New Orleans is widely regarded as one of the most haunted cities in America. Over two dozen paranormal tour companies operate in the French Quarter alone. During the month of October, New Orleans is bustling with festivals and spooky-themed events and full of tourists rushing to catch a glimpse of a ghost. Its history is rich with unsettling, unforgettable events and historical figures, which have shaped the culture of horror in New Orleans. The haunting history, spiritual roots, and present-day extraordinary experiences are hidden within the city.
Historical horrors
Tourism is often pictured as exploring beautiful natural wonders, dining at special restaurants, or trying rare and exciting activities. New Orleans has made its reputation as a hotspot for unique experiences and attractions, including a more mysterious, cryptic aspect of tourism. In 2024, 19 million tourists visited the city, bringing in over $10.4 billion.
Dark tourism, the practice of visiting sites associated with dark or violent themes and backgrounds, is especially popular in New Orleans. This is primarily due to the city’s complex and diverse history with countless, untold stories of tragedy.
The City of the Dead
Significant events such as the Yellow Fever epidemic contributed to New Orleans’ haunted reputation. This catastrophic disease swept the area multiple times during the mid-18th century and again in the 19th century. The epidemic took more than 41,000 lives between 1817 and 1905, according to PBS. It was recorded to have been caused by the arrival of a smuggler’s shipment of bananas, which had avoided the appropriate quarantine.
Another major factor was the increasing mosquito population. The outbreak of 1863 claimed more than 8,000 lives. The impact resulted in the title of “City of the Dead,” which refers to the toppling of aboveground cemeteries, rumored to be active with paranormal activity.
The illusion of choice
Louis Congo may not ring a bell for many people, but for the residents of New Orleans, it is a name that carries a heavy history. The local legend started on Nov. 21, 1725, in French colonial New Orleans, and during this period, enslaved African Americans were being given the cruel decision of remaining enslaved or serving the role as a public executioner.
Like many before him, Louis Congo was faced with this choice and, later that day, was made a shared public executioner by the Company of the Indies. This system was incorporated by French colonists, who believed executions performed by a “Negro” would be the most effective and degrading punishment a white citizen could receive, according to the African American Intellectual History Society.
Louis Congo remained in the role of the public executioner for twelve years. As executioner, there were four major forms of punishment in New Orleans: flogging, hanging, breaking on the wheel, and being burned alive at the stake. Against his own morals and humanity, Louis Congo received warrants containing orders that issued him to punish an alleged criminal. The importance of the warrant is that it protects public executioners from criminal charges, according to the African American Intellectual History Society. Louis Congo’s career as a public executioner is documented in the civil and criminal records of Louisiana’s Superior Council, including records of the executions themselves. His story is a reminder of the manipulation and corruption of the justice system during that time for people of color, specifically free and enslaved African Americans.
New Orleans voodoo
From West Africa to Louisiana, spiritual beliefs such as Voodoo have and continue to inspire and influence the culture of New Orleans. The practice of voodoo migrated to New Orleans in the early 1700s through the slave trade. Voodoo became incorporated into the city’s dominant religions and created a Voodoo-Catholicism hybrid, or what is now referred to as New Orleans Voodoo, according to the French Quarter’s official website.
Enslaved Africans were not allowed to practice their religion freely, and as a result, they began to attend Catholic holy days and saints’ feast days as a means to disguise their personal services. These services included deities such as Monsieur Dani and Papa Lébat. While both African and non-African communities practiced Voodoo in the nineteenth century, as the increase of Protestant churches and law enforcement grew, Voodoo became an increasingly hidden religion. However, it has become more prevalent in recent years.
The Voodoo Queen
Marie Laveau is widely considered the best-known Voodoo practitioner in New Orleans. Laveau was devoted to Catholic and African spirituality and Voodoo, as well as an influential community leader. She was born in 1801 and married a Creole man from Sainte Domingue, now Haiti. During their marriage, he was reported missing and later found dead. As a result, Marie Laveau became known as the “Widow Paris.” Soon after, she remarried.
Tragedy struck again in Laveau’s life, as the yellow fever swept across New Orleans and claimed the lives of several of her children. Laveau was a dedicated mother, but most of her work resides in the community. Many sought her advice for marital affairs, domestic disputes, judicial issues, childbearing, finances, health, and, in general, good fortune. Some also followed her teachings and practices, often referring to her for counsel regarding spiritual tools and methods.
Laveau is one of the most popular historic representations of New Orleans culture and its spiritual roots. Her work has inspired and nurtured many aspects of culture, including media and literature, according to the official site of the Louisiana State Museums.
Present paranormals
The Museum of Death was founded in July 1995 by JD Healy and Cathee Shultz as an effort to better education on death in America. Originally, the Museum of Death was located in San Diego’s first mortuary, but later developed two other main sites in Hollywood and New Orleans. The Museum of Death showcases “the world’s largest collection of serial killer artwork, unique and antique funeral ephemera, mortician and coroner instruments, Manson Family memorabilia, pet death taxidermy, crime scene photographs,” and a variety of other collections, according to the Mortuary Haunted House website.
The former funeral parlor and crematorium, Grand Victorian Mansion, was originally built in 1872 by Mary Slattery. Over time, it was eventually bought by PJ McMahon & Sons, and the home was transformed into a grand funeral home. On July 2, 2007, it was announced that Jeff Borne, owner of PSX Worldwide Audiovisual Technologies, purchased the property with plans to expand it into the Mortuary Haunted Mansion.
Throughout the years, paranormal investigators have approached and explored the facility, and many visitors report strange encounters. Today, it stands as one of the most popular haunted attractions in the French Quarter, ushering in hundreds of customers per week. The experience is full of “spectacular scares, talented actors, and an immersive atmosphere,” according to the Museum of Death History.
The evolution of dark tourism in New Orleans, inspired by Voodoo and molded by history, is just one of the many interesting and unique factors that make the city so uniquely diverse and culturally significant.
