Ghostly NOLA

Everyone says that nola is one of the most haunted places in America - along with Savannah and Gettysberg, I guess. When I was in nola I was kind of hoping to see something strange, in fact, I wanted to go on the Haunted History tour but we decided against it. I think that on the nola Haunted History tour they focus on the events that have been described on the Travel Channel's Haunted History series - that's probably only a small part of what's been reported, though.

I remember that there were several incidents reported in the French Quarter, including a house very near our hotel. It was a really creepy one, with a woman who abused, tortured and killed her slaves back in the 1700's. She was a real piece of work, and as I recall the slaves finally rose up and killed her. The creepiest thing was that I think a lot of her neighbors and townsmen knew something horrific was going on but didn't know enough to take action against her.

Oak Alley Plantation is also only an hour or so out of nola and is supposed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Apparently there's a lady there who was beautiful and vibrant but had an accident of some kind. The doctors had to amputate one of her legs and she spent the rest of her life shut in the house as a recluse. She's called "the grey lady" and still can be seen around her home, but when they showed her she was walking normally so I think in her death she got her leg back. Apparently, she's seen quite often and the house is open for tourists. (I wanna go!)

There's another plantation around nola somewhere, I think, that is called The Myrtles. Apparently, a slave named Chloe had been taken from the fields and allowed to work in the house with the family and the other house slaves. The family was a wealthy one, with two little kids. The master caught Chloe eavesdropping on a conversation with some of his cronies one time, and he had her ear cut off to punish her. After that, Chloe always wore a kerchief over her head that covered her ear. The master then told her that she would be going back to work in the fields and was no longer welcome in the house. She thought, "hell, no" as house life was so much easier than field work, so she hatched a plan that would show her as a hero. One of the kids had a birthday and as Chloe cooked the cake she had the not-so-brilliant idea of putting belladonna or something in it, with the idea that when the kids ate the cake they would get sick and she would give them whatever the antidote was and save them, and the master and mistress would be so happy that she would be welcome to stay in the house. Unfortunately, she didn't measure out the right amount of poison and the kids sickened and died. She was so distraught that it was easy to get the story out of her, and she was hanged. She is a benevolent spirit that is seen around the house still, and is especially fond of children. Some people have taken photos at the house that apparently show a ghost wearing a kerchief....

There's also a ghost at Napoleon House restaurant, but we never got there to eat. Maybe next time. Also, Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, which we saw but didn't go into, is filled with ghosts.

Maybe next time I'm there I'll take the Ghost Tour - as long as it's not cold. Or rainy. And I don't have to walk.

HOWEVER, for us, the absolute creepiest place in nola turned out to be the Reverend Zombie's Voodoo Shop, which is across from Pat O'Briens (hurricanes...yummmm). The first time I was there I had a unmistakable feeling of heaviness on my chest as I walked through it and did not want to hang around. I left very soon after getting there and did not buy anything. Then, a couple of years later, I went in again and the feeling was worse. The heaviness started as soon as I crossed the threshold and got worse the further into the store I walked - in fact, I was just in for a few seconds and had to back up to stand by the door. Aimee walked around some, then came back to stand by me. She said something along the lines of how fake the store was and right then something cold jabbed her in the back. And then a few seconds later a woman came in the door - I glanced at her and thought "that looks like Elly" and then the clerk said "Hi, Elly". Whoa! Freaked me out, because my Elly has been dead for several years - the even creepier thing is that she was the most woo-woo person I have ever met and it would not have surprised to me to see her walk through the door, even though she was several years dead. And, the even creepier thing is that the night before, Poppy, Aimee and I had been to Louie's house - his wife was out but she is a voodoo priestess named Elly....how's that for coincidence? I wonder if the negative presence at Rev. Zombie's was reacting to something good that we picked up at Louie and Elly's. It really did not like us!! And the fact that it poked Aimee??? Creepy!