Chloe of the Myrtles: The Slave Ghost with Poisoned Cake

The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana is considered one of America’s most haunted locations. Its most famous ghost is Chloe, a slave woman wearing a green turban who allegedly poisoned the plantation owner’s wife and children. Her spectral image has been captured in photographs, and her presence is felt throughout the property - though historians question whether she ever existed at all.

The Legend of Chloe

The Story as Told

According to popular legend:

• Chloe was a slave at the Myrtles
• She became the mistress of Clark Woodruff, the owner
• She was caught eavesdropping on a business conversation
• As punishment, Woodruff cut off her ear
• She wore a green turban to hide her disfigurement

The Poisoning

The legend continues:

• Chloe wanted to regain favor with the family
• She baked a birthday cake for one of the children
• She added oleander leaves (poisonous)
• She intended a small dose to make them sick
• Then she could nurse them back to health

The Deaths

According to the story:

• The poison was too strong
• Sara Matilda Woodruff (wife) died
• Two of the three children died
• Only Clark and one child survived
• Chloe had killed three people

Chloe’s Fate

The legend’s conclusion:

• The other slaves, fearing retaliation, seized Chloe
• They hanged her from a tree on the property
• Her body was thrown in the Mississippi River
• Her spirit never left the Myrtles
• She’s been seen ever since

The Ghost

Sightings

Witnesses describe:

• A woman in a green turban
• Dressed in servant’s clothing
• Standing on the veranda
• Walking through the house
• Appearing and disappearing suddenly

The Famous Photograph

The most famous evidence:

• A tourist photo taken circa 1992
• Shows a figure between two buildings
• Appears to be wearing a turban
• Many believe it’s Chloe
• The photo has been analyzed extensively

Other Manifestations

Chloe is also blamed for:

• Tucking children into bed
• Moving objects in the children’s room
• The smell of poisonous plants
• Cold spots on the veranda
• Feelings of guilt and sadness

Historical Problems

The Records

Historical research reveals:

• No slave named Chloe appears in Myrtles records
• Sara Matilda Woodruff died of yellow fever in 1823
• The children died in a yellow fever epidemic
• There’s no evidence of poisoning
• No record of a slave being hanged

Death Records

Documents show:

• Yellow fever killed many in the area
• The Woodruff family deaths fit the pattern
• Multiple family members died in the same period
• This was common during epidemics
• No mention of foul play

Alternative Histories

Some historians suggest:

• Chloe is a composite of several stories
• She may be conflated with other plantation legends
• The story grew through oral tradition
• Tourism may have embellished the tale
• The ghost may be real but not Chloe

Other Myrtles Ghosts

William Winter

Another famous ghost:

• Was a lawyer who lived at the Myrtles
• Shot on the front porch in 1871
• Staggered inside and died on the staircase
• His ghost is heard climbing the stairs
• Always stopping at the same step

The Children

Various child spirits:

• Seen playing on the grounds
• Heard laughing in empty rooms
• May or may not be the Woodruff children
• Multiple witnesses over decades
• Often seen by visiting children

The Ghost Mirror

A famous artifact:

• A mirror where handprints appear inside the glass
• Allegedly contains spirits of those who died
• Cleaning doesn’t remove the marks
• The marks return
• Multiple photographs document them

Investigations

Paranormal Teams

The Myrtles has been investigated by:

• Numerous ghost hunting groups
• Television programs
• Academic researchers
• Skeptical investigators
• All with varying results

Evidence Collected

Investigators report:

• EVPs (electronic voice phenomena)
• Unexplained photographs
• Temperature anomalies
• EMF fluctuations
• Personal experiences

The Bed and Breakfast

The Myrtles operates as:

• A historic bed and breakfast
• Guests stay in reportedly haunted rooms
• Many report experiences
• Staff collect testimony
• The haunting continues

The Power of Story

Why Chloe Endures

Even if not historical:

• The story is compelling
• It speaks to plantation history
• It humanizes the enslaved
• It suggests guilt and retribution
• It resonates emotionally

Legend vs. History

The case demonstrates:

• How legends develop around hauntings
• The difficulty of verifying old ghost stories
• The appeal of dramatic narratives
• Tourism’s influence on folklore
• The truth may matter less than meaning

Visiting Today

The Plantation

Visitors can:

• Tour the historic buildings
• Take ghost tours
• Stay overnight
• Learn both history and legend
• Form their own opinions

Ongoing Reports

Guests continue to report:

• Seeing figures in period dress
• Hearing footsteps and voices
• Feeling presences
• Capturing anomalies in photos
• Experiencing something unexplained

Conclusion

Chloe may never have existed. The historical record suggests the Woodruff family died of disease, not poison. No slave named Chloe appears in any documents. The story may be entirely legend, created or embellished by those who loved a good ghost story.

And yet - people see her. The photograph exists. Something wears a green turban and walks the grounds of the Myrtles Plantation. Something stands at the veranda, something haunts the children’s rooms, something leaves its image in old photographs.

Perhaps Chloe is real in a different sense. She represents the countless unnamed slaves whose stories were never recorded, whose suffering was real even if we’ve forgotten the specifics. She embodies the guilt that haunts such places, the weight of history that can never be fully lifted.

Or perhaps she’s just a ghost - whatever ghosts are - wearing her green turban and waiting for someone to remember her name, even if that name was invented long after her death.

At the Myrtles Plantation, Chloe continues her vigil. Whether she lived or not, she clearly never left.