Hauntingly True Walking Tour

Join us on this FREE, small group tour of the Garden District. Expect actual history and facts as we explore the death and violence brought to this city from plagues, floods, war, rebellion, pirates, and mafia bosses. Look elsewhere for a theatric ghost tour.

Since its birth over 300 years ago, the spectre of death and violence has loomed large over the city of New Orleans. Generation after generation have endured such sufferings as plagues, floods, war, rebellion, pirates, and mafia bosses. For as long as these miseries have existed so too have people spinning fantastic (and often quite imaginary) tales to entertain visitors about the city’s ghosts and evil spirits. Join us for a unique walking tour of the historic French Quarter, where we will unpack the myths and legends that surround the dark side of our city and explore the origins of our 19th century nickname, the “Necropolis of the South.”

This is not your normal ghost tour. We will not have a jam-packed group of 28 people, our current maximum is 10 guests. Our tour guides will not dress in costumes and offer unbelievable stories. Expect a small group with a well-read tour guide offering stories heavy on history and light on theatrics.

On this tour we’ll visit such famous (and allegedly haunted) sites as the Old Ursuline Convent, LaFitte’s Blacksmith Shop, and the LaLaurie Mansion. You’ll also get to see some lesser known sides of the Vieux Carrè, such as the site of the Trunk Murders of the 1920’s, the old military grounds where rebels were regularly executed, the former crime and murder capital of the city known as Gallatin Street, and the home where the first known drive-by shooting occurred.

Itinerary Highlights

1. Old Ursuline Convent: Built in 1752, the Convent is the oldest example of French colonial construction in the United States. Over the years, much has happened at the Convent. Perhaps the most exaggerated of these happenings is the story of the “Casket Girls” releasing vampires in the city.
2. LaFitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Another building with much history as it is the oldest operating bar in the country. Infamous pirate Jean Lafitte is said to have run his smuggling business out of this very establishment and that his ghost haunts the bar to this very day. While it is possible that Jean Lafitte had some pirating ventures in the city, it is unlikely that he haunts a building he never owned.
3. LaLaurie Mansion: The LaLaurie Mansion is the crown jewel of ghost tours in the city. Touted as the former home to hellish owners that performed unspeakable atrocities to enslaved people in their attic. History points to undeniable neglect on behalf of Delphine LaLaurie, but the only ghost that resides in the mansion is that of former owner Nicholas Cage’s acting career.
4. 715 Ursulines: In the roaring twenties, a gruesome murder occurred near the corner of Royal and Ursulines St. Hear the tour guide recount how a former butcher turned jealous husband murdered and dismembered his wife and her sister before stuffing the remains into trunks.
5. Old US Mint: During the Civil War, New Orleans was the largest city in Confederate control until Union forces gained control of the city in 1862. Union General Benjamin Butler took control of the city with a heavy hand and earned the nickname “The Beast.” Butler oversaw an execution of a Confederate sympathizer who tore down an American flag at the mint and issued an order to treat females showing contempt to Union soldiers as “a woman of the town plying her avocation.”
6. French Market: The French Market was once a two-block stretch known as Gallatin Street. Prior to the establishment of Storyville in the 1890s and the French Market in the 1930s, Gallatin Street was New Orleans’ host of the vice and crime that came with unchecked barrooms and brothels. In the mid-1800s, this street was the city center for robberies, murders, and prostitution.
7. Beauregard-Keyes House: A home of much history, named for its first renter Confederate General P.T. Beauregard and its savior from destruction, writer Frances Parkinson Keyes. In between General Beauregard and Ms. Keyes in the 1940s, the property was home to part of the New Orleans mafia, specifically the Giacona Family. From 1904 to 1925, the mafia locale was home to liquor running, extortion, and murder.

Important information

Inclusions

• Local Guide

Exclusions

• Food and drinks, other than specified
• Hotel pickup and drop-off

Departure details

• This tour meets the corner of Esplanade and Decatur. Please arrive 15min before your scheduled departure time.

Duration

• 2hrs

Additional information

• Please tip your guide and review your experience
• Confirmation will be received at time of booking
• No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
• Not recommended for those who are pregnant or have back problems
• Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
• Please be aware that the itinerary listed is an example of the sites that may be visited. Some sites may be added or subtracted to the itinerary at the tour guide’s discretion.
• This tour has a maximum of 10 participants and requires a minimum of 5 participants
• Near public transportation

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