Hollow Hill

New Orleans, LA – Jackson Square Ghosts

Many cities have a “power center,” where major buildings have always been built, and significant historical events have taken place.

New Orleans' French Quarter cathedral — New Orleans’ French Quarter cathedral

In New Orleans, that place is Jackson Square. From the haunted Cathedral and Presbytere, to Pirates Alley and the ghost of Jean Lafitte, as well as the eerie spirits at Le Petit Theatre, this two-block area has over a dozen documented hauntings.

Jackson Square was the site of an early prison, in addition to several executions.

It was also home to an early New Orleans church, destroyed by a fire.

The park’s ghosts manifest as figures, floating lights, fragrances, and even the somber chanting of the “Kyrie” by the spirit of an 18th-century priest.

When I was in New Orleans in July 2005 (shortly before Hurricane Katrina), Jackson Square was a focal point of my ghost research, with very good results.

Below, you can see one of my best digital pictures; one copy is enhanced.

nola-jackson-square-1 Jackson Square ghost orbs

The copy on the left is exactly as I took it, looking through the Jackson Square gates at Decatur Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

On the right, I’ve adjusted the contrast to suggest (faintly) the statue in the center of Jackson Square, and the haunted cathedral behind it. (That’s the same cathedral as the one in the photo near the top of this article.)

There were no colored lights to cause the red and blue orbs on the right. Do those colored shapes represent the uniforms of the soldiers who were once stationed in buildings at this spot?

These vivid spheres of color appeared in several photos that we took over about ten minutes, along with the more classic “ectoplasm” shapes.

For those who insist those orbs are from high humidity: see my photo near the top of this page. That’s a flash photo taken nearby, with the same camera, in even more humid conditions. As you can see, that photo had no orbs.

I knew that I’d get some great evidence of hauntings at this park… just not this good.

In addition to Jackson Square’s many ghost stories, there is something especially odd about the gate where we took our photos.

Even with dozens of tourists passing, you’re likely to feel surrounded by an eerie silence at Jackson Square. For all its beauty and popularity, Jackson Square seems too quiet.

If you visit NOLA’s famous French Quarter, I highly recommend an evening visit to the Decatur Street side of Jackson Square.

If your photos are like mine and others’, you’ll be very pleased with the results.

Here’s my video talking about Jackson Square’s ghosts and more, in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

New Orleans, LA – ‘Voodoo Queen’ Marie Laveau’s House?

These photos were taken during an April 2005 ghost tour of New Orleans’ French Quarter. This was a time when the Quarter seemed especially spiritually active, a few months before Hurricane Katrina changed everything.

I can recall walking up to an artist just outside the cathedral, and telling her to be prepared to move on short notice.

I explained that I “saw” the image of her being in something like a washing machine, being agitated in the water, and needing to get out before the spin dry cycle. I also told her that I felt certain she was going to be okay, but she’d have to get out.

At the time, I had no idea how prophetic that was. Honestly…? I thought the imagery was symbolic.

The night I took the following photos, we’d signed up for one of the many wonderful (and sometimes theatrical) ghost tours of the French Quarter. On this residential street, the guide explained we were looking at a house that had belonged to the famous Voodoo (or Voudoun/Vodun) queen, Marie Laveau.

In the following photos, arrows point to some of the orbs that seemed most credible to me.

This photo was taken on a cool, dry evening in New Orleans at about 9:30 at night.

The orbs could be humidity or a reflection, but I don’t think so. There’s a certain feeling you get with some ghost photos… and this was one of them.

It had the look of an eerie home of a famous woman whose stories still provide New Orleans with color. I can understand why the tour guide wanted us to believe it was Marie Laveau’s former residence.

The house may be haunted, but it’s probably not one of Marie Laveau’s homes. I’ve researched the addresses associated with both Marie Laveau I and II, and I couldn’t find any connection to this house.

When you take any ghost tour (or vampire tour, etc.) in the NOLA area, it’s important to keep your critical thinking skills engaged.

The facts of some legendary characters – such as Marie Laveau and Madame Lalaurie – have become a lost in the fictional tales built around them.

Nevertheless, this house is charming to look at, and it gave me a slight chill as if something paranormal could be associated with it.

Or, maybe the storytelling abilities of our guide were so good, I was looking for a “good scare” when what I really saw was a wonderful, historical home.

LOOKING FOR TRULY HAUNTED HOUSES?

New Orleans, LA – Gov. Nicholls St. Ghosts

If you take a “ghost tour” of New Orleans’ French Quarter, pay attention to your innate psychic intuition, or your gut feeling. That’s what we did during an April 2005 visit to America’s most haunted city.

nola-715gn-2 — Film photo at Gov. Nicholls’ Street.

new-orleans-715gn — Digital photo – same location, same night, same time.

I’d seen the infamous LaLaurie Mansion on Gov. Nicholls Street; my photos showed very little paranormal activity there. In fact, I saw very few orbs in most of my ghost pictures that evening.

Further up Governor Nicholls Street, while the other tourists were taking photos of a house connected with President Kennedy’s assassination, I turned my cameras (two of them – one film, one digital) towards a home across the street.

This NOLA home is a private residence, which means that you should not intrude on the owners’ privacy. It’s also a site where we see more orbs in digital and film photos than many of the “haunted” sites on the tour.

The history of this home suggests that it was built in 1834 by Gabriel Correjolles, who had moved to New Orleans from St. Domingue (now Haiti).

Correjolles’ son, Francisco, also has a connection to another haunted houses.

In 1826, he designed the Beauregard-Keyes House at 1113 Chartres Street, which is one of New Orleans’ most famous haunted houses.

I’m not sure why this house on Gov. Nicholls Street seems so haunted, and I hope that ghost hunters will not disturb the owners of this home.

However, if you’re on a New Orleans “ghost tour,” try taking photos when your intuition tells you to. Your pictures may be as surprising as mine were. I can see at least a dozen orbs in every photo that I took at this house, although these pictures don’t reproduce well online.

And, for the skeptics: None of the orbs are the moon or a reflection of it. It was not a humid night; most of my photos show few — if any — orbs, even just a few feet away from this house.

While there were probably a few insects in the air, we didn’t see any. These orbs were all too far away to be dust or pollen, especially in the digital pictures, and it was too warm for anyone to use a fireplace.

Most of the orbs are nearly perfect circles. Orbs from insects rarely are; they’re usually skewed ovals.

Like many cities, New Orleans can surprise even seasoned ghost hunters. The ghosts may be where you least expect them. Follow your intuition, your instincts, and your “gut feelings.”