with ghosts and vampires as well. Having been conquered by European powers, the epicenter of violent rule and riddled by a corrupt aristocracy, New Orleans has a rich and haunting history.
Tour guide Dane points to an old tenement home near Toulouse Street in New Orleans. Photographed by Finn Martin/BruinLife.
Following the footsteps of the Creole Revolutionaries of 1768, the ghost tour proceeds down Pirate Alley. The French instigators of the Creole Revolution were chased down this alleyway by the forces of General Alejandro O’Reilly and caught and executed. Photographed by Finn Martin/BruinLife.
With the spookiest time of the year nearing its close, the city reflects on some of its most chilling tales.
The first home in New Orleans, as it turns out, is also home to one of the city’s oldest ghost tales. Explore this corner of Jackson Square to dine with a phantom. Photographed by Finn Martin/BruinLife.
Saint Louis Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and one of the oldest Catholic cathedrals in the continental United States, towers over Jackson Square. Photographed by Finn Martin/BruinLife.
The first house in New Orleans is a haunted mansion of sorts. Erected around the 1700s as a slave quarter, the original cottage burnt down twice, leaving only a phantom handprint folks say still appears in the resurrected construction today. Later on, the land was purchased by Jean Baptiste Destrehan who transformed it into a lavish mansion which he used to host pirates for the city’s liveliest citizens. However, as if cursed by a cranky spirit, the building burnt down twice in what are known as the Great New Orleans Fires. This is where the ghostly gallery begins.
Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan purchased the land and reestablished it as a home for the city’s most wealthy patrons. Jourdan lived there for many years with his wife and daughters, hosting galas and gambling parties all the while. Whether it be disaster or cruel fate, the man lost his home in 1814 while playing cards. Unable to live with his tragic loss he told his family he loved them, an unfamiliar show of affection for the uncaring father, and hung himself in his office.
Despite ownership of the house having changed hands multiple times over the centuries, the building remains haunted to this day. After opening its doors in 2001, the building’s current inhabitants, Muriel’s, was forced to shut down after three days of service. Some customers would complain about smells of rotting meat and while others would experience spectral interaction, leaving their feet soaked despite there being no water anywhere.
The restaurant’s owners called in a therapist for the dead who told them about the cranky spirit of Jourdan who haunts their walls. A seance was then called in the room where the ghost host hung himself. An intermediary between the living and dead told them of their specters demands of being fed wine, cheese and bread every night in his own private dining room under the restaurant. The owners of Muriel’s complied and have eased the aggravation of their resident evil ever since.
Now, patrons have the opportunity to share a spirit or glass of wine of their own in the room Jourdan hung himself or share a meal with him in his underground dining area.
The home of Madame Delphine still stands today unowned and as a haunting reminder of a dark corner in this city’s history. Where the balcony begins lays hidden the infamous floor and a half. Photographed by Finn Martin/BruinLife.
One of New Orleans’ most famous inhabitants was also one of its worst. Madame Delphine LaLaurie has been touted “The Worst Women in New Orleans” since she was seven years old. Where some troubled children would steal a praline or piece of candy, LaLaurie was setting her family’s slaves on fire. Since she was born into extravagance, LaLaurie was able to escape punishment, with only the faintest rumors of her actions haunting the town.
Once married at the age of 13, her husband died of “mysterious circumstances” while they were traveling to Spain. LaLaurie then came back to Louisiana where she met and married – and potentially killed – her second husband. LaLaurie now had multiple kids and was the toast of the town despite the reputation of her bad temper running rampant amongst the town. She would host “Midas Touch Parties” that would see her guests painted in real gold. There were also “Sahara Parties” where her servants buried diamonds, rubies and gold ingots in pits of sand around the house for the guests to take home.
After her father died of “mysterious circumstances,” she inherited the rest of her family’s wealth and became known as the most powerful woman in the world. With the world at her feet, a new husband in tow and no one to stop her, word began to spread of LaLaurie’s torture room. These rumors became all too real fact when her house was almost burnt down in a kitchen fire; the cause, one of her slaves trying to burn herself alive to escape torture at the hands of her mistress. When the firemen and court martial rescued her from the house, the woman began pleading for them to rescue her brother and sisters.
Upon rushing back into the mansion, they found a secret room filled with tortured servants. People were chained up, skin ripped off and bodies bleeding from limb to limb. There were said to be seven people held against their will in LaLaurie’s torture room; one of which was a 15 year old girl whose body was horribly contorted after being trapped in a dog cage for no one knows how long.
Despite these atrocities, LaLaurie escaped to Paris and lived another 25 years in luxury.
The hotel across the street once featured a private gentlemen’s club for the New Orleans elite. Photographed by Finn Martin/BruinLife.
These are but a few of the terrifying tales from one of America’s oldest cities. More stories of ghost chickens, vampires and pirates linger in the air of New Orleans that readers should experience for themselves.
