1. New Orleans’ Haunted History: Explore the intriguing tales of ghosts, spirits, and dark history that give New Orleans its reputation as the most haunted city in America.
2. Unique Haunted Locations: Discover must-visit haunted landmarks and historical sites that are central to the city’s ghostly lore.
3. Voodoo and Vampire Legends: Understand the role of voodoo culture alongside fascinating vampire legends that have become synonymous with New Orleans.
New Orleans has a fascinating haunted history. There has been a lot of intrigue, mystery, and murder throughout its 300-year existence giving the dead good reason for its reputation as the most haunted city in America. These are the most haunted places in New Orleans that you can explore on a tour or on your own.
When you visit, you must make sure to check out some haunted New Orleans tours, visit its many graveyards, and explore the city after dark.
Most Haunted Places in New Orleans
We had done a couple of haunted New Orleans tours on prior visits to the city, but it was with Historic New Orleans Tours that we had the best explanation as to why this city is considered so haunted. Each tour guide has their own version of New Orleans hauntings, and you’ll have a blast if you go into your tour with an open mind.
It’s more fun if you let yourself believe the stories and envision ghosts and spirits all around the city. Naturally, none of these stories can be proven fact; you either believe in ghosts or not. But if there is one place in the US where you just might be converted to believing, it is here. Read on to find out why.
New Orleans Haunted Tours – All Your Questions Answered
It could be due to its voodoo past or years of debauchery; with murders, revolts, and as legend has it, people buried under homes and within their walls, there are numerous reasons for tortured souls to be restless. However, there is a bit more to it than that. Our guide Brittany explained that the elements play a part too.
Water, Weather, and Wind Contribute to Hauntings
Haunted places usually have a lot of water around them. New Orleans is surrounded by a significant amount of water. It’s not just a coastal city; it is engulfed in water from Lake Pontchartrain to the Mississippi River.
With canals and tributaries leading out to Lake Borgne that eventually connects to the Gulf of Mexico, New Orleans is the perfect fluid place for the undead to move freely.
Wind also travels freely through New Orleans. The city design was made to mimic the effects of the cooling breeze from shady trees. Through wind corridors, spirits can easily hitch a ride on the currents of air pounding through the city.
I tend to believe in the elements playing a part in the supernatural. Since New Orleans is a virtual supernatural conductor of the afterlife, you have many chances to come in contact with the spirits of the city.
History Plays a Huge Part in Hauntings in New Orleans
Brittany told us of a dark history of New Orleans dating back to 1718. However, before that, the Indigenous People of the area lived here for 1500 years using this as the main trading route.
When a land has been around for this long, there are sure to be spirits lingering behind. However, it really is the recent history that has the blood and violence leading to hauntings.
Founded by French Canadian Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville who claimed the delta for France, New Orleans changed hands many times over the centuries. Nobody from France really wanted to settle in New Orleans since it was considered a swamp and was rife with disease.
The French rounded up criminals, sending them to the new land to establish a settlement.
The city was originally fortified by swamps, disease, and bad weather, making it a good place for the settlers and criminals to flourish if they could survive the elements.
The early arrivals had their ways of combating malaria and yellow fever by following the African traditions of burning incense.
They thought they were appeasing the Gods, but little did they know that it was the incense keeping the mosquitoes away.
It was the Europeans who contributed to the deadly Yellow Fever outbreak of 1853 when they put an end to the African practices of burning incense and instead relied solely on faith.
1. Fort St. Charles Haunting
Criminals managed to escape easily after their arrival but were eventually rounded up and put into Fort St. Charles, where they were kept in horrid conditions causing many to go insane.
Fort St. Charles was one of the first stops on our tour. The grounds were turned into the US Mint and then transformed into the National Museum Complex.
Despite undergoing many renovations, the souls still haunt the land. Legend says the fort was captured by the Spanish, and anyone who insulted Spain was hanged. Within the walls of this fort, several young men were rounded up and publicly executed. The prisoners and the boys are said to still haunt the fort to this day.
2. Murder and Intrigue – Lalaurie Mansion Calle de Hospital
One of the more unsettling locations we visited was the LaLaurie Mansion from American Horror Story: Coven on Calle de Hospital.
Madame LaLaurie was New Orleans’ answer to Lizzy Borden. Though Lizzy Borden was accused of killing her father and stepfather with an axe, Madame LaLaurie’s story is far more gruesome. Married three times (twice widowed), she became notorious for her dark deeds.
During a fire that broke out at one of her many parties, a slave woman accused Madame LaLaurie of hideous acts. Terrified, she told authorities she would rather die than step foot in the horror house of Hospital Street.
When police investigated, they found slaves in cages, disemboweled, chained to walls, and missing limbs sewn to other parts of their bodies.
This disturbing woman not only conducted experiments on her slaves but also invited her partygoers to join in. It is one of the darkest and most frightening tales we’ve ever encountered, leaving us questioning how anyone could live in this house today.
3. Saint Louis Cemetery Number One
Speaking of Nicolas Cage, he has another connection to haunted places. He purchased a large pyramid in Saint Louis Cemetery Number One, which is the city’s most notable resting place.
A visit to New Orleans would not be complete without stopping here. Due to the low water table in the region, many are buried above ground in tombs and grand monuments, creating a beautiful yet eerie setting.
St. Louis Cemetery Number One is filled with famous residents, the most notable being Marie Laveau, a renowned voodoo priestess. Born a free woman of color, she practiced various forms of religion.
People revered her (while also fearing her) and held public events that drew huge crowds. One of our guides described her as a businesswoman and free thinker.
Her grave suffered from excessive vandalism; people covered her stone with black crosses and graffiti, forcing the cemetery to close to the public.
Today, to visit St. Louis Cemetery Number One, you must do so with a tour guide. It’s said that if you stand at her tomb and make a wish, it will come true.
4. Voodoo Museum
To delve deeper into New Orleans’ history, a visit to the Voodoo Museum is essential. Voodoo plays a critical role in the city’s history, rooted in its slave history. New Orleans was one of the largest and most brutal slave markets in the country.
Africans preserved their culture and practiced their spirituality, drawing from West African traditions. They possessed extensive knowledge of herbs, plants, and poisons, practicing freely in New Orleans. Because of the massive slave market, African slaves were continually offloaded here, outnumbering the white population two to one.
Consequently, their traditions thrived, significantly influencing the city’s cultural formation.
After the Louisiana Purchase, slaves and free blacks continued to migrate to New Orleans. The settlement was a strange mix of enslavement and free blacks, some of whom owned their own slaves.
With all this chaos, it’s no wonder that many tortured souls haunt the graves of their former lives.
The Voodoo Museum charges only $5 for entry and features artifacts and photos displaying Voodoo practitioners and Marie Laveau herself.
The supernatural remains a significant aspect of New Orleans’ culture, where people leave offerings at altars filled with voodoo dolls, masks, and ancient relics. Visit the Voodoo Museum for hours of operation and details.
5. Vampires and New Orleans
I had never heard this story before, but the legend of vampires in New Orleans might trace back to when young women from affluent families were sent over from France to marry wealthy older men.
These young girls were often the third or fourth children and would have little chance of marrying well in their own country. However, due to family influence, they were sent to New Orleans for better prospects.
To maintain their chastity, they were kept in cargo holds of ships, never seeing the light of day until their arrival.
6. Vampire Hotel of New Orleans
Upon arrival, the women looked pale, resembling death, thus gaining the title of “casket girls.” While we know the lore of vampires dates back to Vlad the Impaler, this could explain why New Orleans is closely associated with vampire legends because of its own dark history.
The young ladies were housed in Bourbon Orleans Hotel (formerly known as the Orleans Ballroom and Theatre) where suitors would come to find brides, earning the establishment the nickname of Vampire Hotel.
However, this hotel is not only haunted by vampirical lore; the Bourbon Orleans Hotel is one of the most haunted buildings in New Orleans, featuring a confederate soldier who wanders the halls and mischievous children who play pranks on unsuspecting guests.
During the Yellow Fever epidemic, this establishment served as a convent and medical ward, as well as an orphanage where many young souls spent their final days.
Anne Rice and Vampires of New Orleans
Anne Rice continued the vampire narrative through her Interview with the Vampire novels, and we passed many locations she selected for her stories involving Lestat and Louis.
On our walking tour of the Garden District, we spotted Anne Rice’s house. As a fan, I couldn’t help but feel a bit starstruck; I’ve read all her works and longed to visit New Orleans to see the very places where she penned her novels.
7. Lafayette Cemetery
While in the Garden District, touring the mansions with Welcome New Orleans Tours is fantastic, but exploring the cemetery is even more captivating. Lafayette Cemetery resembles Saint Louis Cemetery Number One, with large above-ground tombs and crypts that seem to house the undead.
This cemetery holds many of the 8000 souls who perished during the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1833. While wandering here, you’ll encounter entire families of children and names from orphanages, all of whom succumbed during that tragic year. It’s both heartbreaking and highly conducive to hauntings.
8. Dining with a Ghost
Numerous stories in New Orleans involve residents appeasing the spirits of a bygone era. There are countless tales of individuals who disrespected the dead, leading to subsequent misfortunes.
One enduring story originates at Muriel’s in Jackson Square. In 1814, a compulsive gambler named Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan wagered his dream home in a poker game. He stubbornly refused to surrender his keys to the new owner, taking a year to finally convey them. However, when they went to claim the property, no one answered the door.
It turns out Lepardi Jourdan hung himself in the slave quarters, thereby leaving his fortune to his son rather than to the winner.
His deep love for the home is reason enough to believe he still haunts it today. Our guide explained that prior to Muriel’s establishment, many businesses attempted to run on this property but ultimately failed.
Possibly due to their lack of respect for the dead. The owners of Muriel’s learned from past mistakes, hence they pay homage to Pierre Antoine nightly. They set a table for him, and it is said they even review the books alongside him. Although stories of hauntings persist, many claim they are harmless.
Whether or not you believe in spirits, setting a table for a ghost certainly attracts attention. Consequently, Muriel’s has successfully drawn crowds by sharing this ghostly legend with its patrons.
Not everyone believes in ghosts, and many of these stories have been questioned, but if you visit New Orleans, it’s enjoyable to keep an open mind and relish the spooky tales of the past. Personally, I believe in spirits, and while Dave and I didn’t see anything during our visit, we sensed an underlying energy in the city.
Visitors often feel as though they are not alone, as if something is lurking just around the corner. More often than not, it may just be a reveler enjoying the vibrant nightlife and jazz; nonetheless, it’s fun to imagine that something unseen walks among them.
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Our trip to New Orleans was made possible by the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. Visit their website to learn more and plan your adventure in New Orleans.
