myrtles "haunted" plantation

My friend, Michelle, called me one day when I was in New Orleans and wanted to know if I would like to go to the Haunted Planation with her. I was very intrigued. Of course I said yes! How fun would that be! A plantation thats haunted! Hmmmm.....

The Myrtles 'Haunted' Plantation is located in St. Francisville, Louisiana. It's a cute, small town with a little tourist attraction. This plantation made it on the National Geographic Traveler's magazine as one of the top places to stay/visit. Yes, I said stay!! You can actually book a room and stay at this lovely and intriguing plantation that dates back to 1796. But if you're thinking you want to book a trip and stay here, you must plan ahead. It's booked out till the year 2012! Yep, it's that popular! (There is a waiting list just in case of cancelations.) There is a very yummy little restaurant on the property called The Carriage House, which actually was the carriage house back in the day. Original floors and all.

The plantation has also been featured on A&E, The Travel Channel, The History Channel, The Oprah Show and many more and has also been in The New York Times, Travel and Leisure, and of course many more. ;)

This is not just a beautiful place to visit, they also do tours. There is a history tour during the day and a mystery tour on Friday and Saturday nights! Michelle and I went thru the history tour and it was so cool to learn all about that era and the people who lived there and why it's 'haunted'. It was very interesting and fun!

I told my parents all about it and so we decided to take my sister and go see what the mystery tour was all about. So we headed out to St. Francisville and made it to the history tour and then had dinner at the Carriage House...where my sister had the BEST spaghetti she had in a very long time! I think she still talks about that meal! ;) We then had just enough time to get to the mystery tour...which touches a little on the history but has a lot more 'ghost' and 'haunting' stories! So fun!

I love this picture I took while Michelle and I were there. My new lensbaby adds a cool, kind of spooky effect!

If you're interested...here's a very quick story on why this plantation is haunted:

A family lived in the plantation: husband, wife (who inherited the plantation from her family), and 3 children. The husband took a 'liking' to a certain slave named Chloe. She was invited by him to live in the house and become the head slave for the household. Well, Chloe liked to eavesdrop....which got her into trouble. Not only did she over hear business plans and politicians discuss things, but she also liked to gossip about the things she heard. Well, the husband found out about her extra curricular activities and had her ear cut off. She was also thrown out of the house to live amongst the other slaves. Chloe was determined to get her 'job' back so she developed a plan. She volunteered to bake the cake for one of the children's birthdays. Her plan was to grind up oleander leaves and put them in the cake to make the children sick. She would then nurse them back to health and be in good graces again and be invited back into the house. Well, what she didn't know was that 2 oleander leaves can kill 1 person in a matter of hours. she put 10 oleander leaves in this cake! The wife and 2 of the kids died. (The younger child was too young to eat the cake.) The husband was away on business only to come back and find his family dead. Chloe decided to come clean and tell the husband the truth about her plan....thinking he would somehow be 'ok' with it if she told the truth. Well, he had her hung from one of the trees on the grounds. All the other slaves carried her body in a bag and threw her remains in the river. They wanted to prove their loyalty to him. Ever since then, it is said that Chloe visits the planation...often.

Well, later on down the road, someone bought the property. (I can't remember when...in the 80's I think.) The owner needed to take some photos of the property for insurance purposes. She sent the photos in and the insurance agent called her and said that there was not to be any people in the pictures. She had no idea what he was talking about since no one was with her when she took them. She wanted to know what he was talking about, so she looked over the pictures and sure enough there is a 'person'....a 'figure' in one of the photos of the courtyard. It is said to be Chloe. The picture was sent in to be tested and ALL the results say this photo to be authentic! If you would like to check it out, you can do so HERE.

There have been other 'sightings' of her around the property as well. (And others.) They are said to be friendly. So don't worry if you plan on booking a room. Although I have heard that some people are so spooked that they end up leaving in the middle of the night!

Well, I hope you all made it this far! ;) Here are some pictures that I was able to take while I was there. It really is quite beautiful.

You'll find these little 'cherubs' EVERYWHERE.....on the grounds and especially in the plantation. They believed back then that these little angels would protect them. And when I say they were everywhere....well, let me just say this....there were about a dozen or two in one room alone. All over. They were embedded in the chandelier or molding or wherever you looked and at every angle you could imagine to make sure that the whole room was being looked over and protected.

Looking in on the restaurant...

I just had to share this cute one of my parents...

And this one... ;)

Thanks Michelle!! I had a blast spending hours and hours with you...taking pictures and learning some history along the way! ;)