Steeped in history and hauntings
Many visitors to New Orleans will spend the $60 (or more) to travel more than an hour each way to tour area plantations. Oak Alley is the most visited plantation on the planet and has been the setting of more than 40 movies—and Beyoncé videos. Nearby Laura Plantation has a much richer history, with its original slave quarters still intact. Magnolia Lane Plantation is a mere 20 minutes from the French Quarter and dates back to the 1830s. The dramatic grounds have been used as a location in many films, including Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and Twelve Years a Slave.
Magnolia Lane is a virtual amusement park of the creepy and paranormal. TV shows Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, and Scariest Places on Earth have all filmed segments there. The property has a hanging tree where, depending on who owned the plantation at the time, both Yankees and rebel troops were strung up during the Civil War. The original owner, begging Northern soldiers not to damage his home, was shot to death on the spot and buried in a shallow grave in the front yard. Voodoo artifacts have been discovered on the plantation, an indication that the slaves of Magnolia Lane cast evil spells on their oppressive masters.
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Address 2141 River Road, Nine Mile Point, LA 70094, +1 504.436.4915 | Hours Though the plantation is not set up for public viewing at this time, private tours may be possible by contacting the owner.| Tip While almost two hours outside New Orleans, Myrtles Plantation (7747 US-61, St. Francisville, LA 70775) might draw your interest as a haunted plantation where you can spend the night. The story goes that the hauntings began in the early 1800s when the owners of a slave girl, Chloe, punished her for eavesdropping by cutting her ear off. Seeking revenge, she baked a poisoned cake that killed the wife and two children of the family. Chloe was hanged from a tree, and her ghost, among others, has been spotted numerous times since.
In the yard, a tree is draped with a collection of empty glass bottles hung to capture evil spirits and keep them away from the house. You can find such “bottle trees” throughout the South. Cobalt-blue vessels are the most desired, the brilliant color supposedly a better lure for spirits.
Most curious of all, in the main house there is a room dubbed the “Dying Room.” Many of Magnolia’s residents passed away in this room under mysterious circumstances. When asked if he’s ever had experiences with ghosts, owner Richard Naberschnig replied with stories of frequent noises and furniture being moved around with no greater drama than if he’d been asked, “Have you ever eaten pizza?”
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