It’s Halloween in New Orleans and no city on earth does it better. NOLA is essentially a three-hundred-year-old European city in the heart of the American south. That alone is weird enough. But the city’s history is swimming in every manner of macabre tale you can imagine – and some you likely don’t want to imagine – ever. Most of the stories are embellished to the extreme of course, however, some are supported by mountains of legitimate evidence.
The LaLaurie Mansion
At 1140 Royal Street stands the legendary LaLaurie Mansion, where many of New Orleans’ most storied and dangerous ghosts are said to reside. The old house’s namesake, Madame Delphine, was born Marie Delphine Macarty. The daughter of an aristocratic family, she would later come to be known as a monster responsible for unspeakable cruelties. Two of her husbands died in unusual circumstances, but it was her third marriage that sparked real outrage. This final bout with matrimony was said to have driven her to utter madness inside the mansion, which she inhabited with her much younger husband and her children. Reports circulated of the horrific abuses which Madame Delphine visited upon her slaves and even her own daughters.
The Fire
In the spring of 1834, LaLaurie Mansion caught fire during a party. The local fire brigade was forced to access otherwise forbidden sections of the house revealing of a number of slaves who were chained and being tortured, starved, and beaten. With her arrest imminent, Madame Delphine and her family fled the scene in a horse-drawn carriage – most believed to Canada and eventually back to her home country of France. The New Orleans press overflowed with the shocking events as there were both reporters and members of New Orleans’ upper crust society on hand when it all took place. It is believed by many that most of the spirits which allegedly haunt the house are those of the deceased slaves.
Two-Hundred-Years of Unexplained Phenomenon
The house has changed hands many times since the tragic events unfolded, including a brief ownership by actor Nicolas Cage who famously was unable to spend even one night in the mansion and was witnessed running down Royal Street screaming in the middle of the night. He sold the property shortly thereafter.
What has really happened inside that house? Good question – likely unanswerable.
But I can tell you this, Halloween in New Orleans is one of those bucket list entries that if you are so inclined, you will never forget. I’m a huge believer in enjoying powerful, emotionally charged experiences and Samhain / All Hallows Eve in NOLA fits the bill like no other. It’s just a little bit of spooky and a whole lot of happy! (careful though…she bites)
BOO!
Check out the Happiness 2.0 Podcast – https://podcast.edwardgdunn.com/
