New Orleans boasts an illuminating past and is home to some of the most haunted sites in America. Being situated along a waterway, and with winds moving freely throughout its city limits, makes New Orleans an inviting location for ghostly spirits to linger on and make themselves known.
Madame LaLaurie’s house, made infamous by American Horror Story, is one of the city’s most haunted spots. Madame was an abusive slave mistress who would torture her slaves.
Ursuline Convent
When it comes to haunted locations in New Orleans, The Old Ursuline Convent should definitely be on your itinerary. With its dark history and being home for spirits that don’t want anywhere else to live, this museum focuses on both religious and cultural history of New Orleans – many visitors have reported seeing apparitions!
Local legend has it that this building was used by women who were sent from France in the 1700s to marry French colonists, known as Casket Girls. Their arrival triggered strange happenings which alarmed nuns so much so that they decided to seal off an entire third-floor room within their convent, bolting it shut with bolts blessed by Pope Leo XIII for security purposes.
Myrtles Plantation
New Orleans has long been associated with both voodoo and slavery, which accounts for its long list of haunted sites ranging from popular bars to old hospitals that were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. These haunted locations host the ghosts that remain.
Myrtles Plantation has long been recognized for its paranormal activity. Reports include handprints in mirrors, footsteps on stairs, objects disappearing without explanation and mysterious smells – just to name a few examples of reported paranormal activity there each year! As a popular bed and breakfast it attracts thousands of guests annually.
Lafayette Cemetery is another popular haunted location. Here thousands of people died during the yellow fever epidemic of 1833 and it features above ground tombs and crypts; ghostly presences from pirates to aristocrats may haunt this cemetery.
St. Louis Cathedral
While tourists flock to New Orleans cathedral for its beauty, many believe it holds a secret – its structure may be haunted by Pere Dagobert a Capuchin Friar who served as pastor at this church during its construction in the 1700s.
Pirates Alley (originally Cloister’s Alley) after worship services to humming as it passes.
Ursuline Convent was home to Casket Girls from France who arrived in New Orleans seeking husbands. However, suspicion arose among nuns of keeping vampires within coffin-shaped chests inside which these young ladies resided and eventually gained notoriety as “vampire girls.”
New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
New Orleans was known to rely heavily on voodoo and nontraditional medicines in its past, and its Pharmacy Museum could potentially be haunted.
This 1823 building is said to be haunted by Dr. Dupas, who conducted experiments on pregnant slaves as well as practicing voodoo. After hours, his spirit is said to throw books, move items, or trigger security alarms, leaving behind signs that indicate its presence.
Visit this haunted place through various tours, such as ghost and cemetery tours. However, for a scarier experience it would be wise to avoid visiting during Halloween season unless that’s your goal!
Jimani Lounge
When it comes to haunted places, New Orleans doesn’t back away from being mysterious. With its melting pot of African, Cajun, French, and Spanish cultures colliding, its intersection serves as an ideal breeding ground for paranormal activity.
Jimani Lounge, named in honor of Jean Lafitte, is believed to be haunted. Patrons have reported hearing footsteps walking through, piano notes being struck without anyone present playing them and feeling inexplicable chills while inside.
Ghost hunters believe the spirits from the UpStairs Lounge fire that claimed 32 lives can be seen at Jimani Lounge and are making mysterious noises to draw attention to their deaths. When ghost hunting at this bar, ghost hunters were unsuccessful in reaching them directly and heard strange sounds without success contacting any spirits there.
Charity Hospital
New Orleans is known to be a creepy city all year long, but October really brings out its dark side with Spanish moss and fog enveloping it all. Join a haunted tour, stay overnight in a haunted hotel or visit a tomb of a voodoo priestess to complete your experience of scary New Orleans!
Gardette-LaPretre Mansion in New Orleans is an iconic location for ghost tours, due to its chilling history involving a Sultan and his family living there until they were all massacred in one tragic day. Legend has it that they still haunt this place today along with Madame Delphine LaLaurie torturing slaves as she used them as human sacrifices!
Charity Hospital was an institution where allegations of malpractice ran rampant, while medical staff was threatened to keep quiet about them. Following Hurricane Katrina, it closed permanently, yet still reportedly hosts doctors, nurses and patients residing within its walls. It’s said to be haunted by doctors, nurses and patients trapped inside.
