Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans

by Jeanne deLavigne

"He struck a match to look at his watch. In the flare of the light they saw a young woman just at Pitot's elbow -- a young woman dressed all in black, with pale gold hair, and a baby sleeping on her shoulder. She glided to the edge of the bridge and stepped noiselessly off into the black waters." -- from Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans

Ghosts are said to wander along the rooftops above New Orleans' Royal Street, the dead allegedly sing sacred songs in St. Louis Cathedral, and the graveyard tomb of a wealthy madam reportedly glows bright red at night. Local lore about such supernatural sightings, as curated by Jeanne deLavigne in her classic Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans, finds the phantoms of bitter lovers, vengeful slaves, and menacing gypsies haunting nearly every corner of the city, from the streets of the French Quarter to Garden District mansions. Originally printed in 1944, all forty ghost stories and the macabre etchings of New Orleans artist Charles Richards appear in this new edition.

Drawing largely on popular legend dating back to the 1800s, deLavigne provides vivid details of old New Orleans with a cast of spirits that represent the ethnic m?lange of the city set amid period homes, historic neighborhoods, and forgotten taverns. Combining folklore, newspaper accounts, and deLavigne's own voice, these phantasmal tales range from the tragic -- brothers, lost at sea as children, haunt a chapel on Thomas Street in search of their mother -- to graphic depictions of torture, mutilation, and death.

Folklorist and foreword contributor Frank de Caro places the writer and her work in context for modern readers. He uncovers new information about deLavigne's life and describes her book's pervasive lingering influence on the Crescent City's culture today.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Paranormal, Folklore, Short Stories

374 pages

First published January 1, 1946

Reviews

[Maki ⌒☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of ghost stories was originally published back in 1946, and a lot of the stories have not aged well at all. That's compounded by the fact that, rather than just recounting the stories, each one is given a historical fiction treatment, with characters and dialogue. A lot of it written out in pidgin.

...yeah. Lots of "Massas" in there. There was nothing overtly mean-spirited (ba-dum-tss!) about it all, it just doesn't sound good when read through the context of the modern day. I was cringing through a good portion of the book.

It is a very thorough collection of New Orleans ghost stories, for all that. A lot of the stories in the book are ones I still heard when I lived down there. And in a city known for its ghosts, that's a pretty impressive feat.

[Richard Gazala · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1946, Jeanne deLavigne's excellent "Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans" fell out of print for a long while. In 2013, the Louisiana State University Press remedied that with a new edition, including a foreword by folklorist and LSU Professor Emeritus of English Frank de Caro. As de Caro accurately says of the 40 stories collected in this book, deLavigne "...gave her legends a literary twist, and the tales in [the book] read like literary stories." All of these genuinely eerie (and allegedly true) ghost stories brim with fully developed characters, intricate plots, intimate settings, and great attention to historical detail. The world is full of books of ghost stories, but very few of them are well-written enough to qualify as literature. This one does. (Note: Like all art, this book is a product of its place and time -- readers offended by occasional racial or ethnic slurs might not enjoy this collection.)

[Megan Hatasaka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lady took all the ghost stories n wrote em down and that about sums it up

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1946 and only just reprinted in 2013, this is a must for any fan of ghosts, ghost stories, and the haunted history of New Orleans. The stories (all allegedly true) are short enough for single sittings and fun enough to read the collection all the way through. DeLavigne’s tale of the LaLaurie mansion and its sadistic mistress has become the go-to “source” for all things LaLaurie. It is also the inspiration of the LaLaurie character in American Horror Story. Part folklore collection and part literary short story collection, Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans will take you back to the darkest parts of nineteenth and twentieth century New Orleans - if you dare.

[Justin Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow forgot to log this one but this is a pretty solid collection of ghost tales centered around New Orleans. As with any anthology, some stories are more memorable than others but Jeanne deLavigne always shows a skillful and lush skill at writing. Her words and narrative structure feel romantic in a sense, which adds onto some stories and holds them back in others.

Overall, if you went to read some legitmately spooky ghost stories related to NOLA this is the book for you. My personal favorite involved the baby eating spirit demon, that was crazy!

[John Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Large collection of ghost stories with a setting of New Orleans 100+ years before they were written in the 1940’s and published repeatedly. A few of the stories were interesting to me and some were rather boring or similar to others in the book. The settings were very New Orleans – big mansions, ornate homes, swamps, witches, and above ground cemeteries. Some of the writing was fairly unique and fun to read while other writing was what one might expect in the 1940’s. A good book to read after a visit to this unique city.

[Bryan Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing style is dated, though I’m glad the author wrote down the stories and preserved them. While I like a good ghost story, there needs to be an element of believability in them to make them scary, and that seems to be missing from most of these. There were parts of stories that are described in detail, despite there being no eyewitnesses and the protagonist having died and thus unable to tell his story to anyone. I only gave it three stars since it captured a snapshot of early 20th oral folklore.

[Lagerloef · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in my grandma’s library when I was young and it scared me more than a little...but I read it all, and several of the stories again and again, usually by my small bedside reading light late at night. It’s been many years now but I remember thinking, and feeling, the stories were from another time, one that has faded from this world. The stories succeeded in planting images in my head that stuck for years. This is a real ghost book. The real thing.

[Ramona Tudosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different from what I expected, but interesting nonetheless. Most of the stories are just plain tragedies, filled with sadness, rather than scares, and that's fine, it shows respect to the story and the people they may portray. Some of the storytelling was not to my liking, a bit disorganised and confusing at times.

[Lightning · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last ghost book I read referenced this book, so I decided to dive in. It was published in the 1940s and features ghost accounts from the 1800s. The publisher did not alter the language to retain the authenticity of the time, so if you can deal with some racist language and depictions here and there, you'll find some pretty compelling ghost stories.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book aged well and I loved the style of writing, so different from the current one.
It's fascinating, well told and I loved this ghost stories.
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Jessica Lerbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good storytelling and downright creepy tales! And I appreciated the publisher's note about not changing the "dialect" conversations because that was how they were originally written (not because anyone likes them anymore)

[Liz]

Couldn’t get into it

[R Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing.

[Maryann · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband is more than a little surprised that I was reading a book of stories, since I can't even watch commercials for scary movies. However, reading them is a whole different experience and this is a delightful book.

This book was published in 1946 originally. The author is a native of New Orleans and did her research with old newspaper clippings, diaries, and interviews. Are the stories all true? Not likely. Some are quite obscure and she says in her opening note that it's possible that no one in the city had heard more than one or two of the stories in their entirety before she published this book. The stories read like stories, with dialogue from the early 1800's and containing details that she could never have verified. These are not accounts of ghost sightings. The author was a writer, not a journalist, and it makes the book so much fun to read. I don't care if they're true or not, honestly- I just like a good story.

Food: Cracker Jack. You can munch along and eat half a box, put it down for awhile, and finish it off later without missing anything.

[Amelie · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, from an academic standpoint, I liked the foreword the best. It gives quite a few nice points of trivia about the author, her time of writing and even a bit of background on some of the ghostly going-on described in the book. All in all it was a great addition to the original book!

Now, the stories themselves are written in an entertaining way and easy to follow, despite the books age. I would therefor recommend it to anyone, even younger readers who are looking for a thrill. What you won't find here are reliable accounts of somewhat suspicious going-ons around New Orleans. These are full blown ghost stories with shimmering apparitions and levitating furniture. They are collected from true believers and retold in a manner your grandpa would use to frighten you around the campfire, not in any analytical way.

But that makes it a fun read and even though some of the "dialects" the author put in for entertainment (and which are often grossly overdone) can be difficult to read through fluently, they are not undeceivable. Not even for me, a non-native speaker.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this 1946 classic, not as much for the ghost stories as for the glimpse into New Orleans culture of the times. References to the War Between the States, blatant and unapologetic racism and sexism, lively characters...none of it is sugar-coated for our times! I had to add it manually because it's out of print and not in the Goodreads database but worth tracking it down.

[The Advocate]

"“Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans” is a must have for any New Orleans buff, tour guide, or historian. It’s one of the best collections of ghost stories that I have had a chance to read."
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