From its spooky autumn light to the fog that rolls in, New Orleans exudes and relishes its spookiest during the fall. Its Halloween celebrations are legendary, and everyone is in costume. From its numerous ghost tours, based on history, to its historic cemeteries to its haunted hotels, find a few of the most haunted New Orleans sites on your next trip.
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Take a Haunted Ghost Tour
Walk Through Jackson Square
See St. Louis Cathedral
Walk Down Pirates Alley
Glance at Muriel’s Jackson Square Seance Room
Stare up at the LaLaurie Mansion
Walk by the Ursuline Convent
Tour the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
Saddle up at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar
Walk by the Andrew Jackson Hotel
Tour St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
Bourbon New Orleans
Walk by the Marie LaVeau House
Tour Hermann Grima House
Have a Cocktail at Hotel Monteleone
Browse at Faulkner Bookstore
Attend the Krewe of Boo Parade
Order an Absinthe at Old Absinthe House
Browse at Dark Matter Oddities and Artisan Collective
Visit the Voodoo Authentica
Tour the Museum of Death
Take a Haunted Ghost Tour
During my last visit, I went on a ghost tour with US Ghost Adventures. This is one of my favorite things to do when visiting haunted cities.
As the sun sets, dozens of ghost tours head out to learn more of the darker side of the French Quarter. I learned about the history (sometimes ghoulish) of the French Quarter. During my tour, our group walked by the St. Louis Cathedral, Muriel’s Jackson Square, LaLaurie Mansion and the Andrew Jackson Hotel.
If it’s your first visit, a ghost tour is one of the most entertaining ways to get to know New Orleans better. A great ghost guide will weave a lot of history into their tours.
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Walk through Jackson Square
In the shadow of St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square is on to the SEO TK, steps from the Mississippi River. The 2.5-acre garden is a National Historic Landmark, and over 2 million visitors a year pass by or through its wrought iron gates.
Named after the statue in its center, Andrew Jackson led the overwhelmed U.S. militia to a victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans. It was the last battle in the War of 1812.
Visitors can enjoy Jackson Square garden during their visit. It’s also home to artist who hang their work on the fence. In the evening, most ghost tours include Jackson Square.
Located at 751 Decatur St. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The gates to the garden are locked at night, though the pedestrian walkway is always open. It is free to enter.
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See St. Louis Cathedral
Also known as the Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis, this is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. It is one of the oldest cathedrals in continuous use in the U.S.
Pere Dagobert, pastor of St. Louis Cathedral in the mid-1700s, is said to haunt the church, especially at night. Some claim that he walks up and down Pirate’s Alley, located on the side of the cathedral.
Self-guided tours are available daily from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Sunday mass is celebrated at 9 and 11 a.m., along with Saturday at 5 p.m.
Located at 615 Pere Antoine Alley. Donation of $1 to tour the cathedral.
Walk Down Pirates Alley
Named after Jean Lafitte, Pirate Alley is a pedestrian alley next to the cathedral. Inspiring artists and writers, this passage is known to be used by both people and the undead, according to local legend.
Located next to St. Louis Cathedral.
Take a Peek at Muriel’s Jackson Square Seance Room
A gambler, Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan, lost big one night. Lying everything on a bet, he lost his beloved house, steps from St. Louis Cathedral.
Unable to leave, he committed suicide upstairs in 1814. Jourdan is believed to haunt his house to this day. For those who want to experience a possible siting, book the Muriel’s Jackson Square Seance Room.
Located at 801 Chartres St., New Orleans. Muriel’s Jackson Square is a Creole restaurant open for weekend brunch and dinner.
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Stare up at the LaLaurie Mansion
Built in 1832, this Federal-style mansion sits at the corner of Royal Street and Governor Nicholls Street. New Orleans socialite Madame LaLaurie lived in the house with her third husband.
During her tenure in the house, she abused many of her servants. After one started a fire in the kitchen to commit suicide, neighbors busted in to discover an attic full of horrors.
Located at 1140 Royal St, New Orleans. Not open for tours, though it is featured in ghost tours.
Walk by the Ursuline Convent
Completed in 1752, the French Colonial building was used as a convent, an orphanage and a school. It survived both French Quarter fires with minimal damage.
In the 1700s, the men outnumbered the women, and the Catholic Church in France sent girls to New Orleans to find husbands. Living in the Ursuline Convent, each girl had a chest with her belongings, shaped like a little coffin. From this, residents of the French Quarter started to call the girls Casket Girls.
Located at 1114 Chartres St.
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Tour the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
Inside the home and pharmacy of the first licensed pharmacist in the U.S., visitors get a sneak peek at the history of medicine from the 1820s. This widely popular museum is equal parts fascinating and scary.
It is also thought to be haunted by tormented patients of Dr. Joseph Dupas. The mad Haitian doctor experimented on pregnant enslaved women.
Located at 514 Chartres St., New Orleans. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Adult admission is $10 and guided tours are available and reservable online.
Saddle up at Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar
Named after Jean Lafitte, a privateer, entrepreneur, sailor, diplomat, spy and hero of the Battle of New Orleans, this bar is in one of the oldest buildings in the French Quarter.
It is believed that Lafitte himself haunts this location as a full-bodied apparition. He likes to hang out on the first floor, near the fireplace until he is noticed and then disappears.
Located at 941 Bourbon St, New Orleans. Open daily at 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. 21+
Walk by the Andrew Jackson Hotel
The current building was completed in 1890; however, in 1792, it was a boarding house and orphanage. Many of the boys who called it home lost their parents to Yellow Fever.
In December 1794, a fire broke out in the French Quarter, burning the Orphanage to the ground. Inside five young boys died in the blaze.
Guests at the Andrew Jackson Hotel say that they hear laughing and running footsteps. The boys like to play in the courtyard, and sometimes turn on TVS.
Located at 919 Royal St, New Orleans.
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Tour St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
Within the crumbling brick walls of an above-ground cemetery, visitors can learn about the famous people buried. Burying a person above ground requires different practices than below.
As the most famous cemetery in New Orleans, tour-goers will pass Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau’s grave and the unused pyramid tomb of Nickolas Cage. The cemetery features towering tombs, some by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, designer of the U.S. Capital building.
Family tombs are the finally resting place for entire families and can only be opened once a year. So wall vaults are used to store loved ones before the tomb can be opened again.
Located at Basin at St. Louis St., New Orleans. The only way to see the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is by guided tour with Cemetery Tours New Orleans.
Bourbon New Orleans
Next to the St. Louis Cathedral on Royal Street in the French Quarter, the Bourbon New Orleans is considered one of the most haunted hotels in the area.
Originally built as the Theatre d’Orleans in 1815. Next door, an elaborate ballroom went up. After the Civil War, both became a convent. Then it was restored to its former glory as a hotel.
New Orleans saw many outbreaks of Yellow Fever, where many died. The sisters of the convent cared for the sick, including orphans. Some of their spirits still haunt the hotel.
Bourbon New Orleans’ most haunted room is 644. It is the home to a haunted nun who supposedly committed suicide in the room.
The hotel also harbors a soldier spirit. In the ballroom, a lady dressed in her finest is known to dance.
Located at 717 Orleans St, New Orleans.
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Walk by the Marie LaVeau House
The Voodoo queen, Marie LaVeau, lived in the French Quarter from 1839 and 1895. People of the community called her for prayers of help.
Originally owned by her grandmother, LaVeau raised her family in the house. The original house was demolished in 1903; however, the existing house built uses the existing foundation.
Located at 1020-1022 St. Ann St.
Tour Hermann Grima House
Built in 1831, the exterior of the house is Federalist, and the main house offers richly decorated rooms with period antiques. It is a National Historic Landmark.
Like many of the houses of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Herman Grima House includes slaves to keep the homes and help raise the children. Unlike the tortured souls of the LaLaurie Mansion, the Hermann Grima House harbors kind ghosts.
It is said that they haunt the houses by scenting the rooms with roses and lavender. The Hermann Grima House ghosts are considered well-mannered Southern spirits.
Located at 818 St Louis St. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Adult admission is $17, free for those 8 and younger for the guided tour.
Have a Cocktail at Hotel Monteleone
This fabled hotel is the home of the Carousel Piano Bar & Lounge, which is circus-themed and spins while patrons sip cocktails. After several visits, I’ve still not secured a seat.
The original hotel was built in 1886, it is a Beaux-Arts style and underwent several expansions over the decades. It is one of the few remaining family-run hotels left in the U.S.
Many famous guests have stayed at the Hotel Monteleone over the years, especially writers. Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner all stayed at the Hotel Maoneleone. It is an official literary landmark by the Friends of the Library Association.
For ghost hunters, the 14th floor (actually the 13th floor) of Hotel Monteleone is home to some paranormal activity. Maurice Begere, who stayed at the hotel with his family during the 1890s, died and is thought to haunt it.
Located at 214 Royal St, New Orleans.
Browse at Faulkner Bookstore
William Faulkner wrote his first novel in the downstairs apartment along Pirates Alley. Now a bookstore, some claim the author haunts it and say they can smell his pipe.
Located at 624 Pirates Alley, New Orleans. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Attend the Krewe of Boo Parade
For those visiting New Orleans during Halloween week, then check out the Krewe of Boo. This is the official Halloween parade in the French Quarter.
Parade goers will enjoy a lighted parade with floats, bands and dance troupes. Everyone is encouraged to dress up.
The 2025 Parade is Saturday, October 24 at 6:30 p.m. It runs from the Marigny, down Decatur Street in the Quarter and up and down Canal to Tchoupitoulas Street.
Order an Absinthe at Old Absinthe House
Completed in 1806, the building first operated as a grocery; however, it held a bar on the lower floor starting in 1836. Known as the Old Absinthe House since 1869, it still serves the fabled cocktail today.
Andrew Jackson met Jean Lafitte in the bar during the War of 1812. Many rumor that Lafitte and his men still frequent the place. Marie LeVeau has been known to stop by as well.
Located at 240 Bourbon St, New Orleans. Open daily at 9 a.m., closing at 2 a.m. during the week and 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Browse at Dark Matter Oddities and Artisan Collective
From Victorian bric-or-brac to taxidermy, this shop sells unique finds. Dark Matter Oddities and Artisan Collective also sells wall art.
Located at 822 Chartes St. Open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 6 p.m., Friday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (closed Tuesday).
Visit the Voodoo Authentica
The place for authentic voodoo dolls in the French Quarter. The Voodoo Authentica also sells candles and books.
612 Dumaine St., New Orleans. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tour the Museum of Death
Visitors will find a coffin and skull collection, plus antique mortician apparatus. There are also crime scene photos, details about cannibalism and more.
Located at 227 Dauphine St. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. General admission is $20 per person. Not suitable for kids or sensitive adults.
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