Saint Louis Cemetery is the name of three Roman Catholic cemeteries in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The burials are in above ground vaults; most were constructed in the 18th century and 19th century. The above-ground tombs, required here because the ground water levels make burial impractical in New Orleans, are strongly reminiscent of the tombs of Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.

Check out these actual Haunted New Orleans Cemetery ghost photos sent us by our readers see if you see a real ghost!

Each Cemetery Ghost photo is reported to us to have a strange ghost like things in each.

 

St. Louis Cemetery No. 1

425 Basin Street.
New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
504-483-2064 Sundays at 10:00 a.m. Meet at 621 Royal Street. The Cemetery is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

Some of the more interesting tombs in St. Louis Number One are a huge tomb that holds the remains of some of the participants in the Battle of New Orleans; chess champion Paul Morphy; New Orleans' first black mayor, Ernest N. "Dutch" Morial. But the most famous and interesting tomb here is said to be where Voodoo Queen Marie Leveaux is buried. New Orleans' first black mayor, Ernest N. "Dutch" Morial is buried right next to her.

People still visit her tomb to light candles, perform various religious acts and leave offerings. Across the street, with its front facing N. Rampart St., is Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, which originally was the mortuary chapel built to handle the funerals and last rites of victims of yellow fever in 1826. It is the oldest surviving church in the city.

St. Louis Cemetery
425 Basin St.
New Orleans, LA 70112 New Orleans, LA 70112
504-596-3050 504-596-3050
Founded 1789

Haunted New Orleans, Louisiana- Considered by locals visitors and paranormal investigators world wide as actually the most haunted and No. # 1 haunted Cemetery in all the United States. Vault burial was introduced in New Orleans during the Spanish regime, and our oldest cemetery -- St. Louis No. 1 (1789) -- has society tombs built by the French Society, the Portuguese Benevolent Association, the Cervantes Mutual Benefit Society, the Italian Society, and the Orleans Battalion of Artillery.

St. Louis Cemetery #1 is the oldest and most famous. It was opened in 1789, replacing the city's older St. Peter Cemetery (no longer in existence) as the main burial ground with a redesign of the city after a fire in 1788.

It is 8 blocks from the Mississippi River, 1 block back from the French Quarter, bordering the housing project that was built over what was formerly Storyville. It has been in continuous use since its foundation. Due to crime risks, it is inadvisable for individual tourists to visit the cemetery on their own, but it can be safely visited with groups. Free walking tours are given by the National Park Service, and paid tours are given by various commercial enterprises.

Marie Laveau is said to be buried in Saint Louis Cemetery #1, in the Glapion family crypt.

St Louis Cemetery No. 1 , located St between Conti and St Louis. The oldest City of the Dead, dating from 1789, this small graveyard is full of crooked mausoleum jutting into narrow pathways. On the fringes of the Quarter, it is a regular stop on the tour bus circuit, and you will invariably come across a crowd by the tomb of "voodoo queen" Marie Laveau , graffiti with brick-dust crosses.

Marie Laveaus Ghost is said to haunt the cemetery. and many Ghost photos, and EVP's occur. This New Orleans graveyard is said to be haunted by the ghost of the world famous Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Marie Laveau. Her spirit has been reported inside of the cemetery, walking between the tombs wearing a turban , and mumbling a New Orleans Santeria Voodoo curse to trespassers.

Her Voodoo curse is loud and even heard by passerby's on nearby Rampart Street. Locals say this has started in recent years for she is alarmed by the many vandals and state of the cemetery. Voudon Believers and Tourist and locals still come to her tomb every day and leave many, many Voodoo offerings (candles, flowers, buttons, monke cock good luck statue, Mardi Gras beads, Gris Gris bags, Voodoo dolls, and food in hopes of being blessed by her supernatural powers from beyond the grave.) Many have been known to make a wish at her tomb marking three X's. While others say they have her Ghost on film emerging undead from her tomb. They say her soul appears here as a shiny black Voodoo cat with read eyes. If you see it run!

The Tomb is also said to be haunted by her great Voodoo snake called Zombi. Some say they have felt her touch them letting them know their wish will come true. One recent haunted Cemtery tour guest at Marie laveus tomb states that she picked up a statue on the ground of a Monkey and cock. The Tour guide explained it was left there and meant to be taken as a good luck statue and that it grants three wishes.""as I picked it up, some strange force ripped it out of my hands.""Marie Laveau did not want me to have it ." She said. "It landed un broken back where I picked it up from, another person on the tour picked it up and the same thing happened." then another lady picked it up and nothing happened. The entire tour was stunned and the guide too."

St Louis Cemetery No. 2

Saint Louis #2200 N Claiborne Ave between Iberville St. Louis No. 2, established in 1823, is located in what is presently a more dangerous area of town. It is open the same hours as No. 1. Cemetery tours are available, although difficult to find, but it is highly recommended that visiting this cemetery be done only in guided tour groups

You don't even want to think about visiting St. Louis Number Two; it's in a very rough neighborhood. Pass it by

St. Louis Cemetery #2
320 North Claiborne Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70112
504-596-3050 504-596-3050
Founded 1823

St. Louis #2 is located some 3 blocks back from St. Louis #1, bordering Claiborne Avenue. It was consecrated in 1823. A number of notable jazz and rhythm & blues; musicians are buried here, including Danny Barker and Ernie K. Doe. Also entombed here is Dominique You, a notorious pirate who assisted in the defense of the city against the British in the Battle of New Orleans.. One of the most desolate Cities of the Dead, hemmed in between a Tremé housing project and the interstate. Built in 1823, it's a prime example of local cemetery design, with a dead-straight center aisle lined with grandiose Greek Revival mausoleum. A second Marie Laveau II the famous Voodoo Queens daughter or known as Marie laveau II, has a tomb here, it to is also also daubed with red-chalk crosses and covered with offerings Candles and Monkey and cock staturs and flowers.

Many locals and tourist alike say they see ghostly lights even from the above interstate at night. Many ghost are said to haunt this cemetery but please enter it at your own risk!

St Louis Cemetery No. 3

3421 Esplanade Ave, Mid-City, this cemetery is probably the most accessible as well as the largest of the St. Louis group. Established in 1854, it contains the outstanding Byzantine tomb of the Hellenic Orthodox Community and the final resting place of Storyville photographer Ernest Belloq. Many tour buses go here, but you can safely wander through alone, and enjoy a self-guided cemetery tour. It is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

St. Louis Number Three, though, is located near the foot of Esplanade Avenue, near Bayou St. John and across from Holy Rosary Church and is worth a visit. Many old families have tombs here, as well as many religious orders. You can take a bus from the Old U.S. Mint down the length of Esplanade Ave., a good way to see the far side of the Quarter and Faubourg St. John, and it drops you off right near the bayou. There are other interesting sights down this way, too: Pitot House around the corner on Moss St., and the new Orleans Museum of Art and City Park across the bayou. Highly recommended for Jazz Fest visitors, since it's the neighborhood of the Fair Grounds.

St. Louis #3 is located some 2 miles back from the French Quarter, some 30 blocks from the Mississippi, fronting Esplanade Avenue near Bayou St. John. It opened in 1854. The crypts on average are more elaborate than at the other St. Louis cemeteries, including a number of fine 19th century marble tombs. Those entombed here include ragtime composer Paul Sarebresole and photographer E.J. Bellocq. St. Louis #3 also includes a Greek Orthodox section.

A peaceful beautiful New Orleans burial ground, built in 1856 on the site of a leper colony, St Louis No. 3 is mostly used by religious orders; all the priests of the diocese are buried here, and fragile angels balance on top of the tombs. People who live in the area say they see orbs of light floating down the roads as they pass. And many say they see ghost walking through the cemetery ofte, Many tourist capture ghost on video and film here, and EVP's or plentiful. This is a Must see haunted Cemetery.

The walls of these cemeteries are made up of economical vaults that are stacked on top of one another. The rich and wealthier families could afford the larger ornate tombs with crypts. Many family tombs look like miniature houses complete with iron fences. The rows of tombs resemble streets. New Orleans burial plots quickly became known as "Cites of the Dead."

New Orleans first Cemetery was called St. Peter Street Cemetery, it was located in what is now the actual French Quarter. So it is honest to say that parts of the famous the French Quarter is built over a cemetery and that's why it is haunted According to accounts of the time, all burials were in the ground. Accounts of the time also stated that when graves were dug, they frequently filled up with water, resulting in watery graves.

When the graveyard was close to capacity, city officials established St. Louis Cemetery #1. At the time, Esteban Miro was the governor of New Orleans and his allegiance was to Spain. Therefore, when the St. Louis Cemetery was developed, the wall vault system that was popular in Spain at the time was adopted for those wishing to be buried stylishly above ground. Ground burial also continued at St. Louis Cemetery.

Following a series of nasty epidemics in the early 1830's often blamed on noxious fumes emitted by corpses, the city council passed an ordinance requiring all further burials to take place on land purchased on the Bayou St. John. But an important exemption was made: burials could continue at the existing cemeteries if they were in tombs and vaults in existing above-ground structures.

This fortified the tradition of above-ground burial for New Orleanians. Even today, in Metairie Cemetery which is on high ground (by New Orleans standards) 90% of burials are above ground. Interestingly, in the Jewish section of Metairie Cemetery most burials are ground burials, keeping with the traditions established in that culture.

This historic cemetery is located on the Esplanade Ridge, a naturally occurring high ridge of land that runs between the Mississippi River and Bayou St. John. The cemetery is located next to Bayou St. John, a natural body of water that served as a passageway between the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River and allowed for the settlement of New Orleans. Located near City Park, one of the country’s largest urban parks, the cemetery is situated on land that was previously known as “Leper’s Land.” In the late eighteenth century, the city’s lepers were exiled to this land for burial. Adorned by a set of heavy cast iron gates at its entrance, St. Louis Cemetery # 3 opened in 1854 in response to the urgent need to provide burial space after the most ravaging outbreak of yellow fever in New Orleans. Since the cemetery’s opening, it has been one of the most steadily utilized in New Orleans. Today, it has over four hundred interments a year and a waiting list to purchase burial space. Even though burial plots are crowded together, broad main aisles give the cemetery a wide-open appearance. The main aisles are named after saints; the cross aisles are named for bishops and archbishops. The cemetery contains several society tombs, vaults for priests and nuns, and tombs for many historic and prominent personages in New Orleans history.

 

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1

Lafayette Cemetery No.1
New Orleans, LA
(est. 1833)
Hours: M-F 7:00am-2:30pm Sat 7:00am-12:00pm
Closed Sun and Holidays
(except Mother's Day, Father's Day, and All Saint's Day)
Operated by: The City of New Orleans
Lafayette No. 1 is the cemetery most often used in films made in New Orleans, and is across the street from the famed Commander's Palace Restaurant in the Garden District. It was the burial grounds for what was once known as the City Of Lafayette.

Located in the Garden District section of New Orleans and accessible by the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar.

Washington Ave and Prytania. Built in 1833, by 1852 - when 2000 yellow fever victims were buried here - the Garden District cemetery was filled to capacity. Today it is an eerie place, with many tombs sinking into the ground, and some of them slowly opening in the shadow of tangled trees.

Ghost stories and tales of the undead, Zombies and being burried alive. many of these tales are said to be Cemetery urban legends... Others swear thia is the most haunted Cemetery for parnomal encounters and a feeling of being truly haunted.

It's no surprise that all this decaying grandeur should capture the imagination of local author Anne Rice, who has used the place in many of her books - she even staged a mock funeral here, to launch publication of Memnoch the Devil ; the corpse was herself, wearing an antique wedding dress, in an open coffin carried by pall bearers.

 

Lafayette Cemetery No. 2

Lafayette No. Two is located on Washington Avenue, Saratoga St., Sixth St., and Loyola Avenue. Originally built by the city of Lafayette, it passed to the city of New Orleans along with its more-famous sibling. Said to be very haunted by Ghost and and an ocasional black dog and cat.

Lafayette Number two has many a ghost tale of a beautiful young girls ghost named Isabell who is said to steal flowers from others graves and place them on her own. Some of the locals say strange lights and errie sounds can be heard quite often. Many of New Orleans Best ghost Photos are taken here daily and it it is said to be a playground for any ghost hunter.

The Charity Hospital Cemetery

The Charity Hospital Cemetery is a mass grave for all of the poor of New Orleans. Most of the burials were from the Yellow Fever and Malaria epidemics that ravaged the City. The cemetery is never open and has a large iron fence with “No Trespassing” signs posted on the entrance. In 1989, a monument was erected by the Tulane and L.S.U. Medical Schools to thank the people who donated their bodies to science. locals in the Mid city area of town say it is very haunted.

Chevra Thilim

formally known as Termine Dereche Cemetery, was founded in 1858. It is now under the care of the Gates of Prayer who have control of many of the Jewish cemeteries in New Orleans. One tomb in this cemetery is an eleven foot tall lighthouse, which is the symbol for the Lighthouse for the Blind organization. One of the organization’s past presidents, Harry Offner, is buried there. Like the Dispersed of Judah, many of the tombs have Hebrew carvings on the headstones.

 

Masonic Cemetery

400 City Park Avenue, Many photos of orbs and shapes of all kinds have been photographed here. EVP's or more then common. Most often people discover the remains of recent occult practices and and voodoo have often left on the graves.

Masonic Cemetery was purchased by this benevolent society by having the different lodges chip in to pay for it. People with money to purchase their own family tombs here did so, while others pitched in with their lodge brothers to buy larger tombs that would house a number of lodge members at one time. That way, no one was left out.

The Masonic cemetery was founded on January 18, 1865, after two petitions for the establishment of the cemetery. The cemetery was build while occupying Union forces were still in the city after the Civil War. The cemetery is divided into sections by Conti St. which runs through the center. It is surrounded by a cast iron picket fence and has a few entrances.. The cemetery has many unusual graves, including a Lodge tomb that has a set of exterior stairs that give access to the roof of the tomb; a set of columns that were saved from a Masonic Lodge demolition; and a tomb for the Red River Pilots. The Red River Pilots was an association of steamboat captains which has long been disbanded. Most of the graves in the Masonic Cemetery are raised above the ground with a small retaining wall that has been filled with soil. Even though there are no grave sites available for sale in this graveyard and it is not regularly maintained, it is one of the cleanest cemeteries in the city.

This Cemetery is very small but very haunted. By both the living and the dead. One recent brave ghost hunter relates the story of all his equipment not working until he steped off the actual cemetery grounds. the photos he took were all from the out sside of the cemetery and all showed some type of anomaile.

rich in design and strange occurrences this cemetery is well known gfor it's shreiking ghost. It is said to shriek each night at 9 pm. Many ghostly lights appear often and wittnesses say they have seen the ghost actually get up out of their graves and wander the neighber hood.

 

The Dispersed of Judah Cemetery

It was the second Jewish cemetery built in New Orleans in 1846. The cemetery was named after the Temple which also bore the name. The cemetery is surrounded by a cast iron fence. Most of the tombs have sayings carved in Hebrew. There is one very unique memorial tomb of a carved stone chair.

Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery

5055 Canal Street sometimes called and known as the Spookiest scariest Cemetery or scariest graveyard in the city of New Orleans as deemed by many locals and tourist. The cemetery was dedicated on Feb. 29, 1849, They chose a very good spot on high ground at the intersection of Canal Street and Metairie Road.

In 1847, a secret benevolent society, "The independent Order of Oddfellow", founded a famous cemetery at the bottom of Canal Street,

The fisrt burials here began with a splendid ceremony and a grand procession parade led by two circus bandwagons, one pulled by 16 horses. There was also a funeral car carrying a sarcophagus of "quite imposing appearance." The membership had gathered the remains of 16 deceased members from other cemeteries in the city. These were carried in the funeral car and were the first burials in the group's new cemetery.

Odd Fellows Rest contains many monuments. One of the most interesting is the centrally located society tomb which bears a plaque with the German words “Freundschaft, Liebe and Warheit” which translates as Friendship, Love and Truth. The Howard Association Memorial has a bas-relief on its façade commemorating the organization’s founder. The bas-relief art form is not seen in most New Orleans cemeteries. The monument memorializes an organization that was active in1853 in aiding indigent yellow fever victims. The cemetery also has cast iron tombs. Odd Fellows Rest has been described as the most verbally expressive cemetery. Many of the tombs contain poetic passages. Examples are “In the midst of life we are in death” and “Weep not for me, I am not dead/I am only sleeping here.” The cemetery has escaped proposed demolition in the past; however, no Odd Fellows Lodge remains in New Orleans and the cemetery shows evidence of neglect and vandalism.

Many a haunted ghost sighting or ghost tale begins here at Odd Fellows Rest concerning ghost running out the Cemetery and across Canal Street. Often a starteled driver and frequent auto ghost related acidents happen at this haunted street corner..( Six haunted New Orleans cemeteries are locate all here.) The cause that the drivers say all the time is, "Someone ran out in front of me." " I hit the brakes and they just dissapeared."

Within three years, the cemetery had erected 200 vaults and the tomb of the Teutonia Lodge No. 10. There were also walks laid out named for past grand masters of the Order. Walls on two sides enclosed the cemetery, and most of the plots were filled by 1930.

New Orleans was originally a swamp and still exists below sea level. The land on which OddFellows Rest is located is relatively high by New Orleans standards. When the backwaters of the "Crevasse of 1849" poured in. the now infamous OddFellows Rest remained intact.

OddFellows Rest houses a sculptured memorial of John Howard, an English philanthropist, Yellow fever activist, and prison/Lazaretto reformer.

Strange stories of ghost dogs and weird sounds at night behind the high body filled walls, Zombies and ghost cats stories abound at this haunted cemetery.

Two important memorials in the cemetery are the tomb of the Howard Association and the society tomb of Southwestern Lodge No. 40, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. This is believed to be the original Teutonia Lodge No. 10 tomb. On it you can see the German inscription Freundschaft, Liebe, und Wahrheit, which means Friendship, Love, and Truth.

The Howard Association tomb was erected by a group of 30 young men who came together for the purpose of aiding victims of yellow-fever plagues. They named themselves in honor of John Howard, an 18th-century English philanthropist and social reformer.

Today, OddFellows Rest shelters a busy bus stop; in mid-facade lies a health food hut; and its once vividly painted cast iron gates are now black. And the black cast-iron gates that are incomplete. At one time they were painted in bright colors. Forty years ago the panels were intact, but today the two panels on the left have been vandalized. You can still see, however, the symbols of the society: the mother and her children, a beehive, the Bible, the cornucopia, the world, the eye of the Deity, the five-pointed stars, the initials "I.O. of O.F."

Many locals tell the tale of a ghost called old Mr. Mike, He is said to haunt the cemeteries outer wall and is a very nice dead person to meet. Often lone persons standing outside the cemetery day or night say they have encountered him and he has stayed talked. Telling them to be carefull at the late hours of the night while waiting to catch a bus," I see thing."s He says, " Strang things and strange people." then he just disappears before your eyes. Many say they see him dressed in a white t-shirt and dark pants no matter what time of year or the weather, always walking his large ghost dog.

The Catholic Church never tolerated segregation, so if you were African American and Catholic, you could buy a tomb in a Catholic cemetery and bury your dead right next to the white folks. But there were a lot of protestant cemeteries that wouldn't allow African Americans to be buried in them. So benevolent societies like the Odd Fellows bought land just outside of town for a cemetery so African Americans would not have to worry about having a place to spend eternity. This cemetery is surrounded by a ten-foot wall, and is probably the least explored of the cemeteries at the foot of Canal.

 

St. Patrick's Cemeteries #1 #2 & #3

143 City Park Avenue This sprawling cemetery starts in one location and picks up in another. The entire Canal Street City Park avenue area is host to over 6 cemeteries all in in walking distance. Many ghost tours have night time excursions to these particular cemeteries. Word has it that this is the Cemetery to capture Ghost Photos and EVP's. It is said to be very haunted by the ghost of a stout white haired woman that will follow you around the cemetery as if curious of your doings or actions.

St. Patrick Cemetery #1 is predominantly characterized by large mass graves. These mass graves are from the Yellow Fever epidemics that struck the city in the mid 19th century. The Irish, who were not acclimated to this humid swamp that was New Orleans, were severely affected by this epidemic. Thousands of Irish immigrants died during these epidemics and were buried in St. Patrick Cemetery #1. Each cemetery is surrounded by a cast iron fence, and each entrance has one of the stations of the cross.

St. Patrick's, these cemeteries were originally constructed by the local Irish to bury their dead. These all date back to the time of the big yellow fever outbreaks in the 1840s. They aren't as old as the St. Louis cemeteries, but they're excellent, and a lot safer than many of the others.

St. Patrick #2 faired more favorably when it comes to traditional tomb rows and design that is common in New Orleans. Within St. Patrick #2 is a statue of Mary that is mourning over the dead body of Christ.

St. Patrick Cemetery #3 has both a large crucifix and a mausoleum. Two people of interest buried in the St. Patrick Cemeteries are a jazz musician named Stalebread Lacoume and a founder of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, New Orleans chapter, named William Lancaster. Lancaster with the help of a local priest created the Ozanam Inn, a shelter for homeless men.

Voodoo rituals, Seance' and Zombie ghost tale or told about this haunted cemetery. Of late many tell the tale of a investigtor who actually gave up doing it because of what he encountered here. Also the tale of a ghosts face that appears on a tall marble head stone, and many say you can see it as you drive by the cemetery through the wrought iron fence day or night.

St. Patrick Cemeteries #1 #2 & #3
143 City Park Ave.
A New Orleans, LA 70119
504-363-1577 504-596-3050

 

Greenwood Cemetery

At 5242 Canal Blvd., Greenwood is home to the Protective Order of Elks Society tomb, as well as to other society tombs of varying groups. Writer John Kennedy Toole ("A Confederacy of Dunces") is buried here. And locals say his ghost wanders the area and has been photographed often. Extremely well taken care of cemetery

Greenwood Cemetery
City Park Ave & Canal Blvd
New Orleans, LA 70124
504-482-8983
Founded 1852

Greenwood is the first cemetery you'll come to off the street car, and it's one of the most recognizable cemeteries because of the big monuments in the front. Some of the vaults here are the Elk's crypt, which is a burial mound with a statue of an elk on top, and the Fireman's Benevolent monument, which has a statue of a firefighter in the center. There are also lots of old family tombs in this cemetery, as well as many newer graves and tombs in the back portion.

Greenwood including the Firemen's monument next to Elks tomb and the Confederate monument that stands in the left corner near the Interstate entrance. This one, erected by the Ladies Benevolent Association of Louisiana, marks the mass graves of 600 Confederate soldiers. And, of course, there is also a tomb constructed by the Police Mutual Benevolent Association.

Greenwood Cemetery was established by the Firemen’s Charitable & Benevolent Association in 1852. Its opening immediately relieved the overcrowding at Cypress Grove. In 1852, America was stricken with an epidemic of yellow-fever. New Orleans, America’s third largest city, was hit particularly hard. By 1853, over 8,000 in the city had expired from the disease. Greenwood’s one hundred and fifty acres provided an expanse to accommodate the pressing need at the time and for future generations.

When the Firemen’s Charitable & Benevolent Association broke ground to build Greenwood Cemetery, it broke with tradition and built the first above ground cemetery without walls. Sparse in architecture and landscaping, Greenwood was designed to maximize its acreage to make room for nearly 20,000 grave lots. Imposing memorials line the perimeter giving the cemetery a park atmosphere.

A often told local tale tells of a pack of ghost dogs are said to roam the cemetery. Often they say they hear a baby crying. And the ghost of a young girl is said to be seen perring from behind tombs always following people around. Many EVP's happen here. And ghostly sounds are heard.

The first Civil War memorial to be erected in New Orleans is Greenwood’s Confederate Monument. A low mound marks the mass grave of six hundred Confederate soldiers whose remains were gathered through the efforts of the Ladies Benevolent Association of Louisiana. Dedicated in 1874, the masonry mausoleum is topped by a granite gallery enclosing an imposing marble pedestal. A statue of a Confederate infratryman resting on his rifle surmounts this pedestal.

The statuary is of a Cararra marble and was carved in Italy. The pedestal base has integral, carved busts of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Albert Sidney, Johnston and Leonidas Polk. Architect Benjamin M. Harrod was the designer; the memorial contractor was George Stroud.

Greenwood’s centerpiece memorial is the Firemen’s Monument designed and constructed by Charles Orleans, and erected by the Association in 1887 in honor of its 50th anniversary. The figure of a volunteer fireman is enshrined beneath a cluster of Gothic arches crowned by a steeple. The six-foot high Italian marble statue was created by Alexander Doyle of New York and carved by artist Nicoli.

The monument is centered atop a mound which rises five feet above surrounding paths; from its base, the height is 46 feet. A light grey, Hallowell, Maine granite was used in the original construction not only for its structural integrity and longevity, but also for its meditative, respectful tones.

It is believed that a monument to Sir Walter Scott in Edinburg, Scotland inspired Charles Orleans’ design for the Firemen’s Monument. The monument honors the memory of volunteer firemen who died in the line of duty. The names of twenty-three volunteer fire companies are honored around the base in tribute to their service to the citizens of New Orleans.

The use of cast iron for tombs came into vogue in mid-19th century cemeteries, and Greenwood Cemetery has its share of stunning examples. An iron tomb enclosed by a Gothic-styled fence holds the remains of Isaac Newton Marks, a former president of the Firemen’s Association. Marks a successful businessman, became a volunteer firefighter with the Perseverance Fire Co. No. 13 in 1843.

Another imposing monument at Greenwood is the tomb of Lodge No.30 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. The fraternal order was founded in 1868 by a group of actors and musicians in New York. A majestic bronze elk stands guard over a burial mound blanketed with grass. A marble chamber beneath contains eighteen burial vaults. Its granite entrance employs the Doric style in its use of two fluted columns supporting an entablature. A clock with hands pointing to the 11th hour, symbolic of a ritual toast to absent members, adorns the pediment. Bronze doors seal the entry. The tomb was erected in 1912 by Albert Weiblen, a German immigrant and one of the most successful builders of tombs and cemetery monuments in the South.

Numerous fraternal organizations joined the Volunteer Firemen and Elks in providing memorials to their deceased members. Multivault tombs preserve the history of these organizations and the contributions of their members to New Orleans. The Police Mutual Benevolent Association, the Swiss Society, and the New Orleans Typographical Union are fine examples at Greenwood. The typographical union, formed in 1855, was the first labor union in the region.

In 1982, the Firemen’s Charitable & Benevolent Association opened a new chapter at Greenwood with the addition of a magnificent mausoleum. With 14,000 burial spaces planned, the mausoleum will meet the ever-growing needs of the community and provide peace, comfort and security for families looking for a final resting place for their beloved and for themselves.

For over 170 years, Greenwood Cemetery has honored the history of New Orleans, its bravest citizens, and its industrious leaders with its magnificent memorials, monuments and tombs. The dedication of the Firemen’s Charitable & Benevolent Association promises to preserve these hallowed grounds for future generations to honor the memory of their loved ones.

Notable Residents
Abial Daily Crossman (Mayor of New Orleans - 1846-1854). Perhaps one of his most enduring accomplishments was the construction of a City Hall on St. Charles Avenue. Designed by noted architect James Gallier, the building cost $120,000 in 1846 and is one of the few examples of pure Greek architecture in the United States. Public education is another legacy of the Crossman Administration. Crossman succeeded in obtaining state funding to create a new public school system to educate children from the age of 6 to 10. This system was enlarged through the beneficence of John McDonogh who died in 1850. A.D. Crossman Elementary School on S. Carrollton Avenue honors the memory of the late mayor. The Crossman Monument was designed by Jacques dePouilly in 1863. A symbolic urn is borne atop a gracefully fluted Doric column in this elegant marker. The A.D. Crossman Monument is bordered by a cast iron fence, a mid-19th century signature addition.

John Fitzpatrick ( Mayor of New Orleans - 1892-1896). Served as a State Legislator, President of the Firemen’s Charitable & Benevolent Association, State President of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and an organizer of the Knights of Columbus. His tenure as mayor ushered in a new era for New Orleans, with railcars no longer being powered by mules, but electricity. He founded the present public library system and was called the “Father of the Sewerage and Water System.”

Effingham Lawrence (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives - 1875). Born in Bayside, New York in 1820, he moved to Louisiana in 1843. His agricultural pursuits included planting and refining sugar. His political pursuits included tenure in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He was elected to the Forty-third Congress in 1875. He died on Magnolia Plantation in Plaquemines Parish in 1878.

John Kennedy Toole (Pulitzer Prize Author). Toole was born in New Orleans in 1937. An unusually gifted child, he graduated from high school at 16. At 20, he graduated from Tulane University with honors in English and a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship for graduate studies. In 1957, he enrolled at Columbia University where he completed in one year a two-year master’s literature program. He was a literature professor until drafted in the army in 1961. While teaching English at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, Toole completed his manuscript, A Confederacy of Dunces. Despondent over his inability to get published, Toole tragically ended his life in 1969. In 1980, Louisiana State University published A Confederacy of Dunces and it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

Web Site www.greenwoodnola.com/cypress.php

 

St. Roch Cemetery

1725 St. Roch Avenue, this cemetery is off the beaten track. Saint Roch Cemetery, established by Rev. P.L. Thevis as part of a promise to have his parish spared of the Yellow Fever Epidemic. The chapel at Saint Roch Cemetery, also known as the Campo Santo (Holy Country) is the site of Good Friday worship that is well known throughout the city. The cemetery is the resting place of many prominent New Orleanians

Saint Roch is the patron saint of dogs and invalids. He's also the patron of bachelors, surgeons and tile-makers. Not to mention diseased cattle.

The most famous feature here is the Chapel built by Father Thevis in thanksgiving for deliverance from one of the frequent yellow fever epidemics of the 19th century. Recipients of favors have placed various souvenirs in the chapel, such as old leg braces, or replicas of body parts, to represent favors granted. Guided cemetery tours are recommended.

Father Thevis’s work. He Established the St. Roch Cemetery on land he bought from the heirs of Jack Phillips. It was dedicated on August 16, 1876. When he died on August 21, 1893, he was buried in the chapel of the Campo Santo (St.Roch Cemetery) that he had built.

If St. Roch heals you, it's traditional to make a plaster cast of the body part so healed and give it to the shrine for display. Making plaster casts of internal organs is a bit challenging, but such is the miracle of faith.

St. Roch is reported to us to be haunted by a large black dog that can be seen heard and shows up on New Orleans ghost photgraphs and video.

New Orleans has many different ways of honoring the lives of those who have died. One of the Catholic traditions followed in this city is observed on Good Friday, when we celebrate the Stations of the Cross (in memory of Christ's suffering and crucifixion). Catholics walk on a route of nine local churches, stopping to pray at each. The Stations of the Cross ends at St. Roch's Cemetery at 3:00 p.m., the hour of our Lord's death.

St. Roch lived during the middle ages, and worked with those suffering from the plague. The cemetery is named after him because of a pledge made by a priest who prayed to him during the yellow fever crisis of 1868. It is now a shrine, and Mass is said there on Monday mornings.

St. Roch Cemeteries #1 & #2
#1-1725 St. Roch Ave
New Orleans, LA 70117
504-596-3050

Cypress Grove

Cypress Grove Cemetery
4824 Canal St. Canal
New Orleans, LA 70124
504-581-7070
Founded 1840

Cypress Grove Cemetery became the first cemetery built to honor New Orleans volunteer firemen and their families. It was made possible in 1838 by New Orleans philanthropist Stephen Henderson whose estate left property to the Firemen’s Charitable & Benevolent Association. The charitable association sold this property to fund the purchase of the cemetery site at the end of Canal Street and the former banks of Bayou Metairie.

Sometimes called the Fireman's Cemetery, Cypress Grove, founded by the Firemen's Charitable and Benevolent Association in 1840, Numerous graves and vaults commemorate deceased firemen, and there are several unusual tombs such as that of the Chinese association Soon On Tong. Located at 120 City Park Avenue near the convergence of Canal Street, there are several other cemeteries to tour in the area.

They are reminiscent of the Egyptian revival architecture. Even though the name depicts a grove of Louisiana’s state tree, the bald cypress, there are very few on the premises. However, there are many other native trees, like the live oak and magnolia. The cemetery has many interesting tombs and monuments including a broken column for Irad Ferry. Ferry was a volunteer fire fighter of the Mississippi Fire Company #2 who had died in one of New Orleans infamous blazes. There are also tombs for the Soon On Tong Association, and two tombs that resemble churches more then tombs. The Charles L. Leeds tomb is constructed entirely of cast iron and now has long since rusted. Leeds owned one of the largest iron processing companies in the region. On the other hand the Soon On Tong Association was built in the early 1900s for the Chinese immigrants that lived in New Orleans. Within the tomb is a small fireplace where relatives would burn prayer notes for the deceased. This cemetery is a very picturesque setting and is located at the very end of the Canal Streetcar Line.

Architect Frederick Wilkinson patterned the grand entrance pylons and lodges after Egyptian ceremonial architecture. Crowning this imposing entrance was the motto: “Here to their bosom mother earth, take back in peace what thou has given, and, all that is of heavenly birth, God in peace recall to heaven.”

Shortly after opening the cemetery, the remains of volunteer firemen entombed elsewhere were moved to Cypress Grove. Volunteer fire companies built elaborate multi-vault tombs to enshrine their fallen members. The vaults of Perseverance Fire Co. No. 13 are erected at the entrance of Cypress Grove. This tomb was designed by architect John Barrett in 1840. The twin tombs of the Philadelphia Fire Engine Co. No. 14 and that of the Eagle Co. No. 7 were erected in the 1840’s.

In time, other societies joined the volunteer firemen in building impressive monuments for their members at Cypress Grove. Leading architects and craftsmen were called upon to design and build tombs commemorating the lives of New Orleans’s most prominent citizens. Crafted in marble, granite, and cast iron, tombs at Cypress Grove are among the nation’s leading examples of memorial architecture.

Notable Residents
“James H. Caldwell (Theatrical impresario and entrepreneur). James Caldwell was a theatrical impresario who built the first English-speaking theater in New Orleans, The St. Charles. The ornate five tier and 4,100 seat theater was considered the finest theatrical facility in America. Caldwell sent to England for a gas machine to light his chandeliers. Eventually, Caldwell would not only light his stage but all of New Orleans. His New Orleans Gas Light Company illuminated streets and houses, making New Orleans the fourth American city to have gas, right behind Baltimore, New York and Boston. The most consequential entrepreneur of his era, Caldwell went to his grave in Cypress Grove known as New Orleans’s “Father of Light.”

John R. Conway (Mayor of New Orleans, 1868-1870). A successful wholesale grocer during the Civil War. After the war, he became the first chairman of the reorganized Orleans Parish Democratic Committee. His election as mayor marked the end of military control over local government. During his administration, the city took shipment of American sculptor Hiram Powers’ statue of Benjamin Franklin.

Irad Ferry (Leading businessman and a volunteer fireman with Mississippi Co. No.2). He served as treasurer of the Firemen’s Charitable & Benevolent Association. He died fighting a fire on Camp Street on New Year’s Day 1837. He was the first of many Association members and among the many brave volunteer and professional firemen to lose his life in the line of duty. His remains were moved to the new cemetery during its dedication ceremony in 1841. The Irad Ferry monument in Cypress Grove symbolizes a life cut short – a broken Doric column planted atop the classical sarcophagus. The stone coffin depicts a 19th Century fire engine in crisp relief. It was designed by the famed architect Jacques de Pouilly, who modeled the Ferry memorial after a monument in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Charles L. Leeds ( Mayor of New Orleans, 1874-1876). His administration succeeded in passing an act in the state legislature empowering the city of New Orleans to take over drainage projects. During his tenure a drainage canal on Nashville Avenue was completed to drain the low area between St. Charles Avenue and the Mississippi River. Leeds also extended the street railways, extending the line running out to the Lake Pontchartrain Summer Resort. Mayor Leeds died in 1898 at the age of 75 and became the first Mayor of New Orleans interred in Cypress Grove.

John T. Monroe (Mayor of New Orleans, 1860-1862 and 1866-1867). A native of Virginia and blood relative of President James Monroe, he came to New Orleans before his 21st birthday with only three dollars in his pocket. Working as a laborer on the levee, he learned the business of stevedoring. He became a labor leader and drifted into politics. In 1858, he was elected to the Board of Assistant Aldermen and was placed on the important committee of Streets and landings. Two years later, he was promoted mayor. His administration was noted for moving the street car tracks from the sides of Canal Street to the neutral ground. He also connected the city to the Carrollton suburb with the Carrollton Railroad. Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, the city fell into the hands of Federal authorities and General Butler ordered Mayor Monroe sent to prison. After the war, Monroe was re-elected Mayor in 1866. Signs of the city’s recovery from the war were noted in Monroe’s second term with the operation of the first street cars on St. Charles Avenue and Carondelet Street and the opening of the Tchoupitoulas line.

“Maunsel White (Veteran of the Battle of New Orleans and notable merchant). A prominent businessman in antebellum Louisiana, better known among epicures for his creation, “Maunsel White Peppersauce.” White was among the first in the nation to market a sauce of Tabasco chiles. White’s secret recipe of mashed and strained chiles mixed with vinegar and salt cultivated appetites around the world. Maunsel White is entombed in a fine marble memorial designed in the Greek Revival style by architect Jacques de Pouilly.

William J. Behan (Mayor of New Orleans, 1882-1884). The son of Irish immigrants, Behan was educated at the Western Military Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. His military training prepared him for service as an artillery officer in the Confederate Army. He was the youngest artillery officer under General Robert E. Lee’s command. During the Civil War, he rose from the rank of non-commissioned officer to general. After the war, Behan returned to New Orleans where he engaged as a merchant, manufacturer, and sugar planter. He became first mayor of New Orleans under the new city charter. Behan declined to seek re-election and later broke ranks with the Democratic Party when they proposed to put sugar on the free tariff list. He joined the Republican Party during the Cleveland Administration served as chairman of the Republican State Executive Committee from 1900-1912. He was the Republican candidate for Governor in 1904.

Often people say they smell smoke... But where is the fire. Ghost photos taken here or often hazy and faces often appear in them.

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Hebrew Rest Cemetery

Located at 2100 Pelopidas St., Hebrew Rest was founded in 1872. The beautiful gates were made for the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial in 1884 and are the only existing structures that survive from that event.

On Pelopidas Street is one of the three sites that make up the Hebrew Rest Cemetery, the largest of several Jewish burial grounds in New Orleans.

The Jewish people have made a significant impact on various aspects of the city's culture and commerce. Through the generosity of Jewish philanthropists, the city benefited from major contributions to the New Orleans Museum of Art, establishment of institutions such as Tulane University and Touro Infirmary, support extended to Dillard University, and donations that helped parks and tourist attractions. Successful Jewish merchants, particularly during the 1800s and early 1900s, strengthened the city's economy. Synagogues serving Jewish populations were built to serve the growing congregations in New Orleans and cemeteries were established for their dead.

Hebrew Cemetery at Canal and N. Anthony Streets

Hebrew Cemetery at Frenchmen and Gentilly Streets

Hebrew Cemetery at Joseph and Garfield Streets

Hebrew Cemetery at Jackson and Saratoga Streets

There are also several Jewish cemeteries in New Orleans. The largest, opened in 1872, is Hebrew Rest Cemetery, 3 separate cemeteries occupying two and one-half city squares. The beautiful and dramatic double cast-iron gates that grace the main entrance to the cemetery were originally made for The World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial in New Orleans in 1884, and are the only remaining structures from that Exposition. (See top of page.) The oldest cemetery still in existence in New Orleans is Gates of Prayer Cemetery No. 1, opened in 1853.

 

Holt Cemetery

Holt Cemetery Holt cemetery is an under-ground cemetery-- possibly the only one in New Orleans. The people buried here are poor, but the graves are very personal and the site is very peaceful. In 1879, Locust Grove Nos. 1 and 2 closed, and to replace them the City opened the Holt Cemetery on lower City Park Ave., at the intersection of St. Louis St. and New Metairie Road. Holt was enlarged in 1909.

 

Local people say they hear loud singing, crying and moaning very often. Ghost photos happen often and also fellings of being touched or weighed down, ghost sightings are frequent at all times of the day and night.

 

Gates of Prayer Cemetery

The oldest extant Jewish cemetery in New Orleans was founded in 1846 And a very famous New Orleans Landmark. Located at Canal and Bernadotte Streets, it contains many older tombstones with Hebrew inscriptions. There is also a tomb in the form of a lighthouse commemorating a merchant who dedicated his life to the Lighthouse For The Blind. Some say they can see it glowing in the night.

Many strange lights are said to be seen here often, and during the day they say it has a strange sence of quiet that haunts you when you enter,

Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery

Established in May 1864 as a final resting place for Union soldiers who died in Louisiana during the Civil War, the cemetery also contains the remains of veterans of the Spanish- American War, World Wars I and II, and Vietnam. Four Americans who fought in the War of 1812 are buried here, but only one of them took part in the Battle of New Orleans.

Six miles southeast of New Orleans is the Chalmette Battlefield, which preserves the site of the January 8, 1815, Battle of New Orleans, a decisive American victory over the British at the end of the War of 1812. Facilities include a tour road, visitor center, and the Malus-Beauregard House (c.1833). Adjacent is the Chalmette National Cemetery. Located on St. Bernard Highway in Chalmette. The Battlefield is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Very haunted with ghost of The battle of New Orleans and more. Many strange sightings and ghost photos happen here. Orbs mists, EVP's and and occasional feeling of being grabed by unseen hands.

Adjacent to the battlefield, is the United States Civil War Chalmette National Cemetery, honoring Civil War soldiers who died on both sides. Those buried there include members of the famous Buffalo Soldiers. The cemetery sits on a tract of land which is approximately where the British artillery was located during the Battle of New Orleans. Both of these sites are maintained by the National Park Service, and are open to the public.

The Chalmette National Cemetery website has searchable databases, listing the soldiers who are buried at this location, The Union Army and the Confederate Army. Chalmette National Cemetery
Confederate Database www.cwc.lsu.edu/cwc/projects/dbases/chalm.la.csa.htm

Also located on the Chalmette Battlefield grounds, and serving as a museum and visitor center, is the Beauregard House. Beauregard House was never used as a plantation, and was built in 1830. It is named for René Beauregard, its last owner, the son of the Civil War Confederate General, P. G. T. Beauregard (whose monument is at the entrance to City Park, at the north end of Esplanade Avenue). While many visitors arrive by automobile, many also arrive by riverboat, the Chalmette Battlefield being part of the tour.

Additional artifacts of the Civil War can be seen at the Confederate Civil War Museum, located in downtown New Orleans, 929 Camp Street, just one block from Lee Circle

Metairie Lakelawn Cemetery

5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. and founded in 1872, Metairie is entered in the National Register of Historic Places. It contains diverse cemetery architecture, including a Roman temple, an Egyptian Revival tomb, and the memorials of the Army of Tennessee and the Army of Northern Virginia. Open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily, it can be safely toured. Go to the funeral home office for information.

This site was previously a horse racing track, Metarie Race Course founded in 1838. The great oval of the old racetrack can still be seen as part of the cemetery roadway system. Metairie Cemetery covers 150 acres with over 7,000 graves.

Many Local tales of ghost seen in Metarie Cemetery here day and night.

According to a story well known locally, one Charles T. Howard, a "new money" wealthy gentleman who came to the city from Baltimore, Maryland, was refused membership in the track's exclusive "Louisiana Jockey Club". In revenge, he purchased the track grounds and converted it into a cemetery. Some local historians accept the story, others say that the race grounds were sold due to financial stress. Either way, the cemetery was opened here in 1872, and the tomb of Charles T. Howard is prominently placed in the center. Often people say his ghost is heard moving arounmd in his tomb,

A few tombs predating the foundation of this cemetery can be found here; these were originally erected in other local cemeteries and were moved here after Metarie became the city's most prestigious cemetery. Metarie Cemetery has the largest collection of elaborate marble tombs and funeral statuary in the city. A local Psychic says ghost tourist often come from their own cemeteries to visit this cemetery and admire the fine tombs.

Notables buried in Metairie Cemetery include William C. C. Claiborne, the first U.S. governor of Louisiana, P.G.T. Beauregard and other Confederate veterans, and jazz musicians legendary greats Louis Prima and Al Hirt.

Other impressive Metairie Cemetery tombs: the pseudo-Egyptian pyramid the former tomb of Storyville madam Josie Arlington.

The giant Moriarity tomb, with a 60 foot tall marble monument. A temporary special spur railroad line was built to bring the materials for the impressive monument here.

Memorial of 19th century police chief Hennesey, whose murder sparked a riot. his ghost is said to walk around the cemetery keep a watchful eye for vandals.

 

 

Valence Street Cemetery

This cemetery was once known as the City Cemetery of the City of Jefferson, one of those cemeteries laid out to meet the needs of the residents of the city's suburbs. When New Orleans annexed Jefferson City in 1870, the cemetery went with the deal.

It is said to be haunted by many ghost and and voodoo practioners wandering spirits.

An interesting place, the cemetery has a number of old society tombs such as the St. Anthony of Padua Italian Mutual Benefit Society, the St. Joseph's Sepulcher of the Male and Female benevolent Association, and the Ladies and Gentlemen Perseverance Benevolent Association. Many well dressed ghost are encountered and said to be photgraphed here.

Also, when German philanthropist John David Fink's remains were removed from the Girard Street Cemetery when it was demolished, they were buried in this cemetery. and it is often pointed out that his restless ghost is often seen and photographed and EVP's happen too.

Valence Cemetery
Valance Street
New Orleans, LA 70118
504-896-4740

 

Mount Olivet Cemetery & Mausoleum


Mount Olivet Cemetery & Mausoleum, on Norman Mayer Avenue, holds the remains of some of New Orleans' most noted. Henry Roeland "Professor Longhair" Byrd, singer, pianist, and Rock & Roll pioneer, Walter C. Wright, educator and Negro Leagues baseball player and historian ; and Louis Westerfield, the first tenured African American law professor at Ole Miss University and the first dean of its law school. He grew up in the Fischer Housing Development and received his law degree from Loyola University.

One should never leave Haunted New Orleans without visiting at least one of the 42 famous above ground cemeteries. You will not be disappointed, no matter how many times you visit.

So much of New Orleans is at, or below, sea level that early settlers who buried their dead - and there were many of them - found that during the frequent flooding great waves of moldy coffins would float to the surface of the sodden earth. Eventually, graves began to be placed, Spanish-style, in above-ground brick and stucco vaults, surrounded by small fences.

These cemeteries grew to resemble cities, laid out in "streets"; today, as the tombs crumble away amid the overgrown foliage, they have become atmospheric in the extreme. The creepiness isn't totally imaginary, either - though armed muggers, rather than ghosts, are the danger these days. You should never venture here alone. Nearly all the city tours include a trip around one of the graveyards; some specialize in them.

Tours feature and spotlighting New Orleans Walking Tours, Lafayette Cemetery, New Orleans Cemeteries, Tours for Groups, Garden District Tour, French Quarter Walking Tours, Vampire and Voodoo Tours. C reserve your place in a small group walking tour of the French Quarter, Garden District, or Lafayette Cemetery.

NEW ORLEANS CEMETERY GHOSTS PHOTOS OFTEN CALLED THE MOST HAUNTED CEMETERIES IN ALLTHE WORLD! New Orleans Cemetery Ghost Photos 2006

 

Submited Real Marie Laveau Tomb Ghost Cemetery Pictures OFTEN CALLED THE MOST HAUNTED TOMB IN THE WORLD! <See them here now> New Orleans Marie Laveau Cemetery Ghost Pictures

 

 

 

 

Chalmette National Cemetery
Confederate Database http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/cwc/projects/dbases/chalm.la.csa.htm

 

FOR MORE ABOUT HAUNTED NEW ORLEANS CEMETERIES "THE CITIES OF THE DEAD" HISTORY AND GHOST STORIES > CLICK HERE<