Louisiana Ghosts
![]()
Artesia Manor, Abita Springs
This restaurant and function hall is located 40 minutes north
of New Orleans. Originally it was a health spa with hot springs. The
upstairs dining area was the original hotel section and this area is said to
have a lot of activity. Lights go on and off, smoke alarms go off in the
building with no explanation, and staff will arrive int he morning to find all
the doors open. Many staff members say they have a creepy feeling
when they are there alone. The original owner disappeared mysteriously -
he was last seen walking toward the springs, and was never seen again. It
was unknown if he deliberately left or met with an unfortunate end.
Artesia Manor offers a wonderful ambience and French cuisine at
21516 Hway 36, Abita Springs, LA phone, 985-892-1662.
Castle Inn of New Orleans
Built in 1891, Castle Inn is a large Gilded
Age mansion in the Garden District of New Orleans. When the current owners
took over the inn in 1998 they had no idea they had a spectral permanent guest.
One of their staff had seen an apparition of a man standing by the window in
Room 11 many times. Guests also started reporting strange events.
Included in these experiences are: lights/appliances turning on and off by
themselves, footsteps unaccounted for, faucets going on and off on their own,
and an apparition of a man on the front porch during the nighttime. Based
on investigators’ readings/impressions the owners believe there are two
spirits at Castle Inn, a servant (a driver or butler) and a little girl who
drowned in a previously existing pond who searches for her mother. Both
are thought to have lived about a hundred years ago. The inn has 9
suites/rooms, most of which have private baths, and some have a porch or
balcony. Continental breakfast is included in the room fee. Phone:
888-826-0540 or 504-897-0540. 1539 4th St., New Orleans, LA.
Castle
Inn web site
The Bourbon Orleans Hotel,
New Orleans
Several spirits still stay on at this
hotel on Bourbon St. in New Orleans.
In the 1800s the Quadroon Ball was held there, where young African
American/Creole women made their social debuts. The story goes that a young
woman and a gentleman met at one of the balls here and fell in love.
He went off to fight in the Civil War and never returned and she
committed suicide. A few times a year a
couple from that era are seen separately in the large ballroom area, apparently
searching for each other. Another ghost is
said to be that of a gambler who lost his house in a poker game in one of the
parlors there used for card games. Upon
handing over the deed he shot and killed himself.
From 1881 to 1963 the building was a convent.
The nuns in the convent took in many orphans, some of whom died there of
yellow fever. A nun has been seen,
children’s voices are heard, and sometimes children’s faces are seen in the
windows of the upper floors. Crying
comes from one room, and water faucets will turn on by themselves.
Oh, and be sure to look up as well as around when you enter –
chandeliers in the hotel sometimes swing for no reason. The hotel has 211 guest
rooms including suites. They have a restaurant, bar and pool onsite and offer a
“Haunted History Tour” nightly that leaves from the lobby.
717 Orleans St., New Orleans LA 504.523.2222
bourbon
orleans hotel link
Dauphine House, New Orleans
A ghostly couple in Victorian clothing has
been seen at the top of the stairs in this small bed-and-breakfast in the French
Quarter. A few guests have seen
them as well. One guest heard a spirit of a man on the front balcony. The innkeeper, Karen Jeffries,
says the b and b is within walking distance of everything, being located
at the end of Bourbon Street. 1830
Dauphine, New Orleans, LA 504.940.0943
dauphine house
link
Lafitte Guest House, New
Orleans
The spirits in this inn in the heart
of the French Quarter is also host to the ghosts of two children.
One is a baby who guests hear crying. The other is a girl, age 8-10.
The innkeeper, Andy Crocchiolo believes it is the daughter of one of the
earlier owners, the Gleises. Their
daughter died around that age during one of the yellow fever epidemics that
struck the city. Two young girls
who stayed at the inn saw and spoke to the spirit. In room 21 a guest interacted
with the ghost of a woman who may have been the little girl’s mother. Things in that room turn on and off by themselves.
1003 Bourbon Street, New Orleans LA
800.331.7971 or 504.581.2678
lafitte
guest house link
Loyd Hall Plantation,
Chenyville
The ghosts of this antebellum mansion are
quite active. Tables set for the meals are often lacking some item – a piece
of silverware or napkin mysteriously gone missing after the table is set and
checked. Footsteps of the original owner, William Loyd are heard. A slave nanny,
Sally Boston, who lived in the house with the Loyd family has been seen in her
white dress, customary wear for a nanny in that time.
The smell of food often accompanies her presence, when no food is being
prepared in the house. The sound of
someone running their finger across the keys of the piano is heard when no one
is near it, and it is thought that the ghost responsible for this is Inez, a
niece of William Loyd. Her fiancé had abandoned her, and she died from a fall
out the 3rd floor window, possibly suicide. Then there’s Harry who
deserted from the Union Army and hid in the attic of the mansion while it was
unoccupied. When the returning owners discovered him there he did not get a warm
welcome and never left the plantation house in body or spirit. Harry was a
violinist, and his violin music can be heard late at night.
Guests of the inn have witnessed much phenomena. Not only are there
apparitions and sounds (music, screams) but also an empty rocking chair rocks,
bowls slide on tables in the dining room, doors open and close, and lights go on
and off. There are six guest rooms and pleasant gardens to enjoy. Ask for room
2,3 or 4 to have the best chance of an other worldly experience. 292 Loyd Bridge
Road, Cheneyville, LA 800.240.8135 or 318.776.5641
The Myrtles, St.
Francisville
One of the best known haunted places in the
U.S., this plantation located
between New Orleans and Natchez MS is now an inn. The primary spirit here is that of Chloe, a slave who had worked in
the main house. After many warnings about her habit of eavesdropping, Chloe
listened at the door one time too many. Mr. Woodruffe, owner of the plantation,
had her left ear cut off as punishment. Thereafter, Chloe wore a green turban to
hide the wound. When Mr. Woodruffe was away, Chloe baked one of his two
daughters a birthday cake laced with oleander, a plant with effects similar to
arsenic. The girls and their mother
died. It could have been revenge, but the general view taken is that she hoped
to make the girls sick, and then nurse them back to health thus getting back
into the family’s good graces, and guaranteeing a household assignment. People
have seen Chloe, and also the two young girls. The Sterlings, who lived at the
Myrtles next, had terrible luck there. Their son was killed in the dining room over a
gambling debt, and their 8 year old daughter died of yellow fever. Their
son-in-law was shot on the front porch and died halfway up the main stairs,
trying to reach his wife. A woman crying there on the stairs has been heard, as
well as footsteps that go up and stop. Some guests are greeted at the gate by a
surly caretaker who they later learn has been dead since 1927! Doors open and
close, conversation comes from empty rooms, and unoccupied rocking chairs rock.
Some of the ghosts have shown up in photos taken by guests. The inn has eleven
guest rooms. 7747 U.S. 61 North, St. Francisville, LA
800.809-0565 or 225.635.6277
link to the myrtles