Here in New Orleans, you can't go for without coming across one of our haunted locations. Places like the infamous LaLaurie Mansion get the spotlight. However, there are so many other haunted locations that deserve a share of that spotlight. And many of these locations are haunted by something that seems to make everyone a little uncomfortable, the ghosts of a child or children. Many of New Orleans' haunted buildings are haunted by the ghosts of children. A few of them really stand out, though.
Out of all of the cities that I have lived in, and done paranormal investigations in, New Orleans seems to have a ridiculous number of ghostly children walking around. I often wonder why this is. To be honest, I don't have a single answer or at least, a definite one.
Throughout New Orleans' history, children were often used as part of the labor force. Working in mills, cotton factories, tobacco factories and more, these children lived a rough life. Unfortunately, sometimes these working conditions resulted in one of this children losing their life. Maybe it was a workplace accident, maybe it was something much more catastrophic, such as the warehouse burning down, we know that children were often innocent victims of tragedies while working. This, more than other reasons, is why I believe that so many of New Orleans' buildings often are home to the ghosts of children.
Throughout New Orleans, and specifically the French Quarter, you'll find more than a few locations which have ghost stories about children haunting them. Too many to mention, as a matter of fact. So, we have created a list of a few haunted locations in New Orleans where the ghosts of children seem to be more active and present.
Let's start out with a location that has one of the most famous ghost stories and folklore about children haunting it, the Andrew Jackson Hotel.
The Andrew Jackson Hotel has perhaps the most famous stories about ghosts of children haunting it. A former Boy's Home in the early 1800's, the building which houses the Andrew Jackson has a long history of housing children. Our best guess is that the ghosts of these children can be traced back to it's days as a Boy's Home. One of the stories that gets told about the Andrew Jackson Hotel is that the boys who haunt the Hotel died in a fire. However, our researchers have not been able to find anything to suggest that this building actually burned down. As a matter of fact, we have found evidence that completely contradicts this claim.
While staying at the Andrew Jackson Hotel, many guests have reported hearing children playing in the hallways and in their rooms. Of course, when they go to look there are no children there. A few people have even seen the apparition of a young boy, which fits with what we know the history is.
The Andrew Jackson Hotel is so haunted that we are holding one of our overnight ghost hunts there. On July 6th and 7th, 2016, you can join us as we look for the ghosts that haunt this Hotel.
The Lafitte Guest House, located on Bourbon Street, in the heart of the French Quarter, also has more than a few ghosts haunting it. And the ghosts of children seem to be a common topic when discussing the ghosts and hauntings of the Lafitte Guest House. Who are these children who haunt the Guest House?
Our best guess is that the two children, a boy and a young girl, actually lived in the building at some point. Throughout time, the building which is now the Lafitte Guest House was residential. This means that an untold number of families, with their children, would have lived there. Is it possible that one of these children died in the home? Considering the death rate of 1800's New Orleans, it certainly is possible. While we cannot find any records that show this is what happened, common sense makes this a good educated guess.
When staying at the Lafitte Guest House, request one of the rooms in the front of the house for the best chance at encountering one of these ghostly children. You may be awoken in the middle of the night to the sounds of children playing in your room. If you get really lucky, you may even catch a glimpse of one of the ghost children of the Lafitte Guest House.
The Hotel Monteleone markets itself as the place where the French Quarter begins. It is also where many of New Orleans' ghost stories come from. And many of those stories involve the ghosts of children who haunt this Hotel.
Throughout the Hotel Monteleone, there are numerous areas in which the ghosts of children have been seen. Most often these ghost stories come from guests who are staying at the Monteleone while visiting New Orleans. The sounds of children playing in the hallways are a fairly common ghostly event. When the guests who are hearing the sounds of children go to check on the situation, the sounds stop and there are no children there. These reports of paranormal activity are not limited to the hallways of this haunted Hotel. Even in the rooms themselves, people have had encounters with the ghost children of Hotel Monteleone.
Will you be the next person to have an encounter with the ghosts that haunt the Hotel Monteleone? You'll have to book a room and stay there to find out. If you do, we'd love to hear about it!
Perhaps most well known for the stories of Vampires (total nonsense) and the 'Casket Girls' (nonsense as well) the Ursuline Convent has a long history of legitimate ghost stories and haunted happenings. Aside from the ghosts of Nuns and other religious figures, which are said to be seen from time to time, the most famous paranormal activities at the Convent are that of children.
What really got this place on the list were two events that both happened on our New Orleans All Ages Ghost Tour. A few months apart, both our guides and our guests reported hearing the sounds of children playing in the courtyard of the Ursuline Convent..at 10 pm. There were no children there. Everyone in the group moved closer to the gates, fully expecting the sounds of the children to actually be coming from somewhere else. Each step they took, the sounds of these ghosts only got louder and louder. There was only one explanation. Those sounds, the voices of children playing, were paranormal in nature.
In addition to our tour groups, there have been many other people who have reported hearing the ghosts of children or even occasionally seeing the apparition of a child at the Convent. Almost always, these spirits are seen and heard outside of the buildings, not inside. This would make sense as the grounds would have had an untold number of children playing on the grounds. Most likely, these hauntings are simply residual noises, the sounds of the past playing over and over again. In my knowledge, I am not aware of any intelligent hauntings at the Ursuline Convent. But then again, you never know. I have never personally investigated the Ursuline Convent. Hopefully, that day will come.
Not every haunted location in New Orleans is well-known and on one of our ghost tour routes. To be completely honest, some of the most interesting stories that we have come across when it comes to ghosts and hauntings, are nowhere near the French Quarter.
On Gladiolus Street, in the Gentilly Neighborhood, sits a small house that was built in the early 1900's. This single story, two bedroom house, is one of the most haunted houses we have come across here in New Orleans. While there are numerous ghosts which haunt this house, including that of a man who coughs at all hours of the night, the most interesting is that of a little boy. Who is this ghostly child? And why is he haunting this house? We'd love to know. So, we've spent almost 20 whole nights at this location, trying to get to the bottom of this mystery.
What we do know is that this ghost is the spirit of a young boy, probably around 10 years of age. He is a little prankster that links to audibly laugh when the homeowner does something, such as bang her toe on the couch. He is also a little tattle-tale, seeming to be more than happy to dish out the secrets about the rest of the ghosts which haunt the house.
In one case, the homeowner strongly suspected that the ghosts were causing her dog a lot of stress. There were times where the dog would be afraid to even come back into the house. Other times, the pup would curl up with her mom in bed, staring intently on the bathroom door, trembling in fright. One evening, we decided to ask the ghosts if they knew who was bothering the dog. Sure enough, the voice of this little boy came through on our recorders, telling us 'He hits her'. Who is her? We are not sure. We can only imagine that it is one of the other ghosts in the house, as there is no living 'he' in the house.
Since that night, the owner of this house has made it very clear that the ghosts who have taken up residence in her house should leave her dog alone. While her dog still seems very nervous from time to time, reacting to strange noises, watching unseen entities walk through the house, it seems like the more serious issues revolving around her dog and her ghosts have settled down. This may not have happened without the help of her child ghost, the little boy on Gladiolus Street in New Orleans.
This is our most recent 'find' here at Ghost City in New Orleans. Prompted by the Museum's closing on January 30th, 2016, our General Manager, Gretchen, reached out to them to see if they'd be interested in allowing us the chance to investigate before their closing. Not only have we already investigated the Museum, but we have a public ghost hunt.
On our private investigation, every single group encountered the ghosts of children. Whether it was the ghostly voices of children, or even seeing small, child-like shadow people, the ghosts of children seemed to be filling the Museum on the night we were there. To be honest, it was a little unsettling. We were not even aware that the ghosts of children were haunting this French Quarter location. Aside from a few other voices, it seems as if all of our interactions were with the ghosts of children.
The most interesting encounter happened upstairs near the ballroom. Gretchen and I were sitting in the hallway on a couch. There was a slight commotion in the hallway, the sounds of movement, and the shadow of a child appearing out of nowhere. Gretchen heard the movement but did not see the shadow. I saw the shadow seemingly rise out of the floor. We looked at each other. I had thought that she had also seen it. She didn't, she was responding to the sound of movement. What makes this event much more interesting is that right before this happened I recorded an EVP of a child responding to me. I had said, “You know I cannot see you, but if you come up to me and talk, I can hear you”. The voice responded, “Do you want to see me?” To say that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience would be pretty accurate.
We are very much looking forward to getting back into the Museum before they close at the end of this month. As we type this, we are researching the history of the property, trying to uncover the reason for so many ghostly children.
Every night of the week, you can join Ghost City Tours as we explore the most haunted locations in the French Quarter. We offer three different ghost tours and a ghost hunt. While we do not go to all of the locations listed above, we do hit some of them. We even go in the Andrew Jackson Hotel on the Ghosts of New Orleans Tour. Taking a ghost tour in New Orleans is the best way to explore our wonderfully haunted city at night!
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