The LaLaurie House Haunting

Tales of murder, mystery, and mayhem flow throughout the history of New Orleans, but none are more captivating than the LaLaurie Mansion. Madame Marie Delphine LaLaurie was a notable Creole socialite before tales of unimaginable cruelty and killing swirled.

The gorgeous Royal Street mansion is located in the heart of the French Quarter. The family spared no expense decorating, shipping in ornate décor from Europe. The house was the talk of the town and home to many extravagant affairs until the dark truth was uncovered.

Slaves mysteriously disappeared, never to be heard from again, screams of ungodly torture could be heard coming from the upstairs, and the Madame’s personal slave jumped from the roof to her death allegedly to avoid being taken to the room of terror.

It was thought Madame LaLaurie’s husband knew of the sadistic happenings but turned a blind eye.

As rumors of grisly behavior echoed throughout the town, the once sought after socialite was avoided, parties unattended. Since it was illegal to mistreat slaves, the Madame was forced to relinquish hers. However, they were given to family members and she acquired back a few at a time.

Although whispers of slave mistreatment swarmed through the town, the reality of Madame LaLaurie’s insanity was unearthed in 1834 when a fiery blaze started in the kitchen uncovered dark secrets as it swept through the mansion.  According to legend, the fire was set by a slave trying to commit suicide because she could no longer endure the torture of the lady of the house.

During the cleanup, more than a dozen slaves were found chained upstairs, maimed and tortured. Both men and women, some strapped to a makeshift operating table while others were confined in cages, human body parts were scattered around. Heads and human organs thrown in buckets, other body parts were placed on shelves next to whips and paddles.

After a mob showed up to ransack the mansion, the LaLaurie’s fled town never to be heard from again. Since then, blood curdling screams can be heard at all hours of the night, figures can be seen floating around.

What will you experience as you walk past this gorgeous mansion with a gruesome past?