October in New Orleans is not like your October anywhere else. New Orleans is one of the most haunted cities in the United States as its home to many cemeteries, ghost tours, vampires, 18th-century mansions, and one of the most historically important practices of religion in New Orleans: Voodoo. Here is an itinerary of how to keep your October extra SPOOKY while in New Orleans.
LaLaurie Mansion: If you are a huge fan of the scary TV show called American Horror Story or if you want to know some dark secrets kept underneath the window cracks in New Orleans, then this mansion is the place for you. LaLaurie Mansion is located in the heart of the French Quarter on Royal Street and is a true “American horror story”. In the 1800s Madame LaLaurie was the owner of this mansion and one day the kitchen in this mansion had caught on fire and then the ugly truth about what really went on in this mansion came out. It was found out that Madame LaLaurie was starving slaves and keeping them in torture chambers in a quarter upstairs in the house. The gruesome and SPOOKY history behind the mansion constantly haunts the streets of New Orleans through the night.
St. Louis Cemetery: Cemeteries in New Orleans are unlike most cemeteries in the United States. They are unique because of their above-ground burials. New Orleans sea levels do not allow coffins to be buried underground because the high sea levels would make all the coffins float back up. This cemetery site is considered one of the most haunted cemeteries in the United States and is still active. This cemetery has been around for almost 300 years and holds over 700s tombs. The disorganized layout of the tombs and SPOOKY symbols on the tombs leaves people with chills down their back after walking through the cemetery.
Congo Square: Congo Square can be considered the roots of New Orleans. It stood as a meeting place for enslaved Africans and was a place for people to express their thoughts, especially practices from the Voodoo religion. For those who do not fully understand Voodoo, it is a religion brought over by enslaved African Americans that believe spiritual forces shape one’s daily life. Voodoo kings and queens became very important political and spiritual figures in New Orleans in the 1800s. One of the most famous Voodoo queens was Marie Laveau who practiced a lot in Congo Square (her grave can be found in the St. Louis Cemetery) and people say they have felt her ghostly presence. After you go to Congo Square you should head over to the SPOOKY voodoo shop on Bourbon Street called the Marie Laveau House of Voodoo and learn even more about the history of Voodoo.
New Orleans Pharmacy Museum: If you have ever been interested in the history of medicine well you have come to the right place because America’s first licensed pharmacist started his pharmacy right in New Orleans. A wide range of deathly diseases were seen here because sanitation was not a priority. As you walk into the museum you will see a great amount of apothecary jars with original ingredients, medical instruments, and surgical devices. Many SPOOKY experiments were performed here and the unsettling paranoia that patients experienced at this pharmacy still resonates today.
Ursuline Convent: The SPOOKY story behind this oldest standing building in New Orleans came alive after 12 Ursuline nuns arrived in New Orleans and essentially created a confraternity to educate girls. It was said that the girls who lived in the convent carried coffin-shaped chests and the chests were kept in the attic in the convent.