New Orleans has many unique attractions, and our cemeteries are just one of them. They’re a popular tourist destination since we tend to bury our dead 6 feet above ground instead of below ground. The endless sea of tombs are hauntingly beautiful, and the oldest cemetery in New Orleans might just have a few restless souls you may come across on your visit.
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the oldest cemetery in New Orleans.
It also one of the most visited cemeteries in the country. It opened in 1789 and replaced St. Peter Cemetery, which is no longer around.
Many notable New Orleanians are buried here.
Etienne de Bore, the first mayor of New Orleans, Homer Plessy, from the historic Plessy v. Ferguson civil rights case are found in the cemetery. It’s believed that the voodoo priestess Marie Laveau is buried here as well. Famous actor Nicolas Cage even purchased a plot here, which is pictured above.
You can only visit the cemetery on a guided tour.
Tours are offered every hour from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sundays. Tours last approximately 45 minutes and cost $20/person. There are also several ghost tours that would be happy to take you through the cemetery, explaining the paranormal side of the area.
For more than one hundred years, people have claimed that St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is haunted.
With more than 700 tombs and 100,000 buried, it comes as no surprise that the city's oldest cemetery may have some paranormal activity associated with it.
One of the ghosts that allegedly has been spotted is that of Marie Laveau.
People claim to have seen the Voodoo Queen walking through the tombs. She is seen wearing a red and white turban and brightly-colored clothes but vanishes quickly after being seen.
Another spirit that has been spotted is Henry Vignes.
Henry Vignes was a sailor in the 1800s. When he wasn’t at sea, he lived in a boarding house in New Orleans. With no family nearby, he asked the owner of the boarding house to hold on to some paperwork for him. The paperwork was actually his family tomb information, and the owner of the boarding house sold them while Henry was away at sea. Sadly, when he returned to New Orleans and discovered what his landlord had done, it was too late — he wasn’t able to get his family tomb back. He died shortly after, but since he had no family tomb nor did he leave any money, he was buried in an unmarked grave in the pauper’s section of the cemetery.
Many have claimed to have seen Henry wandering the grounds. Some tourists have even claimed that he has spoken to them, asking if they know where the Vines tomb is located.
It's believed that there are dozens and dozens of spirits in St. Louis Cemetery No 1.
So, the next time you find yourself looking for something unique to do, sign up for a tour and maybe you'll find yourself face to face with the Voodoo Queen herself.
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is located at 425 Basin St., New Orleans, LA 70112.
Have you ever had a paranormal experience in or near New Orleans? Let us know in the comments below!
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