The LaLaurie Mansion Horrors

The LaLaurie Mansion at 1140 Royal Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter is one of America’s most infamous haunted locations. In 1834, a fire revealed that socialite Delphine LaLaurie had been torturing enslaved people in her attic. Their spirits are said to remain.

The Discovery

On April 10, 1834, a fire broke out in the LaLaurie kitchen. When rescuers broke into the house, they discovered enslaved people chained in the attic, bearing evidence of terrible torture. Some had been subjected to crude medical experiments.

The Horrors

Witnesses described people with limbs broken and reset at unusual angles, organs removed, holes bored into skulls, and other atrocities. The accounts may have been exaggerated by newspapers of the era, but the core discovery was genuine.

The Escape

When a mob formed to confront her, Madame LaLaurie fled New Orleans by carriage and eventually to France. She was never brought to justice. She died in Paris, reportedly in 1849, though some accounts claim she returned secretly to New Orleans.

The Haunting

The mansion has been plagued by paranormal activity ever since. Screams echo from the attic. Chains rattle in empty rooms. Apparitions of tortured figures appear throughout the house. Residents and visitors report overwhelming feelings of dread.

The Ownership

The mansion has had numerous owners, none able to stay long. Residents flee. Businesses fail. Even the brave Nicolas Cage owned it briefly. The house resists occupation.

Assessment

The LaLaurie Mansion’s haunting seems proportionate to the horrors committed within. Whether genuine ghosts of torture victims or psychic impressions of extreme suffering, something malevolent permeates the building.