Why Is New Orleans the Most Haunted City in the US?

Why New Orleans the most haunted city in the US

With its Cities of the Dead, voodoo myths and experience with natural disasters, New Orleans’ is an epicenter for paranormal activity and ghost stories. The city’s rich cultural history derives from the combination of Spanish and French colonisation, influenced by African traditions that originated from the city’s relationship with the slave trade, and housed settlers from Ireland, Italy and India. Beyond the surface of the Gothic architecture that paves its districts, this diverse history has left a mark on the city: ghosts of past dwellers, supernatural legends and restless spirits inhabit the stories that are whispered on the streets.

New Orleans’ location and geology contributes to one of its many peculiarities. The Cities of the Dead are the city’s vast network of cemeteries in which traditional burials have proved impossible due to the below sea-level status of the city. Not even the resting places of the dead separate them from the living here; sinking tombs are the last home for the dead, opting for elaborate, above ground stone crypts rather than in ground burials that would inevitably lead to resurfacing of the corpses. Therefore, it is believed that the spirits of the dead are not constrained to their graves and that they would wander freely amongst the living. Though it might not seem like a typical day out, trips to cemeteries are very popular with visitors of New Orleans and TravelMag.com has compiled the best tours of the city’s graveyards and most haunted experiences.

Within the sprawling graveyards of New Orleans’, Saint Louis Cemetery No.1 is the burial ground for Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. Every year, people pilgrimage to the site to lay flowers and offerings on her grave, believing, as voodoo tradition does, in the freedom of her spirit and in her ability to carry out acts of healing and blessings.

New Orleans’ ties with voodoo culture result from the influx of slaves and oppression of the African culture; from the 1700s slaves were brought from Africa’s western ‘slave coast’ destined for New Orleans’ thriving slave trade. With them, slaves brought traditions and practices of voodoo that still run deep into the city and natives of New Orleans see this as a dominant part of their culture. Many of us are acquainted with stereotypes of Voodoo rather than the traditions, enabling eerie tales to thrive in relation to the tradition. However, Voodoo’s beautiful respect for spirits and rich culture focuses on the hierarchy of Gods and spirits that Griots (storytellers) keep alive. Their passion for creating rich narratives means that every story comes alive for audiences to enjoy and the history is preserved, and at times embellished, as it is passed through generations of inhabitants.

The city’s French Quarter, lined with gothic architecture and mansions, are the home to many of these stories and haunted tales. The Voodoo museum is evidence of the tradition’s impact on the city but the other results of the slave trade provide one of the bleakest sites in the city: the mansion of Madame LaLaurie. Due to her gruesome torture of slaves, LaLaurie is considered one of the cruelest residents of the city’s past. When an intentional fire destroyed the mansion, the torture chamber that held the slaves was discovered, though many stories of the past inhabitant prove to be false locals claim that the slaves who found their death in this mansion still make appearances within its boundaries. However, this mansion and other renowned sites are not the only playground for spirits in the city; facades of hotels, bars and even pharmacies play host also, and witness otherworldly influence throughout the city.

From deadly yellow fever outbreaks to the unique tales of its past, the narratives of the city are endless, but for non believers in the wandering spirits they sit alongside evidence of more contemporary disasters that plague the city. First hit by Hurricane Betsy in 1964 and in recent memory Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the destruction of the city has left behind many sites that remain abandoned. These eerie sites are evidence of the destruction and new challenges the city faces, and are an addition to the curious collection of tales and scenes that make up New Orleans today.

From the exaggerated anecdotes to the subtle hints that are contained in the streets and shared by locals; in New Orleans you could mistake it for being Halloween every day. The otherworldly beings, quirky preservation of the past and curious approach to their dead contribute to the surreal experiences of New Orleans.

Roisin McAuley