You Won’t Want To Visit This Notorious New Orleans Cemetery Alone Or After Dark

New Orleans cemeteries are truly one of a kind. Our above-ground cemeteries attract visitors from all over the world, hoping to catch a glimpse of these hauntingly beautiful final resting places. There’s one particular cemetery that has a fascinating history that’s riddled with ghost stories and paranormal encounters. Let's take a closer look.

St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the oldest cemetery in New Orleans. It was opened in 1789 and replaced St. Peter Cemetery, which no longer exists.

There are roughly 700 tombs and over 100,000 people buried within this historic square block.

You won’t want to visit this notorious cemetery alone, but that won’t be a problem.

Since 2015, the cemetery has been closed to the public and only accessible with a licensed tour guide.

Within the labyrinth of walls and tombs of this hauntingly beautiful cemetery, several famous New Orleanians are buried here.

Homer Plessy, Bernard de Marigny, and Etienne de Bore, the first mayor of New Orleans are just a few of the influential figures buried here.

One of the most popular attractions to this historic cemetery is the tomb of the Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau.

You can’t miss her grave, just look for the tomb with all the offerings around it and the triple "x’s" drawn on it.

Not only is it the oldest cemetery in the city, but it’s also one of the most haunted.

One of the most infamous ghosts is the Voodoo Queen herself, who is seen wearing bright clothing and a red and white turban. Many visitors have reported being scratched, pinched, or shoved while in the vicinity of her tomb, so you may want to watch your back when you visit.

But Marie Laveau isn’t the only spirit to haunt this city of the dead.

Henry Vignes was a sailor in the early 19th century who had been living in a local boarding house in New Orleans. He had no close family or true place to call home, all he had was the paperwork to his cemetery plot in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.

While he was away at sea, his landlord sold his plot, leaving him with no eternal resting place.

He is buried in an unmarked grave in the paupers section of the cemetery, and many have reported seeing Mr. Vignes’ spirit, walking the grounds, asking visitors if they know where the Vignes tomb is located.

There are several tour companies that would love to take you through the cemetery, either on a ghost tour or just a casual informative tour.

Address: 425 Basin Street, New Orleans, LA, 70112

Be sure to check out our previous article highlighting some of the haunted restaurants in the city, and click here to learn about some of the haunted hotels.

Have you ever had a paranormal encounter? Share it with us in the comments below!