Delphine LaLaurie
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Delphine Macarty Lalaurie, also known as Madam Lalaurie, was a socialite and sadist in New Orleans in the 1800s.
Delphine Macarty was born circa 1775 to Barthelmy Louis McCarty (King, 1921) and Vevue Lecomte, prominent members of the New Orleans community. Delphine Macarty's cousin, Augustine Macarty was elected mayor of New Orleans in 1812, which possibly helped elevate Delphine's eventual rise to prominence in the New Orleans community.
Twice widowed, she married physician Dr. Louis Lalaurie in 1831. The couple bought a mansion at 1140 Royal Street, where Delphine maintained a central position in the social circles of New Orleans. Although she would throw lavish parties with guest lists consisting of some of the most prominent people in the city, the heinous manner in which Delphine Lalaurie tortured her slaves is probably the most widely known of the French Quarter’s macabre tales.
The Horrors
After several neighbors saw her cowhiding a young servant girl in the mansion's courtyard, rumors began to spread around town that Mme. LaLaurie treated her servants viciously. One young girl had been brushing Mme. LaLaurie's hair in the upstairs bedroom. The young servant hit a snag in Delphine's hair, causing LaLaurie to become enraged. The girl ran away from Delphine, rather than be subjected to her punishments. By several accounts, the servant girl jumped to her death from the roof when cornered by Mme. LaLaurie. She was quickly brought into the LaLaurie Mansion, but not before being observed by neighbors, who would file a complaint. The neighbors would later assert that the young girl was carried into the courtyard late that night, and buried inside the well.
The legal situation was handled by Judge Jean Francois Canonge, a friend of the Lalauries, who had visited the house on a previous occasion concerning the welfare of the LaLaurie servants. The LaLauries' slaves were confiscated to be auctioned off, and the LaLauries fined a mere $300. Some of the LaLaurie relatives arranged to buy the slaves back and quickly returned them to her.
On April 10, 1834, during another party, a fire broke out in the kitchen of the mansion. The kitchen, as was the norm in Spanish mansions, was separate from the home and located over the carriageway building across the courtyard. The firemen entered the building through the courtyard. To their surprise, there were two slaves chained to the stove in the kitchen. It appeared as though the slaves had set the fire themselves in order to attract attention.
However, the biggest surprise was to be found in the attic, where the fire brigade was directed by the other slaves. The door was bolted, and the fire brigade had to use a battering ram to open the door. What they found would make their stomachs wrench; inside the crawlspace attic was the stench of death. Dozens of disfigured and maimed slaves were manacled to the walls or floor. Several had been exposed to gruesome medical experiments.
One man looked as though he had been victim of some bizarre makeshift sex change. Another was trapped inside a small cage, where her arms and legs had been badly broken and then reset at odd angles, making her appear as some sort of "human crab." Another woman had her arms and legs removed and patches of her flesh had been sliced off in a circular motion to make her appear as a giant caterpillar. Some had their mouths sewn shut and had then starved to death. Others had their hands sewn to different parts of their bodies. One woman had her entrails pulled out of her stomach and was secured to the floor by her own intestines. A small boy of about twelve had the flesh on half of his face peeled back, revealling muscle, veins, etc. The wound had since been infested with disease and insects. Most of the victims were found dead. Those who were still alive, begged to be put out of their misery and died shortly after.
Also discovered in the attic were teacups and saucers, encrusted with a "red substance" that was never identified. However, there were several bottles lying about with what's assumed to be the same red substance. The substance in the bottles was identified as blood.
As the discoveries were made, a mob gathered outside of the LaLaurie Mansion, demanding justice of the LaLauries, but not before Delphine escaped by horse and carriage to Bayou St. John, where it is said she paid the captain of a schooner to carry her across to Mandeville or Covington. Many claimed they escaped to Paris. Others say they remained on the outskirts of New Orleans.
Death
Several different accounts of her death are given. One report says she was killed by a wild boar in a hunting accident in France. Another story in The Daily Picayune in March 1892 insists she died among friends and family in Paris. Other accounts say that Delphine Lalaurie never left Louisiana and dwelled on the Northshore of Lake Ponchartrain for the remainder of her days.
Most people concur Lalaurie died on December 7, 1842, and her body secretly returned to New Orleans. In the early 1900s, Eugene Backes, who served as sexton to St. Louis Cemetery #1 until 1924, discovered an old cracked, copper plate in Alley 4 of St. Louis cemetery. The inscription on the plate read: "Madame Lalaurie, nee Marie Delphine Maccarthy, decedee a Paris, le 7 decembre, 1842, a l'age de 6 --. "
The Haunted House
The Lalaurie house, called The Haunted House, was avoided for decades by the local superstitious New Orleansers and remained vacant for forty years.
1865 - During Reconstruction, house becomes a girl's public high school, open to both white and black children.
1878 - New Orleans school system is segregated. School becomes high school for black girls only. Lasts for one year.
1882 - House becomes conservatory of music and dancing school. Dismal failure when rumor spreads about owner of school and no one attends planned soiree and concert. Owner closes school next day. That night, it is rumored that the spirits of the Lalaurie house held a wild carnival to celebrate their triumph.
1889 - An apartment in the house occupied by Joseph Edouard Vigne for a little more than 3 years. He was thought to be a pauper.
1892 - Vigne found dead upstairs - after black crepe seen on the doors. An inspection of his apartment reveals over $10,000 in cash and family heirlooms stashed in various places around the dwelling. Contents of house auctioned off.
1920 - House is tenement by this time - many reports of ghosts. "There were no other families living here and one night, on the third floor, I saw a man walking carrying his head on his arm," reports one resident.
1923 - House sold to William Warrington who established the Warrington House, a refuge for young delinquents.
1932 - House sold to The Grand Consistory of Louisiana (a consistory is the organization that confers the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry). The Consistory sold the house in 1942.
The house would become a bar and then a furniture store. The saloon, taking advantage of the building's ghastly history was called "Haunted Saloon". The owner knew many of the building's ghost stories and kept a record of strange things experienced by his patrons. The furniture store did not do as well at that location. The owner first suspected vandals when all of his merchandise was ruined several times, covered with a foul liquid filth. The owner waited one night with a shotgun, hoping to catch the vandals in the act. When dawn came, the furniture was once again ruined. He closed the place down shortly thereafter.
1941 - A grave marker plate for the tomb of Delphine Lalaurie is found in St. Louis Cemetery #1, Alley 4. But the plate is not attached to any specific tomb so the exact location of her crypt remains a mystery.
1969 to 2007 -- The house was divided into approximately 20 apartments before it is purchased by a retired New Orleans physician. He restored the home to its original state with a living area in the front portion and five apartments to the rear of the building. He had no paranormal experiences while living in the house.
One individual tried to open what was to be “The Haunted Saloon,” but locals refused to patronize the place. Again, it sat vacant. Eventually, the house was renovated into the apartments it is today. Much of the house was in serious disrepair. When floorboards were replaced in the third floor slave quarters, the bodies of 75 people were found who had been buried alive. The remains were removed from the property.
To this day, this house is considered to be the most haunted in the city.
Resources
- King, Grace. Creole families of New Orleans. New York: MacMillan & Co., 1921, p. 373. ISBN 0-87511-142-4