New Orleans’ TRUE Dark History

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.