Whether you’re searching for a good scare at the House of Shock, going to see a horror movie at the theater or trekking across the US to the various mazes and haunted attractions, fright and terror is made readily available for all willing participants. Nearly every haunted house, maze and amusement park seek to deliver the same results:

How Haunted Attractions Can Shake Your Soul:

• Heavy involvement in frightening scenes
• Potential physical interactions with characters
• Disorientation (darkness, smoke, flashes of light)
• Surprises from every direction
• Terror-filled atmosphere
• Loss of control (getting trapped, tied, etc.)

3 Differences between Haunted Attractions and Haunted Tours

1. Fabricated Stories versus Historical Accounts

Haunted Attractions base their experiences off of a well-executed story, one that probably went through many content edits and practice runs to ensure optimal fright within a set time period. Haunted Tours, especially those we conduct in the New Orleans French Quarter, are constructed based on the lives of the people who have come before us. We use historical accounts and building history to create our well-informed tours on what we’ve learned from the past. While the stories behind the Haunted Houses we explore can be as frightening as any Haunted Attraction, we keep our eyes on the facts and do our best to focus on the facts (be they scary or otherwise).

2. Reactive versus Educational Experiences

Your experience is one of the biggest differences between Haunted Attractions and Haunted Tours. You will be tossed into an (exhilarating, we admit) experience at Haunted Attractions that really only focuses on your level of fear, adjusting the script as necessary. History Tours, and truly good ones at that, will place the focus on education, welcoming you into a conversation where you are able to speak about your experiences and ask questions. Our trained Historians focus on bringing history to life on our tours and not simply make your blood run cold (which could honestly still happen).

3. Constructed Sets versus Historical Buildings

Many Haunted Attractions are set up to cultivate fear, using abandoned buildings, fields or any worthy space as a canvas to paint the picture of their experience: adding dark colors, props, sound effects, etc. to get the specific tone they’re searching for. On the other hand, Haunted Tours use historical buildings (abandoned or otherwise) as the focal point. This goes back to our first point: Haunted Tours use a blend of personal and historical accounts as well as extensive research to create the haunted experience. History speaks for itself, no enhancements required.

The Real Haunted Houses of New Orleans:

• Bourbon Orleans Hotel
• The Sultan’s Palace
• LaLaurie House
• Café Sbisa
• And Many More…

Haunted New Orleans Tours That’ll Keep You on the Edge of Your Seat

At Livery Tours, we pride ourselves on conducting truly Haunted Tours in New Orleans. We dig deep into the secrets and the rumors that bring the history of our city to life in hair-raising detail. You get all the facts and fantastic fictions, whether you walk in a group or take an individual tour—our goal is to give you an unforgettable experience of New Orleans and all of her haunting past.

Be A Local with us and experience the haunted histories of New Orleans! Book a Tour today and get to know our city like you never have before.

The post 3 Differences Between Haunted Tours and Haunted Attractions appeared first on Livery Tours.

Louisiana is filled with history. Sometimes, you don’t have to leave New Orleans to find a chilling story from a scandalous past, but today we’re going to venture out. Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, LA, and The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, LA, are two of Louisiana’s most haunted plantation homes. Today, these buildings not only house some of the most bone-chilling and history filled tours, but they will also take your breath away with their timeless beauty.

A Haunted History Tour of Oak Alley Plantation

A National Historic Landmark on the west bank of the Mississippi River in Vacherie, Louisiana, Oak Alley Plantation has stood the test of time. The ancient live oaks along the property frame a path to the main house and form a window into the past.

Haunted Ghost Legends at Oak Alley Plantation:

Upon closing the house one evening following a private function, the Assistant House Manger, her daughter and tour guides were surprised to notice that the lamp in what is referred to as the lavender room was still on. The four ladies each remembered clearly that all but security system illumination had been turned off prior to their leaving the house and heading toward the parking lot. As they stood looking up in bewilderment at the light shining from the lavender room windows, they saw the shadowy figure of a lady closely resembling photos they had often seen of Mrs. Stewart, last resident owner of Oak Alley, gazing down at them from her pleasant bedroom lookout. The upstairs gallery lamps blinked once and all four took off toward their cars, losing no time in exiting the plantation grounds. It wasn’t until they were passing by the alley on River Road did they look at the house and see that all windows were dark and everything was as it should be.

Many claim to often feel and hear “things.” Not the least of which are the sights of billowing dust, empty chairs rocking in unison, things moving from table and desk tops, the sounds of crying from somewhere in the mansion, candlesticks flying across the room during a tour conducted by a guide, and the clear sounds of a horse drawn carriage driving up one of the plantation gravel roads, with nothing ever materializing.

A Visual Tour of the Grounds at Oak Alley

A Haunted History Tour of The Myrtles Plantation

St. Francisville, Louisiana: a place of tranquil nights and cool breezes through strong oaks. When you walk around this town, there is a sense of history in the air. But the past and present truly come to life at The Myrtles Plantation.

Haunted Ghost Legends at The Myrtles Plantation:

It is often reported that 10 murders occurred in the house, but historical records only indicate the murder of William Winter, who was shot by a stranger and after being shot, he staggered inside the house and died trying to climb the stairs, only making it to the 17th step. People still recount stories of hearing his dying footsteps to this day.

Some believe a woman wearing a green turban, named Chloe, haunts the plantation. She was reportedly a slave owned by Mark and Sara Woodruff. According the stories, Chloe was either forced into becoming the mistress of Mark Woodruff or was caught eavesdropping in on one of his private business conversations. After being caught, Chloe was punished by the removal of one of her ears, and she wore a green turban to hide it. Chloe baked a birthday cake containing extract of boiled and reduced oleander leaves, which are extremely poisonous, seeking revenge. To her demise, only Sara and her two daughters ate the cake, and all died from the poison. Chloe was then hung by the other slaves, and thrown into the Mississippi River.

As it was custom during the time, mirrors throughout the home were to be covered after a death. After the murder of the Woodruffs, one particular mirror was overlooked. The uncovered mirror reportedly trapped the spirits of Sara and her children after their untimely death, and these spirits are occasionally seen or leave handprints in the mirror.

Another haunting legend comes from an event during the Civil War. The house was ransacked by Union soldiers, and legend claims that three were killed in the house. Supposedly, there is a blood stain in a doorway, roughly the size of a human body, that will not (or would not) come clean.

Disclaimer: There is no record of the Woodruffs owning a slave named Chloe, Cleo, or any slaves. Sara, James, and Cornelia Woodruff were not killed by poisoning, but instead succumbed to yellow fever (between 1823-1824). Her daughter Octavia lived on.

A Visual Tour of the Grounds at Myrtles Plantation

Haunted New Orleans Tours that Will Take Your Breath Away

Livery Tours provides New Orleans Haunted Tours that are based on the histories of our city. We dig deep into the secrets and the rumors and give you all the facts, fictions and pure fantasies. Every building and monument in the Big Easy has at least two stories to tell. And we want to share them all with you.

From our walking tours to our swamp tours to our haunted tours of New Orleans, our goal is to share the stories that make this place one of the most memorable cities in the US.

Be A Local with us and experience the haunted histories of New Orleans that take our breath away on a daily basis. Book Now!

Instagram Photo Credit

• oakalleyplantation
• abbychawk
• awarmgun
• mnkvas
• keepsmiledrinktea
• turboculosis
• themyrtlesplantation
• maggiecarlstrom
• buzzardo7
• timomelo

The post The Breathtaking Haunted Plantations of Louisiana appeared first on Livery Tours.

Whether this is your first, tenth or thousandth time you’ve explored New Orleans, one thing is for sure: there’s something mysterious about walking those streets.

You’ve probably taken tours in New Orleans before. And you’ve probably found them to be, if only a little, lacking. The one thing that many of the most popular New Orleans tours are missing is true history. We’re not going to name names, but we will divulge this: you don’t have to go far in New Orleans to find history. You don’t have to go far to find landmarks, buildings and streets that are riddled with stories to share.

With that, we here at Livery Tours bring you our newest series of blogs: Custom Tours of New Orleans.

These posts will feature different places, interesting facts and hand-picked histories that will give you a chance to make your own Tour of New Orleans. Whether you take a tour with us or create your own, we want you to have the tools to experience New Orleans your way.

A Musical Cemetery Tour: The Cemeteries of New Orleans

We tour New Orleans to explore stories. And there is no greater story than those told by New Orleans musicians. Many have found their final resting place in select cemeteries between New Orleans and Metairie, and here is your chance to create your own tour and explore the histories of New Orleans music that have long been forgotten. Visit the graves of those who have shaped New Orleans Jazz, Gospel, Rock, Swing and the movement of music as we know it.

Not sure where to begin? Here’s how:

6 Steps to Making Your Own New Orleans Cemetery Tour

1. Visit the Cemetery in the Morning—It’s not recommended to tour New Orleans cemeteries at night. Most Metairie and New Orleans cemeteries open between 8:00am and 9:00am.
2. Embrace the Heat—The balmy air, hot sun, and light fog from humidity create an eerie scene with sleeping spirits. But please be sure to have water and sunscreen.
3. Bring Your Music—Download the songs of the musicians you’ll be visiting, or watch the videos below.
4. Read Up on Your History—Read the biographies of these past musicians: their life, their reign and their deaths.
5. Bring a Tribute—Leave them a token of appreciation. Show them your respects.
6. Visit the “Local Haunts” at Night—Check out local jazz concerts to celebrate the past, present and all the beautiful emotions that create New Orleans music.

Always remembered in music: Thank you to all the great musicians who find rest in New Orleans.

3 Cemeteries Where You’ll Find Famous New Orleans Musicians

Metairie Cemetery

Who You Will Find There:

Louis Prima

Al Hirt

Providence Memorial Park

Who You Will Find There:

James Booker

Snooks Eaglin

Mahalia Jackson

Mount Olivet Cemetery and Mausoleum

Who You Will Find There:

Professor Longhair

Shirley and Lee

Tour New Orleans: Walking Tours, Haunted Tours, Custom Tours and More

Livery Tours provides New Orleans Tours that are based on the histories of our city. We dig deep into the secrets and the rumors and give you all the facts, fictions and pure fantasies. Every building and monument in the Big Easy has at least two stories to tell. And we want to share them all with you.

From our walking tours to our swamp tours to our haunted tours of New Orleans, our goal is to share the stories that make this place one of the most memorable cities in the US.

Contact Us, Book a Tour, and Come Experience New Orleans!

The post Make Your Own New Orleans Cemetery Tour appeared first on Livery Tours.

New Orleans is haunted. There’s no question about it. No matter where you go, there are innumerable haunted hotels, haunted bars, haunted streets and haunted grocery stores that will cross your path on any given day. This city is full of tragic memories, dramatic histories and so many scandalous deaths.

We’ve compiled a list of the Top 10 Haunted Places in New Orleans just for your reference as you visit this mysterious city.

Top 10 Stops of Haunted Tours in New Orleans

April Fools! Only some of these places are actually haunted.

Would you like to find out which ones?

Haunted New Orleans Tours That are No Joke

Livery Tours provides New Orleans Haunted Tours that are based on the histories of our city. We dig deep into the secrets and the rumors and give you all the facts, fictions and pure fantasies. Every building and monument in the Big Easy has at least two stories to tell. And we want to share them all with you.

From our walking tours to our swamp tours to our haunted tours of New Orleans, our goal is to share the stories that make this place one of the most memorable cities in the US.

Be A Local with us and experience the haunted histories of New Orleans! Hear the histories of the city and hauntings much like this incident shared by Christie, one of our Historians.

A New Orleans Haunting at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel

After I checked a guy into his room, he turned around and comes back and says, “Christie, we got a problem. There’s a man already in that room.”

As a front desk person, this is your worst nightmare…as a hotel guest, you don’t want random strangers wandering into your room. So I’m racking my brain trying to figure out why there is a man in that room that I don’t know about.

I’m apologizing profusely and the man says, “Oh it was no big deal to me, it didn’t bother the guy at all. He didn’t even notice me, it seemed.”

He said he walked into the room, and the guy was in silk pajamas eating dinner from a wooden room service tray over his lap…well that gave me my first clue because we didn’t have those kinds of wooden room service trays…we just had the regular room service trays.

He said he walked in saying, “Oh! I’m so sorry, I must have the wrong room,” and then he said the guy never looked up at him…so I told him we could go double check just to make sure everything’s ok.

So we get there and the guy says, “Yep! That’s the room,” and then I knock on the door…and knock and knock…and nobody comes. So I open the door…slowly…and no one’s in the room. The bed’s perfectly made, and everything’s fine.

He says, “Christie, I swear I’m not crazy! There was a man in that bed in that room!”

I said, “No I don’t think you’re crazy, do you know anything about this place?”

He said, “No, I’m here for a conference, my secretary made the reservation.”

And, I said, “ Well, your secretary booked you a room in one of the most haunted hotels in the country.”

Article Photo Credits

Café du Mode (photo credit: theemptyplaces.com)
Snug Harbor (photo credit: washingtonpost.com)
The Kerry Irish Pub (photo credit: clubzone.com)
The Carousel Lounge (photo credit: festigals.org)
Bourbon Street (photo credit: thrillist.com)
Pirate’s Alley Café and Absinthe House (photo credit: adventuresinvegantravel.blogspot.com)
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop (photo credit: goodworkmarketing.com)
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas (photo credit: auduboninstitute.org)
Napoleon House (photo credit: fineartamerica.com)
Pat O’Brian’s (photo credit: fineartamerica.com)
New Orleans Architecture (photo credit: howdoitravel.com)

The post A Closer Look at New Orleans Haunted Tours appeared first on Livery Tours.

Imagine you’re walking to the French Market and see a river of blood—hot, thick, deep red, and sticky—oozing down the steps of a house on the corner of Orleans and Dauphine. You get the police. They go in to find that around 18 people have been murdered and cut to pieces in the house. Blood and body parts are everywhere. Minutes feel like they’re oozing by slowly, like the blood that fills the street and sidewalk. It takes them a while to put the bodies back together, body parts were being piled here and there, trying to make the original body forms. This is the was what was left of the Sultan’s Place after the killings occurred—a mass of blood and body parts.

The corner of Orleans and Dauphine. The Sultan’s Palace.

The Sultan and His Harem of Horror

Last night, on a Haunted Tour in New Orleans, Christie, one of our Historians—a lover of Paranormal History, with a talent for research and finding great recounts of hauntings, sightings, and mayhem among the haunted buildings of New Orleans—shared the story about a Turkish man, claiming to be a Sultan, who bought the Gardette-Lepretre mansion at 716 Dauphine St.

Once the place was purchased:

No one would leave the building…so people walk by at night…they hear music, they hear laughter, they smell incense coming from the windows, it sounds like there is a party going on, but nobody gets invited to anything so nobody really knows what’s going on.

After the police found nearly everyone of the murdered members of the Sultan’s harem, they find that one person still appears to be missing. Not one of the victims appeared to be a Sultan.

So they think: Did this man go crazy and hack everyone up in his house?

After a good amount of further searching, the police found the Sultan buried alive in the courtyard behind a wall. “We know he was buried alive,” Christie said looking at the tour group, “because his face was all contorted, his mouth was full of dirt and his body looked like he was trying to claw his way back out.”

To this day, no one knows who committed these murders.

Now! The theory is…this man was not actually a Sultan. They think he was possibly the brother or the cousin of the real Sultan. We found out years later that the Sultan in Turkey at the time was having all of his male relatives murdered to protect his position of power. So, we think this guy was possibly hiding out here in New Orleans. That’s why you never saw anyone coming or going…and when the Sultan’s assassins finally found him…

The rest is history.

Taking a Haunted Tour in New Orleans

Ghost stories and haunted rumors float around New Orleans like the breezes that linger on humid October nights. The Big Easy is never too far away from a scandal, and it shows in the stories we tell friends, family, and passers-by on the street (because everyone loves a good rumor).

There have been massive deaths, huge fires, and a level of crime that is too large to believe sometimes, but it’s always a good time down here.

Come take a tour with us, and experience the history of the most haunted places in the Big Easy. Book a Tour, and meet fellow history buffs. Our Historians, like Christie, bring their talents to the forefront, give you the facts, and share their excitement for the stories of our past and the possibilities of our present. It’s a real Treat to be Tricked in NOLA.

The post A River of Blood in New Orleans appeared first on Livery Tours.

Let’s face it: this is an aquatic city. We’re sandwiched by a river and a lake, with countless bayous in between. Some people assume we all have a swamp in our backyard, others actually do and we have all spent one moment or another wondering: what’s really out there? When visitors come to New Orleans, it’s only natural to explore the swamps and bayous around us.

The Big Easy is teaming with life, energy and activity—especially beyond the city limits. From Bayou St. John to Bayou Segnette, New Orleans has a deep connection with the animals and plant life growing in those waters and Airboat Swamp Tours give us a chance to get up-close and personal with the life that surrounds New Orleans.

“What’s really out there?”

What Will I Learn?

• Stories about our beginning years
• The history of certain bayous and waterways
• Stories about our wildlife

What Kind of Wildlife are We Talking About?

On our Airboat Swamp Tour, we have the chance to see alligators, snakes, turtles, nutria, egrets, herons and ibis hiding in the swamp grass or on an old bald cypress trunk. Sometimes, if we’re really lucky, we’ll see hawks, owls and bald eagles flying overhead.

Will I Be Staying in the Boat?

Yes, for your safety, you’ll be staying in the boat. But your captain may not! We’ve seen our knowledgeable guides boot up and hop out of the boat to bring back a baby alligator or a very social nutria.

We get down to our roots.

What Does a High-Speed Airboat Ride Feel Like?

When the Airboat gets moving, it feels almost like you’re flying, hovering just over the water’s edge like a great blue heron or a brown pelican swooping down for their afternoon snack. Your hair gets tousled. Splashing happens often. The prospect of taking a turn quickly is exhilarating, but safety keeps it from happening. There is a level of raw, Cajun excitement that washes over you, and suddenly you feel like you’re home.

Be a Local: Tour New Orleans Swamps

It’s easy to say, “Let’s go on a New Orleans Swamp Tour.” It’s easy to gather up your favorite group of people and go on an adventure in the heart of New Orleans’ past. All it takes to witness some of the most beautiful scenery around: lulling, twinkling bayous lined with moss-draped cypress and tupelo gum trees, is a little bravado and a touch of curiosity.

The post Why Should I Take a New Orleans Airboat Swamp Tour? appeared first on Livery Tours.

Every year, the Big Easy welcomes a spectrum of visitors. Every year, there are lines and groups of tours throughout the city. We live in a city that wishes to be seen, touched and heard—it’s only natural to seek adventure, to seek the stories of the past and the lives long gone from this world. Whether you’re a history buff, a party animal or the quiet observer, New Orleans offers the best experiences to you. But what are the best New Orleans Tours?

What Kind of Tour is for You?

This is the question: what kind of experience are you craving?

New Orleans Walking Tours vs. New Orleans Vehicle Tours

When you’re looking for a very specific New Orleans touring experience, it’s time to book a walking tour like our Garden District Tour or our Cemetery and French Quarter Tour. These tours are catered to show highlights of the Big Easy and are made for a small group of visitors. Taking a walking tour lets you enjoy New Orleans and feel a part of the action—New Orleans’ active present and the scandals of her past.

When you want your tour to have a more holistic feel, and you don’t have the time to see the Big Easy by foot, it’s time to book a vehicle tour. These tours like Livery Tour’s VIP City Tour offer the total package. This is a golden opportunity to see everything that New Orleans has to offer: all of the attractions in the city, a leisurely drive down Esplanade Avenue, a great sight of City Park as well as other notable and historic stops. These tours focus on grasping the whole idea of what it was and is like to live in New Orleans.

What places do you see with Livery Tours as your guide?

• Katrina Damaged Areas
• The “Brad Pitt Homes”
• New Orleans Cemeteries: Lafayette Cemetery and St.Louis Cemetery
• New Orleans Antebellum Mansions
• Harry Connick’s Musicians Village
• Landmarks on St.Charles Avenue
• The Arts District and the Garden District

Creating Your Own Tour of New Orleans

Do you like to fly solo? Is the idea of large groups of people trudging on, looking at buildings and scenery a bit too monochromatic for you? Your best friend will be Google and a good pair of walking shoes. It’s always good to break away from the organized tours and dive into the Big Easy head first, partaking in the free activities our city has to offer everyone year-round.

Here are 10 Activities that will give you a good tour of New Orleans culture:

1. Walk around Jackson Square, taking in the sights and sounds of the French Quarter and resting in the shade
2. Grab a friend and visit all of the galleries in the Arts District along Julia Street or  make your way down Royal and Chartres to window shop arts and antiques
3. Dance to the beat of a night on Frenchmen Street or along to the free concerts in Lafayette Square during the spring and fall months
4. Watch the creation of delicate glass artwork at Rosetree Glass Studio, Studio Inferno, or Glassworks
5. Sit under 100-year-old Oak trees in Audubon Park or City Park and watch time go by
6. Take a picture with Fats Domino, Pete Fountain, or Al Hirt at Music Legends Park on Bourbon Street
7. Wish for good fortunes in the fountain at Spanish Plaza in front of the Riverwalk
8. Get in touch with your wild side while walking on the nature trail at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve’s Barataria Unit
9. Watch the sailboats race on Lake Pontchartrain from the Lakefront Park, catching the sunset at just the right time
10. See the Battle of New Orleans reenactment at the Chalmette Battlefield unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve

The post Walking Tours and Vehicle Tours in New Orleans appeared first on Livery Tours.

Louisiana is known for her lavish Southern Plantations. Many visitors come to learn the stories that create the vision—the mysterious and interesting past that this southern state boasts. You don’t have to be a local to find out the stories of some of Louisiana’s most famed and popular plantations: Oak Alley Plantation and Laura Plantation.

Over the years, many fascinating individuals and histories have come together to create what we now know of as the Louisiana Antebellum Plantation. Get to know these two beautiful Louisiana treasures up close and personal.

A Historical Louisiana Plantation Tour Guide

Louisiana itself is a state of pure culture; we uphold traditions and let them coexist with newer ones. It’s only natural for our visitors to seek adventures into our past, and find the best stories to take home with them. People come  from miles around to tour our streets, our above-ground cemeteries and hear stories about ghosts and voodoo and the very magic that haunts the Big Easy.

One of the top things that visitors want to experience when they come to New Orleans is time. There is a shift in time that occurs when you walk through the French Quarter, a  mixing of the past and the present, a stirring excitement in the soul, which yields an instantaneous connection to the city itself. We have many things to remember our past in Louisiana, but none are as grandiose as the Louisiana Antebellum Plantation.

What should you keep in mind when you tour a Louisiana Plantation?

1. The grounds hold a many stories as the buildings themselves.
2. Each Louisiana Plantation was a world in and of itself.
3. Stories always find a way of standing the test of time.

Highlights of Oak Alley Plantation: From the Words of Her Visitors

5 out of 5 Stars on March 24, 2014

“Being at Oak Alley was an amazing experience in itself. The tour of the big house was wonderful, with the girls dressed in their big hoop skirts, and the interesting stories that accompany the property. Staying at Oak Alley, however, is an amazing luxury.”

5 out of 5 Stars on January 23, 2014

“The tour of the mansion was grand and then the tour of the grounds wonderful too. They have a very detailed slave education exhibit that is outstanding. Very much a “must do” when you are in New Orleans!”

4 out of 5 Stars on December 6, 2013

“This iconic plantation is a must do visit as the 300 year old trees, the mansion, and the tours of the grounds are all worth the effort. We decided to rent a room here too and were given what was supposedly a place used to house a doctor back in the day. Sadly the furniture was quite sacked, but still it made for great memories.”

Highlights of Laura Plantation: From the Words of Her Visitors

5 out of 5 Stars on May 4, 2014

“We have taken a number of plantation tours along River Road in Louisiana and in Natchez, Mississippi. All are hard to take since they are all about a plantation economy that relied heavily on slavery. In this context, one of the best tours is the one at the Laura Plantation. The fact that the early owners were Creole makes a bit of a difference since the approach to slavery, while still harsh, was somewhat benign. The tour was excellent. Highly recommended if you want a better understanding of what life was like for both plantation owners and their slaves during the antebellum period leading to the US civil war.”

5 out of 5 Stars on April 30, 2014

“We had time for one plantation in the Vacherie area and were glad we chose this one. It showed us the Creole style of architecture adapted from Caribbean island culture, colorful buildings well designed for shade and breeze, so totally unlike the stereotype white mansion with columns. We had a fabulous guide who really brought home to us the history and the implications of slavery.”

5 out of 5 Stars on April 11, 2014

“The Laura Plantation may not be as pristine or as grandeur as other popular plantations like Oak Alley and Nottoway but it by far has the most fascinating history. And that’s not to say that the house and the grounds weren’t lovely, they absolutely were. I felt like the Laura plantation actually felt the most authentic and we’ll-preserved, far away from any modern structures which made me feel like I was there in the 1800’s.”

The post Historical Louisiana Plantation Tour Guide appeared first on Livery Tours.

Canal Street in New Orleans marks a line between the fast-paced Downtown and the smoother Uptown of New Orleans. Once a small sub-city of New Orleans, the Garden District has gone from housing the unwanted Americans in New Orleans (the Creoles didn’t want to share their city with non-Catholic and very abrasive people) to becoming one of the most lush and beautiful facets of the city.

Taking a Garden District Walking Tour these days entails strolling through the richest of New Orleans neighborhoods decorated with the full, vibrant gardens, staying true to the district’s name.

Through all of the gardens and the big oak trees shading every street, you will spot the luxurious houses of the rising mercantile elite, constructed between the 1840 and the 1870s. These mansions provide a striking contrast to the stacked townhouses and courtyards of the French and Spanish tones of the Vieux Carré.

An Architecture Dreamland

The Garden District remains the city’s most prestigious neighborhood with most houses having price tags that run into the several millions. The district is on the National Register of Historic Places and is also home to Lafayette Cemetery, a safe place for photographing beautifully aged tombs and angel statuary.

The sights are dreamy and the atmosphere is relaxed. You traverse Uptown to seek relief from the constant buzz of Downtown.

Architecture Types of The New Orleans Garden District

Learn the history behind the American/Creole relationship, how it affected the city of New Orleans and its architecture. Walk through the gardens of the Garden District and take off into the stories behind specific locations and mansions with Livery Tours. We encourage you to Be a Local and learn about the Garden District on our Garden District Tour.

Highlights of the Garden District Walking Tour

• Brevard House
• Briggs-Staub House
• Buckner Mansion
• Christ Church Cathedral
• Coliseum Square Park
• Colonel Short’s Villa
• Commander’s Palace restaurant
• Derby Pottery
• Eiffel Tower Building
• Elms Mansion
• Garden District Bookshop
• Goodrich-Stanley House
• House of Broel’s Victorian Mansion and Dollhouse Museum
• Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
• Lonsdale House
• Musson House
• Payne House
• The Rink
• Robinson House
• Toby-Westfeldt House
• Women’s Guild of the New Orleans Opera Association House

Celebrity Homes Visited:

• Anne Rice
• Sandra Bullock
• Ella Brennan
• Julia Reed
• John Goodman
• Trent Reznor

The post Garden District Walking Tour Guide appeared first on Livery Tours.

When it comes to Ghost Tours, the US is filled with hotspots for the supernatural. These days, everyone can be a Ghost Hunter and there are more than enough Tours around the most haunted parts of cities all across the country. Tours can last from an hour to an overnight stay in a Haunted House. It’s a culture rooted in the “spook” and “scare” of real stories from lives that were lived.

There are hotels with ghost children playing in the hallways, mischievous apparitions who get a little too close to people, dangerous spirits that don’t like to be disturbed and the list goes on.

But what is at the root of these supernatural instances? Why are Ghost Tours important parts of our culture? They seek answers from the most unclear and notorious stories from our past. They seek clarity in the History.

Below is a listing of other Haunted Cities in the US, where Ghosts and Spirits and Haunted Stories are a part of day-to-day life.

New Orleans

The US is full of cities that have witnessed massive disasters, murders and troublesome times. And none of these cities has a closer connection to its dead, their spirits and how both life and death intermingle in the most bizarre and interesting ways than New Orleans.

Not much, it seems, separates the living from the dead in New Orleans. Tombs sit above ground in the 42 cemeteries within city limits. Ghosts from the War of 1812 still hang around the French Quarter. And visitors to the grave of a prominent 1800s voodoo queen continue to leave offerings and ask for help.

Haunted Experiences:

• Haunted Mansions
• St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
• The Tomb of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau
• Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar
• Muriel’s
• Hotel Monteleone

A New Orleans Ghost Tour That Reveals the History Behind the Hauntings

At nearly 300 years old, New Orleans has been seen more than its fair share of death. Hurricanes, floods, Yellow Fever and cholera outbreaks, duels, wars, and a consistently high murder rate have all resulted in hundreds of thousands of untimely deaths. According to paranormal experts, many of these murdered souls still haunt the ancient buildings of the French Quarter, dating back to the city’s inception in the early 1720’s.

New Orleans Paranormal Tours take you to the most haunted locations in New Orleans, and bring you closer to the city’s most notorious spirits than you’ve ever been before. Learn the history behind New Orleans’ haunted past.

Savannah, Georgia

Over the course of history, bloody battles, massive fires, yellow-fever epidemics, and hurricanes have taken hundreds of lives, leaving behind unsettled spirits in Savannah, Georgia. The city was built, literally, on top of its dead. Homes, roads and city buildings sit above Native American burial grounds and long-forgotten cemeteries of slaves and colonialists.

Haunted Experiences:

• The Historic District
• Colonial Park Cemetery
• Mercer House
• Moon River Brewing Company
• The Haunted Marshall House

Baltimore, Maryland

As a part of the original colonies, Baltimore has seen a lot of death. Several nation-shaping events have played out on Baltimore’s historic streets, leaving the city riddles with disturbed and restless spirits: the American Revolution, the Civil War and the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812 are among the most prominent historical events.

Haunted Experiences:

• Westminster Hall Catacombs
• 18th-century Fort McHenry
• The Rigging of the 1854 USS Constellation Warship
• The Haunted Admiral Fell Inn

Galveston, Texas

When the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 struck, some 8,000 lives were lost—about 6,200 more fatalities than in New Orleans’ devastating Hurricane Katrina seven years ago. Galveston’s was the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history, and ghost hunters say most of the town’s spirits linger in its storied harbor and Victorian mansions. Odd occurrences witnessed by hotel staff include dishes breaking with no one around, children’s laughter in the salon bathroom, and an apparition of the legendary Ghost Bride in Room 501.

Haunted Experiences:

• Haunted Harbor and Haunted Cemetery Tours
• The Menard House
• The Tremont House Hotel
• Hotel Galvez

Portland, Oregon

The Shanghai Tunnels of Portland’s Old Town are passageways beneath the cobblestoned streets that swirl with a dark history. As the story goes, men who came to Portland to work—sailors, loggers, cowboys, and others—were “shanghaied,” or kidnapped through trapdoors in saloons, smuggled through the tunnels to the waterfront, and sold to sea captains.

Haunted Experiences:

• Old Town Pizza
• Shanghai Tunnels
• The McMenamins’ White Eagle Saloon & Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel

Chicago

Al Capone and his Prohibition-era gangsters made Chicago a city to be remembered on Valentine’s Day, 1929. Seven men were lined up against the wall of a garage at 2122 North Clark Street and gunned down. Since then, strange mists, screams, and machine gun sounds have been seen and heard at the site of the murders as well as other notorious gangster hideaways and crime scenes.

Haunted Experiences:

• Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery and Pond
• A Haunted Warehouse once used by Capone
• Haunted Spots on the Chicago River
• The Congress Plaza Hotel

San Francisco

In the 1850s, Chinese immigrants came in droves to San Francisco, seeking their fortunes, but when they couldn’t afford to return to their families in China most of these new San Francisco residents tried to make the most of their new lives. Many died alone with unfulfilled dreams. These lost souls are the wandering ghosts of America’s oldest Chinatown, inhabiting its alleyways still looking for their dreams.

Haunted Experiences:

• Chinatown—the gambling houses, narrow streets, and dark alleys
• The Presidio
• Alcatraz

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