Lastly, we halfheartedly apologize for taking the wind out of the ghost legend. Madame Lalaurie is a fascinating character who transcends more than just being a ghost. She is the personification of the change in New Orleans, the role of women, the perception of women’s personas, race relations, myth, history and colonial French and early American history, as well as so much more. On top of that, the ghost story is a treasure to those of us interested in the other world: dazzling, powerful families; serial-killing wives; zombies; devil babies; torture; gore; sex; race; eyewitness testimony; and genteel façades. It doesn’t get better than this.
Glossary
abolitionist
A person who wanted to end slave trade and emancipate all slaves.
arpent
A common unit of length used in the 1830s. It measured 191.944 feet, or 58.504 meters.
bayou
A body of water in a flat, low-lying area. Sometimes a bayou is a slow-moving river or stream and sometimes a swampy or marshy lake.
black
In colonial and early American Louisiana, the term “black” was used only in reference to people from Africa or of full-blooded African ancestry.
black gold/black ivory
Illegal slave traders referred to their cargo of slaves as black gold or black ivory.
bondsman
In colonial and early American Louisiana, the term “bondsman” was used interchangeably with the term “slave.”
caballero
A Spanish knight, often a horseman.
Cabildo
1. The building that housed the seat of colonial French and Spanish government in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2. The group of men who made up the Spanish municipal government in colonial Spanish Louisiana.
caleche
A horse-drawn carriage with a folding hood.
chevalier
A French knight, often a horseman.
Code Noir
France’s adopted code of conduct in regard to slaves. A similar code was adopted by Louisiana and kept after it became part of the United States.
coup de poudre
A powder said to be part of the drug used by Haitian voodoo priests to turn victims into “zombies.”
Creole
The original definition of Creoles is used in this book: people who were white residents of Louisiana, born of old French or Spanish families.
datura
A flowering plant belonging to the family Solanaceae. The tropane alkaloids (toxins) found in datura are said to be part of the recipe for creating “zombie powder.”
Faubourg Marigny
A neighborhood in New Orleans.
folie a deux
From the French for “a madness shared by two,” a rare psychiatric syndrome in which two people share the same delusion.
Grand Guignol
The Grand Guignol was a theater in Paris known for performing naturalistic, gory horror shows. The term is currently used to mean anything excessively gruesome and bloody.
Harlequin baby
A baby suffering from Harlequin-type ichthyosis.
Harlequin-type ichthyosis
A severe skin disease characterized by a thickening of the keratin layer, producing huge, diamond-shaped scales on the body.
intendant
A supervisor appointed by the Spanish Crown to manage the treasury and the collection of taxes and promote economic growth in a particular area, such as a Spanish colony.
M’Naghten Rules
A set of rules written by the British House of Lords in 1843 and meant to define whether or not a person is mentally fit to stand trial for a crime.
mulatto
A person with one parent who is African or of African descent and one white parent. Outdated.
octoroon
Someone who has at least one great-grandparent who was African or of African descent. Outdated.
person of color
In colonial and early American Louisiana, the term referred to someone of mixed African and white ancestry. Outdated.
piastres
A unit of currency. It was originally equal to one silver dollar or peso and served as the major unit of currency of French colonies.
privateer
A pirate operating on behalf of a government.
quadroon
A person who has at least one grandparent who is an African or of African descent. Outdated.
sadism
A personality disorder in which a person takes pleasure or amusement in humiliating or physically harming another.
sociopath
An individual with a personality disorder marked by a lack of empathy. Sociopaths lack a conscience and generally do whatever they want, regardless of the consequences to others.
Vieux Carré
Literally “Old Square”; the original city was planned around the Vieux Carré, which is now commonly known as the French Quarter.
voodoo/vodou/vodu/vodun
A religion brought to Louisiana by West Africans, vodun eventually merged African gods with Catholic saints to create a unique faith.
zombie
According to Haitian tradition, a zombie is a dead person brought back to life and enslaved by a voodoo priest. Many people today believe that zombies are actually drugged (but indisputably living) individuals whose will has been crushed by a toxic combination of powders.
zombie dust/zombie powder
A combination of toxins said to have the ability to turn a person into a “zombie”—a mindless, utterly obedient servant. Zombie dust is said to contain coup de poudre, a powdered form of puffer fish toxin and a strong dissociative drug like those found in datura.
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INTERVIEWS
Barbian, Lenore, professor of forensic anthropology, Edinboro University, Pennsylvania. Personal interview, November 2009.
Pustanio, Ricardo, artist. Phone interview, September 2009.
Taylor, Annie, Louisiana Paranormal Society. E-mail interview, October 2009.
Williams, Claudia, voodoo priestess and owner of the Starling Magickal Books and Crafts. Personal interview, January 2010.
NEWSPAPER COVERAGE
Frost, Meigs. “Was Madame Lalaurie of Haunted House Victim of Foul Plot?” New Orleans Times-Picayune, Sunday, February 4, 1934, magazine section.
Goreau, Laurraine. “C’est la Vie.” New Orleans States Item, June 16, 1969.
Griffin, Thomas. Unnamed column. New Orleans States Item, March 7, 1966.
New Orleans Bee. April 11–12, 1834.
New Orleans Daily Picayune. “Auction by Palfrey and Hill.” May 28, 1867.
New Orleans States Item. June 16, 1969.
New Orleans Times-Picayune. “Quarter Group Urges Action.” April 17, 1965.
. “Relic Found Here Revives Legend of Mme. Lalaurie.” August 9, 1964.
New York Times. “The Recent Duel in New Orleans.” April 29, 1870.
WEBSITES
BlackPast.org. Remembered and Reclaimed. http://www.blackpast.org.
Creole History. “1808 New Orleans Map/Property Owners.” www.creolehistory.com/1808_map/prop_owners.html.
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