If you love being scared and are courageous enough to endure the creepy, spooky and paranormal, book a trip to New Orleans, Louisiana to see any or all of the 42 cemeteries in the area. The music city is also home to some of the eeriest cemetery tours around.
Let’s start with “Voodoo Queen” Marie Laveau, who is actually believed to still be haunting St. Louis Cemetery #1, located outside the French Quarter. Visitors believe this so much that they often leave trinkets for the queen. Maybe you’ll be the one to see her on your one-hour tour that also includes family and society tombs, vaults and information on various burial practices. Turn around! She’s behind you…or is she?
Can’t get enough of St. Louis #1? How about St. Louis #2 and #3? So much to see and be spooked by.
Take the haunts over to the Inside of Lafayette Cemetery, where one metal tomb inspired Anne Rice to pen The Witching Hour. There are about 1,100 family tombs and more than 7,000 people buried in Lafayette Cemetery.
Maybe you’re more into the history that is in the cemeteries and the elaborate Metairie Cemetery, which is registered as a National Historic Landmark, does not disappoint. Here is where you will find the tombs of prominent Civil War soldiers — maybe their ghosts too? What’s unique about this cemetery is the fact that the tombs look like Egyptian pyramids, mausoleums, and British castles. Add in the spirits and the ghouls you may see on your tour and the Metairie is a don’t blink and a don’t miss.
Holt Cemetery was once a cemetery for the city’s indigent population where the that the burials happen below-ground and, according to the website, the ownership will stay with the family so long as it is well-kept. The large oak trees and personal touches on the grave markings make this a unique place to visit.
There are also cemetery and voodoo tours you can take that combine multiple cemeteries so you can get your spooky and paranormal in and maybe see some ghosts and ghouls.
If you’re looking to set up a graveyard tour, contact your travel agent who can put together a boo-tiful itinerary!
Travel Makers MD