When mom and I decided on a cruise that sailed out of New Orleans versus Miami, I was instantly excited for what awaited me in the city. You see, this wasn't going to be my first time there. I've been before (mom and I are still kind of arguing over how many times before), and have VERY fond memories of the time(s) I've spent there. I've been to the Laura Plantation, a creole plantation that was painted bright red, yellow, and green (Alpha Gam!). I've been to the Oak Alley Plantation, which by itself is completely breathtaking as you head toward the main house (and you see it in Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter). I've been to the Audobon Aquarium of the Americas. I've had a crawfish boil in the park. I went to the Cheesecake Factory for the first time in New Orleans. I shopped in the French Quarter. I ate at the Cafe Du Monde. I had even been on Bourbon Street, but since the last time I was there I was 17, I didn't get to participate fully in the nightlife that New Orleans offered.
But the time I had spent in New Orleans before, I had always wondered about the Haunted History tours. You see, I am a very strange person and I like weird stuff. I don't think I actually believe most of the stories, but they are fun to listen to, nonetheless. Mom, Jacob, and I set out for breakfast around 10 a.m. We mistakenly tried to eat at Cafe Du Monde, but the place had a line halfway down the street. So as we continued on, I saw a New Orleans visitor center advertising for the tours. We went in, put a "don payment/reservation" in, and were told we could go on the tour at either 6 or 8. We opted for the earlier tour.
Our first stop took us to this building that is now a restaurant:
I can't remember the name of the restaurant, or why exactly they say it was haunted, but I do know that one of the "spirits" that haunts it always used to have a guest here. So now there is a table at the back of the restaurant for two-the spirit and his guest. (Man I'm telling a great story)
Roaming even more into the French Quarter brought us to this place:
It is a museum, but they rarely post when they are open. The only thing our tour guide told us about it is that you see this building in the movie "Interview with a Vampire." I've never actually seen the movie so I can't tell you what part of the movie it is in. But they go into more detail about this place in the Vampire History tour, which we did not go on. Oh, and that this is one of the only 3 buildings that did not burn down in the fires in the 1800s. One of the other two was an old Pirate bar!
Our next stop on the tour took us across the street from the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, which our tour guide pointed out to us because he practices the voodoo religion. Said it is a great place to learn more about and understand the religion if anyone is interested:
Across from the museum, he told us a story about these "Romeo and Juliet" spikes:
Basically, they were created to deter young men from taking the purity away from the young women. They couldn't sneak out of windows. But this place in particular is haunted because of not only did someone's boyfriend die from jumping out of the window, but this is also one of the houses that was affected by the numerous unsolved murders that occurred in the late 1700s.
Our next stop took us to the Laurie mansion:
Madame La Laurie owned this place, and would throw fabulous parties. All of her husbands mysteriously died throughout her tenure oat the house. And little did the socialites know, she was FREAKING CRAZY. No for real. She and one of her slaves were running an experiment shop in her slave quarters. She ran real human experiments and all the ones that worked she would sell to the circus. So the "freaks" in the circus weren't necessarily always born that way. It was kind of sickening. She also trapped a lot of her slaves in the basement, and when police went to go try to find survivors, they heard faint screaming and thought the house was haunted. No, it was just people screaming for their lives.
Nicholas Cage used to own this house, but never stayed in it. It "currently sits empty" but there are also rumors that Johnny Depp owns it. Which wouldn't surprise me.
Our next stop in the tour took us across from this place. Now, it isn't haunted, but I thought it was freaking cool. The Vatican Archives are housed in this building. You must have direct orders FROM THE POPE in order to go inside (if you aren't already in there):
The story of the haunted driveway is that there was a great shootout, and the people "on the wrong side of the law" won. The shootout was super smokey and hundreds of shots were fired, but not one person from the wrong side lost their life. Anyways, there was this pretty courtyard that was next to the driveway:
Oh, and the owner of the house from the driveway shootout owned the pasta factory in town. And all French Quarter is in the historic registry, so this building will forever look like it doesn't belong (it used to be the pasta factory):
If you ever find yourself in New Orleans, you should definitely check out the Haunted History Tour! It is featured on the Travel Channel (I believe), so it's not a bunch of people jumping out at you trying to scare you. They just give you a brief history of New Orleans' haunted areas and what made them haunted. It was a cool way to spend a few hours walking around the city!
