St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
Established in 1789 just beyond the old city limits, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the oldest surviving cemetery in New Orleans, a single square block crowded with whitewashed above-ground tombs that hold tens of thousands of the dead. Among them is the Laveau-Glapion family vault, believed to hold Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, who died in 1881 and to whose tomb devotees have made daily pilgrimages and left offerings ever since.
Visitors and tour guides report her apparition moving among the crypts in a red-and-white turban, and tell of those who mocked her faith being scratched, pinched, or shoved to the ground. Others describe a figure in white drifting between the vaults, disembodied voices, and sudden chills.
Since 2015 the Archdiocese has gated the grounds, admitting only licensed tours.
📍 425 Basin Street, New Orleans, LA 70112, New Orleans, LA · Get directions