The 13th Gate is one of the best-rated haunted attractions in the country. The haunted house is well known for high production value, and it’s celebrating its 13th year this season.
The House of Shock, a New Orleans haunted house, also is drawing large crowds as it hosts its final season.
But what is there left to do after visiting these locations.
Urban legends have it that Spanish Moon, a popular bar and music venue on Highland Road, is haunted. It now hosts bands like The Millburns and Prom Date, but it was a morgue in the early ’20s, according to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Additional rumors say that Pleasant Hall is haunted because of a murder-suicide that allegedly occurred in the ’50s or ’60s, when a woman shot and killed her boyfriend in the midst of an argument and then ran to room 312, where she shot herself.
Many students recommend visiting St. Francisville, Louisiana, for paranormal experiences.
“Go to the Myrtles,” said biology junior Kyle Bramley. “People are spending the night there. They have a bed-andbreakfast situation.”
The Myrtles Plantation’s guests experience many phenomena, including strange sounds, ghost sightings and unusual marks on the house mirror, according to prairieghosts.com.
For those who want the experience without having to spend the entire night, the plantation offers both haunted and historical tours.
Finance senior Dani Johnson suggested touring the Myrtles Plantation “if they want something actually scary.”
“It’s scary because it may or may not be actually haunted,” Johnson said.
In addition to Myrtles Plantation, St. Francisville is home to The Glynns, a plantation and popular wedding venue with 27 acres and a barn. Biology freshman Sarah Moreau said while The Glynns isn’t open for tours, it is available to rent for special occasions like weddings.
“It has trap doors and secret areas,” Moreau said.
Physics sophomore Shelby Hust said New Orleans is the best place to go in Louisiana for haunted locations with its many haunted tours and attractions.
Business freshman Claire Schnell said The Mortuary, a haunted attraction on Canal Street, is a fun option.
The Mortuary was once a funeral home, according to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Hauntworld.com says The Mortuary’s “grand Victorian mansion” is 140 years old and was also a crematorium. The website says after the building was a funeral home, it was sold to Aveda, a spa and salon company, and then abandoned for three years. It wasn’t turned into the haunted house attraction until 2007.
Johnson said those who go to The Mortuary can expect a crowd.
“I was with a lot of people who literally screamed beginning to end before anything even happened,” Johnson said.
Other than tours of historic buildings or attractions like The Mortuary, Schnell said there are more options.
“You can take cemetery tours in the French Quarter too,” Schnell said.
Bramley said the mausoleums in New Orleans cemeteries are interesting to see.
Undecided freshman Ryan Armstrong said his high school, Silliman Institute in Clinton (a town about 50 minutes north of Baton Rouge), is haunted.
“It once was a Civil War hospital,” Armstrong said. “It’s been used as a haunted house attraction one year.”
He said the school is “almost falling apart” and is particularly scary if you’re walking around at night.
Although Silliman Institute is still operational, another school, which doubled as a nunnery, in Covington, Louisiana, is supposedly haunted and abandoned.
“You have to walk through the woods to get there,” said mass communication sophomore Ariston Ross.
The nunnery and school, known as the Old SSA Convent, has an adjacent cemetery and several stories of ghost sightings and strange noises. People have reported feeling someone breathing down their necks when no one was there, according to strangeusa.com.
Some haunted locations are significantly closer to campus. Reports of Confederate ghost sightings took place on Highland Road near Lee Drive, according to hauntspot.com. The website explains sightings mostly involve bloody soldiers crossing Highland Road. The site says many people have called the local police department “about injured men on the road,” but the police found nothing every time they investigated.
You can reach Paige Fary on Twitter @PaigeFary.
Spanish Moon has placed a ban on smoking indoors.
