Myrtles Plantation

TNSpirits Brian · Myrtles Plantation

In St. Francisville, Louisiana, there is an inn with a rather strange tourist draw - it claims to be the most haunted house in America. The exact number of ghosts is unsure, but between 12 and 15 seems most likely. The inn is the Myrtles Plantation, built over 200 years ago and the site of slavery, intrigue, murders and even an ancient Indian burial ground. What more could you want in a haunted house?

Legend has it that the plantation house was built on Tunica Indian burial mounds in 1794, by General David Bradford. Supposedly General Bradford was the first to see a ghost at Myrtles - a naked Indian girl - who is still occasionally seen today. Eventually, the house belonged to Bradford's daughter Sara and her husband, Judge Clark Woodruffe.

Legend says that a slave woman named Chloe was owned by the Woodruffes, and was the Judge's reluctant mistress. Eventually, the Judge seemed to tire of Chloe and she feared what might become of her so she took to listening at keyholes to learn her possible fate. The Judge caught her one-day and had her ear cut off in punishment. Because of that, Chloe always wore a turban.

Eventually, Chloe devised a plan for insuring her place in the household. She would save the family from a mysterious ailment! So, Chloe poisoned the birthday cake of the eldest daughter with Oleander leaves, intending to nurse the family back to health after the leaves made them sick. Unfortunately, Sara and her two daughters died from the poison, only the Judge was spared since he had not eaten the cake.

Chloe was terrified and fled to the safety of the other slaves. But, the slaves knew hiding her could result in all their deaths, so they drug her out of hiding and hanged her in a tree. Her body was then weighted and thrown into the Mississippi River. The ghost of a turbaned woman has been seen at the Plantation ever since.

Even if Chloe were the only ghost, surely that would be haunt enough to dissuade anyone from wanting to own the property. Instead, the ghosts were a bonus for the present owners, Teeta and John Moss. "There's a million old homes," Teeta told one interviewer. "But how many are haunted?" Mrs. Moss even believes Chloe helps keep her children safe. When she isn't looking after the Moss children, Chloe has been known to peek in on overnight guests, peering at them intently. No one knows who she is looking for.

The Chloe incident is not the only tragedy that the Myrtles has borne through the years. In fact, there have been at least 10 homicides or suicides on the property through the years. During the Civil War, a confederate soldier dragged himself through the front door where he died from his wounds. Legend says that he left an impression of his fallen body that could not be removed and that the spot even resisted cleaning, stopping mops before they could cross the area or filling the maids with dread as they approached.

In 1927, a man was killed during a robbery of the plantation, and it is said that his ghost roams the property, as well, ordering strangers to leave. The Woodruffe children have also been seen and heard on the property, laughing and playing. They have even been spotted perched in the chandeliers or peering at guests from the foot of their beds. Startled visitors to the Myrtles have also reported seeing a Voodoo priestess, chanting over a little girl. And, even odder still, some have seen a ballet dancer, complete with black tutu, who dances about a foot off the ground. Some folks haven't seen a whole ghost, but have seen disembodied hands or candles floating in midair.

Strange sounds also seem to abound at the Myrtles. The grand piano has been known to play by itself. People have heard crying babies. Others report the sound of a man staggering up the stairs in the dead of night and collapsing on the 17th stair. (This has been attributed to the ghost of William Winter, who staggered up the stairs as he was dying of a gunshot wound in 1871, and collapsed into her wife's arms on the 17th step.)

The Myrtles Plantation is a bed-and-breakfast inn located on the outskirts of St. Francisville, 30 miles north of Baton Rouge. If you just want to visit - but wouldn't want to sleep there - tours and mystery weekends are also available.