What is it about a Victorian home that makes it the perfect setting for New Orleans' ghost stories and horror films? They provide the haunted home settings prolifically across the spookiest of genres, from Scooby Doo and House to The Addams Family and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Some might proclaim that the peculiar features, including fairytale-like towers, intricate gingerbread details, scalloped siding, and decorated apexes of steep, towering roofs make for the perfect, fantastical backdrop. Add to that, Victorian-style houses typically have an asymmetrical layout with small wings and added stories jutting out every which way you look—a visual effect which tends to make people uncomfortable.
What Makes New Orleans Victorian Homes Feel so Haunted
One reason for their unusual eeriness could stem from the era itself. The Victorian era is formally marked by Queen Victoria's reign in England, a period that stretched from 1837 to 1901. Many things occurred during this time, making it one of the most macabre in history, beginning with the Queen herself, who was so crushed by the death of her husband Prince Albert (1861), she withdrew from the public and went into mourning for ten years. She wore black mourning dresses for the remainder of her life. At the time, it was also fashionable for ladies of the court to imitate their ruler's garb, so everyone was wearing black.
Also during this period was the deadly invention of "Scheele's green," a pigment created by a Swedish chemist made with copper arsenite. Textile manufacturers went ga-ga over the color and it was incredibly hip to have this bright green, arsenic-laced color in your wallpaper and drapes in the 19th century. Another ghastly trend in high society were mummy unwrapping parties, where ancient trinkets found in Egyptian wrappings were handed out like party favors while amateur scientists desecrated the dead.
What does all this have to do with the seemingly inherent spookiness of Victorian houses? Maybe our fascination with death during this time somehow became imbued in the architecture? Or perhaps it all stemmed from one person's imagination, creating an ominous, chilling fiction from the abandoned Victorian house sitting at the end of his block.
Though your particular dream home may be something a bit more modern, it's hard to deny the unique elegance and opulence of Victorian-style buildings, and their mysterious and uncanny characteristics which make them all the more interesting. In New Orleans, Victorian architecture flourished from the 1870s to the 1900s. Examples of these types of extravagant homes can be found all over the city, setting a sharp contrast to the Creole townhouses and cottages of the architecture in the French Quarter. Here are just a scant few worth pulling over or jumping off the streetcar for a closer look.
1800 Canal Street
Sitting alone on the corner of Canal and N. Derbingy, long derelict and surrounded by commercial buildings including the industrial supply store Fastenal and used car lots, the colorful Queen Anne Victorian has been repaired and renovated. Now in all white, like a blushing bride, this lone beauty has begun a new life as a kind of whole-home AirBnB.
Locally known as the Chateau D'Arcy, the house at 1800 Canal Street is a gorgeous Queen Anne with some Second Empire thrown in for good measure. Built in 1879 by the twice-widowed Jane D'Arcy, the building was originally intended as a high-end ice cream saloon for ladies only. Today, the building can be rented in its entirety on Booknightly.com for $1,500 a night. The "hotel room" sleeps 16, featuring eight bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and an outdoor pool.
4125 St. Charles Avenue
A couple of years ago, in October 2020, the LeBlanc + Smith hospitality group renovated a 19th century mansion on St. Charles Avenue and launched The Chloe, a 14-room boutique hotel replete with swimming pool, bar and restaurant. Located in the Milan neighborhood, The Chloe was originally built in 1900, right at the end of the Victorian era by famous local architect Thomas Sully.
Though a lot has changed in the renovation of this historic gem, many of the original features still remain from the elaborately carved, wooden banister and wainscoting to the scalloped siding and keyhole mill work. Luckily, you don't have to reserve a room to enjoy the stunning architecture. Feel free to grab a drink at the bar (overhung by a stunning wood-coffered ceiling) or enjoy lunch à la Chef Todd Pulsinelli in the hotel's eponymous restaurant. To read more about the work of Chef Todd Pulsinelli, check out our food news article.
2727 St. Charles Avenue
Designed and built in 1893 by, you guessed it, locally renowned architect Thomas Sully, this Queen Anne is now the Grand Victorian Bed & Breakfast. One of the few licensed B&Bs in the Garden District neighborhood, the inn features six guest rooms, three larger suites, and a front-row seat to all of the Mardi Gras parades that roll down St. Charles Avenue.
The Grand Victorian was originally built as a private home for Francis Johnson, a successful local undertaker who owned most of the block, as well as a lot of other property in the city. Unfortunately, Johnson died only a few years after the house was completed and was buried in Lakelawn Cemetery.
In the 1950s, the house was purchased and broken up into apartments, but the structure began to decay and was abandoned for many years. In 1997, Bonnie Rabe purchased the derelict building and took great pains to lovingly restore the home to its former glory and fill it with antique furnishings from the period. Like many historic properties in New Orleans, the Grand Victorian is reputedly haunted by several entities, most notably Mr. Johnson himself, who loves to sit in front of the fireplace in the parlor. There's also a female ghost who appreciates the inn's genial caretaker Hoyt Dottry, but likes to play tricks on anyone else who might be working on the house.
4032 Prytania Street
Built in 1850, this Queen Anne stunner gets folks a-gawking every time they drive by. Though the residence has been sectioned out into apartments, and it's been through some pretty rough times as is evidenced by its multi-hued roof and lackluster paint job, it's hard not to stop and stare at the three-story, double gallery tower that faces the corner of Prytania and Margeno streets.
A lot may have changed on the inside, but the exterior begs to be photographed with a multitude of dormers, steep, peaked roofs, intricate millwork and ornamental cresting and cladding.
5726 St. Charles Avenue & 5718 St. Charles Avenue
These neighboring Queen Anne Victorian homes bear a marked resemblance, as they should, considering both the Pink Lady and the Blue Lady were built and designed in 1889 by architect Louis Lambert.
Though the Blue Lady is currently undergoing some serious renovations, the Pink Lady stands in all her grace sporting a peaked tower, elaborate lace-like mill work and even a gargoyle atop the entryway pediment. The Pink Lady looks awfully innocent in her peachy hues and lacy trim, but who knows what lurks inside?
The Haunted Homes of New Orleans
While you may not find actual ghosts residing within these Victorian-era houses, there is no denying that the haunted feel of New Orleans is deeply embedded in these structures. Skip the haunted house tours the city is so infamous for, and check out these haunted homes on your own time the next time you're passing by.
