The Atlas Obscura Podcast Local Legends Corner with Colin Dickey: LaLaurie Mansion
9 snips
Oct 30, 2025 Colin Dickey, a cultural historian and author known for exploring ghosts and the paranormal, delves into the dark history of the LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans. He recounts the horror discovered during a fire in 1834, revealing the tragic fate of enslaved people. Colin discusses why New Orleans holds a haunted reputation, its local ghost stories, and the cruel legacy of Delphine LaLaurie. He also explores the mansion's later uses, current ghost-tour status, and hints at the souls that still linger there, forever entwined with its haunting past.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Horrific Discovery In 1834 Fire
- The 1834 LaLaurie mansion fire revealed enslaved people chained, mutilated, and tortured inside.
- Colin Dickey frames this discovery as shocking even to contemporary New Orleans slaveholding society.
Why New Orleans Feels Perpetually Haunted
- New Orleans' haunted reputation stems from cultural syncretism, precarious geography, and recurring tragedies.
- Dickey links multiple belief systems, floods, and above-ground burial practices to its persistent supernatural aura.
Local Kids Haunted Each Other
- The LaLaurie mansion still stands and dominates its French Quarter corner as a large, visible building.
- Local kids historically frightened each other by pretending to be Madame LaLaurie's ghost.
