New Orleans Haunted Ghost Tour: Explore The Paranormal

Folk histories of LaLaurie's abuse and murder of her slaves circulated in Louisiana during the nineteenth century

Louis J. Dufilho, Jr. was America's First Licensed Pharmacist. Dufilho’s most significant contribution to the history and integrity of the field of pharmacy took place in New Orleans in 1816.

Vampires have long been fantasized in folklore and mystical tales through the ages, as we can’t help but be enchanted by these curious creatures. And (un)lucky for us, here in Louisiana, vampires are closer to home than we might think. Flawless skin that never seems to age. Eyes that pierce into your soul. Never hungry, but always thirsty. Powerfully charming, yet peculiar. They draw you in with their fascinating stories and hypnotic voices; but you can’t help but think something seems a little strange.

At 183 years old, it boasts a half-basement with a row of sidewalk-level windows and the kind of striking cast-iron filigree balconies on its upper levels that have won it bragging rights as one of the most photographed buildings in the French Quarter. That haunting backstory, though — one that includes a sultan, a stolen harem and mass murder — only gives the Gardette-LePretre House, as it is known, that much more unique a place in New Orleans history.It also gives it the other name by which it is commonly known: The Sultan’s House.

Le Petit Theatre hosts a wide selection of ghosts. Union soldiers, a theater manager, a nun and an actress who committed suicide are just a few of the many spirits that haunt the building. Doors mysteriously blowing open and shutting close and bottles of wine flying off of shelves are just some of the ways that the spirits make their presence known.

At this French Quarter restaurant, patrons dine amongst the spirits of New Orleans’s past. Before serving up plates of goat cheese crepes, the building was believed to have served as a holding facility for slaves being put up for auction in the early 1700s. Then, in 1788, the Great New Orleans Fire partially destroyed the original building. The new owner, Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan, spent several years restoring the property and transforming it into a home for his family. In 1814, he lost his beloved home in a game of poker. Rather than be forced to vacate the house, he died by suicide on the second floor.