Madame John's Legacy - New Orleans, LA (Claudia's Blood Feast)

632 Dumaine St.

New Orleans, LA 70116

29.959437,-90.063075

www.thelmf.org  

            One of my favorite movies of all time is Interview with the Vampire. Not only because the movie is primarily shot in Louisiana, but I have always been enthralled with the vampire lifestyle. I’m not talking about the teenie-bopper vampires with sparkling skin of today, but those said to have existed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The movie truly stylized the genre and paved the way for similar movies for many years to come. The morbid dark humor in the film is unforgettable. In one of my favorite scenes, Kirsten Dunst’s character, Claudia, is taking piano lessons from a strict instructor. At this point, Claudia has just transformed into a vampire and is having a difficult time controlling her insatiable appetite for blood and will not always kill at the most opportune of times. In this case, she kills her instructor to feed her need. The following scene shows individuals carrying out the coffin containing the instructor from a large French Colonial townhouse with a very distinctive elevated from porch. I would soon learn that the home used for this scene is none other than the landmark known as Madame John’s Legacy.

            The home is one of the oldest in the city, with the land dating back to 1727 when another residence was built here by a sea captain by the name of Jean Pascal. Pascal was a sailor and was killed in the Natchez Massacre of 1729. His widow would live in the home for many years until her death in 1777. In 1781, Renato Beluche is said to have been born in the home. Beluche served as a Lieutenant in Jean Lafitte’s band of pirates. The home would soon be given its well-known name of

Historic photo of the home sometime around 1900.
As you can see, it was a multi-family residence at the time.

Madame John’s Legacy as homage to famed short story writer, George Washington Cable. Cable was a native to New Orleans and was a writer for the Times Picayune. The home’s name originates from Cables popular 1879 short story Tite Poulette. As with most of the city, the residence was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1788 but was immediately rebuilt by Robert Jones for Don Manuel Lanzos, a Captain in the Spanish Army.
            For years to come, the home would pass through numerous families, including Governor C.C. Claiborne, until the 1980’s, when it would come into the ownership of the Louisiana Museum Foundation. The group was established in 1981 and their main mission is to provide financial support to the city’s major museums and preserve our historical establishments. Today, Madame John’s Legacy serves as the main office for the foundation and is open to the general public for tours, showcasing some lovely examples of regional and local folk art.
            Madame John’s Legacy is often the source of many haunted tales and is a frequent stop on many of the local haunted history tours. While some feel the hauntings culminate from those who died during the 1788 fire, others say that former pirate, Renato Beluche, is the primary spirit that resides here. His apparition has been seen walking through the museum and people have heard unexplainable disembodied voices and whispers when no one else is present. So, next time you happen to watch Interview with the Vampire and come across the scene I previously mentioned, pay close attention, as you will be able to put a “name with a face.”