,New Orleans, this hot and humid city at the mouth of the Mississippi delta is said to be one of the most haunted cities in the world. With its haunted history of slavery, plagues and voodoo traditions New Orleans is a hot spot for the occult. It’s even said that you can find a coven of real-life vampires in the city as well as practicing witches.

New Orleans has an abundance of haunted hotels, bars and restaurants blended in amongst historical sites, voodoo-culture and above-ground cemeteries. To see the most fascinating, nerve-wracking and gruesome sites in the magical haunted city of New Orleans and to meet a ghost or two follow our guide.

If you don’t want to take on this haunted adventure by yourself you can also book one of the many ghost tours available and get some company as you check out the spooky side of New Orleans. Also, if you need some help finding a place to sleep in peace ,somwhere that’s not haunted, check out this list of the coolest AirBn’Bs in New Orleans. 

Be warned a number of the sites do come with deeply upsetting histories.

That said, these 13 sites are a must-see for any aficionado of the occult while visiting the haunted New Orleans.

 

13 most occult sites in Haunted New Orleans

St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 | Inn on St:Ann | Congo Square & the Voodoo Spiritual Temple |  The La Laurie Mansion (1114 Royal Street) | Pharmacy Museum | Sylvain | The Tableau | Room 21 at Lafitte’s Guest House | May Baily’s Place at Dauphine Orleans | Le Pavillon Orleans | Hotel Monteleone | Bourbon Orleans | Omni Royal Orleans

 

1. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1

Address: 425 Basin St, New Orleans, LA 70112

The most famous cemetery, of the many catholic cemeteries in New Orleans, is St. Louis Cemetery no 1. It is the oldest and most famous of the cemeteries. It consists of mostly above-ground crypts and mausoleums raised in the 18^th and 19^th century. Most visitors come here to see the Glapion family crypt believed to house the grave of the Voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. Renowned throughout New Orleans Marie Laveau was a voodoo practitioner, herbalist and midwife. She is a figure surrounded by legacy and lore.

When you visit Marie Laveau’s grave draw an X mark on her grave in order for Laveau to grant you a wish. The legend says that you have to draw an X on the tomb, turn around three times, knock on the tomb and yell out your wish if you dare. Later, if it is granted, you need to come back, circle your X, and leave Laveau an offering as a thank you.

But be careful what you wish for.

Unfortunately, the cemetery is only open to visits through booked tours. It’s rumoured that they had to close the cemetery for visits from the public due to too much vandalism. The families who own graves in the cemetery can apply for visitors passes.

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2. Marie Laveau’s Annex at the Inn on St:Ann

Address: 1013 St Ann New Orleans, LA 70116

To continue your visit through the occult New Orleans, visit the Inn on St:Ann, the former home of the voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. The Marie Laveau annexe is now a 12-bedroom guest house open to anyone who wants to stay in the priestess former home. You’ll find Marie’s Annex opposite the Inn on St Ann Street in the heart of the French Quarter not far from the famous Bourbon street.

The guesthouse is in a great location from which to see and enjoy the rest of what haunted New Orleans has to offer.  The annexe is a beautiful creole cottage and each guest room features a portrait of the priestess herself created by one of the New Orleans French Quarter artists.

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3. Congo Square & the Voodoo Spiritual Temple

Address: Armstrong Park, New Orleans, LA

Visit Congo Square to get an insight into the voodoo rituals still practised there today. Congo Square, or formerly known as Place de Negre or Congo Place, was the one place where the African slaves were allowed to gather and socialize. At the time, the square was an open area just outside of the city, now it’s a part of the grounds at the Louis Armstrong Park.

On Sunday afternoons when the African slaves were allowed off they gathered at Congo Square to practice and express their African heritage including music and dancing, but also the practice of voodoo. It is said that not only was Congo Square important for the development of Jazz but was also essential in the development of voodoo practices. It became the cultural melting pot of Haitian believes, west African rituals and the practices of the local Catholicism.

Congo Square is still important in voodoo practices and rituals are still being held at the square.

Not far from Congo Square on 1428 N Rampart St, you can find the one and only official Voodoo Spiritual temple. The temple was founded in 1990 and is the only formally established spiritual temple. Visit the temple to learn more about how voodoo is practiced today. The temple focuses on traditional West African spiritual and herbal healing practices. The temple is open seven days a week but make sure to check their website for opening hours as their hours are flexible.

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4. The La Laurie Mansion

Address: 1114 Royal Street, New Orleans LA

Maybe the most sinister location in all of New Orleans, the La Laurie Mansion is the former home of the cruel and vicious slave owner Madam Delphine La Laurie after her third marriage. Her house is a landmark in the New Orleans French Quarter, however, the house is not the original but was rebuilt after she left the city and the subsequent tearing down of her house.

The torture that went on in the house, although previously known, was finally put to an end when the mansion caught on fire. The fire was believed to have been started by the cook as a means of suicide in order to escape punishment. The cook, a seventy-year-old woman, was found chained to the stove by the fire department when they arrived at the scene. When the house was later raided by the mob a search of the premises revealed a torture chamber where seven slaves were found dead by gruesome mutilation and torture.

The La Laurie mansion is most commonly known as “the haunted house”. The house has generated multiple ghost stories and is believed to be the most haunted house in New Orleans with the ghosts of former slaves still trapped inside.

The LaLaurie mansion was featured in the American Horror story TV series however the filming was not done at the house.

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5. Pharmacy Museum

Address: 514 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA

The Pharmacy Museum is a popular stop for tourists visiting New Orleans. The original pharmacy that was later turned into a museum was the first official pharmacy in the united states. In the museum, you can view a collection of jars and potions with their original ingredients, historical medical equipment and surgical tools. The pharmacy also sold voodoo potions for those customers too shy or too prude to visit the actual voodoo priests and priestesses practising in the city at the time.

The pharmacy is also believed to be haunted by its former owner Dr Joseph Dupas after closing hours. The story says he used to perform torturous experiments on pregnant slaves as well as perform his own voodoo rituals in the shop.

Visits to the museum require pre-bought tickets from their website.

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6. Sylvain Restaurant and Bar

Address: 625 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA

For a little less grim haunted venue visit the Sylvain, a restaurant and bar today more famous for its gastronomical achievements rather than their ghostly guest Aunt Rose.

Her signature cocktail and namesake is no longer available on the menu but it is said that if you wanted a visit from Aunt Rose a sure way was to order her favourite cocktail when visiting the Sylvain. Aunt Rose was in her day a Madame in the Red-Light districts of New Orleans and her home quarters were where the Sylvain is now located. Rumour has it that the bartenders still leave her signature drink for her on the bar at closing to keep their patron ghost Aunt Rose happy.

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7. The Tableau

Address: 616 St. Peter street, New Orleans, LA

To visit another haunted site in New Orleans visit the Tableau a restaurant that serves classic creole food with a modern touch. You’ll find the restaurant attached to the old “Le petit theatre” in the heart of the French Quarter. It’s said to have a plethora of different ghosts regularly visiting, union soldiers, a theatre manager, nuns and actresses among the many.

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8. Room 21 at Lafitte’s Guest House

Address: 1003 Bourbon Street, New Orleans LA

Lafitte Guest House is a boutique hotel in a beautiful creole mansion overlooking Bourbon street. They have 14 guest rooms but for the haunted experience make sure you book room 21. Plenty of guests and staff has reported strange occurrences in the room and although the staff don’t overtly admit that it’s haunted the do acknowledge that too many strange things have happened over the years to not be of special interest even to them.

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9. May Baily’s Place at Dauphine Orleans

Address: 17 Dauphine Street, New Orleans, LA

May Baily’s place, the hotel bar at Dauphine Orleans hotel was one of the city’s first bordellos, famous even since before prostitution was briefly legalized back in the mid-19^th century.

As a remnant of its past, the venue is still a sultry boudoir inspired bar with burlesque art and red lights and with some of its original murals still intact. The original licence granted to May Baily’s in 1857 still hangs behind the bar.

The ghosts of civil war soldiers, as well as courtesans and well-dressed ladies of the night, have been sighted numerous times at the bar. The spirit of a young courtesan who used to mix drinks for her gentlemen customers is often said to be present when the liquor bottles are being rearranged or when especially handsome bartenders work at the bar.

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10. Le Pavillon Orleans

Address: 833 Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA

To stay at Le Pavillon is to stay at a top luxury hotel with grand interiors and famed southern hospitality. Le Pavillon is sometimes referred to as “the Belle of New Orleans”. Le Pavillion has a long-standing reputation for hosting the rich and famous and far traveling international guests as one of the country’s top hotels.

However, the hotel is not just famous for its luxury hospitality but is also known as one of the most haunted hotels.

The history of the land on which the hotel is built hints at its troubles and many believe it’s a place where the veil is thin and access to the spiritual realm is easy. The hotel, unlike many other hotels rumoured to be haunted, is quite open and forthcoming regarding its haunted reputation. It even hosted a paranormal researcher in the early ’90s. The study recorded close to a hundred spirits within the walls of the hotel in a single night. If you ask the staff about it they will give you the pamphlet to read on the results of the study. 

If you want to stay at the hotel and increase your chances of a ghostly encounter, ask the staff to book you into one of the rooms that have more frequent accounts of spiritual activity. Also, the whole ninth floor is said to be well frequented by ghostly entities.

One man reported an exceptionally vivid encounter where he woke up in the middle of the night, finding a woman all dressed in black sat at the foot of the bed. She ran her finger through his hair and claimed him as hers and told him he could never leave. That same guest has, unsurprisingly, never been back to Le Pavilion since.

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11. Hotel Monteleone

Address: 24 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA

Hotel Monteleone is one of America’s few remaining family-owned hotels. It was built in 1856 and has been in the care of five different generations. The hotel has hosted some famed literary guests back in the day such as William Faulkner, Ernest Hemmingway, and Tennessee Williams. It was recently still acclaimed to be one of the best hotels to work in the United States.

Apart from having famous guests stay at the hotel, Monteleone is also home to many ghosts and is often reported as one of the most haunted hotels in the United States. Just as at Le Pavillion a paranormal research study was conducted here and it confirmed its status as one of the most haunted hotels in the world.

There is an especially sad tale told of a boy ghost, Maurice Berger, who stayed at the hotel with his parents. One night when the parents were away Maurice was struck by a sudden high fever and passed away in the night before his parents returned. The parents would later return every year in hopes of encountering the spirit of their son which they reportedly also did.

If you want to stay at the Monteleone and meet these New Orleans ghosts, book a room on the fourteenth floor, which is actually the thirteenth floor. Just as many other hotels there is no thirteenth floor to avoid the superstition of the number thirteen bringing bad luck but maybe, in this case, if you are an enthusiast of ghostly encounters, it’s really a lucky number.

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12. Bourbon Orleans

Address: 717 Orleans Street, New Orleans, LA

Bourbon Orleans have a long history and was before it became a hotel a New Orleans ballroom and theatre. The theatre was later turned into a convent. The Bourbon Orleans was a convent and an orphanage during the time when yellow fever plagued the city. A lot of the ghosts seen at the hotel are believed to be from this time with the laughs of children being heard through the hotel or guests feeling a phantom tug on their shirts and clothes. A frequently seen ghost at the hotel is a little girl who runs through the halls of the sixth floor of the hotel, playing with her ball.

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13. Omni Royal Orleans

Address: 621 St. Louise Street, New Orleans, LA

The Omni Royal Orleans is a luxury hotel in the historic French Quarters of New Orleans featuring fine dining, art and antique stores. Book a stay at the Omni Royal if you want even your ghostly staff to be dedicated to impeccable service.

There are countless reports of guests having spirits clean up after them, tuck them in at night and close doors etc. to make sure their guests don’t miss out on their famous hospitality.

 

Which site scared you the most? Could you book a room and stay at a hotel in haunted New Orleans? Let us know in the comments below.