Spooky City Guide – New Orleans

New Orleans is one of the best cities in the USA to satisfy all your historical, superstitious and ghost hunting needs. With over 300 years of history, spanning the Great Fire of New Orleans, a yellow fever epidemic, multiple civil wars, to eerie Casket Girls.

New Orleans has a seemingly never-ending list of things that make it a hot spot for lovers of all things supernatural. The city is full of haunted attractions, ghost tours, voodoo museums and urban legends just waiting for you to discover them. 

With this spooky New Orleans city guide, you’ll dive deep into a world filled with terrifying, haunting and supernatural traditions that New Orleans has built its foundation. 

This will help you uncover the best haunted hotels in New Orleans, find the most haunted places in New Orleans, recommend the most ghastly ghost tours in New Orleans, and spine-chilling cemetery tours.

The Spookiest Time to Visit New Orleans

You’ll find ghost tours, cemetery tours, voodoo tours and all things spooky year-round in New Orleans. So you don’t need to worry about visiting around Halloween to experience the creepy stuff the city has to offer.

Of course, Halloween does bring plenty of fun, scary events in October, designed to lure you in and embrace the extra-ominous tours and Halloween goings-on. However, October brings cooler weather, and hurricanes are still possible.

Because of this, I recommend visiting during spring (February-May) when the weather conditions are best.

The Best Ghost Tours in New Orleans

New Orleans has a rich history and is known for its haunted places filled with the best ghost stories. Going on a ghost tour is a unique way to learn about the city’s dark history as well as its haunted past.

The top 3 best ghost tours in New Orleans are: 2-Hour Haunted Cemetery and City Tour at Night, Killers and Thrillers Walking Tour and the New Orleans Ghosts & Vampires Walking Tour.

The ghost tours take you to historic neighbourhoods including the French Quarter. If you prefer cemetery history, you can go on a cemetery tour in New Orleans and visit famous cemeteries including the St. Louis Cemetery.

Ghost tours are also a great way to experience New Orleans’s spooky atmosphere and taste its supernatural side.

Whether you’re a history buff, a fan of the supernatural, or just looking for an exciting and different way to explore the city, a ghost tour in New Orleans is a must-do activity.

I’ve listed the top 3 ghost tours in New Orleans, but I have an entire post about the best ghost tours in New Orleans. This post has loads of different tours, which means there is a tour for everyone.

Whether you like ghost hunting, tons of theatrics or more dark history steeped in the paranormal, you will find a tour made just for you.

Read more about the best ghost tours in New Orleans here.

Spooky Things to do in New Orleans

New Orleans is home to some of the most haunted hotels, houses, bars and cemeteries. The Big Easy is perfect for people who love the paranormal and dark history. It is the perfect city for dark tourists, with sites associated with vampires, zombies, and ghosts. If you’re looking for places with a dark history in New Orleans or just the most haunted places to visit – New Orleans has it all.

LALAURIE MANSION

Home to one of the cruelest women of New Orleans, LaLaurie Mansion is haunted by ghosts of formerly enslaved people that Madame LaLaurie tortured during her residence in the mansion. Since it’s privately owned, you can’t enter the mansion, but it’s worth a visit to see the spooky outside.

THE MORTUARY HAUNTED HOUSE

Located in a mansion that was an actual mortuary for 80 years, the Mortuary Haunted House features a terrifying self-guided tour that will send shivers down your spine. During the experience, you fight out of a themed escape room, with everything from zombies to poltergeists and serial killers trying to attack you. It’s a fun adventure that keeps you on your feet and out of the heat.

NEW ORLEANS PHARMACY MUSEUM

Step back in time to when the medical community used leeches for bloodletting and voodoo potions to help one fall in love. The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum showcases apothecary jars filled with original tinctures and former surgical instruments used by the medical community of the past.

BLOODY MARY’S HAUNTED MUSEUM

Take a guided tour with a real-life Voodoo priestess known as Bloody Mary in a 200-year-old real-life haunted house. In addition, you’ll visit a séance parlour, a psychic center and learn how to hunt ghosts!

NEW ORLEANS HISTORIC VOODOO MUSEUM

A museum dedicated to the history of voodoo in New Orleans. Visit the museum to see shrines and relics, including voodoo dolls offering a taste of past and current voodoo traditions still alive in New Orleans.

BEAUREGARD-KEYES HOUSE

With 200 years of history, the Beauregard-Keyes house has seen its fair share of owners, from the Confederate General to the Italian mob. The apparitions spotted inside the house are associated with the civil war and ghosts of Confederate soldiers can be spotted and heard, usually accompanied by a nasty smell throughout the house.

Spooky Cemeteries in New Orleans

New Orleans is known for its cemeteries featuring stunning above-ground tombs unique to Louisiana. These cemeteries, also known as “cities of the dead,” are home to elaborate tombs and mausoleums where the deceased are entombed above ground.

The most famous of these cemeteries is probably the St. Louis Cemetery, the final resting place of many prominent figures in New Orleans history, including the voodoo queen Marie Laveau and the future resting place of actor Nicolas Cage.

If you’d like to take a tour, you can check out the post about the best cemetery tours in New Orleans. I also recommend checking out the best voodoo tours of New Orleans, where you can learn more about the Voodoo Queen.

ST. LOUIS CEMETERY NO. 1

Home to the tomb of Voodoo queen Marie Laveau and the white pyramid tomb of Nicolas Cage, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is a famous historic cemetery on the edge of the French Quarter. Unfortunately, access to this cemetery is only possible on a tour.

Book here: St. Louis Cemetery No.1 Tour

LAFAYETTE CEMETERY NO. 1

Lafayette Cemetery is located in the Garden District, which is known for its immense beauty, surrounded by magnolia trees with flower-lined pathways leading past tombs and mausoleums. Unfortunately, most people buried at Lafayette died due to yellow fever, which swept through Louisiana in the 1800s.

Book here: Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 & Garden District Walking Tour

ST. PATRICK’S CEMETERY

Known as New Orleans’ most haunted cemetery, St. Patrick’s is mostly home to Irish immigrants who settled in New Orleans. It’s rumoured that the ghost of a woman stalks visitors as they walk through the cemetery.

ST. ROCH CEMETERY

In a sea of black and white tombstones, the ghosts of St. Roch are said to roam throughout the cemetery, passing through mausoleum walls. Witnesses report seeing the scary ghosts of a cloaked figure and the ghost of a dog. St. Roch is the patron saint of healing. The cemetery also has a small chapel with random, creepy things on the walls, including prosthetics, casts, and dolls.

Check out the best cemetery tours in New Orleans here!

Haunted Hotels in New Orleans

New Orleans is famous for its haunted hotels, and there are endless creepy, spooky ghost stories surrounding different locations in the city. Here are the best New Orleans haunted hotels to stay in. If you want to find out more about which hotels to stay at please check out the best haunted hotels in New Orleans post.

THE HAUNTED HOTEL AT 623 URSULINES

Known as the official haunted hotel in New Orleans, the Haunted Hotel at 623 Ursulines is one of the oldest hotels with a gruesome history of murder. Ghost sightings are reported daily, so bring your ghost hunting equipment. Also, get ready for a sleepless night because you’ll probably be too scared to sleep. You have been warned!

Book here: The Haunted Hotel at 623 Ursulines

THE HOTEL MONTELEONE

A luxury hotel with spectres, the Hotel Monteleone has several resident ghosts throughout the building, but most of the surreal activity occurs in the lobby. For example, the magnificent grandfather clock is said to be haunted by a ghostly clockmaker who can be seen practicing his craft in the middle of the night.

Book here: The Hotel Monteleone

BOURBON ORLEANS HOTEL

Once operating as a convent, the Bourbon Orleans Hotel now has several ghosts who roam the halls, eager to make themselves known to guests. From the vampires in New Orleans (famously known as the Casket Girls) to mischievous children, you never know who you’ll see when you stay at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel.

Book here: Bourbon Orleans Hotel

ANDREW JACKSON HOTEL

This hotel is haunted by young boys rumoured to have died in a fire in the early 1900s. Guests have noticed taps turning themselves on in bathrooms, TVs randomly changing to children’s shows and spooky pictures appearing on their cameras as they slept.

Book here: Andrew Jackson Hotel

LAFITTE GUEST HOUSE

Formerly a hospital, Lafitte Guest House is now the site of several dreadful tragedies, including the story of several children who died from yellow fever. This is yet another hotel rumoured to be haunted by children.

Book here: Lafitte Guest House

DAUPHINE ORLEANS HOTEL

Here patrons have been known to hear footsteps and disembodied voices. This is also the hotel that the “Spooky Boys” from Buzzfeed Unsolved stayed in. Check out their video here: The Haunted Quarters Of The Dauphine Orleans Hotel

Book here: Dauphine Orleans Hotel

Haunted Bars in New Orleans

New Orleans is a city with a vibrant nightlife scene which includes several haunted pubs. Quite a few New Orleans bars and pubs are said to be home to ghosts or other paranormal activity. 

Many of these pubs embraced their haunted history, and you can get special drinks dedicated to the pub’s resident ghosts. Alternatively, you can take a haunted pub tour and visit a handful of the most haunted pubs in New Orleans.

Whether you’re a believer in the paranormal or just looking for a unique night out, visiting one of New Orleans’ haunted pubs is a must-do!

LAFITTE’S BLACKSMITH SHOP BAR

Formerly a Blacksmith shop, this pub is thought to be haunted by French Pirate Jean Lafitte. He’s often seen standing in dark corners glaring at patrons.

THE OLD ABSINTHE HOUSE

Once a place people could drink illegal absinthe and get all kinds of hard drugs, this pub has witnessed many ghostly apparitions believed to move chairs, open doors and whisper in the ears of guests.

PAT O’BRIENS

One of the best bars in town to get a delicious hurricane cocktail, Pat O’Briens also has some ghostly residents. Bar employees have reported hearing footsteps and feeling random cold spots in certain areas of the pub. The women’s bathroom is also said to be haunted by a former restroom attendant. I don’t know about you, but bathroom ghosts scare me the most!

THE DUNGEON

If you’ve ever wanted to come into contact with a ghostly vampire, this is the bar to visit! The bar is still pretty cool, even if you don’t spot a ghost. There’s a real coffin hanging from the ceiling, and the bathrooms are hidden behind bookcases. Can vampires even become ghosts? Visit this pub and find out.

Haunted Restaurants in New Orleans Food

New Orleans is known for having vibrant and delicious food. From Po’ boys to Beignets and Jambalaya to Crawfish étouffée – New Orleans restaurants will leave you satisfied.

What is better than eating some of the best food in the USA? Dining with ghosts! Who wouldn’t want to share their gumbo with a spirit? Exactly. Everyone wants to eat with the ghosts that linger in New Orleans’s most haunted restaurants.

SÉANCE LOUNGE IN MURIEL’S JACKSON SQUARE

Ever wanted to have dinner with ghosts? At Muriel’s Jackson Square, you can! The original building burned down during the Great Fire of New Orleans, and the restaurant’s second floor experienced a lot of paranormal activity. Enjoy authentic Creole food with resident ghost Jourdan while you’re there.

THE COURT OF TWO SISTERS

Guests to this restaurant, which also serves Creole cuisine, are regularly charmed by ghosts of two sisters who once owned the restaurant. They often come by to see how well their former store is doing, leaving feelings of happiness in their wake.

CHARTRES HOUSE CAFÉ

This café is known for its authentic Cajun food and the ghostly spirit of a man looking out a second-floor window. Patrons who rent out the second floor have reported feeling dark energy throughout. (Not vegetarian-friendly.)

THE NEW ORLEANS VAMPIRE CAFE

Sink your teeth into New Orleans’s most vampire-friendly cafe, The New Orleans Vampire Cafe. The food and drinks offered at this cafe are to die for and will keep any vampire-loving human incredibly happy. While the cafe isn’t haunted, it is a unique dining experience.

CAFÉ DU MONDE

Not really a spooky place to eat, but it serves up the ever-popular beignet — a deep-fried pillow of magic (really, it’s just deep-fried dough) blanketed by a generous dusting of powdered sugar. The only thing spooky about these New Orleans treats is that you’ll get powdered sugar everywhere and look like a ghost yourself!

Spooky Places to Shop in New Orleans

Almost every building in New Orleans is haunted, and the shops and boutiques are no different. So whether you want to find the best items for witches, voodoo practitioners or a boutique for vampires – New Orleans has it all.

MARIE LAVEAU HOUSE OF VOODOO

Dedicated to the Voodoo queen herself. You can stop here for some authentic voodoo dolls and other souvenirs related to Marie Laveau.

HEX: OLD WORLD WITCHERY

The best shop for all your witch and warlock needs. You can find everything to help beginner witches or seasoned practitioners here.

ERZULIE’S AUTHENTIC VOODOO SHOP

The official place to learn how to cast voodoo spells, create voodoo dolls and help with all things related to voodoo.

BOUTIQUE DU VAMPYRE

The only vampire shop in the French Quarter. You’ll find everything related to vampires here, including fangs!

VOODOO AUTHENTICA

A shop that’s home to altars where people can pray and leave gifts for spirits. You can also buy voodoo dolls, oils, and voodoo-related potions to help you practice the Voodoo religion.

Related Posts

Looking for more info? Check out all the articles about Spooky Places in New Orleans below.

Spooky Tips for Visiting New Orleans

TAKE A GUIDED TOUR

The guides are trained and very knowledgeable about both real New Orleans history and local folklore. St. Louis Cemetery No 1 is accessible by tour only – book a tour before visiting so you don’t miss out.

WALK AROUND THE FRENCH QUARTER

There are several tour companies handing out information about new ghost tours, voodoo tours, and supernatural tours.

BOOK YOUR TOURS EARLY

Tours often fill up quickly and sell out. Be sure to book early to avoid disappointment.

BRING ALONG SOME GHOST HUNTING EQUIPMENT

Explore your hotel room after dark and see if you can reach out to any spirits spending the night with you.

Recommended Ghost Hunting Equipment

Want to add some fun to your evening? Bring some paranormal hunting equipment if you are staying at one of New Orleans’s many haunted hotels! See if you can connect with any spirits you share in your hotel room.

Get your Ghost Meter EMF Sensor here to help you with your ghost hunting!

Get your Full Spectrum Ghost Hunting Camera here! See what you catch on film!

Get The Everything Ghost Hunting Book and learn all about exploring the world of the paranormal!

Get The Ghost Hunter’s Survival Guide here!