Nine Spooky Places in the French Quarter

You would be remiss to visit New Orleans without dining at this AAA Four Diamond restaurant. Dapper wait staff serve French-Creole cuisine in the sprawling, eight-room establishment. Don’t miss the world-famous “Bananas Foster” dessert, flambéed tableside. It’s been said that the ghost of Chef Paul Blange, creator of several signature dishes, has been seen in the kitchen. Some diners claim they felt cold spots, glimpsed moving shadows, viewed distortions and witnessed changes in portraits hanging on walls.

Nosh on beignets, fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar, at this New Orleans institution. Wash your beignets down with café au lait, made with hot milk and dark roasted coffee mixed with chicory to offset the bitter taste. If service is slow, your waiter may be what some local patrons claim is a ghost that disappears after taking orders. Don’t worry—a real waiter is sure to assist you, as long as you’re carrying cash. Ask for a table on the patio to enjoy your view of Jackson Square away from the noise inside the bustling cafe.

You may think St. Louis Cathedral’s triple spires that tower above nearby buildings are symbolic of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. North America’s oldest cathedral is supposedly plagued by other ghosts. NOLA’s most famous voodoo queen, Marie Laveau, credited with evangelizing Catholicism to slaves, has purportedly been viewed at this AAA GEM attraction. Other alleged paranormal activity—a light moving past windows, the tower bell sounding softly and objects inexplicably moving around—is attributed to the ghosts of monks and slaves.

According to local legend, NOLA is a paranormal hot spot. On your tour, guides share stories they heard growing up here, weaving local history with accounts of ghastly deeds committed by former residents and the woeful tales of their victims. If these stories aren’t enough to give you the creeps, your visit to locations purported to be haunted should do the trick. Choose from a variety of walking tours including cemeteries, ghosts, vampires or voodoo. Bring a camera and look closely at your photographs; you may have captured paranormal activity.

Conveniently located a block from Bourbon Street and the Canal Street streetcars, this AAA Four Diamond historic lodging has been a favorite meeting place of renowned authors including Ernest Hemingway, Anne Rice and John Grisham. Supposedly, the hotel also is a popular haunt of ghosts and a friendly toddler spirit. Unexplainable events alleged to have occurred on the premises include a restaurant door that opened and closed by itself and an elevator that has stopped on a floor with an unusually chilly hallway. If you feel a little uneasy, settle your nerves with some liquid encouragement at Carousel Bar & Lounge’s 25-seat merry-go-round bar.

Near Royal and Bourbon streets, this AAA Three Diamond lodging is situated in a quieter area. In one of the buildings allegedly used as a Civil War hospital, rumored paranormal events include spirits of bloodied soldiers that disappeared when lights were turned on and bloodstains that quickly vanished. It’s difficult to call to mind any violent images as you enjoy fresh air in one of several lovely courtyards surrounded by flowers, plants and trees, each with a pool or fountain at this charming historic hotel.

Celebrated from Twelfth Night through Fat Tuesday, New Orleans' Mardi Gras event is often called “the greatest free show on earth.” Enjoy entertainment, music and festive floats with costumed revelers tossing beads and trinkets to spectators. It is wise to bring a bag to carry your haul of tossed treasures. You might see ghostly spirits, eerie mists and other anomalies in photographs taken during the parades.

You’ll delight in spectacular city and river views from this AAA Four Diamond hotel’s rooftop observation deck. The purportedly haunted lodging is situated in the heart of the French Quarter. There are claims that apparitions have been seen in hotel paintings and in photographs. Guests are said to be bedeviled by a maid who died while working during a hurricane; they allege she tucks in bedding, flushes toilets, and turns lights and faucets on and off.

Another must do on your French Quarter visit is a tour of the city’s best-known and oldest above-ground cemetery. Opened in 1789, this is said to be the country’s most haunted cemetery. Visitors to this final resting place of Creole voodoo queen Marie Laveau claimed they saw the beautiful voodoo queen’s ghost whisper a voodoo curse to scornful tourists. Others claimed they encountered ghosts of Civil War soldiers and yellow fever victims, and experienced various paranormal activity. As you stroll through this graveyard, you might feel the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. Is it possible that spirits are trying to communicate with the living? Note: Visitors must be accompanied by a registered tour guide. The cemetery closes at 3.