New Orleans Ghost Stories
As an old city with a sometimes sordid history, a multitude of myths, legends, ghost stories, and tales of people who seem larger than life have crept into the local culture. Here are the facts and records that we hold about these ghost stories as well as additional resources for learning more about some of the more grizzly aspects of the history of New Orleans.
Axman Murders
Who was The Axman?
From 1918-1919 a serial killer stalked the streets of New Orleans, breaking into homes and murdering people with an ax found in their home. Most of the victims were Italian grocers. In addition to the grizzly murders, what makes the Axman so compelling is that just as the Police determined that these attacks were likely the actions of one individual, and identified some earlier attacks that appeared to also be related, a letter was sent to the local newspapers by a writer claiming to be ‘The Axman.’ The writer stated their intention to strike again at 12:15pm on St. Joseph’s Day (March 19, 1919), but promised to spare the life anyone playing or listening to jazz music at that time.
Whether the murderer was the one who penned the letter is unknown, but there were no ax murders that evening, and the identity of the murderer remains a mystery.
Read more
Miriam C. Davis. The Axeman of New Orleans: The True Story, Chicago Review Press, 2017).
Casket Girls
Were the Casket Girls vampires?
No, they were not. In 1724 a group of young women set sail from France to New Orleans for the purpose of wedding colonists already living in the New World, and producing children. Upon their arrival the women were supposedly taken to the Ursuline Convent, but the Ursuline nuns did not arrive until 1727. The women brought only a small suitcase with them, called a cassette in French, or casket in English. This was the source of their moniker, Casket Girls. The pallor of the young women was a result of poor diet, insufficient time in the sun, and possibly sea-sickness during their trans-Atlantic voyage, not vampirism.
Read more
Michael Giraud. A History of French Louisiana Volume Five: The Company of the Indies, 1723-1731, trans. Brian Pearce (Louisiana State University Press, 1987), 261-262.
Marie Laveaux
Who was the “Queen of Voodoo?”
Marie Laveaux, the Widow Paris, was a baptized and practicing Catholic woman who was also a Voodoo priestess. She lived and worked in New Orleans where she also nursed Yellow Fever patients, but the spookiest item we have from her is a piece of local government bureaucracy: in 1832 Marie and her father applied for a liquor license, and she signed the application with an ‘X’ for her name.
Additionally, we hold a photograph of her tomb and her obituary can be viewed in the newspaper.
Read more
Ina Johanna Frandrich. The Mysterious Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveaux: A Study of Powerful Female Leadership in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans, (Routledge, 2005).
Read More
Read about murder, true crime, vampires, and ghost stories in New Orleans with these non-fiction titles. Most are available as print or eBooks for checkout with your Library Card, and some are also available as audiobooks. Click on a title to learn more about options for reading each book.
The Evolution of Horror Tours in New Orleans
Randy Bibb, seasoned tour guide and instructor of Delgado Community College’s professional tour guiding program, traces the rise of New Orleans’ horror tour industry. Attend in person or on Zoom.
New Orleans has become the most popular destination for horror-based tours in the United States, with visitors flocking from around the globe to explore chilling tales of ghosts, vampires, the occult, and the macabre. But how did the Big Easy evolve from a destination steeped in Creole charm to a portal between worlds where the veil between dimensions is notoriously thin? Join Randy Bibb, seasoned tour guide and instructor of Delgado Community College’s professional tour guiding program, as he traces the rise of New Orleans’ horror industry—from its humble 20th century beginnings to the blood-soaked spectacle it is today. Learn how entrepreneurs, artists, and storytellers spun folklore and Hollywood into a multimillion-dollar tourist attraction.
There are many ghostly and grizzly tales told about New Orleans, and while some are fictitious, others are based on real events that require no embellishment.
Spooky New Orleans
This exhibit was created by Amy DeNisco in 2025.