New Orleans Ghosts [Paperback]

Victor C. Klein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1993 | ISBN-10: 1880365669 | ISBN-13: 978-1880365663

A collection of twenty-two fully documented ghost stories of New Orleans. The table of contents lists all of the addresses so that the reader may view and explore all of the sites personally. The work also contains a bibliography of thirty-three sources, one hundred thirty-one footnotes and an index of one hundred sixteen entries. It is fully illustrated with photographs, a map, and Marie Laveau's death certificate.

It is the first book written exclusively about the ghosts of New Orleans since Jeanne de Lavigne's 1946 classic Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans. The author visited personally each of the sites, conducted interviews and took photographs. During the course of his research the author experienced two paranormal occurrences which are documented in the narratives.

New Orleans Ghosts also contains an epilogue that articulates the six theories that apply to ghostly phenomenon. Each of the theories is further highlighted by being exemplified by reference to individual stories within the text.

This book alone has been responsible for the creation of a growing arm of New Orleans tourism-- the "Ghost Tour." Before 1993 such tours did not exist. In 1998 the author is aware of ten such tours. Virtually all of these tour guides have informed the author that his book is the "Bible" for haunted tour guides.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction: New Orleans is probably the most haunted city in the United States. Despite this claim, there has not been a book exclusively devoted to the ghosts and hauntings of the Crescent City since Jean deLavigne's classic work, Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans (1946). New Orleans Ghosts is an attempt to fill that void.

There have been many changes in New Orleans in almost five decades. Many of the old haunted houses have been torn down in the name of progress. Forests and woods that once held phantoms and spirits have been replaced by suburbs and skyscrapers. Swamps that guarded secrets better not known have been drained and paved. The ghosts that inhabited these places have vanished. Still, there are numerous haunted houses and spirit-infested areas to be documented. New Orleans Ghosts is about such environs. All of the buildings and other places described in this work are easily accessible and still standing as of this writing (1991). Also, the stories have been fully documented and the author has investigated all of the sites in order to add authority to the effort. Maps, diagrams, addresses and photographs have been included to facilitate finding the ghosts whose stores are contained in this book. This is a serious work which includes a critical analysis of each story. In one stance, the author disproved an old story which, for years, had been accepted as true. On other occasions, the author has raised more questions than he has answered.

Besides serving as a guide to ghosts this book is also an anthropological work in which are collected documented myths and legends which form an important, if often neglected, component of the Crescent City's unique folklore and traditions. By understanding the myths and concepts upon which a culture is based, we come face to face with the themes that have supported human activity and structured civilization. Our myths have informed our religions, given meaning to individual lives, and created directions for our sundry faiths. This phenomenon myth puts our conscious mind in touch with the spirit of humanity a spirt within each of us. By reflecting on this folklore we learn something about our fears, our faith, our common basis for being human. It is from this that we learn about ourselves, and can better understand and accept ourselves and others as individuals, and as members of the human community.

Finally, we may say that New Orleans has never been an average American big city. Historically, it is a Latin culture flavored with the mystery and misery of the African Negro carried into bondage. Voodoo, gris-gris, All Saint's Day, the Yellow Death, slavery and the Roman Catholic Church have roots in the fertile, rich bayou soil of New Orleans which go deeper and hold faster than in poorer soil. New Orleans, which has been home and then grave, to so many nationalities, races, and beliefs, has offered American culture and folklore an almost enchanted mystique. Is it no wonder that perhaps the dead may walk here a bit more stealthily than in some more mundane metropolis?

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Professional Pr (June 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880365669
• ISBN-13: 978-1880365663
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,725,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Autographed, Addressed, and Honest Details of Hauntings, May 3, 1999

By 

P. Cody "Anera" (Corpus Christi, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: New Orleans Ghosts (Paperback)

Victor Klein's book about some of the Crescent City's spectres offers me several plusses as a reader with a serious interest in an area's reputed haunts.

Right up front in the table of contents, he lists addresses of sites said to be haunted. I don't have to scribble in my own list of clues to locations as with many books. When the owner of the property doesn't want the place identified, he marks the site "anonymous." Perhaps more haunted site owners would be willing to work with paranormal investigators if all of us showed equal respect for property and living people.

Following the table of contents, Klein gives readers a map so we can see relative locations of sites he describes. For out of town visitors, this is a great help in pre-trip planning. Besides, I plot haunted locations in areas on maps, as part of possible relationships and questions I have about anomalous sites.

Each investigative account gives a history of the haunting, plus the author's personal experiences and impressions. Background research leads him to label some stories as local myth, allowing us to enjoy this aspect of an area's culture. This lends veracity to his statements that other events seem inexplicable by present means of understanding them.

The book's minor flaws are those of the publisher, not the author. A few photographs would show the named detail better if cropped closer to it and perhaps printed on a higher grade of paper. (Yes, that increases the book's cost.) More careful copy editing would eliminate annoying and sometimes confusing mistakes in copy. To the publisher's credit, the book is sized to tuck into a tote while touring the city and organized for ease of use.

I find this book valuable as a planning aid for an upcoming trip to New Orleans. I think you will, too.

Any book autographed by its author is a more welcome addition to my shelves. Any author who appreciates dogs and books, as does Klein with his German Shepherd and 8,000-book library, is one I'm predisposed to appreciate.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book..., June 14, 2003

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: New Orleans Ghosts (Paperback)

but I wanted more. The chapters in the book were great and in one case the author was able to disprove one of the old stories. I wish the photos of ghosts were a little clearer, but I have to say the author did a good job, in most cases visiting the places where the ghosts haunted and even interviewing many of the people who were involved. In the epilogue Victor C. Klein debates about where ghosts come from. Are they our fears? Or somekind of electromagnetic energy? Are they really the dead, trapped in our world, or something from beyond our world? Footnotes, a nice bibliography and a small index completes the slim book.
I would say that this is a great book if you live in New Orleans or plan to visit. Perfect for carrying around during a tour or tossing into a small bag.
Only about 126 pages long, but being published in 1993 means most of the information is relatively updated when compared to other books on ghosts. The author points out that the city has changed. Old haunted houses have been torn down and new buildings are now where forests and swamps use to be.
ENJOY!

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Warning!, December 1, 1999

By 

Pat McCormally (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Orleans Ghosts (Paperback)

This book, though interesting, is perhaps the most poorly written book that I have ever read. It's hard not to notice after about the 5th time that he uses the term "or whatever."

Also, there's not much emphasis on the "spooky," as it is highly factual, almost like an animated police report.

Still, it is rather interesting, especially if you're in love with fabulous New Orleans.