Legends of the Haunted Mansion

April  Duvain Gracey 1767-1864 Miss April Duvain was Ambrose Gracey’s second wife who was known for her unaging beauty, even though she was born in 1767. Born into wealth and privilege April was privately tutored in a convent until she blossomed into a maiden at the age of 17. Many wealthy men sought her out for her youth and beauty, but she turned them all down. On her 22nd birthday, she commissioned a local artist to paint a picture of herself. After the portraits competition, April meet a Conjure woman who said she would promise to fulfill her wish but also warned her of the consequences.    The first she started to notice was that her portrait winked at her and had a different title of June. True to the conjure woman’s word April  would never gain a gray hair or a wrinkle, she remained forever young but became increasingly vain. April hid her portrait in her own private chambers far from prying eyes. As the years went by, she married a plantation owner named...

Paul Swells 1788-1822 Edward Swells 1785-1822 Edward and Claude Swells were brothers who grew up at Shadyoaks Plantation, together they were an insufferable pair. As the brothers grew up, they both attended fine schools and were given the finest education, they were trained in various extracurricular activities, including fencing, chess, badminton, and good old-fashioned “pistol duels.”  On the weekends, they would both engage in drinking and gambling at the taverns.  While partying one Friday night in 1822, both men made the acquaintance of Lindy Good. Both brothers would woo and courted Lindy with gifts and sonnets of love, hoping that each brother would earn her affection. However, Lindy began to plant seeds of droughts on each of the brothers, whispering wicked secrets and promises she had not intended to keep - promises that would pit the men against one another.  On the carriage ride home, the two men shared stories of the night’s conquests. Of course, the slan...

  Irena Alexandria Gracey 1785-1814 Irena Alexandria was the great grandmother of Master Gracey. She was the daughter of a French nobleman and an English ambassador's daughter, who fled from the French revolution.  She was wealthy and beautiful, but, given the politically incorrect nature of her parentage in eighteenth century France and England, she never truly fit into 'Society' in either nation. She was rarely accepted, and never trusted, in either land. Her only true friend and loyal companion was her black cat, Sekhment . She was also an a vante-garde woman in dress, manner and interest.  When Irena blossomed into womanhood, Irena meet Ambrose Gracey, the grandfather of Master Gracey. In due time they were married. It wasn't until when reports of a strange cat like beast was prowling the forests. It was rumored that Irena had dabbled in witchcraft. One night in 1814, the groundskeeper encounter the cat monster, in desperation he grabbed an axe and cat the b...

  Jonthan Davis 1726-1783 Vincent Coats 1737-1783  Jonthan Davis and Vincent Coats, were two of New Orleans premiere architects  to have them draw up plans for an elegant antebellum mansion that would become home to Captain Gore. The two gentlemen, despite their often conflicting design ideas, put their creativity behind the project, even fulfilling Gore's unusual requests for secret rooms and hidden passageways within the mansion that lead to the adjacent graveyard.  The secret passages, of course, were known only to Gore. What he used them for, to this day, is still speculated, though it is commonly assumed that he never truly lost contact with his old pirate mates, and used those hidden spots for whatever backroom business he had that kept him in money. Some have claimed that there were midnight meetings between Gore and some shady characters, usually precluded by exchanged lantern signals between the house and the riverbank. Apparently, Mr. Coats and Mr. Davis ha...

The Mansion c 1793 The mansion was built in the 1790s by Captain Bartholomew Gore, a wealthy sea captain who made his fortune by importing and exporting cargo goods. Though no one knew where his wealth came from or his family hailed from. Some rumored that he was a bloodthirsty pirate who sailed the Spanish Main.   Captain Bartholomew Gore  1757-1795 Priscilla Gore 1767-1794   Gore purchased a small plot of land in the outskirts of New Orleans near a village called Bloodmere Parish to build his grand estate for his bride Priscilla and a place to retire his old sea legs. He eventually settled on a spot with a commanding view of the Mississippi river, set on higher ground so as to avoid flooding. Just behind the property stood Memento Mori, a small local graveyard that was believed to be haunted. Gore was not a superstitious man, and purchased the property at a relatively low cost due to its proximity. The local town elders tried to change his mind, but none dared say so t...

Have you ever seen a haunted house? You know the kind I mean. The old dark house that is usually found on the outskirts of New Orleans. The owners haven't been seen in years, no one really knows why? The immaculate gardens are overgrown with weeds. The trees have grown wild, their branches brush against the sides of the  house, making strange noises at night. There’s a high wrought iron gate that surrounds the property, is it there to keep someone out or something inside? It’s a house that people avoid at night, strange sounds come from within its walls, and in the graveyard at the side of the house. Our story begins in this mysterious mansion.