There have been few more grisly affairs in New Orleans than that of the Sultan. Nobody really knows if he was a Sultan, a Sultan’s brother, or just some Turkish dude with a lot of money. (For that matter, the lack of firm details lead many to assume the tale is nothing more than a legend. But it is an interesting story, so I include […]
The one (or maybe two) hour guide to the French Quarter
If you are in New Orleans for some reason, and only have an hour or two to look around, here is the route I would suggest. Start on Bourbon street at Canal street, and follow Bourbon into the Quarter. I don’t advise this because it is the best part of the French Quarter, but because it is probably where you will start no matter what […]
A haunting story
Julie, the legend goes, was the octoroon mistress of a wealthy white man. They loved each other, but social conventions being what they were, they couldn’t be together beyond him setting her up in a nice house and spending lots of time with her. Keep a mistress? Sure, everyone did it. Leave your wife for her? Nope, that would be socially ruinous. (in some tellings […]
Lalaurie mansion
One of the most infamous sites in the French Quarter is the Lalaurie mansion. An impressive structure situated at the corner of Royal and Gov. Nichols street, it is possibly the home of some of the most shocking acts in our nation’s history. Marie Delphine Lalaurie was perhaps our nation’s first female serial killer. Born Delphine Macarty in 1775 to a well to do family, […]
Marie Laveau
Marie Laveau is a significant figure in The Whisper Garden, and is one of the most iconic figures in New Orleans history. However, for someone so notable, it is a amazing how little we actually know about her. We know she was born in 1794, or maybe 1801. We know she was a free woman of color, the child of two biracial parents. We know […]
St Louis Cemetery #1 history
“To speak in broad, general terms, there is no architecture in New Orleans, except in the cemeteries.”–Mark Twain Most people who have heard anything about cemeteries in New Orleans have heard that New Orleans has above ground crypts because the high water tables make below ground burials impossible. The legend could best be summed up in the phrase, “you can’t keep a good man down.” […]