Texas ghost hunters caught burning down historical building in Louisiana

A Texas ghost hunting team is accused of burning down an abandoned Civil War plantation house in Louisiana. They were charged with arson and trespassing, Fox News reported today.

Last Friday, seven men went ghost hunting at the LeBeau Plantation House in Arabi, Louisiana. According to police, the men had been drinking and smoking marijuana. The group tried to summon ghosts by beating on the walls and floor. When that didn’t provoke the spirits to come out, the men set fire to the mansion.

Dusten Davenport, 31; Joshua Allen, 21; Joshua Briscoe, 20; Jerry Hamblen, 17; and Joseph Landin, 20; Kevin Barbe, 20; and Bryon Meek, 29 were arrested and are currently in jail. Davenport is believed to be the group’s leader. The men face arson, burglary, criminal damaging, and trespassing charges.

St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jimmy Pohlmann said that the building was a total loss. In a press release, he said that the men “have no idea what they took from St. Bernard Parish.” The building was historic landmark he said.

“Every chief’s worst nightmare is to have a historical structure destroyed in their community, and that is what happened here,” Fire Chief Thomas Stone told The Times-Picayune. He said that the plantation was priceless.

The property dates back to 1721, to Francois Gauthreaux, who received the land from the Company of Indies. After the house’s plantation days, it was used as a hotel, a boarding house and a casino. It has been vacant since the 1980s.

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