LaBranche Plantation Dependency House - St. Rose, LA (Hitler's Horse)

11244 River Rd.

St. Rose, LA 70887

29.951718,-90.312949

            Like many of you, I have always liked to travel. I never could quite understand how my father, over sixty-five years of age, has never left the state, nor has he had the desire to do so. There is just way too much out there to see and explore that is not in our own backyards. I’ve always been the one that enjoys the strange, off-the-wall roadside attractions such as the “World’s Largest Ball of Twine” or the “Amazing Four Headed Pig”. You know that sort of stuff. Unfortunately, many of these places are humorously a let-down, as when you show up to find this swine specimen, you are treated with an obviously fake stuffed creature or something similar. Remember guys, all that glitters is not gold. Take this blog for example! I bet you were expecting a true monotone encyclopedia of sorts, not some crazy Cajun talking about the Biscuit Place and clubs for well-endowed men!
             As I was saying, taking road trips, you can definitely find some strange things. One such location is an extremely old house in Saint Rose with quite a pair of oddities. Not only does the LaBranche Plantation Dependency house a bathtub that was once owned by Zachery Taylor, the twelfth President of the United States but it is also the burial site of a horse said to have been owned by Hitler himself. Now, if that isn’t a reason to wake up the kids and pull over, I don’t know what is!

Fort Derussy Cemetery - Marksville, LA (Spiders, Witches and Hell Hounds, Oh My!)

31.17711,-92.062072

www.fortderussy.org  

            Long before the days of investigating grand plantations and historical buildings, this small cemetery is pretty much what started it all for me; and what a way to start! The Fort Derussy Cemetery, established in 1862, is located on the outskirts of the previously mentioned battlefield. You cannot access it via the route you would take to get to the battlefield, as woods divide the two. About a mile before you reach the location, you come to a fork in the road. Veering right will take you to the battlefield and left, to the cemetery. In my previous book, I go into great detail as to what got me started investigating and how this place became so special to me. I will try to sum up those encounters as closely as possible without repeating myself verbatim.
            In the mid 1990's I had heard of the cemetery through friends. As a teenager, it was known as a creepy hangout where kids would go to play with Ouija boards, perform pseudo-séances, get drunk, etc. The legend was that there was a witch that was buried on the grounds. Due to this, she was buried on the outskirts of the cemetery, as the land was considered unconsecrated.
            A couple of years later, I would meet an individual who still remains one of my best friends. He was from the Marksville area and knew of the cemetery in great detail. To this day, I am grateful that he introduced me to this place, while simultaneously cursing him, as he is the catalyst for me becoming so hooked on these crazy adventures!

Miller Cemetery - Eunice, LA (The Headless Cemetery)

Photo Courtesy of www.passinvestigators.com

Headless Cemetery

30.5288661, -92.4087380

        Widely popular amongst local teens and urban legend enthusiasts, the Miller Cemetery, also known as the Headless Cemetery, is said to be home to several strange encounters with spirits from beyond the grave. With some burials being reported as old as the late 1800's, locals feel that the spirits of many buried here still wander the grounds. In particular, the cemetery's nickname originates from the numerous sightings of a supposed headless apparition.
        As with many of these sort of supposedly haunted locations, there always come a few good tales. One in particular is that if you pull up on the grounds late at night, your vehicle will always kill and you will have trouble starting it back up. Several years ago, a small investigative team visited the Headless Cemetery and they claim that this very phenomena occurred to them.