The LaLaurie House
New Orleans, Louisiana
The LaLaurie House is a lavish
building at
1140 Royal Street, New
Orleans, Louisiana. Most accounts agree
that
it was built in 1832 by Madame
Delphine Macarty LaLaurie, a wealthy New
Orleans
socialite.
The ghosts in the
house
are of some of her many slaves. While living,
these people attended to her every whim
and
helped to keep up her stylish
lifestyle. LaLaurie's friends often
joked
that she had one slave for every
little task.
In 1833 LaLaurie's
slaves
began disappearing frequently. One day a young
servant girl, Lia, ran from LaLaurie up
to
a roof top. She was trying to
escape and screamed for help. Witnesses
on
the street watched LaLaurie beat
the girl. Then Lia plunged to her death
as
she jumped from the roof trying
to get away. LaLaurie had the body
concealed
in a well, but police soon
found it. She was soon forced to sell
her
slaves at auction, but her friends
bought them and retuned them to their
former
life.
On April 10, 1834, a
fire
brigade reported to a call from 1140 Royal
Street. Entering the kitchen, they found
an
elderly cook chained to the
floor. She claimed to have lit the fire
to
draw attention to the goings on
at the house. The woman directed them to
the
attic.
The fire brigade
could
hardly believe what they saw. The attic had been
turned into a torture chamber with naked
victims
chained to the wall.
Corpses were rotting where they had
expired.
Worse still were the torture
victims, many of whom were still living.
One
woman had been gutted and tied
up with her own intestines. Another
woman
had her mouth sewn shut. When
rescuers cut the stitches, they found
her
mouth filled with feces. A man had
a hole cut in his head with a stick
inserted
to "stir" his brains. Some
people had been chained up just to
starve
to death. Many men were missing
eyes, ears, fingers, and other small
parts
of their bodies. Obviously,
despite the rescue, these people didn't
live
for very long.
This time, even
LaLaurie's
friends turned on her. She was run out of
town and she went to Paris. Some reports
claim
that she died after being
gored by a wild bull while there. Others
believe
that she returned to New
Orleans to covertly live under the name
"Widow
Blanque". Her murder count
has never been accurately tabulated.
During
renovations, skeletons dating to
LaLaurie's time have been found, and
there
may be more.
The house went
through
many functions, including a girl's school, a
tenement, an antique shop, an bar, and
now
apartments. Many of the people
living in the house over the years have
witnessed
apparitions, noises, and
screams.
During the 19th
century,
a Black servant was awakened by the ghost of
LaLaurie choking him. She is seen in all
areas
of the house. A large Black
man in chains has confronted people on
the
stairs before vanishing. Some of
LaLaurie's other servants have been
seen.
During the summer of 1999 a
tourist photographed balls of light
floating
in the area of the roof where
Lia jumped to her death.
The attic and
staircase
are among the most haunted. The building's
ghosts are still believed to be active
though
the current residents don't
speak about it. Ghost hunters insist
that
LaLaurie's spirit is evil and
still dangerous. The house is a stop on
several
New Orleans ghost tours.
Ghostly screams have been heard by
people
simply walking down the
street.Viewing the home from the outside
seems
to be the safest way for an
armchair ghost hunter to experience the
LaLaurie
house ghosts.
By: catmz@theshadowlands.net
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