You won’t find abandoned ghost towns in Louisiana, but you’ll discover something far more unsettling—historic hotels and plantations where the dead still linger among the living. Sleep in the Hotel Villa Convento’s Room 305 where guests hear spectral sobs, or brave the Myrtles Plantation where murdered William Winter’s spirit roams the halls. At Bourbon Orleans Hotel, ghostly nuns and orphaned children wander the preserved Orleans Ballroom, while Hotel Monteleone‘s elevators mysteriously stop on the haunted 14th floor. Below, you’ll uncover what awaits during your supernatural sleepover.
Key Takeaways
- Bourbon Orleans Hotel offers overnight stays with haunted Orleans Ballroom and Room 644 featuring ghostly nuns and orphaned children since 1815.
- Hotel Monteleone provides accommodations with paranormal activity on floors 14 and 15, including Maurice Begere’s ghost and unexplained elevator stops.
- Hotel Villa Convento welcomes guests in rooms 305 and 209 where spectral knocks, whispers, and disappearing items occur regularly.
- Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville offers overnight lodging at the 1796 estate haunted by murdered William Winter and ghostly children.
- Le Pavillon Hotel features over 100 spirits and portal locations with documented energy fluctuations throughout the historic property.
Hotel Villa Convento: The House of the Rising Sun
When you step through the doors of the Hotel Villa Convento at 616 Ursulines Avenue, you’re entering a building where two centuries of secrets still cling to the walls. Built in 1833 as a Creole townhouse, this former brothel near Storyville’s notorious red-light district carries ancient legends connecting it to “The House of the Rising Sun.”
The Taromina family ran it as both residence and pleasure house until 1946, and ghostly whispers still echo through its 25 rooms.
You’ll hear phantom knocks from a former madame signaling time’s up, young women’s laughter trailing down corridors, and unexplained sobs piercing quiet nights.
Author James Caskey called it New Orleans’ most haunted hotel.
The Campo family now operates this boutique guesthouse, preserving original apartment numbers and Creole architecture—complete with restless spirits who occasionally leave mysterious gloves behind. Room 305 once hosted Jimmy Buffet and now reports moving personal items that disappear and reappear in plain sight. Ghost hunters have investigated Room 209, considered the most haunted, using EMF detectors and spirit boxes to capture evidence of a man believed to have died there.
Hotel Monteleone: Where Luxury Meets the Supernatural
Just blocks away from Villa Convento’s shadowy past, the Hotel Monteleone rises at the corner of Royal and Iberville Streets as French Quarter royalty—a gleaming monument to luxury where crystal chandeliers illuminate corridors prowled by the dead.
You’ll discover America’s longest family-operated hotel harbors more than 130 years of supernatural artifacts and haunted room history.
The 14th floor beckons ghost hunters seeking three-year-old Maurice Begere, who died of fever in the 1880s and still manifests at guests’ bedsides whispering, “Mommy, don’t cry. I’m fine.”
You’ll encounter founder Antonio Monteleone’s specter in 19th-century dress, feuding kitchen ghosts who slam restaurant doors, and phantom children racing through hallways.
The 2003 International Society of Paranormal Research documented over a dozen entities here—your freedom to explore the afterlife starts at check-in.
Maurice’s mother returned annually on the anniversary of his death, claiming her son appeared and comforted her each time.
Guests staying on the 15th floor report elevators stopping repeatedly on the 14th floor without explanation, with hotel staff finding no mechanical issues despite families refusing to ride after these encounters.
Myrtles Plantation: Louisiana’s Most Haunted Bed and Breakfast
Beyond the French Quarter’s tourist-laden streets, twenty-five miles north in St. Francisville, you’ll discover Myrtles Plantation—a 1796 estate where you’re not just booking accommodations, you’re claiming territory in America’s most haunted house.
Built by Whiskey Rebellion leader General David Bradford, this former cotton plantation now offers twenty-one guest rooms where paranormal encounters aren’t advertised amenities—they’re inevitable.
You’ll hear footsteps echoing through corridors where William Winter was murdered in 1871. Children’s apparitions materialize, calling your name before vanishing. The haunted kitchen preserves stories of Chloe, an enslaved woman whose vengeful poisoning birthed generations of legends. Though no historical evidence confirms Chloe’s actual existence, her legend remains the plantation’s most famous ghost story.
Spectral pet sightings add unexpected layers to your overnight adventure. Tour director Hester Eby warns the Ruffin Stirling Room runs particularly active—perfect if you’re seeking authentic supernatural experiences beyond sanitized ghost stories. Hollywood stars Jason Robards and Ava Gardner refused to enter during the 1980s filming of *The Long Hot Summer*, choosing trailer accommodations over the plantation’s unsettling atmosphere.
Bourbon Orleans Hotel: From Theater to Paranormal Hotspot
You’ll find yourself standing before one of New Orleans’ most elegant haunted landmarks, where the Bourbon Orleans Hotel has occupied the corner of Orleans and Bourbon Streets since 1815.
Behind its historic façade, the preserved Orleans Ballroom still echoes with phantom waltzes from 19th-century Quadroon Balls, while ghostly nuns from the Sisters of the Holy Family drift through corridors that once sheltered orphaned children. The ballroom itself was designed by Henry Latrobe, architect of the U.S. Capitol, lending presidential grandeur to this supernatural stage.
This centuries-old French Quarter jewel transforms from opulent theater to sacred convent to modern hotel, trapping restless spirits from each era within its walls. Among the most active hauntings is Room 644, where guests report screams and apparitions of a nun who allegedly took her own life.
Early 1800s Theater Origins
Rising from the muddy banks of the French Quarter in 1806, the Théâtre d’Orléans began its construction with ambitions that would transform New Orleans into America’s unlikely opera capital. War delayed its debut until 1815, but when those doors finally opened, you’d witness stagecraft history unfolding through European operas and elaborate masquerade balls.
The theatre architecture boasted 1,300 seats after John Davis rebuilt it in 1819, following the devastating 1816 fire. Henry Latrobe, architect of the U.S. Capitol, designed the Orleans Ballroom’s elegant structure.
You’ll find freedom’s echo in these walls—where state legislators once debated, where Andrew Jackson announced his presidential ambitions, and where Creole society danced without restraint. Adjacent to the theatre, the Orleans Ballroom opened in 1817, hosting the city’s most prominent social gatherings for New Orleans’ elite.
This wasn’t just entertainment; it was rebellion dressed in silk and candlelight, defying convention while introducing French opera to an passionate American frontier.
Historic Ballroom Encounters
The Théâtre d’Orléans met its final curtain in flames during the 1860s, but its legacy refused to die. Today’s Orleans Ballroom occupies this haunted ground, where ballroom apparitions waltz through moonlit hours. You’ll encounter an elegant woman in her 19th-century gown, eternally spinning across polished floors—a ghost from the Quadroon Ball era when Creole socialites courted forbidden mistresses.
Step into Henry Latrobe’s restored ballroom at midnight, and hauntings dance before your eyes. Phantom orchestras fill the air while period-dressed figures twirl beneath Roman Doric columns.
Approach the lone dancer, and she’ll vanish, leaving only an icy chill. Hotel staff know her well—this spectral socialite who can’t abandon the glamorous evenings when belladonna-eyed beauties enchanted wealthy suitors beneath crystal chandeliers.
French Quarter Haunted Legacy
Beneath Bourbon Street’s neon glow and jazz-fueled revelry, centuries of tragedy have soaked into the foundations of what locals now call the Bourbon Orleans Hotel. You’re standing where yellow fever claimed thousands, where orphaned girls once studied in St. Mary’s Academy, and where Creole society danced at infamous Quadroon Balls.
The preserved Orleans Ballroom witnessed Andrew Jackson’s presidential announcement and masked carnival celebrations before epidemic-driven deaths transformed it into a convent sanctuary. Today, between sampling local cuisine and exploring nearby art festivals, you’ll encounter unexplained footsteps echoing through hallways, children’s laughter from empty rooms, and apparitions in antebellum dress.
This 202-year-old site blends New Orleans’ opulent past with its darkest chapters, offering you authentic paranormal experiences where entertainment, tragedy, and redemption converged.
Omni Royal Orleans: Echoes of a Troubled Past
Standing at 621 St. Louis Street, you’ll discover the Omni Royal Orleans rising from soil stained by America’s darkest commerce. Before luxurious hotel decor and elegant architectural styles graced this site, enslaved people stood chained here during City Exchange auctions totaling $50,000—roughly $1.5 million today.
Luxury now occupies ground where enslaved people once stood chained, their $50,000 auction price echoing through elegant hotel corridors.
The original 1843 structure’s troubled history echoes through today’s 346-room property:
- Union forces seized it as a military hospital in 1862
- Confederate soldier spirits now haunt the seventh floor
- A 19th-century maid’s ghost still arranges guests’ belongings
You’ll find the Rib Room restaurant where Louisiana’s Superdome was conceptualized, while phantom children tug at your arms after dark. This Four Diamond retreat lets you experience New Orleans’ unvarnished past—no sanitized version here.
Historic French Quarter Inns: Intimate Encounters With the Otherworldly
You’ll find the French Quarter’s most intimate hauntings within its historic inns, where centuries-old walls trap the energy of those who never left.
The Bourbon Orleans Theater Ballroom echoes with phantom waltzes from Confederate soldiers and elegant dancers who once twirled across its checkered floors.
Hotel Monteleone’s merged buildings created architectural anomalies where spirits slip between connected structures.
While Villa Convento stands on the legendary Rising Sun property—a site so steeped in tragedy that guests report full-bodied apparitions materializing in their rooms.
Bourbon Orleans Theater Ballroom
When you step into the lobby of the Bourbon Orleans Hotel at 717 Orleans Street, you’re standing in what was once America’s most celebrated ballroom—a glittering venue where crystal chandeliers cast light across Roman Doric columns and Creole society waltzed beneath romantic murals until dawn.
Built in 1817 by architect William Brand following Henry Latrobe’s classical design, this space witnessed:
- Elite masquerades where Creole gentlemen drifted between theatre performances and midnight dancing
- Quadroon balls on the legendary wooden balcony, forever entwined with plaçage traditions
- Architectural revival transforming convent to hotel through meticulous art restoration in 1966
Today’s cafe and event space preserves those archways and French doors where ghostly lovers still reportedly promenade beneath moonlight—your overnight stay connects you directly to New Orleans’ most intoxicating and haunted social history.
Hotel Monteleone’s Merged Buildings
Just two blocks northeast along Royal Street, where gas lamps flicker across wrought-iron galleries, Antonio Monteleone’s 1886 vision merged two separate structures into what would become the French Quarter’s oldest continuously operating hotel.
The Sicilian cobbler’s bold purchase unified his small hotel with the adjacent Commercial Hotel, creating a Beaux-Arts masterpiece that’s weathered five generations of hotel management without corporate chains diluting its character.
You’ll wander hallways where architectural details whisper of multiple expansions—1903’s 30 rooms, 1908’s 300-room transformation, 1928’s 200-room addition before the Depression struck.
The 1954 renovation demolished Antonio’s original structure entirely, yet spirits reportedly roam freely through ballrooms and the famous revolving Carousel Bar.
This independent survivor hosts you among 570 rooms where authors and governors once plotted their futures, now sharing space with restless presences from New Orleans’ storied past.
Villa Convento Rising Sun
Where else could Ursuline nuns’ sacred colonial grounds transform so dramatically into whispered scandal?
At 616 Ursulines Avenue, you’ll discover local architecture that’s witnessed New Orleans’ wildest transformations since 1833.
This Creole townhouse—rumored House of the Rising Sun—harbors cultural legends within its courtyard walls.
Your haunted experience includes:
- Original apartment numbers where Jimmy Buffett once crashed during its rooming house days
- Phantom sounds echoing from the brothel era’s debauchery
- Balconies overlooking Jackson Square’s timeless energy
The Campo family’s seventh-generation stewardship preserves every scandalous whisper.
You’ll sip chicory coffee where Eric Burdon rewrote that infamous folk song, feeling presences from its illicit past.
Twenty-five intimate rooms guarantee personal encounters—both historical and otherworldly—steps from the Mississippi’s ancient current.
What to Expect During Your Haunted Accommodation Stay
As darkness settles over Louisiana’s historic properties, the atmosphere shifts from merely old to genuinely unsettling. You’ll notice energy fluctuations immediately—lights flickering without explanation, temperatures dropping suddenly in specific corners.
At Nottoway Plantation, you might feel unseen hands brush your skin. The Lookout Inn’s bathtub fills autonomously, echoing its murder-stained past. Drawers slide open at Biscuit Palace while pots clang mysteriously at T’Frere’s House.
Paranormal investigation techniques reveal patterns: cold spots concentrate near former slave quarters at Woodland Plantation, while Le Pavillon’s hundred-plus spirits cluster around alleged portal locations.
You’re free to explore these phenomena firsthand, though some guests flee before dawn. Myrtles Plantation offers the fullest experience—twelve distinct entities roam freely through elegant rooms, creating encounters that’ve captivated television crews and spooked countless overnight visitors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are There Any Haunted Accommodations in Louisiana Suitable for Families With Children?
You’ll find Myrtles Plantation offers family-friendly activities alongside historical ghost stories. Kids explore magnificent gardens while you tour antebellum rooms where spirits whisper. Evening mystery tours let families chase legends together, creating unforgettable adventures in Louisiana’s haunted countryside.
What Should I Pack Specifically for Staying at a Haunted Hotel?
Pack packing essentials like EMF meters, flashlights, and voice recorders to capture paranormal evidence. Don’t forget comfortable earplugs and sleeping masks for restful nights. You’ll collect spooky souvenirs through EVP recordings and infrared photos documenting your supernatural Louisiana adventure.
Do These Properties Offer Refunds if Guests Become Too Frightened to Stay?
Like a roller coaster rider accepting the thrill, you won’t find ghost admission policies or haunted house safety refunds here. These properties don’t offer money back if you’re too frightened—you’re choosing the paranormal experience willingly.
Are Paranormal Investigation Tools Available to Rent at These Haunted Locations?
You won’t find paranormal equipment rentals or ghost hunting gear at these locations. You’ll need to bring your own EMF detectors and spirit boxes to capture evidence of spectral encounters during your overnight investigations.
Which Months Have the Highest Reported Ghost Activity at Louisiana Accommodations?
Ever wonder when spirits roam freely? July brings peak paranormal experiences, while full moon periods amplify ghostly encounters. Haunted attraction events during Friday-Saturday mystery tours reveal historical ghost stories year-round, though no single month dominates Louisiana’s spirited accommodations.
References
- https://ghostcitytours.com/new-orleans/haunted-new-orleans/haunted-bed-breakfasts/
- https://www.hauntedrooms.com/louisiana/haunted-places/haunted-hotels
- https://www.louisianahauntedhouses.com/real-haunts/hotels.aspx
- https://themyrtles.com
- https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/stays/louisiana/myrtles-cottages-la
- https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g40411-d77074-r664249565-The_Myrtles-Saint_Francisville_Louisiana.html
- https://973thedawg.com/you-can-stay-overnight-in-these-haunted-louisiana-hotels/
- https://www.visitbatonrouge.com/listing/the-myrtles/268/
- https://uniquenola.com/blog/ghost-hunt-hotel-villa-convento/
- https://spellcasterghosttours.com/hotel-villa-convento-quaint-charming-haunted/
