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.

Woodland Plantation - West Point a La Hache, LA (Southern Comfort)

21997 Highway 23

West Point a La Hache, LA 70083

29.501881,-89.717252

www.woodlandplantation.com 

            As one travels about thirty miles south of the extremely up-tempo beat of which is New Orleans, you run into the complete polar opposite. You will encounter a near barren land of swamps, marshland, creeks, bayous, sloughs, lakes, rivers and every other body of water you can fathom, mixed in with a few residential areas. All signs of an eroding coastal area, slowly shrinking year after year. With hundreds of hurricanes pummeling this area over centuries, this area is slowly transforming to a hydrated wasteland. An area that was once swarmed with over sixty grand plantation homes and acres upon acres of farmland looks quite different today with only a couple of antique homes as a reminder of a land that time forgot.
            One of the few plantation homes that still stand in this area is Woodland Plantation in a small community of Port Sulphur known as West Point a La Hache which translates into “point of the axe.” The plantation was originally built in mid-1830 by William Johnson, a river pilot/captain/pirate (depending on how polite you are) from Nova Scotia. Prior to the turn of the nineteenth century, with the aid of his partner, George Braddish, Johnson would build the now defunct Magnolia Plantation, which once sat approximately four miles from Woodland. Along with both men’s wives and children, the whole bunch would live under one roof as an antique Brady Bunch of sorts. The Woodland property would consist of the main house, an overseer’s house, tenant’s house and two-story brick slave quarters, which are a very rare site for the time, as the only property to have such slave quarters are at the previously mentioned Ormond Plantation. According to the Woodland Plantation website:

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.

Laura Plantation - Vacherie, LA (The Slave Trade)

2247 Highway 18

Vacherie, LA 70090

30.008502,-90.725387

www.lauraplantation.com 

            As unfortunate as it was, slavery was a regular fixture of everyday life for much of the south during the 1700’s and 1800’s. Without this massive workforce, much of the south would have starved and been homeless. Many, if not all, of the grand plantations of the south were built by the hands of slaves. These same hands would harvest crops from thousands upon thousands of acres of farmland. Fortunately, many now recognize the hard work that these poor souls were forced to put forth, as they played a crucial role in building the south. Yes, slavery was wrong and many were mistreated, but diaries from former slaves have acknowledged that such was not always the case. Not all plantation owners were violent sadists who gained great pleasure in the misuse of their slaves, such as the previously mentioned Madame LaLaurie. In many instances, even once slavery was abolished, some black families actually chose to remain on the plantations that they called home for so many years. Especially in the case of the house maids, who had literally raised many of the plantation owners’ children; they were often considered a part of the family.
            For many of these massive plantations, workforces commandeering hundreds of slaves were needed to keep the homes and land operating. To house such large groups, slave quarters were built in numbers that often caused them to become their own small villages of sorts. To the rear of the larger homes, these quarters were placed in rows with a main road down the middle. As with our next location, where slave quarters grew to fifty or sixty, these makeshift communities would have their own cooking areas, farmland, livestock and even commissaries.

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.

Chretien Point Plantation - Sunset, LA (One Tough Little Lady)

665 Chretien Point Plantation

Sunset, LA 70584

30.389406,-92.09826

www.chretienpoint.com

            If I haven't already informed you, I am quite man enough to admit that I have an intense case of arachnophobia! It's pretty pathetic how severe it is, as I will literally freak out if I get near a spider bigger than a dime. I can remember putting laundry into the washer once and as I pushed down on the clothes, a spider about as big as a fifty cents piece sprang from the clothes, onto my arm! I honestly do not remember much, as I seemed to come out of my own skin, hitting a level of consciousness that is hard to comprehend. Next thing I remember, I am stripped down to my underwear, running around the house, flailing my arms like an idiot! Needless to say, it was quite a sight! Oddly enough, the types of spiders I hate the most are the ones that are the most harmless.  The proper term for this species is the golden silk orb-weaver but in Louisiana, they are referred to as banana spiders. They are massive in size, ominous in color and make gigantic webs with strange zig-zag patterns down the middle. I have always been told they are non-poisonous but I have never bothered getting close enough to one to find out. Ironically, the next location I will mention is home to the largest banana spiders I have ever seen. Maybe that's why it's one of the only plantations in Louisiana that I have yet to investigate!

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.

Myrtles Plantation - St. Francisville, LA (Deciphering Fact from Fiction)

7747 U.S. 61

St. Francisville, LA 70775

30.767827,-91.320355

www.myrtlesplantation.com

            It goes without saying, yet I will say it anyways, that the world can often be a letdown. Remember how fun events such as Christmas, Easter and losing a tooth were until you learned the cold truth that those chipper and festive characters you loved and adored were simply your parents? As you grew older, huge delusions of grandeur set in. As a teen, I just knew that the day I got my license I would have a brand new sports car waiting for me. Reality quickly set in, as I would not get my own vehicle until I was nineteen and it was a hand-me-down pick-up truck with nearly three hundred thousand miles. Prior to that, I had to chauffeur my mom around in her Pontiac Bonneville, which was powder blue in color with a big kitty cat license plate on the front. Needless to say, this was not the chick magnet I had in mind, if you know what I mean! Growing up, I quickly learned that all that glittered wasn’t gold. Hell, in many cases, that glitter effect is simply particles of lead in gun powder and we all know how quickly that can go up in smoke.
            As I approached our next location, I contemplated how I would possibly be able to give it the justice it deserved. If you make huge claims like being the most haunted house in the most haunted state, how do you truly touch on every piece of haunted history and ghostly encounter? I decided that the best place to start was with the plain and simple hard facts. As I recollected every haunted story told of the infamous Myrtles Plantation, I gathered a plethora of endless tales of paranormal activity from the ten or so murders that are said to have occurred here. As I separated the years of stories from the confirmed documented deaths, I came to a startling discovery that surprised me. To my amazement, the stack of facts was literally non-existent in comparison to the legends that have been told to endless numbers of tour groups and mystery hounds. Wait a minute, if this is supposed to be the most haunted house in America, how on earth is there not more concrete evidence? At this time, allow me to throw the disclaimer out that I am not debating the fact that the Myrtles is haunted, as there are way too many credible individuals who have encountered very legitimate ghostly experiences here. With years of fact and fiction blending together into a mythical gumbo, time and elaborations continue to mix the stew more and more until we have a frothy bowl of misconceptions. It’s not a matter of whether or not the Myrtles is haunted, but what causes it to be so active?

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.

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!

Starr Homeplace - Oak Ridge, LA (An Eternal Love)

5317 Hwy 133/425 North

Oak Ridge, LA 71264

32.660116,-91.766069

www.starrhomeplace.org 

 

*Special thanks to our Northern Chapter for all their hard work.

            After hearing our fair share of horrible stories involving murder, torture and other horrible acts, it’s time to take a break and actually tell a story of love, honor and devotion that would continue on even after death. In the small town of Oak Ridge is a nine-acre jambalaya of historical homes, each with their own story to tell. Every building placed here was moved from a different part of the nearby area. The story begins with a simple home that was built out of pure love and creativity. From there, the land was expanded on to serve as a museum of sorts that showcase what the ingenuity and devotion of the common man can accomplish.
            Our adventure begins with a young couple by the name of Jim and Isabel Rolfe. The two lovebirds were inseparable and wedded one another on August 22, 1945. Jim was a master builder of homes and boats and was considered a jack of all trades. Isabel’s dream was to have their very own home where they could someday raise a family together. However, the two knew that the future was grim, as Isabel had contracted ruhmatic fever, and the lining of her heart was severely damaged. Her doctors would inform her that she would only have about six or seven years to live and she would be forbidden to have children.

Parlange Plantation - New Roads, LA (The Weeping Bride & Missing Treasure)

8211 False River Rd.

New Roads, LA 70760

30.63157,-91.486223

            Now that we have finally made it through the wild city of New Orleans, hearing some of the most gruesome and off-the-wall stories imaginable, what could possibly be left? With many states, covering this many reportedly haunted locations would be squeezing the sponge dry. However, we are in Louisiana and we are only starting to scratch the surface of all that is strange, weird and unknown. We now move from the bustling streets of Bourbon to the calm and serene waters of False River in New Roads.
            False River is a beautiful ten and a half mile oxbow lake that once served as the main channel to the Mississippi River for the area until it was cut off in the 1720’s when seasonal flooding cut a shorter channel to the east. Today, the area is an outdoorsman’s dream, being home to great fishing, incredible water sports and multi-million dollar homes. As you drive along Highway 1, admiring the waters to your left, you also may be intrigued by some of the older homes to your right. As you continue to drive, you are amazed at the huge amounts of peat moss that hang from the centuries-old oak trees. The moss adds quite a unique touch, causing the trees to appear as if they are melting or, better yet, weeping.