LaLaurie Mansion: The House Of Horrors In New Orleans
New Orleans HistoricalAbused slaves are purported to haunt the halls of this New Orleans mansion.
To some, the LaLaurie Mansion at 1140 Royal Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter is simply known as the “Haunted House.” Between 1831 and 1834, it was a veritable house of horrors — where a cruel woman tortured the people she enslaved.
New Orleans socialite Marie Delphine LaLaurie bought the house in 1831. Though LaLaurie appeared outwardly warm and polite, rumors swiftly spread that she was cruel toward those she held enslaved at her home.
However, no one could have guessed the depth of depravity that went on behind the handsome walls of her house — at least not until a fire forced LaLaurie’s wickedness to the light.
As police and firefighters battled the blaze, which broke out suddenly on April 10, 1834, they came across a shocking sight in the attic. There, the horrified responders found enslaved people who had been viciously tortured, mutilated, and murdered.
Wikimedia CommonsDelphine LaLaurie allegedly tortured her enslaved workers.
“Upon entering one of the apartments, the most appalling spectacle met their eyes,” The New Orleans Bee reported the next day. “Seven slaves more or less horribly mutilated were seen suspended by the neck, with their limbs apparently stretched and torn from one extremity to the other…
“These slaves were the property of the demon, in the shape of a woman…”
Though LaLaurie skipped town, the spirits of the people she tortured allegedly remained in the mansion. Today, visitors have reported hearing footsteps and moaning from the attic, as well as seeing doors slam closed without explanation.
Other hauntings are more severe. When the mansion was briefly a school, terrified young girls reported seeing a “woman” who grabbed and scratched their arm. And one boarder in the house died mysteriously after worrying to a friend about vengeful ghosts.
The LaLaurie Mansion was most recently featured in American Horror Story and was briefly owned by actor Nicholas Cage.
