St. Louis in New Orleans, Louisiana is a complex of three Catholic cemeteries located in different parts of the city. A characteristic feature of the local burials is that they are located above the ground, since the city is often heated by groundwater. Maybe that's why so many mysterious stories are associated with them?
The oldest of the St. Louis cemeteries is No. 1. It was founded in 1789, and is still buried there. After the release in 1969 of Dennis Hopper's legendary film "Easy Rider" and the books for you by Anne Rayet's cycle, tourists flocked here. Fearing vandalism, authorities have banned solo visits and only guided tours are allowed.
Many visitors claim that they heard groans and cries emanating from the crypts, and some even saw ghosts in the form of a foggy cloud over the tomb or human figures. On the wall of one of the crypts, the face of some old man sometimes begins to appear - maybe the one who is buried there …
Mistress of darkness
Most of the legends are about the "voodoo queen" buried here - Marie Laveau. She was born in 1794. She was a mulatto, illegitimate daughter of a plantation owner and one of his slaves. The girl was brought up in her father's house and from childhood was introduced to the Catholic faith.
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At twenty-five, she was married off to a certain Jacques Paris, a freedman. However, the husband soon disappeared without a trace. Years later, it was decided to recognize him as dead.
Marie opened a hairdressing salon to make a living. Listening carefully to the conversations of clients, she collected information, which she then used for her own purposes. Later she opened a brothel on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. A lot of family secrets and here an enterprising lady found out!
She eventually became interested in the cult of voodoo, which was actively practiced by the colored and black population of the city. She began to participate in gatherings in the wasteland outside the French Quarter, where the voodooists performed their ceremonies. It didn't take long for Marie to be declared the local “voodoo queen”.
Most often they turned to the "queen" when they needed help in love affairs or had to exterminate the enemy. Marie made voodoo dolls, tossed them to the intended victims, and they soon died. At least that's what the legend says.
In addition, the witch made gris-gris talismans. It was a small cloth bag, or a small purse, or a purse made of cloth, in which herbs, stones, bones, dust from a cemetery, spices, hair or nail clippings could lie - it all depended on the purpose for which the talisman was intended. "Gri-gris" were used to attract health, money and love, protection from misfortunes and much more.
For example, gamblers were offered bags made of red flannel with magnets inside or bags filled with shark teeth and moistened with pigeon's blood - they were believed to be capable of attracting luck in the game.
Sometimes they ordered "gris-gris" in order to spoil someone. Then Mari sewed a handbag from a piece of the shroud of a person who died nine days ago, and stuffed it with all sorts of things. A dried one-eyed toad and lizards, the little finger of a black man who committed suicide, bat wings, cat's eyes, an owl's liver, and a cock's heart were involved. Talismans "for spoilage" were in special demand among black slaves, who dreamed of killing their white masters, who treated them cruelly.
However, Marie enjoyed immense popularity among the white population of New Orleans. Even representatives of the local elite approached her with their problems, the press wrote about the "queen".
In 1869, Marie was forced to relinquish her title, as she reached old age, but she did not stop practicing witchcraft. She died in 1881.
Who was Marie really? Was she just a clever charlatan, or did she really have magical powers? However, magic rituals, unlike telepathy or clairvoyance, can be learned, if there is a desire.
They say the ghost of Marie Laveau often walks between the tombs. You can recognize him by his red and white turban with seven knots. The spirit mutters to itself a special curse, which will certainly fall on the heads of those who dare to disturb the cemetery peace.
Sometimes a large snake is seen next to the ghost of Mari - this is a symbol of Boa, one of the main voodoo deities. During her lifetime, Marie had a real snake named Zombie, and when the witch died, her pet was buried with her. Perhaps this Zombie is seen crawling near the grave of the mistress …
There is a belief that Marie Laveau is capable of fulfilling any wishes even after her death. To do this, you need to draw a cross on the wall of her tomb or put three coins, stand near the grave, turn around three times around its axis and knock on the crypt door three times. Some also carry out voodoo rituals here, leaving flowers, candles, beads, dolls. In no case should you touch them - perhaps a curse was imposed on them or a conspiracy was made on the disease.
Lady with a whip, pleasant in every way
Another St. Louis ghost is Dolphin La Laurie, the local "Saltychikha". It is known that she was born around 1775 in the Macarty family, which belonged to the cream of society. Her parents died during the slave uprising in Haiti, apparently, this was the reason for Dolphin's hatred of blacks.
She got married three times. The first two husbands passed away, leaving her two daughters. The third chosen one was the dentist Leonard Louis La Laurie. In 1832, the couple purchased a house in New Orleans on Royal Street, which later became known as "La Laurie Estate." The doctor was a respected man in the city; the house often hosted receptions, which gathered all the color of New Orleans.
The dolphin was considered special, pleasant in all respects: well-mannered, friendly, witty, with good taste.
Time passed, and La Laurie's neighbors around the block began to notice something was wrong. Once, a young maid was combing Dolphin's hair and accidentally pulled her hair. The hostess grabbed the whip, the girl rushed to run. In front of the neighbors, Dolphin drove the girl onto the balcony, and she jumped down in despair … Apparently, she knew too well the temper of her mistress and what awaited her if she preferred death to punishment.
The neighbors filed a complaint, but Delfina managed to get away with a fine - the judge was a friend of their family, often visited the house. True, La Lori's domestic servants were taken away and sent to the auction. But at the request of Dolphina, her friends bought the poor fellows at an auction, in order to sell them to her later!
After this incident, there were rumors that a lady, pleasant in all respects, was torturing the servants, conducting some kind of "experiments" on them, injuring and even killing them. Indeed, the slaves from the House of Dolphins often disappeared to no one knows where, and she did not report the loss.
Once the cook La Laurie, who was kept on a chain, set a fire in the kitchen on purpose to draw the attention of neighbors to the bullying done by the hostess. It was then that the neighbors who came running to help found a "torture chamber" in the attic of the house. But they failed to arrest the sadist.
According to one of the versions, Delphine La Laurie secretly left New Orleans, moved to France and died there in a hunting accident. According to another version, she remained in Louisiana, but lived under a different name and was buried in St. Louis. And in her house on Royal Street, the ghosts of tortured slaves roam, clattering with chains.
Black cat with red eyes
They say there are many ghost dogs and cats in the cemetery. They miss the local caretaker who fed and looked after them. But the watchman died in the last century and was buried in the less prestigious cemetery No. 2, and his favorites are still waiting, waiting …
All animal phantoms are harmless except one. It is a huge black cat with fiery red eyes. It is believed that when you see him, you should certainly cross yourself three times and move away, but so that he cannot see your back. By the way, you should do the same when you meet the ghost of Marie Laveau. According to legend, if evil spirits look in your back, then you will remain in slavery to them for the rest of your life.
Irina Shlionskaya