Haunted places in New Orleans is a city where history never feels distant. Its streets are steeped in stories some of which are proudly told, others whispered from behind shuttered windows. Fog rolls off the Mississippi in the early morning like a memory, and the iron-laced balconies of the French Quarter seem to hold more than just old-world charm. In a place shaped by tragedy, resistance, and deep cultural roots, it’s easy to believe that not everyone who walks these streets is among the living.
1. The LaLaurie Mansion (1140 Royal Street)
Perhaps the most infamous haunted site in the French Quarter, the LaLaurie Mansion is known less for whispers and more for screams that echo through its halls. In the 1830s, Madame Delphine LaLaurie was a well-known socialite, admired for her wealth and taste. But in 1834, a fire broke out at her Royal Street residence, revealing a grisly secret: enslaved people had been tortured and mutilated in her attic. The horrors discovered there shocked even the most hardened citizens of the time. LaLaurie fled to France, but the house remained. Today, many passersby report sudden nausea, the sound of chains, or the feeling of being watched.
2. The Sultan’s Palace (716 Dauphine Street)
This stately building, now known as the Gardette-LaPréte House, carries a story as strange as it is bloody. In the mid-1800s, the mansion was allegedly rented to a wealthy man claiming to be a sultan (or at least his brother) who arrived with an entourage of women, eunuchs, and treasure. One morning, locals awoke to find the mansion’s gates sealed and blood trickling beneath them. Inside, everyone was dead. Murdered. The supposed sultan himself had been buried alive in the courtyard. Though historians debate the veracity of the tale, residents over the years have reported strange noises, footsteps, and the strong scent of incense with no apparent source.
3. Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop (941 Bourbon Street)
Built in the 1700s and lit only by candlelight, this dimly glowing bar was once a blacksmith shop said to be owned by the pirate Jean Lafitte and his brother Pierre. Locals claim Lafitte used the shop to plot, smuggle, and sell contraband. Today, patrons say his ghost can be seen near the fireplace, lurking in the shadows or glaring from dark corners. Phones and electronics frequently malfunction here, and employees have been known to refuse to close the bar alone.
4. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (425 Basin Street)
Only accessible by tour, this above-ground cemetery is the final resting place of many historic New Orleanians, but none more famed or feared than Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of Haunted places in New Orleans. Visitors to her tomb have long left offerings or marked the site with “XXX” to summon her spirit for favors. Though this practice is now prohibited, some claim they’ve seen her ghost walking between the tombs, clad in a head wrap and whispering in Creole. The cemetery itself is a maze of crumbling vaults and still, stifling air. Voices carry where no one is visible.
5. Hotel Monteleone (214 Royal Street)
Not every haunted place is about horror. The Hotel Monteleone is more bittersweet, its hauntings touched with nostalgia and longing. A young boy named Maurice Begere is said to have died in the hotel in the late 1800s. His parents returned often, hoping for a sign. Today, guests on the 14th floor (elevator buttons skip this number, but the floor exists) have reported seeing a boy near their beds, or hearing laughter in the hallway. Ghosts of other guests also reportedly ride the elevator, which sometimes moves on its own. Among the most well-known haunted places in New Orleans, the hotel embraces its history and leans into the spiritual guests who never checked out.
6. The Pharmacy Museum (514 Chartres Street)
Once the apothecary shop of Dr. Joseph Dupas, the Pharmacy Museum is a beautifully preserved look at 19th-century medicine. But behind its antique jars and dusty tinctures lies a more disturbing tale. Dupas, who took over the building in the late 1800s, was rumored to have conducted cruel experiments, especially on women. Staff report books flying off shelves, footsteps after hours, and a male presence that makes many uncomfortable. Ghost tours that include the site often tell visitors to brace for a change in energy as soon as they enter the building.
7. The Ursuline Convent (1112 Chartres Street)
One of the oldest surviving buildings in the city, the Ursuline Convent is wrapped in religious history and shrouded in mystery. Built in the mid-1700s, it served as a home for Ursuline nuns and later an orphanage. But the legends go further. Some say the attic, which has long been sealed, was used to imprison “casket girls,” young women sent from France to marry settlers who were suspected of vampirism. Others say the girls were victims, not villains. Guards once stationed at the building were said to have vanished. The shutters on the attic windows are nailed shut from the outside to this day. Whether for security or superstition depends on who you ask.
