Ghouls and Ghosts in New Orleans, Louisiana - 24-Hour Travel Guide

The House of Voodoo

House on Prytania St. formerly owned by Anne Rice

Bourbon Orleans Hotel

Overview - New Orleans is known for good food, music and of course, voodoo and ghosts. Explore the Crescent’s City’s macabre history and scare yourself silly in 24 hours.

Breakfast - Have a side of murder with your eggs. Brennan’s on Royal Street is famous for inventing Eggs Benedict and for its resident ghosts. Go up to the Red Room where apparently, a M. Lefleur murdered his son and wife before hanging himself. There are reports of cold spots and employees over the years have seen a misty figure following them all over the room.

Morning - Start your sightseeing with a tour of St. Louis Cemetery #1 on Basin St. Learn all about the above ground tombs that are a feature of all New Orleans cemeteries (there’s a reason why they’re called “wall ovens”). Visit some of its most famous “residents”, including the Queen of Voodoo - Marie Laveau.

Afterwards, visit the House of Voodoo on Bourbon St. for all your voodoo needs. Schedule an appointment with a practicing psychic, peruse all the voodoo related displays and artifacts or simply satisfy your curiosity browsing the wide array of voodoo trinkets available.

Lunch - You’ll find lots of places to have a New Orleans-style jazz brunch, but not in a place that’s not only haunted, but ISPR (International Society for Paranormal Research) certified haunted! The Court of Two Sisters on Royal St. has a delicious buffet-style jazz brunch serving authentic southern and Creole food and has 2 sister ghosts, Emma and Bertha Camors, who were apparently close in both life and death.

Afternoon - New Orleans was never actually associated with vampires until its most famous resident, author Anne Rice, published her series of vampire novels. Go to the Garden District Bookshop on Prytania St. where The Garden District Walking Tour run by the Historic New Orleans Tours meets. While the tour covers other topics such as architecture and history, much of it is dedicated to Anne Rice, the places where she took inspiration for her novels, and contemporary social commentary (i.e. gossip). The tour itself is fun and informative, just be sure to get back to the French Quarter before dark and the vampires wake from their sleep…

Dinner - The sun has set and now the real fun begins. Muriel’s on St. Anne’s St. is a unique restaurant and serves up contemporary Creole cuisine. Have some turtle soup, shrimp remoulade and the redfish and crab dish. Ask your server is they’ve ever encountered Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan, one of the resident ghosts said to roam the second floor around the Inner Séance Room.

After Dark - Night is the best time for haunting in New Orleans. While there are many evening tours available, all of them will eventually bring you by the “most haunted house in America” – the Lalaurie Mansion on Royal Street. This house has a grisly history, which began when Madame Lalaurie was discovered to have kept a torture chamber for slaves back in 1834. Since then, all of its former residents have their own share of ghost stories and strange, chilling events.

Sleep - Get some sleep…if you can, in the French Quarter’s most haunted hotel, the Bourbon Orleans. Hotel employees and guests claim to have seen ghosts in the property, most of which were children playing and running in the halls. Should you be bothered by any of the hotel’s 17 ghosts, the staff will be more than happy to switch your rooms.

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