The French Quarter in New Orleans attracts tourists of all kinds. Some come for a chance to party along Bourbon Street. In February Mardi Gras takes over and the city is nearly impossible to navigate. The sounds of drunk party goers echo through the streets as tourists stumble from bar to bar. They might try a Hurricane from Pat O’Brien’s, or sip a blood red wine at a vampire pub. Everyone has a reason to trek to the Crescent City. Underneath the revelry and smooth jazz melodies lies something more unnerving, more sinister, even.

New Orleans has a reputation for being the most haunted city in the country. Around every corner there is another tale of ghostly sightings and voodoo warnings. Are they just folklore, or is there really something to the stories? The answer depends on who you ask. Regardless, most would agree that there is something mesmerizing, something that could be called almost supernatural that lingers in the air much like the Spanish Moss that clings to overgrown oak trees.

Heading northeast on Royal Street, several blocks from the back of St. Louis Cathedral sets a three story mansion. It looks serene enough. It could even be called majestic despite it’s square, boxy design. It has had numerous owners over the years. Even Oscar winning actor Nicolas Cage once lived here until he ran into financial troubles.

Reports of paranormal activity have surrounded the residence for years. The origins of those reports date way back to the first half of the nineteenth century when New Orleans was a hot, humid port city. Setting at the mouth of the Mississippi River, the city shipped imported goods north to other areas of the United States.

During the final campaign of the War of 1812, General Andrew Jackson led a victorious army in the Battle of New Orleans. They were able to defeat the British troops in the ten day battle.

In 1787 Marie Delphine Macarty was born and raised into a notable family in New Orleans. At the age of thirteen, she married a 35 year old high ranking Spanish royal officer, named Don Ramón de Lopez y Angulo. Four years later he died at sea. They had one daughter together. She married for the second time in 1808 to Jean Blanque, a prominent merchant, lawyer and banker. He purchased a house at 409 Royal Street. There they had four children. He died suddenly in 1816, leaving her in debt and raising five children.

Nearly ten years later, Delphine would marry for a third time. This time to a physician named Leonard Louis Nicolas LaLaurie. She was nearly fifty years of age at the time. He was in his late twenties. They built and moved into a mansion at 1140 Royal Street. There the couple enjoyed the high society of the city, hosting parties and attending gatherings.

Everything was not as glamorous as it seemed, however. The LaLaurie’s owned numerous slaves, who occupied the slaves quarters adjacent to the mansion. By most accounts the neighbors believed that Delphine treated her slaves well in public. There were murmurings, however that in private it was a much different story. On occasion the authorities visited the house upon reports that she was mistreating her slaves.

It is believed that life only got worse for those she kept in her home. One resident claimed to see a 12 year old black girl fall to her death from the roof when Madame Lalaurie had chased her. The rumour was that the girl had been brushing her mistresses hair when she hit a nasty snarl. She ran when Delphine had chased her with a whip.

The incident led the authorities back to the residence for an investigation. They found that the LaLaurie’s were indeed guilty of mistreatment. They removed nine slaves from the home. A relative of Delphine’s gained ownership of them and promptly returned them to Madame LaLaurie’s custody. Things only got worse following the very public scrutiny. The LaLaurie’s attempted to keep their treatment well hidden from the New Orleans elite. Despite the tight lip from Delphine, there were whispers that one slave was chained to the stove in the kitchen.

On the night of April 10, 1834 Leonard and Delphine threw an extravagant party at their home. Midway through the event a fire broke out in the kitchen and the guest were told to go outside. The fire department arrived on the scene and found a 70 year old black woman chained by her ankle to the stove. She admitted to starting the fire in a suicide attempt. She claimed that several slaves had gone into the third floor attic and never came out.

Some of the guest asked the LaLaurie’s for the upstairs key to the slave quarters. The couple refused to hand it over, so some of the party goes broke the door down.

What they found was a horrific scene that sent even the strongest of men into repulsion. Seven slaves were held captive. They showed signs of torture. One had shackles around his neck. Another had their joints pulled from their sockets. They had been mutilated and imprisoned for months. When Leonard was questions he defiantly told the crowd to mind their own business.

When word spread of the horror show, a mob attacked the house, destroying much of the interior. Leonard and Delphine fled the city shortly after the fire and violence in the house. They took a boat to Mobile, Alabama and eventually sailed for Paris.

It was reported in the papers that bones had been found buried in the courtyard and two of the slaves held captive died within days of being discovered. Some believed that Leonard LaLaurie was the evil one. Being a doctor allowed him an opportunity to experiment and torture the slaves. The LaLaurie’s were never brought to justice.

As time went by the house fell into several different hands. At one point it was a high school. It also served as a bar and later a furniture store before being turned into apartments. After much renovation it was eventually restored as a single residents.

Shortly after the LaLaurie’s abandoned the property there began tales of unexplained knocking sounds and moans. The high school students believe the place to be infested with spirits. The furniture store owners moved out after claiming that furniture moved.

Nicolas Cage moved in, but many claimed he rarely was seen at home. After some financial issues he sold the property. The current owner has a main house elsewhere and rarely stays in the home. He has made no comment of the house or whether he has experienced anything beyond the normal.

The home is featured on numerous Ghost Tours throughout the French Quarter. The gruesome tale stays with the tourists long after they return home. It is still an impressive home. No one is allowed in since it is still a private residence. If anyone decides to visit the home, please respect the owners private property.

There has been a lot written about and speculated about Delphine LaLaurie. Was she really as wicked as the tales suggest? She is portrayed as a sadistic headmistress by Kathy Bates in a season of American Horror Story.  It is likely the stories have grown more wicked over the years with details becoming more and more spectacular. One thing is for sure the events that took place inside the mansion did happen to an extent. There are newspaper accounts to back this up. The details about the amount of torture that took place might vary, but even the mellowest versions still reveal horrific events that never should have happened. If any house in America deserves to be haunted…it’s this one.