Nottoway Plantation - White Castle, LA (The Nation's Largest Plantation)

31025 Louisiana Hwy 1

White Castle, LA 70788

30.182646,-91.170442

www.nottoway.com 

            After over two months of covering haunted locations, I would like to hope that you have learned a few things about the great state of Louisiana. You have been introduced to the state’s amazing history, our intriguing culture and my lame attempts at humor. If you have made it this far, consider yourself one of the select few that has been able to tolerate me for so long. For the others that turned their nose as soon as they read my misinterpretations of the Biscuit Palace and the Sausage Man’s House, they sure missed out on what I would like to consider a hidden gem of Louisiana haunted history, told in a very different tone. I have never liked books that read out like a college text book. I try to write like I speak, which doesn’t necessarily mean it is gold but it seems to work for some. Sometimes, it’s not how you finish the race, just as long as you make it to the end.  
            I have touched on nearly every single plantation in Louisiana, which conveniently all seem to have a haunted past. It’s really no huge surprise that the plantation-to-hauntings ratio is so high, as these homes are all so old with such a dense amount of history. Lots of blood, sweat and tears went into these homes, which is always a great place to start when culminating the birth of a haunting. In an era ravaged with war and disease, life expectancies were not very long whether the causes have been natural or other. While some plantations have stayed within the same family for years, others have been sold more times than one can remember. We have touched on the most famous, most haunted and most notorious plantations that Louisiana has to offer. It is only suiting that we save the largest plantation, not only in the state, but in the country, for last.

Steamboat Warehouse Restaurant - Washington, LA (Food and Phantoms Alike)

525 N Main St.

Washington, LA 70589

30.617702,-92.056165

www.steamboatwarehouse.com 

            As I have said numerous times, I love to eat! It doesn’t help matters when you live in a state that is known for its rich and delicious dishes, which are not often the healthiest for you. I jokingly tell people that our great food has given me the body of a God. It’s just too bad that God happens to be Buddha! I have always enjoyed travelling the state not only to look for new haunted areas to investigate but for new places to eat. Louisiana is filled with these hidden jems just waiting to be tried out. After finding a new restaurant that has a superb dish I have never tried before, I will often try to replicate it at home as cooking is another passion of mine. My wife often says she cannot remember the last time she has even cooked while the kids regularly place their meal orders with me like they are at a diner. I only have two rules that I tell me wife. The first is that I’ll cook until the cows come home but she has to clean behind me as I hate doing dishes. The other is quite simple: Never trust a skinny cook!
            For years, one of my favorite restaurants in all of Louisiana has been the Steamboat Warehouse Restaurant located in the historically quaint town of Washington. Although the town is quite small, it is normally known for three things: Antique shops, the Steamboat Restaurant and one hell of a speed trap, as the local police seem to have an erotic obsession with writing tickets faster than a scalded cat. The town of Washington was founded in 1720 and incorporated in 1835, making it one of the oldest settlements in the state. The town is bordered by a main body of water, originally known as the “River Opelousas” but was later named Bayou Courtableau in honor of one of the first pioneers of the area, Jacques Courtableau. The bayou served as a major source of transportation and importing. Small settlements began to spring up along these waters, making Washington the largest inland port between New Orleans and St. Louis during much of the nineteenth century.

Oak Alley Plantation - Vacherie, LA ("They Killed Us")

3645 Louisiana 18

Vacherie, LA 70090

30.003318,-90.780735

www.oakalleyplantation.com

As I mentioned when I discussed Madame John's Legacy, one of my all-time favorite movies has always been Interview with the Vampire. From the storyline, to the characters and especially the locations, it is one of the few movies I do not get tired of seeing. For those of you that have seen the movie, once Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt) is bitten by Lestat de Lioncourt (Tom Cruise), he slowly begins to transform into a vampire. As his health worsens and his body deteriorates, his demeanor and mannerisms equally dwindle down to the shadows where he is soon to follow. He becomes ill at the site of food, yet his hunger for blood intensifies. As he and Lestat sit at the dinner table of his grand mansion, his quadroon servant comments on Louis's fading appearance. Louis cannot resist the beautiful woman and bites her. She then faints, sending Louis into a frenzy, sick of what he has now become. As additional slaves gather at the outside of the home, Louis sets it ablaze. The pinnacle of the scene shows Louis kicking the door of his home open, as he carries out his servant, flames in suit. He hands the maid off to a waiting slave, hops on a horse and flees the property, as the slaves cheer and celebrate that the “devil” has finally gone.
If you remember the scene I am referring to, than you obviously remember the beautiful home that was used as Louis's plantation. If it looks strangely familiar, it's probably because you have seen it, not only in several other movies and television shows, but it is a very common plantation used in southern artwork, as many feel it to be the quintessential depiction of southern plantation life. If you have been living under a rock for the last few centuries, I am of course referring to Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie.

Laurel Valley Village Plantation - Thibodaux, LA (A Bloody Revolt)

595 Louisiana 308

Thibodaux, LA 70301

29.789856,-90.787078

            For centuries, sugar has been one of the most valuable commodities in Louisiana. Across the state, hundreds of thousands of acres were reserved for the harvesting of this prized staple. With the farmland, came huge plantations and adjoining structures for the property owners and their slaves. Some of these plantations grew so large they were basically a community within a community, having their own schools, churches and stores. Workers were often paid in script, a form of currency that was exclusive to the property. You were basically paid in Monopoly money that could only be used at select stores. These stores made a killing, as they could charge more than the average price for goods, as this was the only place the workers could shop from. It wasn’t like you could go down the street to another store, as they would not accept the form of script that you were paid in. 
            Long work hours in poor conditions and low pay grew tiresome by the workers. By the late 1800’s these workers banded together and demanded better pay. The tension would come to a head in November of 1887 when black workers in Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. Mary and Assumption parishes went on a three-week strike. With the aid of the national Knights of Labor organization, the army of nearly ten thousand men demanded an increase in wages to one dollar and twenty-five cents a day, bi-weekly payment and the discontinuing of the previously mentioned script. The strike occurred during a crucial time in sugar cane production, which would have ruined that harvesting year. After demands fell on deaf years, Governor Samuel Douglas McEnery ordered troops to defuse the situation. By the time the three-week strike came to an end, it was estimated that as many as two hundred blacks were killed.

Bienvenue House - St. Martinville, LA (The Cajun EVP)

421 N Main St.

St. Martinville, LA 70582

30.127395,-91.828604

            Being raised in such a Cajun household is quite a unique experience. Some may call it the simple life while others refer to it as good old country living. As a child, it wasn’t a matter of eating your vegetables. As a Cajun kid, you would be more likely to hear, “Boy, if you don’t eat all of your rice and boulettes (meatballs), I’m gonna get you with the palette à mouche (fly swatter)!” I can never forget growing up, my dad would come home with huge snapping turtles that he would catch in a nearby lake. He would bring them home and proceed to clean them to make a good sauce piquante, or red gravy. In a bucket, he would throw away the feet and scrap pieces. If the turtle was a female, my cousin and I would always gather the eggs and chase each other around the yard as we threw them at one another. Consider it a poor boy’s paintball game! Yes, it sounds disgusting because it is!
               A stereotype of country folks is the comical story of eating road kill found on the side of the road. As I have often said, “The thing about stereotypes is that they are normally true!” I can attest to this, as one Sunday morning on the way to church, my mom ran over a squirrel. It wasn’t horribly marred, as it simply died of a head wound. I remember my mom saying, “I guess I should go pick it up for your daddy.” To my amazement, she swung a u-turn that would have made Bo “Bandit” Darville proud and had me get out the car to pick up the lifeless corpse. She popped the trunk and I threw the squirrel in as we proceeded to church. After Holy Communion was over and our Hail Mary’s had been said, we returned with our catch. Sure enough, my dad was pleased to see what we brought him as he would skin it and freeze it, adding with the rest of his collection. After about seven or eight had been collected, it was supper time!

Rosedown Plantation - St. Francisville, LA (Stop and Smell the Roses)

12501 Louisiana 10

St. Francisville, LA 70775

30.811824,-91.344717

            As small as St. Francisville may be, it can definitely boast about two things. Not only is it home to the most haunted plantation in the south, it may very well have the most intact domestic plantation complex around. As with the previously mentioned Oakley Plantation, Rosedown Plantation is also often overshadowed by the illustrious Myrtles. However, with its beautiful gardens and original furnishings, Rosedown is as authentic as they come should one want a true depiction of antebellum times. According to the staff, approximately ninety percent of the home’s furnishings are original to the site and were imported from Philadelphia, New Orleans and Europe.
            Construction of the home began in November of 1834 by socialites Daniel and Martha Turbull. Daniel was known as quite a wealthy individual, already owning several other plantation homes such as Catapla, Hazelwood, Middleplace, Styopa, Grove, Inheritance, Woodlawn and De Soto. Unlike many of the time who obtained their land via Spanish grants, Turbull received his by a group of seven purchases made from the 1820’s through the 1840’s. When the home was finally complete in May of 1835, it sat on a total of three thousand four hundred and fifty-five acres, primarily consisting of cotton. The home would be called Rosedown, based on a play that the couple had watched while on their honeymoon in Europe. Martha would also become quite the gardener, having an immense love for flowers. Martha began extending on a pre-existing garden on the property by purchasing camellias, azaleas and other plants. What began as a small flower bed ultimately blossomed into a gigantic twenty-eight acre garden that still sits on the grounds today. With the demand to maintain and care for such a vast amount of land, the Turbulls turned to the aid of roughly one hundred and forty-five slaves they owned to tend to the property. According to an 1860’s census, in addition to Rosedown, Turbull owned Styopa Plantation, with two hundred twenty-five slaves and Hazelwood Plantation with seventy-four.

Oakley Plantation - St. Francisville, LA (The Guitar Strum)

11788 LA 965

St. Francisville, LA 70775

30.809357,-91.282741

            Often overlooked due to the mass notoriety garnered by the Myrtles, our next location may not get the haunted attention it deserves. Tucked away about two miles from the Myrtles is Oakley Plantation, which helps in making up the Audubon State Historic Site. The land that the home sits on began as a Spanish land grant in 1796 that was given to Ruffin Gray, a successful planter from Natchez, Mississippi. If that name sounds familiar, you’re not alone. From the information that I have gathered, Ruffin is the father of Ruffin Sterling Gray who would purchase the Myrtles in 1834. On his newly acquired land, Ruffin would begin construction on the family home. Early into the job, Ruffin would pass away, leaving behind his two children and wife, Lucy Alston. Lucy would ensure that the family home was completed, as she remarried a Scotsman by the name of James Pirrie. The two would birth a girl, Eliza, who was born on October 6, 1805.
            During this period in time, it was customary for planters to travel to New Orleans in the hopes of exposing their families to a more eclectic form of culture. I am sure these excursions were also a chance for young women to search for a successful husband in the big city. During the spring of 1821, Lucy Pirrie would make a trip to New Orleans and meet the well-known James Audubon. At the time, Audubon was working on his famous Birds of America paintings and literature and was in need of a steady paying job. Lucy would offer Audubon employment by returning to their home in order to tutor her young daughter, Eliza. The proposal was simple; Audubon would receive fifty to sixty dollars a month plus room and board for himself as well as his thirteen year old protégé, John Mason. In exchange, he had to tutor Eliza half of his time, while the other half could be spent roaming the grounds and doing as he wished. Audubon would stay at the Oakley House for about four months. During this time, he would create thirty-two of his famous pieces of artwork and gain an immense love for the West Feliciana land.

Ardoyne Plantation - Schriever, LA (A Familiar Woman in White)

2678 Highway 311

Schriever LA 70395

29.641579,-90.814027

www.ardoyneplantation.com 

             A leisurely drive on a lazy Sunday afternoon down the back roads of southern Louisiana can be quite an excursion. You may drive for miles and see nothing but woods, trailers and run down shacks, when out of nowhere, like an oasis, a grand plantation worth several million dollars pops up out of nowhere. Start your journey in Baton Rouge on River Rd. and it will take you through several small towns and past some of the grandest homes in the country. Another route one may be interested in taking is beginning in Lafayette and head south on Hwy 90 through Morgan City, ending in Houma. Towards the end of your trip, just off the highway, you will encounter a beautiful home that definitely sticks out from the open fields.
            The Ardoyne Plantation is a massive twenty-one room plantation home in the small town of Schriever. The story begins with a wealthy sugarcane farmer and state senator by the name of John Dalton Shaffer. When his wife’s, Julia, health starting to fade, John felt that the best cure was a change of scenery so he sent her away on an extended vacation to Europe, in the hopes of restoring her well-being. While she was away, John decided to surprise her by constructing a grand home that would be waiting on her when she arrived. He turned to architect W. C. Williams to design their plantation home based on a picture of a Scottish castle. Completed in 1894, Ardoyne Plantation was like no other, with extremely ornate designs and a massive corner tower which reaches a height of seventy-five feet. Needless to say, when Julia returned from her long vacation she was quite amazed at her “little cottage” that was promised to her. In an era when most homes were built in Acadian or Gothic fashion, this Victorian-styled home remains one of the finest examples in the state.

Voodoo Cafe - Shreveport, LA (The Amazing PEAR Device)

622 Commerce St.

Shreveport, LA 71101

32.514054,-93.744674

            By the end of the nineteenth century, the heart of a bustling Shreveport was beginning to pump freely in all directions. With the mighty Red River serving as the main source for transportation and mercantile activities, the land just to the west was flourishing into the commercial district. The strip of land along Commerce Street was close to the river and railroad, making it the perfect place for wholesale warehousing for various products, ranging from cotton, to hardware, to groceries, to oil field supplies. The buildings along the 600 block of Commerce Street were built in the late 1800's, and initially served as retail establishments for the area. Most of these were multi-story, and retain most of the original architecture and structure. Since the mid 1960’s, many of these buildings have been bars, or other public entertainment establishments.
            Our next location sits in this block of local hangout spots and is the Voodoo Café and Art Bar. The art bar is unlike any other venue in downtown Shreveport's Red River District, with live music downstairs and incredible local artwork, the Voodoo Café is the place to be during weekends. However, once the doors close each night, staff claims the building takes on a life of its own with hauntings and strange happenings of all kinds.

Davis House - Shreveport, LA (The King of Cotton)

804 Wilkinson St.

Shreveport, LA 71104

32.4858,-93.746294

            As one drives down busy Line Avenue, it’s hard to believe that at the turn of the twentieth century, this main artery of the city was a simple dirt road. However, this did not deter Ella Hunt Montgomery from building her lavished dream home. Ella was the granddaughter of the extremely wealthy David “King David” Hunt, who earned millions in Natchez, Mississippi as a planter. At a time when cotton was king, so was David, as he owned a total of twenty-five plantations and one thousand seven hundred slaves during his pinnacle.
            Obviously, financial constraints were not an issue that Ella had to deal with. In search of a good location to build her home, she would opt for the Highland neighborhood, as its grounds were high enough to avoid flooding that often took place from the nearby Red River. In 1916, she would build her home on the corner of Wilkinson Street and Line Avenue. Here, she would really put a personal touch on her prized home, decorating it with lavished furnishings and such amenities as push button lights and high ceilings. As mentioned, the area of Line Avenue was in its infancy at this time but Ella’s home played a huge role in assisting the flourishing area in expanding a growing Shreveport southward.

Rendall Building - Shreveport, LA (A Deep Freezer for Corpses)

601 Texas St.

Shreveport, LA 71101

32.511876,-93.750607

            I must admit, after spending over ten years conducting paranormal investigations all across Louisiana, I have really been to some incredible places. Mind you, for every cool place, I have been to at least two nasty hole-in-the walls. From grand plantations, giant theatres, hospitals and jails, I’ve been to locations I would have never dreamed of going if I would have never gotten into this field of study. I have been to major businesses in their infancy, some just before bankruptcy and even some prior to being destroyed by fires or floods. I’m chuckling to myself as I type, as I suddenly have the urge to sing my own rendition of Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere Man”. I’ve been to Opelousas, Bougalousa, Marksville, Moreauville, Shreveport, Simmesport, Bossier City, Morgan City, what a pity!
            Now that the musical portion of this blog is complete, I can continue with the next location. For years, the Rendall Building has served the city of Shreveport well, housing many different businesses since its construction in 1922. The Rendall’s of Shreveport owned a previous building on the same grounds that was built around the 1880’s but it would be demolished to make room for the current structure. The building was initially ran and operated as a drug store. The basement contained a very large walk-in freezer, which was actually the first of its kind for Shreveport. Next to the drug store, stood the previously mentioned Caddo Parish Courthouse. As we have recently learned, the courthouse was home to several hangings. Once the executions were carried out, there was a need to temporarily store the bodies. What better place than the first refrigeration unit in the city? As I write this, I can’t help but wonder if the notorious “Butterfly Man” was kept in this freezer when he was executed. I hope his wings didn’t get too brittle and break off from the cold temperatures! When word of how convenient this walk-in cooler was for storing dead bodies, the funeral home caught wind of it and they too began using the freezer to extend the shelf life of their customers.

Old Pea Farm/Caddo Parish Penal Farm - Shreveport, LA (The Abandoned Big House)

Photo courtesy of https://sbintheknow.wordpress.com/

West 70^th St.

Shreveport, LA 71129

32.44146,-93.907614

            With all the years that I have worked in corrections, I have always had a special interest in old abandoned jails. Throw in the concept of a haunted jail and you can bet your life I will be there! As previously mentioned with the Deridder Gothic Jail and Angola State Penitentiary, prisons are notorious for being home to vast amounts of negative energy associated with years of depression, abuse and violence. Such is the case with one particular prison hidden amongst the woods of

Location of the Old Pea Farm. Click to Enlarge.

Shreveport. Although a shell of its former self, the ruined shambles of the old Caddo Parish Penal Farm peeks through the trees off of West 70^th Street as a grim reminder of a rough and rugged prison of the past.
            The land that the prison sits on was once home to the plantation of Governor Caesar Carpentier Antoine. Antoine was the third of three African-American Republicans who were elected and served as the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana during the era of Reconstruction. As his political career dwindled down, he would move to Shreveport and build his home here where he opened up a small family grocery.

Old Hamel's Amusement Park - Shreveport, LA (A Park Long Forgotten)

Carolyn Ct.

Shreveport, LA 71115

32.461027,-93.686128

*Photos courtesy of www.hauntla.com
            I have always been a huge fan of amusement parks. Fortunately, the love for death defying roller coasters and other nausea-inducing rides have been inherited by my daughter, as I now have a companion to ride with. Unfortunately, Louisiana has never been known for having many, if any, amusement parks. The only one that has been around during recent years was the old Jazzland, later becoming Six Flags, in New Orleans. The park was only opened several years, as Hurricane Katrina would condemn it. This has now left Louisiana “park-less”, having to travel to Arlington for the closest available place to get your roller coaster fix.
            One park that existed for over thirty years in Shreveport was the popular Hamel’s Amusement Park. For years, this park was the ideal place to take your hyper kids, wearing them out with a day full of great rides and carnival games. The park began as a simple dairy barn in the early 1960’s. With the purchase of a few llamas, goats and lambs, a small petting zoo was incorporated onto the grounds to occupy the children as their parents purchased dairy products. As time went on, more animals arrived such as wild cats, peacocks, elephants and primates, turning the petting zoo into a full blown zoo. With the addition of a small train, Hamel’s Zoo was becoming quite the local attraction by the 1970’s.

Logan Mansion - Shreveport, LA (The Mischievous Theodora)

725 Austin Pl.

Shreveport, LA 71101

32.506712,-93.753851

www.theloganmansion.com

The historic downtown Shreveport area is filled with quite an assortment of unique locations. With a cornucopia of cemeteries, municipal buildings and grand mansions, a walking tour of this area will give you a great feel for the life and times of this fruitful city. Fortunately, the historic district of Shreveport is a paranormal investigator’s dream, as literally every one of these locations come with their share of haunts. Fortunately, with our star-studded Northern Chapter running wild from Shreveport to Monroe, we have been able to be the first to investigate many of these locations. Our pioneering of many of these spots has opened the paranormal floodgates, as our investigations of many of these areas have garnered a great deal of attention to other investigators and paranormal television programs.
One of the flagship homes that are a regular stop of many of the haunted history tours in Shreveport is the Logan Mansion. The Logan Mansion was built in 1897 by Lafayette Robert Logan, a prominent beer and ice manufacturer. Designed by architect Nathaniel Sykes Allen, the mansion is one of the finest remaining Queen Anne Victorian houses in the city, with an extremely ornate interior and equally-elaborate exterior. In the mid 1900’s the home was turned into a boarding home for teachers. Today it is operated as a historic mansion available for tours.

Karpeles Manuscript Library - Shreveport, LA (The Mysterious Musical Chairs)

3201 Centenary Blvd.

Shreveport, LA 71104

32.480633,-93.733764

www.karpeles.org  

            Before I go any further, I would like to take this time to give massive props to my Northern Chapter. Led by John Combs and Bess Maxwell, this chapter is definitely my hardest working portion of Louisiana Spirits. I jokingly tell them that there are some small towns in the northern portion of the state where I think they have investigated every single house in the town. The chapter conducts an investigation almost every weekend. When they aren’t investigating they are conducting preliminary interviews, researching, or reviewing evidence. Their years of experience and wisdom has garnered them almost every historical location in the Shreveport and Bossier City area.  Our next location has gotten so much attention and activity, our Northern Chapter decided to set up shop there, turning the basement into a makeshift office.
            The Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Shreveport is one of twelve museums established by David and Marsha Karpeles across the United States. Founded in 1983, these museums collectively contain the world’s largest private collection of original manuscripts and documents. Relics such as stones containing Egyptian hieroglyphics and Civil War documents can be found at the Shreveport installation. The museum is open to the general public daily for free of charge. Construction on the building began in the 1920's. Due to the Great Depression, finances held up completion until 1938. This was the home of Shreveport's First Church of Science. The church moved into the building and held services in the basement while the building was undergoing construction. The building has been home to the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum for about the last ten years.

Greenwood Cemetery - Shreveport, LA (The Spectral Skid Mark)

130 Stoner Ave.

Shreveport, LA 71101

32.500049,-93.731724

            It wouldn’t be right to touch on hauntings in Shreveport without visiting a couple of creepy cemeteries. Besides, aren’t all cemeteries haunted? Sadly, the answer would be no, but they sure make for some great places to visit to admire historical graves and get a case of the “heebie jeebies”. The Greenwood Cemetery, not to be confused with the smaller Greenwood Town Cemetery, is a short distance from the Red River. It initially started as a small ten-acre plot of land called the New City Cemetery. Formerly, the land is said to have been part of a home known as the Stoner

Map and legend of the cemetery grounds, along with the
locations of the most notable gravesites.

Plantation. Research also shows that prior to that, the land housed a Civil War military hospital as well as the first charity hospital. In 1905, the name would be changed to Greenwood Cemetery, and the site has grown to over seventy-acres.
            The cemetery is the home to individuals of all races, ranks and titles. Several Confederate soldiers have been laid to rest here along with four former mayors of Shreveport. One of the most notable burials here is that of Milton Taylor Hancock, the inventor of the modern disc plow. In 1892, Hancock’s four year old daughter, Ethyl, would pass away. She was buried in a cast-iron coffin that was placed in the family tomb. A chair would be placed inside the tomb, which Milton’s wife, Nina, would sit in each evening when she visited Ethyl. In 1903, tragedy would strike again, as they lost their twenty-four year-old daughter, Irene. She would also be buried in the vault with her young sister, followed by her parents.

C.E. Byrd High School - Shreveport, LA (The Infamous Catacombs)

3201 Line Ave.

Shreveport, LA 71104

32.480412,-93.745716

www.cebyrd.com 

            When Clifton Ellis Byrd, Sr. first arrived in Shreveport in 1892 the city was in desperate need of an educational system. With a humble salary of seventy dollars a month, Byrd would rent out two rooms of a YMCA building and establish the first public high school. The first year’s enrollment garnered seventy students and the need for a larger school was needed so the school moved to the old Soady building on Crockett Street. After another move in 1899, the Caddo Parish School Board, now ran by its newly elected superintendent, C.E. Byrd, it was decided that a large permanent school finally be built. Construction would begin in 1924.
            In 1925, the honorably named C.E. Byrd High School was complete. To this day, it remains the largest and oldest high school in Shreveport. Home of the Yellow Jackets, C. E. Byrd High School is now a science and mathematics magnet school that has seen thousands upon thousands of students walk through its antique hallways. Although I have never been inside C.E. Byrd High School, I can relate to attending a school of such age.

La Tech Jack Howard Auditorium - Ruston, LA (A Killer Performance!)

305 Wisteria St.

Ruston, LA 71272

32.526209,-92.646836

            In addition to the previously mentioned Biomedical Engineering Building, the campus of Louisiana Tech is probably most known for its haunting of another building. The Jack Howard Auditorium, built in 1940, has hosted popular performances by up and coming performing arts students and musicians throughout the years. As the sounds of recitals and plays echo throughout the building, ghostly spectators observe from afar. Students who have worked in the theatre during late hours have reported seeing the figure of a woman sitting in the seats. They have also heard strange sounds and witnessed lights turn on and off. The most common occurrence is for the theatre seats to be folded down, even after they have all been placed in the upright position. Staff make it a chore to ensure that all of the seats are raised. Minutes after they do so, they notice that the same one or two seats are always placed back down.
            For years, the urban legends of the auditorium have stayed the same. Two female students by the name of Jan and Vera were roommates. They both tried out for the school play and Jan was cast in the lead role. Vera became so upset she hanged herself along the rafters of Howard Auditorium and haunts the theater to this very day. Although the legend makes for a great late-night story, the truth has been changed just a bit. In reality, there is said to have been no debate amongst feuding roommates, yet the story does center around a woman named Vera.

La Tech Biomedical Engineering Building - Ruston, LA (Bulldogs and Battery Drain)

711 S. Vienna St.

Ruston, LA 71270

32.521108,-92.638104

            Louisiana is known for many of its prestigious universities. Whether it is for the strenuous curriculum of Loyola, intense sports programs of LSU, or unmatched partying of ULL, people travel from all around to experience a college life like no other. One of these hidden gems that often do not get the notoriety that it deserves is Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. Established in 1894, Louisiana Tech is one of the top schools in the state for those pursuing an engineering, business or marketing degree.
            As with many of the universities in the state, Louisiana Tech has its share of haunted tales that echo across campus. Like the years of alumni who have come and gone, so have random events that have etched a reminder in time. For many of the cities in Louisiana, as soon as they were settled, venues for higher learning were usually soon to follow. As part of the property belonging to Louisiana Tech, near its campus sits one of the buildings that have long been reported as haunted.

St. John Theatre - Reserve, LA (What Causes a Haunting?)

115 West 4th St.

Reserve, LA 70084

30.054904,-90.557958

www.stjohntheatre.org  

            From the largest cities to the smallest towns, Louisiana has a vast and eclectic amount of theatres. Some may be grand multi-tiered and greatly ornate venues that hosts the biggest productions featuring the top stars of today, while others may be no bigger than your living room with milk crates for chairs. Whatever the case may be, you are likely to be equally entertained with both extremes. As a child, there was a movie theatre in my home town that was so bad, it was worth going, because you never quite knew what you would encounter. What they called new releases were already on VHS, your feet stuck to the floors from the filth and if you didn't get a staph infection from the chair springs sticking you in your legs, chances were you already had it form getting bit by one of the cat-sized rats that often scurried across the floor. I use the term “scurried”, yet “slowly crept” was more like it, as they had feasted for so long on candy and popcorn, they couldn't quite get around like they used to.
            Pardon me for my wild tangent, as I often have the tendency to veer off topic. Nonetheless, our next location is one of these small hometown theatres but I can assure you, the conditions inside are nowhere near the old theatre I used to visit. In the small town of Reserve is a local theatre that has long been a source of great entertainment for the local community. The theatre was built in 1931 by Louis J. Maurin, Sr. and was originally opened to play motion pictures, or “talkies” as they were often called during these times. In 1954, a large remodeling took place and the venue was renamed to Maurin's Show Place of the River Parishes. It continued to feature the latest movies of the times until its doors would shut down on May 27, 1979. Fortunately, the closure would not last too long. On May of 1980, the St. John the Baptist Parish Council purchased and renovated the facility as a live-theatre venue and leased it to the Cultural Center Committee. The venue, now named the St. John Theatre opened in July of 1981 with the staging of the musical, "South Pacific," and has operated ever since, producing and presenting live-theatre and cultural events for the residents of the local community.