Ghost Stories from Louisiana

I. The Weathered Annals of Time

In the deep, hollow crevices of New Orleans’ archives, swathed in the untouched centuries, lies the tale of dear Pere Dagobert. Once a cherished figure of faith within the community, this humble friar led his parish with a heart as large as the cathedral he worshipped in, the graceful Saint Louis Cathedral. Time, shrouded in its usual mystery, has transformed his existence into more myth than man. Yet, when kissed by the bluish-grey dawn, the venerable Saint Louis Cathedral seems to vibrate with a tremor of a mournful melody. Draw near, and the words may just unfurl, whispering a tale of sorrow, injustice, an unquenchable thirst for vindication.

Legend whispers that Pere Dagobert’s spirit continues to roam, bound to the trails of the living. Unseen but acutely felt, he remains a silent spectator of the world that unfolds a thousand changes every passing minute. But when the ethereal veil of fog descends, shrouding the cathedral in an eerie pallor, they say the spectral figure of Pere Dagobert emerges from the bounds of the inexplicable.

II. An Unsolvable Enigma

On more days than one, locals and tourists alike have narrated tales of the ethereal figure. A ghost, they claim, recognizable by the distinct priestly vestments draping a spectral figure. The name that slips off their tongue is that of Pere Dagobert- not in fear, but in a mix of reverence and sadness. Solemn eyewitnesses often speak of a figure, cloaked in the mystery of dusk, gliding along the boundaries of the cathedral with a melancholic aura that is more gut-wrenching than terrifying. Upon his lips, they say, lays an inaudibly faint chant adding rhythm to the silence of the otherwise bustling city.

III. The Vindictive Cadence

On days when the air hangs heavy with an inexplicable mournful silence, when the lively city seems to suspend in a time of its own, the echo of Pere Dagobert’s lament reverberates against the skyscraper-laced skyline of the city. Enshrouded in the ethereal mist, the phantom figure is almost perceivable- a poignant reminder of the unjust world he left behind. His chant, a rhythmic requiem of hope and despair, tells tales of past wrongs. The melody, they say, flows through the city folds as if probing for a justice long overdue.

IV. The Undead Priest of New Orleans

His spirit, they say, continues to inhabit the cathedral’s halls he once proudly served, with his spectral figure forever entwined in the city of New Orleans’ tapestry- A city where ghosts linger in the alleyways draped in the fragrance of beignets and chicory coffee. A city where the drumbeats of Mardi Gras sync with the throbbing heart of the Mississippi and in the echoes of centuries-old jazz clubs, you can perhaps hear the haunting cry for justice by Pere Dagobert. Let the city wash over you, and you may just see his spectral figure reflected in the Mississippi daybreak.

V. A Symphony of Sorrow

To listen to Dagobert’s dirge on a fog-swept morning is not just to listen but to step into the hallowed spaces between loss and sorrow. His mournful specter, emerging from the depths of despair, seems to contain the city’s historical injustices, resonating with loss and an unquenched yearning for redemption. Dagobert, the humble friar, the hallowed spirit, the spectral figure cloaked in mystery and fog, survives as an indelible motif of the city’s vibrant folklore. In the ghostly quiet of the cloister, Dagobert’s sorrowful symphony, in its harrowing beauty, continues to reverberate- a melancholic hymn that tells a tale of a city cloaked in mystery, forever shrouded in a mist of the past, forever yearning for justice under the mournful gaze of the phantasm friar.

Haunted Places, Louisiana, Southern Ghost Stories

Haunted Andrew Jackson Hotel – New Orleans, LA

April 27, 2025 MJ Cooper

Part 1: Prelude to a Haunting

In the intriguingly arcane city of New Orleans, where the cobblestone streets whisper tales of history and mystery, stands a monument to a tragic past — The Andrew Jackson Hotel. Distinctively haunted and soulfully charming, this edifice of ancient horrors hides a tale so eerie that it would make the bravest hearts shudder.

While the present-day structure attracts tourists with its rich, albeit grim, history and its vintage charm, its spectral past dates back to the late 1700s. In those days, the plot this austere edifice clues in was home to a boisterous boys’ home, harboring lost souls in the form of frail little hearts looking for affection. The echoes of their laughter and innocent chatters filled the air until one dreadful night when destiny played its cruel card.

A fire, unannounced and desperately wrecking, roared with disproportionate rage, engulfing the fragile wooden structure that those young spirits called home. All efforts to quench the vehement flames turned futile, and as the dawn broke, the boys’ home was reduced to blackened ashes, burying beneath it the charred remains of five innocent souls. But where the tales of mortal ends, the ethereal tale begins.

Part 2: Ghostly Chronicles of Room 208

There’s something about Room 208 that sets it apart from the rest of the restoration standing on the grave of the boys’ home. Something that raises goosebumps even on the skin of the non-believers. Something that makes the day seem strange, and night, stranger still.

Guests, with an appetite for an extraordinary tale, booking Room 208 often come back with a distinct tale of an eerie encounter. Their stories tiptoe on the line where reality blurs into the supernatural, and what’s left behind is inherent mystery splashed with a tinge of horror. Unearthly giggles, footsteps spiraling into an endless loop, and sudden whispers, like puzzled wind – Room 208 witnesses it all.

The dead of night often comes alive in Room 208 with inexplicable shenanigans. Outlandish noises that sober ears interpret as children playing disrupts the silence at ungodly hours. It’s as if they’re still there, enacting the echo of their earthly lives. As if the fiery tragedy hadn’t engulfed their existence, just their temporality.

In reality—or what one might discern as reality—the hotel is not only haunted with these bytes of uncanny sound but also by visions of these boys stuck in the loophole of time.

Part 3: Phantasmal Pageantry in Hallways

If it seems the haunted happenings are confined to Room 208, the hallways paint a different paranormal picture. Guests and staff alike have claimed to see apparitions of young boys, dressed in period attire, merry making down the corridors.

Perpetually locked in the playful spirit of youth, these spectral figures chase and jest with each other in an eerie dance of the dead. Their hollow laughter reverberates against walls, timeless faces peering from shadowed corners, and the echo of their tiny feet drumming against the wooden floors create a symphony of the spectral.

Sometimes, Jones — the night watchman — would share his ethereal encounters. His trail into the building led him to unexpected companions, the ghostly boys, who appeared from the realm of the other side, and with a rapt innocence, scurried back into the unseen.

“You never get used to them”, he’d say, the eerie encounters reflecting in his grey eyes, subtly etched with horror. It’s as if the bygone era was palpable, not just in the architecture but in the very air, much heavier with its burden of this tragically profound secret.

Part 4: A Haunted Hospitality

The area is not restricted to being a spectral playground. Guests have found themselves amidst unexpected encounters in their most private quarters, their rooms. Stories of sightings of these young apparitions appearing suddenly in the rooms are not uncommon.

Indigenous to their innocent era, and yet displaced from time, these children materialize, their grimly pallid figures startling guests in the depths of the night. Wondering the spectral labyrinths of the hotel, they turn up in places where their footprints seem faintly implausible.

Yet there they stand, sometimes singly, sometimes in groups; they peep through the curtain of reality, alarming the living with their performances of the eternal game of hide and seek. Their pitifully short mortal lives may have been savagely interrupted by a vicious fire, but in the otherworldly existence, they continue with uncanny vivacity, marking the Andrew Jackson Hotel with their innocent desperation.

Part 5: Legacy of the Lost Souls

Despite the haunting unsettling environment, the hotel stands resilient, unashamed of its spectral legacy, and rather indulges in it. It holds onto its phantasmal past, unapologetically revealing to the world its ghostly inhabitants who have chosen to cease their eternal journey and persist in a time warp.

Indeed, the Andrew Jackson Hotel not only memorializes a grim tragedy but serves as a chilling reminder of an untimely end and, consequently, an unending existence. It is not just a hotel standing tall on solid grounds but also a liminal space spiraling between two realms—human and supernatural.

Its beautiful exterior is not just an architectural marvel, but a façade behind which a gaggle of sprightly spirits plays their eternal pranks, marking the hotel’s legacy, which thrives in its spectral lore.

Both enchanting and chilling at the same time, the Andrew Jackson Hotel remains a testament to immortality, a portal to the realm beyond, and a soul-stirring symphony of spectral echoes playing in harmony with life and beyond.

Haunted Places, Louisiana, Southern Ghost Stories

The Dark Legacy of Madame LaLaurie Unveiled

April 26, 2025 MJ Cooper

Unholy Ground

The imposing structure known as the LaLaurie Mansion commands a spectral presence in the old heart of New Orleans, Louisiana. Like a festering scar in an otherwise vibrant and pulsating neighborhood, it perpetuates a legacy of violence and hatred soaked into its very foundations. The legend of the mansion is woven from threads of bloody history and dark deeds attributed to its original mistress, the scandalous Delphine LaLaurie.

Once a glittering jewel amidst societal elites, Madame LaLaurie was no ordinary woman of her time. Tales of her depravity and monstrosities inflicted upon her enslaved workers have seeped into the local folklore, forming an intricate tableau of torture and murder committed during the 19th century. It is, indeed, as if the mansion itself has inhaled the fragrance of these horrific acts, poisoning it from within.

Visitors lured by morbid curiosity do not escape untouched. As they cross the invisible threshold to this realm of the undying past, they become acutely aware of a relentless barrage of wrenching cries and desperate pleas hanging in the air. The screams paint audible portraits of unimaginable nightmare, creating an atmosphere taut with anguish. Intruders are left to quiver in the delicious thrill of terror, their nerves humming with acute sensitivity as they peer into the mansion’s eternal abyss.

Ghost Chronicles

The haunted house phenomenon is far from novel, yet the LaLaurie Mansion boasts its own special brand of terror. If rumors are lent an ear, the mansion’s spectral inhabitants are not just mere echoes of the departed. They bear witness to their heinous fates, manifesting as ghostly apparitions still carrying the visceral marks of their gruesome ends.

Explorers of the paranormal have reported chilling sightings of these spectral slaves, their ethereal forms writhed in silent agony. They are trapped in their unearthly shapes, forever acting out the theatre of their suffering, forever marked by the brutality of their unwarranted deaths. These spectral figures lurk in each crevice and corner of the mansion, intermittently revealing their tortured forms to the living as a tense reminder of the mansion’s tormented history.

Psychic Revelations

In their quest to uncover the truths buried in the mansion, countless self-proclaimed ghost hunters and psychics have dared to stride into the Mouth of Madness. They come armed with their EVP recorders and spirit boxes, drawn in like moths to a piercing flame, each seeking traces of the mansion’s spectral inhabitants and validation of the haunting rumors.

Upon investigation, these mystical emissaries of the living do little to dispel the rumors. Instead, they return with stories that amplify the terror tenfold, recounting episodes of sudden temperature drops, eerie whispers that caressed their earlobes, and inexplicable movements traced back to unseen entities. Their tales ultimately solidify the consensus that the mansion is an active hotspot for paranormal activity, a terrifying nucleus in an otherwise unassuming city.

Echoes of History

Perhaps the chilling unnatural presence echoing within the mansion isn’t born out of a sense of vengeance. Certainly, not every spirit bound to the Earth seeks to avenge their deaths. What it might be, quite simply, is a residual echo of the horrible torments endured within the mansion’s cruel walls, inflicted by the demonic Madame LaLaurie herself.

Historical records across the centuries whisper tales of Delphine’s monstrous fascination with physical torment. Her polite exterior masked a raw, terrifying capacity for cruelty, one that her slaves bore the brunt of. The echoes of the wailing cries, the spectral figures, and the chilling drops in temperature could be a testament to the endless cycle of suffering once experienced within this unholy ground.

Unending Suffering

Above all, the LaLaurie Mansion stands as a chilling epitaph to a time when lives were bartered and humanity was secondary to one’s sadistic pleasure. The legacy of Madame LaLaurie, a perverse Jorge Sangriento of her time, continues to be immortalized in these tragic hauntings, suffusing the mansion’s oxygen with fear and an insurmountable sense of dread.

It bears testament to the suffering experienced by those who had the fatal misfortune of being owned by Delphine LaLaurie. And it stretches out its invisible fingers to anyone who dares to approach, making them experience a portion of the fear that suffused the house centuries ago. It is indeed a grim reminder that history rides the wind, and the echoes of past horrific deeds of mankind reverberate endlessly through time.

Therein lies the terror of the LaLaurie Mansion: an example of humanity’s potential for cruelty, its ghosts forever reminding the world of their unending suffering.

Haunted Places, Louisiana, Southern Ghost Stories

Marie Laveau,Voodoo Queen of New Orleans – Marie Catherine Laveau

February 22, 2020 MJ Cooper 4 Comments

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Marie Laveau, Voodoo Queen of New Orleans– Marie Catherine Laveau (September 10, 1801 – June 15, 1881) was a Louisiana Creole practitioner of Voodoo, who was renowned in New Orleans. Her daughter, Marie Laveau II, (1827 — c. 1862) also practiced rootwork, conjure, Native American and African spiritualism and Catholicism as well as Louisiana or what is known today as New Orleans Voodoo.Historical records surmise that Marie Laveau was born free in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, Thursday September 10, 1801. She was the biological daughter of Marguerite Henry (also known as Marguerite D’Arcantel), a free woman of colour who was of Native American, African and French descent, and Charles Laveau Trudeau, surveyor & politician. On August 4, 1819, she married Jacques Paris (also known as Jacques Santiago, in other records), a French immigrant who had fled as a white refugee from the black Haitian Revolution in the former French territory Saint-Domingue.Their marriage certificate is preserved in the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. The wedding mass was performed by Father Antonio de Sedella, the Capuchin priest known as Pere Antoine.

The death of Jacques Paris was recorded in 1820.He was part of a large French immigration of refugees to New Orleans in 1809, after the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804.They had two daughters, Felicite in 1817 and Angele in 1820. Both disappear from the records in the 1820s.Little is known with certainty about the life of Marie Catherine Laveau. Marie Catherine (1801-1881) was approximately 1/3 each African, Native American and white.Laveau’s only two children to survive into adulthood were daughters. The elder named Marie Euchariste Eloise Laveau (1827-1860-2), the second daughter was named Marie Philomene Glapion (1836-1897). It is not known which of these daughters went on to become Marie II.

Following the reported death of her husband, she entered a domestic partnership with Christophe Dominick Duminy de Glapion, (a white man of French descent) with whom she lived until his death in 1855. They were reported to have had 15 children (or, perhaps fifteen children and grandchildren).They had 7 children according to birth and baptismal records.While it is difficult to determine the histories of the two Maries in tradition, it is believed that the elder Marie was a dedicated practitioner of Voodoo. The younger displayed more theatrical rubrics by holding public events (including inviting attendees to St. John’s Eve rituals on Bayou St. John). “Laveau was said to have traveled the streets like she owned them” said one New Orleans boy who attended an event at St. John’s.It is not known which (if either) had done more to establish the voodoo queen reputation.

Marie Laveau started a beauty parlor where she was a hair-dresser for the wealthier families of New Orleans.Of Laveau’s magical career, there is little that can be substantiated, including whether or not she had a snake she named Zombi after an African god, whether the occult part of her magic mixed Roman Catholic saints with African spirits, or whether her divinations were supported by a network of informants she developed while working as a hairdresser in prominent white households. She appeared to excel at obtaining inside information on her wealthy patrons by instilling fear in their servants whom she either paid or cured of mysterious ailments.On June 17, 1881, it was announced in the Daily Picayune that Marie Laveau had died peacefully in her home. However, oral tradition states that she was seen by some people in town after her supposed demise.One of her daughters, also named Marie (a French Catholic tradition to have the first names of daughters be Marie, and boys Joseph, then each use middle name as common name) possibly assumed her position, with her name, and carried on her magical practice, taking over as the queen soon before or after the first Marie’s death.

Marie Catherine Laveau Paris Glapion died on June 15, 1881, aged 79.The different spellings of her surname result from many different women with the same name in New Orleans at the time, and her age at death from conflicting accounts of her birth date.Laveau’s name and her history have been surrounded by legend and lore. In 1982, New Jersey-based punk rock group The Misfits were arrested and accused of attempting to exhume Laveau from her grave after a local concert. The arrest took place in nearby Cemetery No. 2 and there are conflicting accounts of the incident.

Marie Laveau is generally believed to have been buried in plot 347, the Glapion family crypt in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans,but this has been disputed by Robert Tallant, a journalist who used her as a character in historical novels.Tourists continue to visit and some draw X marks in accordance with a decades-old tradition that if people wanted Laveau to grant them a wish, they had to draw an X on the tomb, turn around three times, knock on the tomb, yell out their wish, and if it was granted, come back, circle their X, and leave Laveau an offering.

The tomb in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1 was vandalized by an unknown person on December 17, 2013, by being painted over with pink latex paint. The paint was removed because the structure is made of old plaster and the latex paint would seal in moisture that would destroy the plaster. Some historical preservation experts criticized the decision by officials of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, who maintain the cemetery, for their decision to use pressure washing rather than paint stripper to remove it.

As of March 1, 2015, there is no longer public access to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. Entry with a tour guide is required because of continued vandalism and destruction of tombs. This change was made by the Archdiocese of New Orleans to protect the tombs of the Laveau family as well as those of the many other dead interred there.

Although some references to Marie Laveau in popular culture refer to her as a “witch,” she is properly described as a ‘Voodoo queen’.Because of her prominence within the history of Voodoo in New Orleans, Laveau has inspired a number of artistic renditions.

In visual art, the African American artist Renee Stout often uses Laveau as a visual motif.

Numerous songs about Marie Laveau have been recorded, including “Marie La Veau” by Papa Celestin, “Marie Laveau” written by Shel Silverstein and Baxter Taylor and recorded by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show (1972), and Bobby Bare (1974), “The Witch Queen of New Orleans” (1971) by Redbone, “Dixie Drug Store” by Grant Lee Buffalo, “X Marks the Spot (Marie Laveau)” by Joe Sample, “Marie Laveau” by Dr. John, “Marie Laveau” (2013) by Tao Of Sound, “Voodoo Queen Marie” to the minstrel tune “Colored Aristocracy” by The Holy Modal Rounders, “The Witch Queen of New Orleans” by Total Toly, and “The Widow Paris” by The Get Up Kids. Most recently the Danish metal band Volbeat released an album with a song entitled “Marie Laveau” (Seal The Deal & Let’s Boogie, 2016). Marie Laveau is mentioned in the song “I Will Play for Gumbo” (1999) by Jimmy Buffett and “Clare” by The Fairground Attraction. Two of Laveau’s nephews, banjoist Raymond Glapion and bassist Alcide “Slow Drag” Pavageau, became prominent New Orleans jazz musicians.

Laveau has offered inspiration for a number of fictional characters as well.

She is the protagonist of such novels as Robert Tallant’s The Voodoo Queen (1956), Francine Prose’s eponymous Marie Laveau (1977), and Jewell Parker Rhodes’ Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau (1993). Laveau appears as a supporting character in the Night Huntress novels by Jeaniene Frost, as a powerful ghoul still living in New Orleans in the 21st century. She also appears as a background character in Barbara Hambly’s Benjamin January mystery series, set in New Orleans. Marie Laveau appears in Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods, under her married name, Marie Paris. Marie Laveau’s tomb is the site of a secret, fictional underground Voodoo workshop in the Caster Chronicles novel Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Laveau’s grave site is the setting of a pivotal scene in Robert J. Randisi’s short story, “Cold As The Gun,”,\ from Foreshadows: The Ghosts of Zero. The mother of Hazel Levesque, one of the characters from Rick Riordan’s The Heroes of Olympus book series, was known as “Queen Marie,” a famous fortune teller who lived in New Orleans. In Charlaine Harris’ True Blood (Sookie Stackhouse novels) book series, the character Hadley is lured to her death at the site of Marie Laveau’s tomb.

A character named Marie Laveau, based loosely on the real Marie Laveau, appears in Marvel Comics. She first appeared in Dracula Lives #2 in 1973.She is depicted as a powerful sorceress and Voodoo priestess with great magical powers and knowledge of arcane lore, including the creation of a potion made from vampire’s blood that keeps her eternally youthful and beautiful.A character named Marie Laveau also appears in the Italian comic book Zagor.

In television, a heavily fictionalized Marie Laveau (portrayed by Angela Bassett) appears as a character in American Horror Story: Coven and American Horror Story: Apocalypse.She also appears in the Canadian television series Lost Girl (portrayed by Marci T. House) in episode 11 of season 4, Young Sheldon (portrayed by Sharon Ferguson) in episode 7 of season 1, and Legends of Tomorrow (portrayed by Joyce Guy) in episode 7 of season 4.LOUISIANA VOODOO( Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, describes a set of spiritual folkways developed from the traditions of the African diaspora. It is a cultural form of the Afro-American religions developed by West and Central Africans populations of the U.S. state of Louisiana, though its practitioners are not exclusively of African-American descent. Voodoo is one of many incarnations of African-based spiritual folkways rooted in West African Dahomeyan Vodun. Its liturgical language is Louisiana Creole French, the language of the Louisiana Creole people.

Voodoo became syncretized with the Catholic and Francophone culture of New Orleans as a result of the African cultural oppression in the region resulting from the Atlantic slave trade. Louisiana Voodoo is often confused with—but is not completely separable from—Haitian Vodou and Deep Southern Hoodoo. It differs from Haitian Vodou in its emphasis upon gris-gris, Voodoo queens, use of Hoodoo paraphernalia, and Li Grand Zombi. It was through Louisiana Voodoo that such terms as gris-gris (a Wolof term) and “Voodoo dolls”‘ were introduced into the American lexicon.)( THE GHOST OF MARIE LAVEAU ,QUEEN OF VOODOO,NEW ORLEANS USA .,The St. Louis Cemetery #1 in New Orleans, Louisiana, is considered the most haunted cemetery in all of the United States.

This graveyard is said to be haunted by the ghost of the infamous Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau. Her ghost has been reported inside the cemetery, walking between the tombs wearing a turban and mumbling a Santería Voodoo curse to trespassers. Some people swear they have seen her disappear into thin air when approached.

Her grave is visited by the faithful, curious and desperate year round. Many come to her tomb and place small offerings there, like candles, flowers, Mardi Gras beads, Voodoo dolls, trinkets and food in hopes of being blessed by her supernatural powers from beyond the grave. Many have been known to make a wish at her tomb. If that wish is fulfilled, they return and mark her tomb with three X’s to show their appreciation. Others say that her ghost appears as a sleek Voodoo cat with red, glowing eyes. They say the cat walks right through Laveau’s sealed tomb door and disappears inside, as if the door wasn’t even there.

Marie Laveau, one thing is absolutely certain–no one in New Orleans was ever more renowned, influential, respected, powerful and feared than the Queen of Voodoo, Marie Laveau. And, as evidenced by the many X’s scribbled on her tomb, to this day, she is still casting spells and granting wishes from beyond the grave!
ADDRESS Saint Louis Cemetery Number 1
New Orleans
Orleans Parish
Louisiana, USA
GPS (lat/lon): 29.95371, -90.06502

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Louisiana

The Highway Time Travellers – Abbeville, Louisiana

October 30, 2018 MJ Cooper 29 Comments

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In October 1969, two men identified only as L.C. and his business associate, Charlie, were driving north from Abbeville, Louisiana toward Lafayette on Highway 167. As they were driving along the nearly empty road, they began to overtake what appeared to be an antique car travelling very slowly. The two men were impressed by the mint condition of the nearly 30 year-old car as it looked virtually new, and were puzzled by its bright orange license plate on which was stamped only “1940.” They figured, however, that the car had been part of some antique auto show.

As they passed the slow-moving vehicle, they slowed their car to get a good look at the old model. The driver of the old car was a young woman dressed in vintage 1940’s clothing, and her passenger was a small child likewise dressed. The woman seemed panicked and confused. L.C. asked if she needed help and, through her rolled up window, indicated “yes.” L.C. motioned for her to pull off to the side of the road. The businessmen pulled ahead of the old car and turned onto the shoulder of the road.

When they got out however the old car had vanished without a trace. There were no turn-offs or anywhere else the vehicle could have gone. Moments later, another car pulled up to the businessmen and, quite puzzled, said he had seen their car pull off to the side… and the old car simply vanished into thin air.

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Haunted Places, Louisiana

The Myrtles Plantation, St. Francisville, Louisiana

October 22, 2018 MJ Cooper 1 Comment

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Commonly known as one of America’s most haunted homes, the Myrtles Plantation started off as a working mansion during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It’s an extravagant example of the grandeur that characterized plantations during that time period; the French chandelier in the mansion’s foyer is Baccarat crystal and weighs over 300 pounds. Today, it’s a bed and breakfast.

Rumor has it that the house was built on top of a former burial ground, and throughout the years there have been numerous ghost sightings. The most well-known being Chloe, who was allegedly a former slave at the plantation.

The legends that surround Chloe vary, but most say she poisoned the plantation owner’s two children, and was then hung by her fellow slaves. Chloe is said to have appeared as an apparition in a photograph taken by the plantation’s proprietress in 1992.

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Haunted Places, Louisiana

The Haunting of the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse

September 29, 2018 MJ Cooper 8 Comments

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Calcasieu Parish Courthouse

Calcasieu Parish Courthouse is located in Louisiana and is said to be haunted by the ghost of an executed female inmate.

On November 28, 1942, Toni Jo Henry became the only woman to be executed by means of the electric chair in Louisiana. She had broken her husband out of jail, and together with another accomplice, they robbed, tortured, and murdered Joseph P. Calloway. They hid his body in a haystack in the eastern part of Calcasieu Parish. Henry received the death sentence after three trials. Before her execution, she spoke with her husband one last time. On her final day, she seemed jovial, only complaining when they cut off her hair.

Visitors and employees of the Calcasieu Parish courthouse are convinced that Henry’s spirit is haunting the place. They have reported unexplained electrical malfunctions, the smell of hair burning mixed with cheap perfume, equipment starting up by itself, as well as flickering lights and the sense that someone was watching them when no one else was around. Some have even reported hearing the voice of a woman in the distance, a door locking by itself, and screams echoing through a stair landing.

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Haunted Places, Louisiana, Southern Ghost Stories

Lafittes Blacksmith Shop – New Orleans, LA

February 26, 2017 MJ Cooper

It isn’t every day that you see a haunted site, and even more so uncommon is a Blacksmith’s shop. Well in New Orleans you get both! Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop however has been repurposed, and is now supposedly the oldest “bar” in the United States. The building where it resides was built around 1772 and is one of few that survived the two great fires of New Orleans, in 1788 and 1794. This building happens to be one of few remaining buildings built by the earliest pioneers using soft clay bricks from the Mississippi River.

jean lafittes blacksmith shop - new orleans, louisiana

In 1806, Jean Lafitte and his brother Pierre (a notorious pair) established their blacksmith shop along St. Philip St. as a base to sell the pirated goods and also to expand their smuggling business after
the “Embargo Act” forbade American ships from docking at foreign ports. Jean Lafitte was a prolific businessman who changed the pirates’ smuggling business from unorganized crimes into a well-run thriving criminal business. He consistently scheduled auctions of the pirated goods in New Orleans and also directly from the pirates’ warehouses in Barataria.

Jean Lafitte became famous during the war in 1812 when he helped defend the city of New Orleans from attacks at the hands of the British. This made Lafitte a local legend, which led to the further expansion of his illegal enterprise. The more money he made, the more ships he acquired to speed up operations. He took customer service to its peak by organizing his own fleet of barges that made speedy deliveries of the auctioned goods to their new owners. He profited enormously from his illegal activities and had mansions both in New Orleans and in Barataria.

Jean Lafitte - Privateer

Jean Lafitte was a handsome man who had many mistresses but one true love, the wife of the Governor. This affection made him a bad enemy of the governor, which helped in fueling nosey authorities suspicious of his operations.

There are so many stories about Jean Lafitte that makes it difficult to know what to believe. Some researchers assert that he was a pirate while others claimed that he was just a gentleman privateer. The difference between pirates and privateer involves only a few scary differences. A pirate is a ruthless killer that attacks ships and towns while a privateer sails on armed ships that carries letter of marquee from a country at war, which gave them the legitimate right to attack weaker commercial ships that sails under enemy flags.

A privateer could retain and offer any captured enemy vessel and its cargo. In the real sense, these privateers assaulted any weaker ship, paying little heed to the flag it sailed under, murder the entire crew and sold the cargo. The small Louisiana town of Barataria, about 60 miles south of New Orleans, was a favorite home for most of these pirates. The local merchants had intention of buying the low priced, stolen goods, but they were hesitant to deal with the dangerous pirates.

When Columbia started procuring privateers to man ships in Columbia’s new navy, to assault Spanish ships, Jean Lafitte for the first time joined their force and was part of a government-run plan to attack Spanish ships. Some say that he retired to his beloved Louisiana after that incident; others say that he died in a battle with one of these merchant vessels.

Since the days of the Columbian battle against the Spanish, locals have sworn that Jean Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop was haunted by evil spirits.

Most people described that the chimney on the first floor bar section of the building is surrounded by an unwholesome or dark aura (most likely Jean), with random cold pockets of surrounding air. They claim that when his spirit is not hiding in the chimney, he has appeared in the dark corners of the first floor, looking irritated and scowling at the living, while jerking his mustache with his gloved hands. He disappears quickly when seen by witnesses.

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Louisiana, Southern Ghost Stories

Myrtle’s Plantation – St. Francisville, Louisiana

February 25, 2014 MJ Cooper

A lot of folks claim this is one of America’s most haunted homes. There have been report of over ten deaths within the home, and around twelve ghosts. The haunting of Myrtle’s plantation was covered by Unsolved Mysteries in 2002, the home was also featured on Ghost Hunters in 2005.

The most popular story is the one of a slave girl named ‘Chloe’ who occupied the home in the early eighteen hundreds. There are a few variations of the story but most popular is the belief that she was the mistress of the slave master, Mark Woodruff. Supposedly the slave master cut her ear off for meddling in his affairs. In retaliation she poisoned the mother, Sara and the two daughters using extract from Oleander leaves baked into a cake. She was later hung or drowned as punishment, there is no record as to which actually occurred.

Ghost sitings include the children who were murdered in the home seen playing outside. An attorney William Winter who resided there from 1860 to 1871. Winter was shot on the side-porch by a stranger and staggered into the house, up the stairs. It is said that his last dying footsteps can still be heard on the staircase to this day; this is the only murder which has been verified. Other ghosts, including the slaves allegedly show up to ask visitors if they can do any chores for them. Guests and employees of the Plantation say they have heard the Grand Piano play by itself, repeating a haunting chord.

myrtle-plantation