Haunted New Orleans
The Voodoo that you do
GET IN THE HAUNTED OF NEW ORLEANS.
BY TONY WARE
The old pirate adage “Dead men tell no tales” does not apply to the onetime buccaneer port of Le NouvelleOrléans. From its above-ground cemeteries, or “Cities of the Dead,” to three centuries of notorious specters lurking behind the colonial shutters in the French Quarter, New Orleans teems with history and mystery. And it’s around Halloween—second only to Mardi Gras—that thousands of curious travelers flood the streets and local, well, haunts, to catch the spirit of voodoo and vampire lore that plays such a pivotal role in New Orleans’ bewitchery.
The Crescent City runs neck and neck with Savannah, Georgia, as the most popular “paranormal” city in America. Not coincidentally, both destinations also share a sordid history as leading ports for slave trading. In the 1700s, there was nothing easy about the Big Easy for most people of color, while at the same time there was both economic and cultural wealth for others in the ancestrally diverse citizenry. And it’s within this slowly simmering bouillabaisse that tempers boiled over, and grisly murders and frenzied rituals led to today’s supernatural sightseeing.
Wander along the outwardly placid Royal Street at night, and you may find death very much alive in the French Quarter. Gaze up at 734 Royal Street, and you’ll see the rooftop upon which it’s said that Julie, a slave who froze to death trying to prove her love to a neglectful master, paces mournfully. At 1140 Royal Street sits the LaLaurie Mansion, where, the legend goes, the influential French-Creole Madame of the house was infinitely cruel to her slaves; during a house fire the slaves were found hideously mutilated in the attic and their tormented phantoms still wander the grounds.
At 716 Dauphine Street stands a home that in the late 1800s was sold to a man said to be the brother of a Turkish sultan, who moved in along with a harem of women, eunuchs and others. What happened behind closed doors was only the stuff of hearsay until the police were called, spurred by a neighbor who saw rivulets of blood from under the front door. Inside was a massacre, rumored to be the work of assassins. Since then, there have been sightings of a restless man, wafts of incense and faint drifts of music.
These and many more apparitions—a Confederate general at the Beauregard-Keyes House, the “witch” of the French Opera House, numerous pastors at St. Louis Cathedral, a murderous dentist and his victims, children at the Andrew Jackson Hotel—share New Orleans with the living. And numerous tour companies, including New Orleans Ghost and Vampire Tours (www.neworleansghosttour.com), Haunted History Tours (www.hauntedhistorytours.com) and Historic New Orleans Tours (www.tourneworleans.com), share these tales, with varying degrees of theatrics and authenticity.
The legacy of voodoo is as integral to the city as the ghoulish tales. This Afro-Caribbean religion blended with Catholicism throughout New Orleans’ history. Venture through Congo Square in Armstrong Park, where slaves were allowed to congregate and celebrate, dance the spiritually charged Calinda, and, consequently, birth bewitching jazz. Those looking to learn a charm or two can visit shops like Voodoo Authentica Cultural Center & Collection (www.voodooshop.com)—which hosts Voodoofest every year on Halloween—or wander to the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum (www.voodoomuseum.com), where a self-guided tour through two rooms filled with altars, iconography and gris-gris (charms) helps visitors separate the historical from the hoodoo. Those interested further can take part in tours and rituals, and even meet priests.
One sure stop on every voodoo tour is St. Louis Cemetery #1, the oldest assembly of tombs in New Orleans, and believed to be the “home” of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. To locate her resting site, look for the Greek Revival tomb rimmed with offerings and scratched with carvings which are said to call forth Laveau’s spirit. You can also visit Lafayette Cemetery #1, where Anne Rice, author of The Vampire Chronicles series, draws her inspiration. For a guided tour of multiple city gravesites, contact the informative nonprofit Save Our Cemeteries (www.saveourcemeteries.org).
Even if you’re too spooked or busy to extend a stay past Halloween, visitors often say that after leaving, vivid memories of New Orleans creep up on them.
HAUNTED HAPPENINGS
Though not an all-mystical event, many people have claimed to have had a “religious” experience at the Voodoo Music Experience (www.voodoomusicfest.com), when more than 100 musical acts perform at New Orleans’ City Park October 26-28.
Touring in New Orleans can be a dehydrating experience. Quench your thirst at a tea-leaf reading at Bottom of the Cup Tea Room (www.bottomofthecup.com; 504-524-1997).
Raise a spirit of another manner at the Central Business District’s International House Hotel (www.ihhotel.com; 504-553-9550). Its serene lobby bar Loa offers potent yet pure cocktails, which will quickly have you possessed.
Once properly enchanted, search the city’s energetic undead scene. After a visit to Boutique du Vampyre (www.feelthebite.com), many visit the Anne Rice museum at St. Elizabeth’s Orphanage (1314 Napoleon Ave), and Rice’s childhood church, now home to the St. Alphonsus Art and Cultural Center (2045 Constance St). And October 26 at the Howlin’ Wolf (www.howlinwolf.com), Vampire Lestat Fan Club (www.vampirelestatfanclub.com) will hold the annual Les Temps Des Vampires Ball.
And while Gothic clubs like Whirling Dervish (504-218-4520) and Ye Olde Original Dungeon (www.originaldungeon.com; 504-523-5530) promote every day as Halloween, they go all out on October 31. Dress to the nines for a ghoulishly good time.