Madame Lalaurie Born in 1787, Marie Delphine Macarty was well known in the wealthy Creole community. Her family had political clout and property and she was raised to carry on that tradition of class and social standing.
She married three different times, with each husband dying under unusual circumstances. Her third husband, Dr. Louis Lalaurie, was much younger than she was. His fledgling medical practice focused on curing hunchbacks through various contraptions and treatments. Madame Lalaurie, her husband, and two children lived at the property on Governor Nicholls and Royal Street beginning in 1831. In addition to the family, there were several enslaved people who lived and worked on the property. On April 11, 1834, a fire began in the slave quarters. It was said to have been started by an enslaved cook "Sarah" who was chained to the stove. No one was hurt in the actual fire but, because of the alarm it caused with the fire department services and the neighbors, it was discovered that a torture chamber existed on the property. Enslaved people had been chained up and treated horribly. Their noise during the fire alerted onlookers to people being trapped in the slave quarters. When the doors were torn down, the extent of the torture was horrific. The crowd of onlookers chased Madame Lalaurie out of the city while the emaciated, wounded victims were removed from the house and taken to the Cabildo. From this event, the stories began spreading. The house was reduced to ashes and ruins with all valuables taken or destroyed. The horror deterred passers-by from approaching this section of the French Quarter. Various accounts have been told of gruesome discoveries, sounds, auras, and uncomfortable energy. For the most part, Madame Lalaurie has been blamed for the torture. However, her descendants took a tour with me many years ago and dispute this allegation, pointing to Dr. Lalaurie and his questionable medical practice. There are also records of Madame Lalaurie petitioning the courts for a separation from her abusive husband- as well as records of her freeing enslaved workers. Was she a demonic madwomen? Or, was she the likely scapegoat in the gender roles of the day? |
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Transcribed on the side.
Here's a painting I did of the hauntings I've witnessed kids experience on tour! Prints available- inquire within!!
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The New Orleans Bee April 11, 1834
The conflagration at the house occupied by the woman Lalaurie in Hospital ... is like discovering one of those atrocities the details of which seem to be too incredible for human belief. We would shrink from the task of detailing the painful circumstances connected herewith, were it not that a sense of duty and the necessity of exposing and holding to the public indignation such a wretch as the perpetrator, renders it indispensable for us to do so. The flames having spread with an alarming rapidity, and the horrible suspicion being entertained among the spectators that some of the inmates of the premises where it originated, where incarcerated therein, the doors were forced open for the purpose of liberating them. Previous however, to taking this liberty, (if liberty it can be called), several gentlemen impelled by their feelings of humanity demanded the keys which were refused them in a gross and insulting manner. Upon entering one of the apartments, the most appalling spectacle met their eyes. Seven slaves more or less horribly mutilated were seen suspended by the neck, with their limbs apparently stretched and torn from one extremity to the other. Language is powerless and inadequate to give a proper conception of the horror which a scene like this must have inspired. We shall not attempt it, but leave it rather to the reader's imagination to picture what it was. These slaves were the property of the demon, in the shape of a woman whom we mentioned in the beginning of this article. They had been confined by her for several months in the situation from which they had thus providentially been rescued and had been merely kept in existence to prolong their suffering and to make them taste all that the most refined cruelty could inflict. But why dwell upon such aggravating and painful particulars! We feel confident that the community share with us our indignation, and that vengeance will fall heavily upon the guilty culprit. Without being superstitious, we cannot but regard the manner in which these atrocities have been brought to light as an especial interposition of heaven. {Since the above was in type, the populace have repaired to the house of this woman and have demolished and destroyed everything upon which they could lay their hands. At the time of inditing this fury of the mob remained still unabated and threatens the total demolition of the entire edifice.} |
Recommended Reading: Books
Presented like the three little bears and their porridge. The first book overflows with academic research, primary sources, and undisputed facts. The middle book departs from this, engaging in some of the first sensational retelling of the tale, setting the tone for decades of fantastical story-telling. The third book tempers it all, addressing the hauntings and dismissing the outlandish while maintaining some mystery. How do you like your history?
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Recommended Reading: Articles
Shows (NOT documentaries!)
Season 3
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Portals to Hell
Season 1, Episode 7
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