Ghosts of the Lalaurie House
Haunted New Orleans: House of Horrors, House of Paranormal Activity
In 1831, Dr. Louis and Mme. Delphine Lalaurie, also spelled LaLaurie, bought the house at 1140 Royal Street. They were a popular Creole couple who were part of the aristocratic society of New Orleans and held extravagant parties attended by the city’s elite. The only strange thing was a door that was always kept locked.
Lalaurie House History of Horrors
The couple’s dark side, not the hospitality, is what was remembered by the shocked townspeople. Their deeds have not been forgotten. They treated their slaves cruelly, sadistically. One night, Mme. Lalaurie was angry with a thirteen year old slave girl, Lia, and began to beat her. The terrified girl ran from the demented female to the balcony where she fell to her death and was secretly buried. This was the first inkling of the travesty the house held. Soon, people wanted to know what the locked door hid. Accounts differ as to whether the Lalauries only paid a fine or were fined and their slaves taken away, which they bought back through relatives.
The next year, a fire broke out in the kitchen. When the firefighters reached the attic, they were horrified by what they saw. Some slaves were mutilated and chained to a wall. Others were on “operating” tables. Body parts littered the room. An angry mob formed after people heard about this. They tried to break into the house. The Lalauries escaped in a carriage. It was said they lived in Paris or another part of Louisiana. Delphine was buried in a secret crypt in New Orleans. A grave marker for her tomb was found in St. Louis Cemetery #1, Alley 4, but it’s not attached to a grave. The location of her crypt is a still mystery.
The house was rebuilt and the ghostly phenomena began.
Ghostly Phenomena - Lalaurie House
- Eerie lights flickered in upstairs windows.
- Inexplicable sounds included a cracking whip, insane laughter, screams and moans.
- Madame Lalaurie has been sighted many times. Once, she was seen bending over a baby’s crib.
- A black man said he awoke to find her choking him, but a man who resembled a slave appeared and they both vanished.
- Mules died after a woman in a white robe appeared.
- A towering black man bound in chains has been seen.
- Figures clothed in shrouds being whipped by a riding crop made a ghastly tableau.
- Lia reenacted her fatal moments.
- Poltergeist activities include faucets being turned on and doors unlocking by themselves.
- Other phenomena were cats and dogs being strangled and mutilated.
At one time, the house was a conservatory for music and dance. Allegations were made against the owner and people stopped taking lessons. He had to shut down the school. Witnesses said they heard the sounds of a party in the house once the studio was closed.
Lalaurie House Today
The house had been a barbershop, furniture store, girls’ public school, conservatory, tenement, haven for delinquents, Grand Consistory of Louisiana offices, a bar and another furniture store where the owner moved out after his furniture was repeatedly ruined. Not all tenants were adversely affected by Lalaurie House. The bar’s owner capitalized on the hauntings and kept records of the phenomena.
In 1969, a retired doctor bought the house and remodeled it into apartments. Since then, there have been no more reports of paranormal activity by the tenants….
Sources:
Haunted America, Michael Norman & Beth Scott, (Tor, 1994)
Haunted Houses, Richard Winer and Nancy Osborn, (Bantam Books, 1979)
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