Maci and Nadoly went on a little fieldtrip to yet another haunted city. This time the city has its name on every list of most haunted cities in the world: New Orleans! People from all over the world flock here to take in the interesting architecture, the amazing food, the unique festivals, the laid-back culture, and the incredible history. There is a ghost story for every street corner, restaurant, hotel, and cemetery. Those are the stories we will be telling today! For part 1 we'll be telling the history of New Orleans (including a brief overview of The Axeman, a serial killer you've never heard of) and tell the spooky stories of some of the most haunted hotels, restaurants, and bars in the French Quarter. The Bourbon Orleans, Hotel Monteleone, Andrew Jackson Hotel, Muriel's Jackson Square, Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar, New Orleans Creole Cookery, and Napoleon House!This week's Tea: David's Tea Brown Sugar BourbonVideo about Mardi Gras: What is Mardi Gras?WE HAVE MERCH!!! You can check out our store athttps://ghosteas.com/Shipping only to the US at this time.Got questions, stories, or spooky encounters of your own? You can also send us an email at [email protected]. Your story could be featured in an upcoming episode! 👇🗣️If you're craving more ghostly goodness, remember to check out our YouTube @ghosteaspod Stay haunted, stay curious, and stay tuned for more Ghosteas! 👻🍵 Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube (@ghosteaspod)Ghosteas PO Box:1106 Main StPO Box 576Bastrop, TX 7860200:00 Intro05:09 Tea Talk06:49 The History of New Orleans27:12 The Bourbon Orleans37:17 Hotel Monteleone45:18 Andrew Jackson Hotel48:34 Muriel's Jackson Square52:20 Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar54:13 New Orleans Creole Cookery / O'Flaherty's57:44 Napoleon House01:01:33 OutroMusic from #Uppbeathttps://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/wistful-waltzLicense code: QMAHG1FFRPNJUAPX
Chapter 1: What makes New Orleans the most haunted city in the US?
Hi Ghosties, I'm Macy. And I'm Natalie. The lively sounds of jazz fill the streets day and night, and people from all over the world flock here to take in the interesting architecture, the amazing food, the unique festivals, the laid-back culture, and the incredible history. But New Orleans is also known for something much spookier.
It is known as one of the most haunted cities in the United States. There is a ghost story for every street corner, restaurant, hotel, and cemetery. And those are the stories we will be telling you today. Ah! With Mardi Gras being celebrated this week, we thought it would be very apropos to explore New Orleans and tell you all about it.
And this time we really mean explore because rather than just having internet exploration, we had our boots on the ground. We were boots on the ground. We were in it and we saw everything.
We did.
A lot of things. A lot of things. We honestly could have stayed for a week and a half, and it wouldn't have been enough. I know. I needed so much more time. So in case you are interested, they have a World War II museum, and the Higgins boats that were used to navigate shallow waters when they stormed the beach of Normandy on D-Day were made and created in New Orleans.
And they have this massive museum, and I wanted to go see that, among other more spooky things, less nerdy things.
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Chapter 2: What historical events shaped New Orleans?
No, there was just so much. We went on two cemetery tours. We stayed in a haunted hotel. We ate at a restaurant that's haunted.
Ghostly. Yeah.
We did a lot, but it still felt like not nearly enough.
We only had like a basically one day to be there because of work. Like we left when Jake got off of work late Friday and it was a like seven, eight hour drive. Mm hmm. Then we had to leave early on Sunday because we also wanted to see our grandma because she lives there and then to get back home because work Monday.
And yeah, getting home late. It was so tough on Monday. Brian and I, when we got home, we ate. And then the next thing I know, we woke up on the couch and it was time for work.
Yeah, we got home at like nine or ten o'clock.
But it felt so much later.
Just because it was a long drive.
We had so much fun seeing all the houses and buildings and things like that. In person. I literally could just stand there and just marvel.
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Chapter 3: Who was The Axeman of New Orleans?
Now obviously, and unfortunately, they didn't get very far, and I don't want to get too into detail about this particularly, but I just wanted to demonstrate to you the environment New Orleans was in at the time. Slavery remained a large part of New Orleans' wealth, though tensions continued to rise until the Civil War. Mm-hmm.
sat in a white's only car to purposefully get arrested and challenged the laws i don't even think you could tell that he was even an eighth black and he alerted the people like hey actually i'm i'm a black man and they're like oh arrested because you're not supposed to be in here just to get this case to the supreme court unfortunately it culminated in the 1896 supreme court decision that enshrined the separate but equal policies across the u.s horrible horrible and we i think we saw his grave didn't we yes and we'll talk about that next episode oh okay
New Orleans has been a place that held many fights for civil rights throughout the years, and the emergence of jazz music played a role in that as well. New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz music, and it still overwhelmingly has a place in the city and its culture. Walking along the streets, you hear jazz all the time.
There's bands, there's people with instruments just everywhere. Like, the whole city is so just... Lively.
It doesn't feel real. It has been so influential and popular that it even played a minor role in the antics of a New Orleans serial killer dubbed the Axeman. What? Between 1918 and 1919, an unknown man broke into several houses under the cover of darkness and murdered at least six people, injuring six others, and leaving the bloodied axe behind at each scene. I did not know this.
The majority of those attacked were Italian grocers, leaving some to believe there could have been some mafia connections, if not simply a product of ethnic prejudice alone. But of course, there were many who believed him to be a demon or dark entity who sought out to terrorize the people of New Orleans.
The Axeman was never found, but on March 13th, 1919, it is believed that he wrote a letter to the editor of the Times-Picayune with very particular requests for the people of New Orleans. Do we have that letter? We do. Oh, thank God. So it was dated, hell, March 13th, 1919. Esteemed mortal of New Orleans, they have never caught me and they never will.
They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the ether that surrounds your earth. I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell.
i am what you orleanians and your foolish police call the axeman when i see fit i shall come and claim other victims i alone know whom they shall be i shall leave no clue except my bloody axe besmeared with blood and brains of he whom i have sent below to keep me company if you wish you may tell the police to be careful not to rile me of course i am a reasonable spirit
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Chapter 4: How did Hurricane Katrina impact New Orleans?
Capitol, was brought in to design the new building, and he was proved right because almost immediately after reopening, it became internationally known and a great success. The Salle d'Orleans, or the Orleans Ballroom, was soon added directly next to the theater. There was also like actually a balcony that lead connected the two.
The theater and ballroom hosted many prestigious operas, masquerade and carnival balls, and even state legislative sessions. It was a hotspot for Creole society. Young unmarried women, who were a quarter African, were greatly admired by the rich Creole men in New Orleans, and these balls were a place for them to meet.
I don't know if it was at this point yet or not, but it was kind of taboo to marry them. But they still found them intriguing and beautiful. So they would have these balls. And it's where I think it's called a placage was arranged. Basically, these men would take on the duty of caring for and housing these women without being married to them. A lot of them were just mistresses.
This is unsettling. Very, very unsettling. This feels very almost traffic-y.
Dare I say? A little bit. A little weird. Because they, I mean, these women needed a man to support them at this time. Most of them did. And so they went to these balls to find someone who would care for them. And their children, a lot of them had children with these men. And these men would just put them in houses and apartments. They'd be their houses and apartments.
But the women would live there and be taken care of.
I don't know. I don't like the sound of this. But they're still under the control of the man. Yeah. Gross.
Yeah. The man was legally obligated to take care of them. Most of them had contracts saying like, we are setting up this business arrangement, basically. And the relationships were pretty exploitative and unsettling. By the time of the Civil War, business began to wane. And in 1866, the theater was once again burned to the ground by a large fire in the area. Lots of fire. Lots of fire.
Leaving only a damaged ballroom. The land was bought by the Sisters of the Holy Family and used as a school, orphanage, and convent for the next 83 years. So the Sisters of the Holy Family were the first African-American convent here in New Orleans. They created the first all African-American convent here. and necessary steps were taken to fix the damage and rebuild what they could.
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Chapter 5: What is Mardi Gras and its significance in New Orleans?
He's like very strong. He can do a lot. Yes.
Oh my gosh. Some guests have run down the stairs to the front desk in the middle of the night hoping to switch rooms because they're not up for a night of playful spirits in their pajamas running down like, please get me out of here.
And I would do the same.
There is one other spirit in the hotel that isn't that of a young boy, but rather a suspected housekeeper. She is known to straighten towels, fluff pillows, and reset furniture arrangements to her liking. So it doesn't matter how the hotel has arranged it. She'll put it back how she thinks it should be. Then just leave it. Yeah. Why don't they just leave it?
Many guests and employees will walk into a room and notice things have been moved or even swapped around completely with no known earthly cause. The spirit is often spotted in the lobby or on the second floor. Like the hotels in the French Quarter, most of the restaurants and bars also have their own ghost stories, so we'll talk about a few. This isn't even scratching the surface.
Ha ha ha.
Anyway, the land first contained a small cottage built by a French-Canadian man named Claude Trappinier. He was awarded the land for his efforts in the expedition to New Orleans in 1718, but the property eventually ended up in the hands of Jean-Baptiste de Trahan in 1745. He was very wealthy and powerful at the time and built a grand home for himself and his family.
The home was passed down to his son and was auctioned off to Pierre-Philippe de Marnier in 1776 after Jean-Baptiste's family kind of ran out of money. It was his city home when he wasn't staying at his plantation right outside the city. So like most rich people did back in the day. A portion of the home was burned in the 1788 fire.
It was then sold to a man named Pierre Antoine Lepardy Jourdan, who rebuilt the home to restore it to its former glory. The owners of Muriel's even found some of the original charred walls and beams when they were doing renovations and restorations in the building. That's crazy. Jourdan loved and adored his home. It was his pride and joy. But he also had a bit of a gambling problem.
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