Preternatural

The Supernatural - Moonlight and Mysticism

When the mist rises along the Mississippi and moonlight spills across shuttered doorways and ancient cobblestones, it's easy to find mysticism and magic in the French Quarter. The Quarter's narrow streets and hidden courtyards are intriguing by day - by night they can be positively eerie, and even an unexpected peal of laughter from an open doorway can send tingles down the spine of the most stalwart visitor.

If you're the type that embraces the unearthly, who longs to uncover the arcane, then your soul will feel right at home in the French Quarter. The Vieux Carre has proven fertile ground for the birth of both legend and literature -- voodoo priestesses, ghosts, witches and vampires, whether real or imagined, have contributed to the mystical tradition of this ancient ville; with our help you can walk in their footsteps.

When You Do That Voodoo

Until the past decade or so, the mystical belief most associated with New Orleans, and particularly the French Quarter, was voodoo. Brought to the area over two hundred years ago by West African slaves, voodoo has a rich tradition that dates back some 7,000 years. Perhaps the best known and most revered practitioner of voodoo in the city, and some say the "founder" of New Orleans voodoo, was Marie Laveau, a free woman of color born in 1794 in Haiti. Laveau was also a devout Catholic; it was this unique blending of Voodoo rituals and Catholicism that would differentiate New Orleans voodoo from other forms of the practice. Legend has it that Laveau lived in a house at 1020 St. Ann Street; there is no "Laveau Museum" here as one might expect, but there is a small plaque commemorating her residency. To view an interesting collection of voodoo artifacts, purchase voodoo accessories, or commission a love potion or customized gris-gris bag filled with magical herbs, head to The New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum at 724 Dumaine Street. The Museum also offers a variety of otherworldly tours, some of which include a trip to the priestess' much-visited tomb in St. Louis Cemetery #1. Zombie's House of Voodoo at 723 St. Peter Street and the Marie Laveau House of Voodoo at 729 Bourbon Street are rumored to be less authentic but are no less popular with the curious; Zombie's is the departure point for another group of tours.

You can also walk down to 509 Decatur Street and have a drink at the Marie Laveau Voodoo Bar, where the proprietresses offer art and artifacts for your perusal and claim to have the petrified body of Laveau's cat. To complete your indoctrination, visit the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum at 514 Chartres Street, in 1823 the shop of one of the country's first licensed pharmacists and now home to an interesting collection of medicinal artifacts including voodoo items and handwritten recipes for potions and cures.

A Ghostly Presence

Any old city is sure to have wandering spirits, and The French Quarter probably has more than its share. Indignant sultans, sadistic slave owners, and even melancholy generals have all lent their sepulchral presence to the otherworldly lore that surrounds the old city. Both employees of and visitors to La Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, a well-known playhouse at 616 St. Peter Street, have reported ghostly experiences with an assortment of now-departed actresses, audience members, and even a stagehand. The Beauregard-Keyes House at 1113 Chartres, is reputed to be haunted by the ghosts of three Mafia henchmen who were killed by members of the family they were sent to murder, as well as by the ghost of former occupant General P.G.T. Beauregard, who purportedly cannot rest because of the terrible guilt he feels over his involvement in the Civil War. Equally eerie, but unfortunately less publicly accessible ghostly haunts include the LaLaurie House at 1140 Royal, whose sadistic owner Madame Delphine LaLaurie chained and tortured her slaves and may have driven one to jump to her death in the home's courtyard, as well as the Gardette-LePrete House at 716 Dauphine. This impressive domicile was home in the 1870s to a mysterious middle easterner who was rumored to maintain a harem. He and his companions were all found hacked to pieces one morning, some say at the request of the angry sultan to whom the harem actually belonged.

If you prefer to seek the macabre in the company of like-minded companions, then join the New Orleans Ghost Tour, which leaves every evening at 8pm from the steps in front of Caf� du Monde, just across from Jackson Square.

From Vampires to Witches

The Quarter's supernatural patina has been given a further shining with the publication over the past two decades of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Witching Hour books. Nearly all the characters in Rice's works hail from her beloved New Orleans, and the French Quarter is a favored haunt for many of them. For the record, vampirism hasn't always been an integral part of the French Quarter's history, but the old city has been home to a witch or two. Even so, the vampire Lestat and his brethren have definitely become intimately entwined in the local lore, as the throngs of visitors following black-caped tour guides around the Quarter each night can attest.

One of the excursions, The Vampire Tour, leaves every evening at 8:30 pm from in front of St. Louis Cathedral. This tour will take you to the infamous Blood Square where tourist can visit the local vampire hang outs, such as Chaines.

If you want to expand your reach to encompass even more of the ethereal, consider visiting one of the many fortune-tellers in Jackson Square for a tarot reading, or consult with the psychics and tasseomancers (tea-leaf readers) at Bottom of the Cup Tea Room located at 732 Royal Street.

A final stop of interest to aficionados of the occult is the Musee Conti Wax Museum at 917 Rue Conti. For nearly half a century, the museum has been telling the story of New Orleans in wax, including the legends and lore surrounding many of its supernatural occupants. Be sure to visit the Haunted Dungeon!