Marie Laveau is most famous for being the Voodoo queen of New Orleans. Marie Laveau was a black priestess who was Catholic and a voodoo believer known to be beautiful and rumored to have mysterious powers. (REVISED) Marie being a Catholic is surprising to those who are not aware of the past culture of New Orleans, but she developed a special relationship with a priest of the St. Louis Cathedral known as Pere Antoine. (ADDED) At this time in New Orleans it was a very predominantly Roman Catholic city, and it is said if you weren't Catholic you kept that to yourself. She was born around 1801 to freed slaves by the name or Margueite and Charles. Marie was the first of her family to be born into freedom. (ADDED) Although she was of color and born free, something most people don't know is that she owned slaves. Marie was in a thirty year relationship with a white French nobleman named Cristophe Glapion. Interracial relationships were not necessarily uncommon at this time in New Orleans, but she was forbidden to marry him because it was unlawful at the time. People would come to Marie for many different things such as help with lawsuits, love, and many other things. She would have individual clients that would come and see her for help. There is a popular rumor that Marie was a hairdresser, but this is said to be untrue. The thought that she was a hairdresser stems from her clients saying that’s where they were going. Although people of all races would visit her and attend ceremonies she would lead, some of the white community never accepted voodoo as an actual religion. (Dimuro, 2018) Marie passed away in 1881, but the legend of Marie Laveau still lives on. Whether Marie was actually a powerful priestess with supernatural abilities or not, one thing is sure, the legend of Marie Laveau will live on for a long time. One popular story involving Marie Laveau is when a man during the Great Depression fell asleep on top of a grave. Shortly after he fell asleep he woke up to the sound of drums beating, loud cheering, and found himself at Marie’s grave. He said that at her grave he saw her and encountered many ghosts that were naked dancing around the tomb. There are more stories out there of people that have encountered Marie Laveau’s ghost. (n.d, 2018).
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The burial place of Marie Laveau is only a short walk away from the Jackson Square. She is said to be "buried" in St. Louis Cemetery 1. In New Orleans there are above ground tombs due to the flooding, so she is not truly buried. There are 3 different tombs in St. Louis Cemetery 1 that are said to have Marie Laveau in it. If you take a tour of the city you can actually visit her tombs. Although there are 3 different tombs that could have her remains, they believe they know which one she was actually laid in. While visiting this cemetery and looking at her tomb you can notice that there are X's on it. This is said to be from people that went to her with an offering, and looking for help. While on this tour of the Cemetery the tour guide will tell you that almost daily people leave things at her tomb, hoping to find what they are looking for. For information on how to visit St. Louis Cemetery 1 click on this link provided. St. Louis Cemetery 1 tour An interesting thing about this cemetery is that the price of admission goes into renovating the tombs. While visiting the tomb you can notice that some tombs are still in good shape, while others need some work. If you go to visit this cemetery another interesting thing is that you can find the future tomb of Nicholas Cage. It is said that after Nicholas Cage bought a haunted house he started having bad luck. He was divorced, went bankrupt, and had many other misfortunes. After visiting a Medium, he was told to buy a tomb there, and for it to be constructed in the shape of a pyramid. Whether or not the Medium telling him to have his tomb there because of the presence of Marie Laveau actually had anything to do with his luck turning around is up to you to decide.
(ADDED things throughout, tried to mark them all)
(ADDED)
The burial place of Marie Laveau is only a short walk away from the Jackson Square. She is said to be "buried" in St. Louis Cemetery 1. In New Orleans there are above ground tombs due to the flooding, so she is not truly buried. There are 3 different tombs in St. Louis Cemetery 1 that are said to have Marie Laveau in it. If you take a tour of the city you can actually visit her tombs. Although there are 3 different tombs that could have her remains, they believe they know which one she was actually laid in. While visiting this cemetery and looking at her tomb you can notice that there are X's on it. This is said to be from people that went to her with an offering, and looking for help. While on this tour of the Cemetery the tour guide will tell you that almost daily people leave things at her tomb, hoping to find what they are looking for. For information on how to visit St. Louis Cemetery 1 click on this link provided. St. Louis Cemetery 1 tour An interesting thing about this cemetery is that the price of admission goes into renovating the tombs. While visiting the tomb you can notice that some tombs are still in good shape, while others need some work. If you go to visit this cemetery another interesting thing is that you can find the future tomb of Nicholas Cage. It is said that after Nicholas Cage bought a haunted house he started having bad luck. He was divorced, went bankrupt, and had many other misfortunes. After visiting a Medium, he was told to buy a tomb there, and for it to be constructed in the shape of a pyramid. Whether or not the Medium telling him to have his tomb there because of the presence of Marie Laveau actually had anything to do with his luck turning around is up to you to decide.
Site to visit
Marie Laveau’s house
1020 St. Ann Street
New Orleans, LA 70116
Dimuro, G. The Real Story of Marie Laveau. Octorber 29, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018. From https://allthatsinteresting.com/marie-laveau
(n.d). The Ghosts of Marie Laveau’s Sacred Houses. Retrieved December 30, 2018. From https://ghostcitytours.com/new-orleans/haunted-places/marie-laveau-house/
Written by Kole Jones
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