Lalaurie Mansion

Lalaurie Mansion

The Lalaurie house, called The Haunted House, was sold by an agent of the family in 1837 but avoided for decades by the local superstitious New Orleanians and remained vacant for thirty 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).

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.

1942 - The Consistory sold the house. It was turned into a bar, and 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. It did relatively well with tourists, but locals eventually refused to patronize the place.

1949 - It was turned into a furniture store, which did not do as well at that location. At first, the owner 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. Again, it sat vacant.

1969 to 2007 -- Eventually, the house was purchased by a retired New Orleans physician and renovated into apartments. 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. He restored the home to it's 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. At Least not to the public.

2007 -- Actor Nicolas Cage bought the Lalaurie House through his Hancock Park Real Estate Company.

2008, Feb: The house is currently for sale by Sotheby's.