Delphine Macarty Lalaurie, also known as
Madam Lalaurie, was a socialite and sadist in New Orleans in the 1800s. After several neighbors saw her
cowhiding a young servant girl in the mansion's courtyard, rumors began to spread around town that Mme.
Lalaurie treated her servants viciously. One young girl had been brushing Mme.
Lalaurie's hair in the upstairs bedroom. The young servant hit a snag in Delphine's hair, causing
Lalaurie to become enraged. The girl ran away from Delphine, rather than be subjected to her punishments. By several accounts, the servant girl jumped to her death from the roof when cornered by Mme.
Lalaurie. She was quickly brought into the
Lalaurie Mansion, but not before being observed by neighbors, who would file a complaint. The neighbors would later assert that the young girl was carried into the courtyard late that night, and buried inside the well. The legal situation was handled by Judge
Caponage, a friend of the
Lalauries, who had visited the house on a previous occasion concerning the welfare of the
Lalaurie servants. The
Lalauries' slaves were taken away, and the
Lalauries fined a mere $300. (Although some of
Lalaurie's relatives quickly "bought" them back and quickly sent them back to her.) On April 10, 1834, during another party, a fire broke out in the kitchen of the mansion. The kitchen, as was the norm in Spanish mansions, was separate from the home and located over the carriageway building across the courtyard.
The firemen entered the building through the courtyard. To their surprise, there were two slaves chained to the stove in the kitchen. It appeared as though the slaves had set the fire themselves in order to attract attention. However, the biggest surprise was to be found in the attic, where the fire brigade was directed by the other slaves. The door was bolted, and the fire brigade had to use a battering ram to open the door. What they found would make their stomachs wrench; inside the crawlspace attic was the stench of death. Dozens of disfigured and maimed slaves were manacled to the walls or floor. Several had been exposed to gruesome medical experiments. One man looked as though he had been victim of some bizarre makeshift sex change. Another was trapped inside a small cage, where her arms and legs had been badly broken and then reset at odd angles, making her appear as some sort of "human crab." Another woman had her arms and legs removed and patches of her flesh had been sliced off in a circular motion to make her appear as a giant caterpillar. Some had their mouths sewn shut and had then starved to death. Others had their hands sewn to different parts of their bodies. One woman had her entrails pulled out of her stomach at was secured to the floor by her own intestines. Most of the victims were found dead. The ones who were still alive died shortly after. As the discoveries were made, a mob gathered outside of the
Lalaurie Mansion, demanding justice of the
Lalaurie's, but not before Delphine escaped by horse and carriage to Bayou St. John, where it is said she paid the captain of a schooner to carry her across to
Mandeville or
Covington. Many claimed they escaped to Paris. Others say they remained on the outskirts of New Orleans.
The house now-a-days is owned by none other than Nicholas Cage.
Charlaine Harris was in town over the weekend. She was the Guest of Honor at last nights Anne Rice Vampire Ball and had a book signing today the Garden District Book Shop.
She was only signing two books, so I had to pick two out of my five hardbacks to get signed.
Many of you might be guessing 'Who is Charlaine Harris?', but you may have heard of HBO's True Blood - she writes the books about Sookie and that series. 
The signing was from 1 to 3 pm and we got there a little after 1 to then wait in line for TWO HOURS, but it was fun people-watching since many dressed up for the event.
One of the many tattoos being given out.
P.S. Y'all like my Halloween Tree?
My 80's costume inspiration.
His tenant was a mysterious Turk who claimed to be a deposed Sultan of some distant land. The Turk brought with him a fortune in gold and established a line of credit at all of the banks. He used his wealth to transform the Creole house into an eastern pleasure palace. The doors and windows were covered and blocked, heavy incense filled the air and men patrolled the grounds with curved daggers in their belts. The iron gates around the property were chained and locked and the house became a virtual fortress. 
For a long time afterward, people insisted that an occasional tinkle of Oriental music or the faint odor of heavy incense would come floating out of the house, and some declared that they heard shrill, unexplained screams coming from different parts of the huge four-story mansion. Over the years, the "sultan" himself has been glimpse walking around the rooms, appearing and disappearing without a word, as if still bewildered by all that happened there.
There are 42 cemeteries in the New Orleans area with many interesting, fascinating stories. You will notice that flowers, votive candles and hoodoo money (coins left for favors) are left at many of the notable graves. At 90%, New Orleans holds the largest percentage of above ground burials in America.
