Haunted sites to begin your exploration of New Orleans.
When we think of New Orleans, images of Mardi Gras, Bourbon Street, jazz festivals and Girls Gone Wild come to mind. Not many people are aware that New Orleans has a more sinister side to it. Tales of voodoo and ghosts abound in the city that is considered the most haunted city in the United States. Here, we'll discuss two of the most haunted sites to visit in New Orleans: the LaLaurie Mansion and the haunted Castle Inn.
LaLaurie Mansion
Chances are, if you take one of the many haunted tours that operate in New Orleans, the LaLaurie Mansion will be on the top of their list. Unspeakable horrors occurred in this mansion in the early 1800s. Some feel these horrors have left an evil spiritual mark on this residence that is still powerful to this day. The story goes that a doctor and his wife, Delphine, moved into this mansion in 1832. They loved throwing exquisite parties and those of high society admired their expensive tastes. There was a dark side to the doctor's wife, however. She was inhumanly cruel to the slaves that worked for her, often whipping them and torturing them to death. People did not realize the true horror until a fire broke out in the mansion. The fire fighters were appalled upon finding a secret room filled with both dead and barely living slaves who had been tortured beyond recognition. Body parts were cut off and reattached on different parts of the body. Some had their organs spilling out of their bodies and their mouths and eyes sewn shut. Horrified by these findings a lynch mob surfaced but the doctor and his wife were nowhere to be found. They were never heard from again. The mansion was rebuilt and made into a high school, then a dancing school, and then abandoned. It was said that vagrants who entered the building for shelter never came out and that groans and screams can often be heard from within the walls. Currently, the mansion has been rebuilt into apartments, but who knows how long the tenants may stick around.
Castle Inn
If you are feeling a little brave, spend the night at the Castle Inn, a bed and breakfast that is claimed to be haunted. Visitors agree that stepping into the inn is like being transported to the 1800s, during the Civil War. There are thirteen guest rooms with New Orleans inspired themes and names like The Bordello Room and The Jazz Emporium. It has been said that the Castle Inn is haunted by two distinct spirits that several guests have witnessed mainly on the top floors. The bed and breakfast was built in the late 1800s over ground that once housed a plantation. Guests have told of ghostly occurrences like hearing a girl giggling, hearing someone running up and down the stairs, smelling smoke, having keys misplaced and televisions unplugged and seeing the two spirits in their rooms. One spirit is said to belong to a little girl who drowned on the plantation grounds. The other spirit is a young black man who died in a fire in the house.
There is no shortage of ghostly happenings in New Orleans. Ghost tours, voodoo tours and overnight stays at haunted mansions and inns are just a few of the many paranormal excursions you can take on your haunted New Orleans tour.
