The Haunting of Louisiana

by Barbara Sillery

Overview

Who is the lady in the photograph whose mirrored reflection appears headless in a bedroom in Oak Alley Plantation? Why are little girls the only tour visitors to experience the taunting of Chloe, a slave and mistress of the owner of the Myrtles in the 1800s? Whose invisible hand had to be repeatedly pushed away from the owner’s car horn at Chretien Point Plantation before the owner could get a good night’s rest?

The spine-tingling explanations for these events and many others are just waiting to be discovered.

Based on the PBS documentary of the same name that aired across the country, The Haunting of Louisiana showcases many of the stories that would not fit into the one-hour television program. Louisiana’s haunted reputation is spotlighted in the twenty chapters that cover the ghostly escapades and happenings at Oak Alley Plantation, Ormond Plantation, Destrehan Manor, and America’s “most haunted home,” the Myrtles, in St. Francisville, to name a few. The book also includes behind-the-scenes incidents that occurred during the taping of the documentary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781565549050
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	08/31/2001
Series:	Haunted America
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.66(d)

About the Author

Sillery weaves her stories with a seamless twist of narrative and dialogue . . . Sillery is not merely a storyteller, but a historian as well. -Renee Peck, New Orleans Times-Picayune Barbara Sillery, raised in New York, has always had a passion for antiques. She is fascinated by the story behind each old photo, house, or piece of furniture she encounters. From this passion sprung the inspiration for her first independent business, Keepsake Antiques, which sold refurbished furniture and other relics. In 1989 she became the owner and executive producer for Keepsake Productions and is well-known in the television industry through Lagniappe Media Productions, Inc., a subsidiary of Keepsake, which specializes in award-winning documentaries. Sillery earned a BA in theatre and speech from Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and has spent most of her professional life as a writer and producer. Her work includes such programs as Biloxi Memories and the Broadwater Beach Hotel, City Park Memories, Things That Go Bump in the Night, The Prize, Skyriders: Louisiana's Aviation Pioneers, and The Meeting of the Courts of Rex and Comus. She is also a field producer for Extra, a syndicated entertainment show, and has contributed articles to Cultural Vistas Magazine, Antiques Gazette, Circle of Friends, and Celtic Informer. Among her many accolades are a WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival award, several Telly Awards, and an Addy Award. She has received numerous grants and has participated in various festivals and panels, including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Arts Council of New Orleans grant review panel, and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities media review panel. Sillery is the proud mother of three daughters. After spending years in New Orleans, she now resides in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, and continues her career as a television producer and writer. In her free time, she plays tennis and is an avid swimmer who enjoys spending as much time as she can near, on, or in the water.

Table of Contents

	Foreword	9
	Preface	11
	Acknowledgments	13
1.	America's Most Haunted Home	17
2.	Ghostly Lagniappe	27
3.	Solitary Apparitions	33
4.	What Else Do They Leave Behind?	41
5.	A Finger-Pointing Ghost and Buried Treasure	45
6.	The Ghost and the Real Scarlett O'Hara	55
7.	Mystery, Murder, and Mayhem at Loyd Hall	65
8.	The Rising Spirits of Woodland	75
9.	A Capitol Ghost	87
10.	Ile Phantom	101
11.	The Haunted Blacksmith Shop	109
12.	Little Girl Lost	117
13.	Battles, Balls, and Bats	121
14.	The Haunted House	137
15.	The Ghostly Decorator	147
16.	The Singing Monk	153
17.	The Legendary Widow Paris	163
18.	Celtic Love Triangle	177
19.	Ghosts with a Four-Star Rating	189
20.	The Madam Who Won't Lie Still	199
	Epilogue	211
Appendix	Selected Haunted Sites	217
	Selected Bibliography	221

Editorial Reviews

To those who may be encountering Louisiana for the first time through these wonderful stories—prepare to be engaged and entertained to a degree to which you are certainly unaccustomed . . . Barbara’s gift for storytelling holds in the written word just as it does before a television camera.”

—Phillip J. Jones, former secretary, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism

“A personal, anecdotal narrative that paints events with evocative descriptions . . . best savored in slices—it serves up a great bedtime read.”

—New Orleans Times-Picayune

From the Publisher