“Let Kala Ambrose be your tour guide to the ghosts, spirits, and revenants of New Orleans. What so distinguishes this book from the rest of the contenders is the respect with which Ambrose treats spiritual topics—something that is indeed rare. She writes about New Orleans with love, offering practical travel advice alongside chilling tales of ghosts and vampires. Highly recommended!”
—Judika Illes, author of Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells;
Encyclopedia of Spirits; and
Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saints & Sages
“New Orleans, a city with an almost palpable mystique of the supernatural, the unknown, the unexplained. Imagine visiting this iconic city with a trusted guide who can not only inform about the extensive ethereal population of ghosts earthbound in their old haunts, but one who also can actually speak to the spirits themselves and relay their fascinating stories. Spiritual teacher, priestess, and oracle Kala Ambrose has written a fascinating book that is bound to become a paranormal classic.”
—Brad Steiger, author of
Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places
“Kala Ambrose’s Spirits of New Orleans shows us how New Orleans is a magical city filled with hidden spiritual secrets—it is a practical, entertaining, and expert guide to its other side.”
—Bradford P. Keeney, Ph.D. & Hillary Keeney, Ph.D.,
authors, professors, and internationally renowned spiritual
teachers; The Mojo Doctors, New Orleans
“Once again, Kala Ambrose delivers the supernatural goods and takes us on a wild ride as we discover the truth about the paranormal entities of one of the nation’s most mysterious of all places: New Orleans.”
—Nick Redfern, author of Monster Diary
Titles in the America’s Haunted Road Trip Series:
Ghosthunting Florida
Ghosthunting Illinois
Ghosthunting Kentucky
Ghosthunting Maryland
Ghosthunting Michigan
Ghosthunting New Jersey
Ghosthunting New York City
Ghosthunting North Carolina
Ghosthunting Ohio
Ghosthunting Ohio: On the Road Again
Ghosthunting Pennsylvania
Ghosthunting Southern California
Ghosthunting Southern New England
Ghosthunting Texas
Ghosthunting Virginia
Cincinnati Haunted Handbook
Nashville Haunted Handbook
Haunted Hoosier Trails
More Haunted Hoosier Trails
Spooked in Seattle
Twin Cities Haunted Handbook
Dedicated to the people of New Orleans—past, present, and future …
Spirits of New Orleans: Voodoo Curses, Vampire Legends, and Cities of the Dead
COPYRIGHT © 2012 by Kala Ambrose
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any fashion, print, facsimile, or electronic, or by any method yet to be developed, without express permission of the copyright holder.
For further information, contact the publisher at:
Clerisy Press
306 Greenup Street
Covington, KY 41011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ambrose, Kala, 1966–
Spirits of New Orleans: voodoo curses, vampire legends, and the cities of the dead / by Kala Ambrose. — First edition.
pages cm — (America’s haunted road trip)
ISBN 978-1-57860-509-5 (pbk.) — ISBN 1-57860-509-1 ()
1. Ghosts—Louisiana—New Orleans. 2. Haunted places—Louisiana—New Orleans. I. Title.
BF1472.U6A457 2012
133.109763'35--dc23
2012018953
Distributed by Publishers Group West
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, first printing
Editor: Vanessa Rusch Thomas
Cover design: Scott McGrew
Cover and interior photos provided by the author unless otherwise noted
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: Embracing the Spirit and Spirits of New Orleans
CHAPTER 1 The Grande Dame City of the Dead— St. Louis Cemetery #1
CHAPTER 2 Who’s Haunting the Garden District?
CHAPTER 3 Tread Carefully When Walking Down the Haunted Pirates Alley
CHAPTER 4 Ghostly Harem Dancing for the Sultan at the Gardette–LePrete House
CHAPTER 5 Marie Laveau—The Legendary Queen of Voodoo
CHAPTER 6 The Haunted Archway and Other Legends of Congo Square
CHAPTER 7 The Horrors Still Live at LaLaurie House
CHAPTER 8 The Casket Girls of the Old Ursuline Convent and Other Vampire Lore
CHAPTER 9 Guests in Spirit Still Attend the Quadroon Balls at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel
CHAPTER 10 Ghostly Carriage Rides at the Old French Opera House on Bourbon Street
CHAPTER 11 The Monk Who Saved the Children at the Place d’Armes Hotel
CHAPTER 12 A Loving Legacy at the Cornstalk Hotel
CHAPTER 13 The Deathly Portal of Thirteen at Canal Street and City Park
CHAPTER 14 Jean Lafitte’s Infamous Pirate Bar
CHAPTER 15 More Than 200 Years of Spirits at the Napoleon House
CHAPTER 16 Gourmet Ghosts Love Antoine’s and Arnaud’s Restaurants