Old State Capitol - Baton Rouge, LA (The Castle on the Hill)

100 North Boulevard

Baton Rouge, LA 70801

30.446602,-91.189098

www.louisianaoldstatecapitol.org

*EVP's courtesy of Louisiana Spirits
 
            The old Louisiana State Capitol is a beautiful structure, sitting high atop the land to overlook the mighty Mississippi River. If walls could talk, this 150-plus year old building could lecture for days! It has survived the ravages of war, fires, physical fights, political battles and so much more.
            The building, which is known as “Castellated Gothic” was designed and built by James Harrison Dakin in 1852, five years after Baton Rouge was able to gain control as the state’s Capitol. Prior to this, New Orleans served as the temporary capitol. The building definitely coincides with its construction style, as it truly looks like a stout castle with thick walls, turrets and plaster trim resembling large blocks.
            In 1862, under the command of Admiral David Farragut, Union troops captured the building, transforming it into a stronghold and prison, absolving the current Louisiana legislators, sending them to find another safe haven. On December 28, 1862 the interior of the capitol was completely destroyed due to a fire unintentionally started by Union soldiers. Fortunately, the charred interior was completely reconstructed in 1882 by architect William A. Freret. On March 1, 1882, Governor McEnery arrived in Baton Rouge to officially take reigns of the newly restored statehouse and the new life of the capitol began.



Beautiful staircase with stain glass domed ceiling

            In 1932, the new State Capitol was constructed, leaving the original statehouse abandoned, devolving it to its former condition of disrepair. Fortunately, in 1991, a group of preservationist saved the building from being demolished and once again, restored it to its former beauty, highlighting its grand staircase and beautifully illuminating stained glass windows.

            With such a diverse amount of history, the old State Capitol echoes its past in the form of numerous ghostly experiences encountered by guests over the years. Some feel that the local spirit is that of Pierre Couvillion, a state legislator who is said to have suffered a heart attack and died in the Senate chamber in 1851. Others feel it may be haunted by former inmates during the buildings time as a makeshift prison. Shadows have been seen, disembodied voices have been heard and doors reportedly open and close on their own. Security staff has reported that motion sensors have been activated on multiple occasions. When investigated, no one could be found.

.32 pistol used to assassinate Huey Long on display

            We were very honored and privileged to be the first group to conduct a full paranormal investigation of the old State Capitol. We were fortunate enough to walk out of our investigation with several personal experiences. While investigators were in the area once known as the House Chamber, they observed two large doors leading into the room close on their own. Later in the evening, as the group investigated the basement area, one member of the team observed a black shadowed figure walking into a storage area. Further examination of the area found nothing.

            Following the investigation, came the daunting task of evidence review, which is not always the most exciting thing to do. Any investigator can tell you that going over hours of recorded audio and video can definitely be coma inducing. However, you can quickly spring from your seat the second you capture something of interest. Fortunately, we walked away with several interesting electronic voice phenomena. In three instances, as investigators were asking questions out loud, they captured a voice saying, "Molly", “die” and “look behind you”. To hear these audio clips, simply click the highlighted words.

Paranormal 101: EVP, or electronic voice phenomena, is said to be the disembodied voices from beyond the grave, captured on tape. EVP's have been studied by scientists for years and was a favorite subject for Thomas Edison, who often experimented with this phenomena.

             In our most interesting EVP, we captured a disembodied male voice nonchalantly singing the opening lyrics to “You Are My Sunshine”. For those of you who do not know, “You Are My Sunshine” is the state song of Louisiana and was originally written in 1939 by former governor Jimmie Davis. Could this be the voice of “Pierre” the politician singing his favorite tune, walking down the halls as he did for so many years? One can only imagine how many times those iconic lyrics have been sang inside the old capitol. Regardless, it continues to be one of our most unique audio recordings obtained during our years of investigating.
            Since our investigation, we have been fortunate enough to take guests on several public investigations of the capitol, as part of the continuing education courses we offered at Louisiana State University. It is truly a beautiful place and a landmark for Louisiana political history. We definitely look forward to making a return visit one day.