The Old Carrollton Jail hauntings

“Perhaps the most startling of all the inexplicable tales told about the ghosts of this old city is that series of recitals by members of the police force concerning the manifestations which occurred in 1898 or so in the Ninth Precinct Jail.””

— Jeanne DeLavigne, "Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans"

“Real Ghost Story. The Old Carrollton Jail Said to be Haunted….”

On Saturday, October 21, 1899 the New Orleans Times-Democrat ran an article under the headline: “Real Ghost Story. The Old Carrollton Jail Said to be Haunted.” Through the use of the exact words of the police officers, the article chronicles the eerie occurrences at the local jail.

Built when the town of Carrollton took over as the new seat of Jefferson Parish in 1852. It was a bland brick and stucco building, two-stories tall with large doorways and heavily barred windows. Quite simply, it was bleak and hideous. Within a year of its completion it was already begining to resemble an “old ruin” with “evident signs of decay.”

While many of the police officers who served at the Carrollton Jail stated that they didn’t believe in ghosts, most agreed that the strange things happening there seemed to defy rational explanation. And over time everyone stationed there experienced something unusual in some way shape or form; from footsteps and noises, furniture moving on its own, lights turning on and off, and objects moving without cause.

It is unsurprising that the haunting of the Carrollton Jail has become a part of the deep folklore of New Orleans — a ghost story that can pinpoint its origin to a exceedingly specific event, an October 21, 1899 article in the New Orleans newspaper, The Times-Democrat.

Additional Links From This Episode:

• The Homespun Haints Podcast - The Alleged Voodoo Curse of Julia Brown

• Purchase the Feminine Macabre, Vol. 3.

Sources:

deLavigne, Jeanne. Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans. New York: Rinehart & Company, 1946.

Democker, Michael. “Haunted NOLA: The Old Carrollton Jail & The Ghostly Prisoners That Can’t Escape.” Very Local. April 21, 2020. https://www.verylocal.com/haunted-nola-the-old-carrollton-jail-the-ghostly-prisoners-that-cant-escape/9056/. 

“The Haunted Old Carrollton Jail.” Ghost City Tours. Accessed June 6, 2022. https://ghostcitytours.com/new-orleans/haunted-places/old-carrollton-jail/. 

Horning, Katrina. “Favorite Building Friday - Carrollton Courthouse.” New Orleans Architecture Tours (blog). November 17, 2017. https://nolatours.com/carrollton-courthouse/. 

The New Orleans Crescent. “The Killing in Carrollton.” October 24, 1868. Newspapers.com. 

New Orleans Republican. “Paragraphs.” October 30, 1868. Newspapers.com

Powell, Lewis, IV. “‘A theatre of mental travail’ - New Orleans.” Southern Spirit Guide (blog). Accessed June 6, 2022. https://www.southernspiritguide.org/a-theatre-of-mental-travail-new-orleans/. 

Saxon, Lyle, et al. Gumbo Ya-Ya: Folk Tales of Louisiana. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana Library Commission, 1945.

Stuart, Bonnye E. Haunted New Orleans: Southern Spirits, Garden District Ghosts, and Vampire Venues. Guilford, CT: Morris Book Publishing, 2012.

Taylor, Troy. Haunted New Orleans: History & Hauntings of the Crescent City. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2010.

The Times-Democrat (New Orleans, La.) “By The By!.” October 23, 1899. Newspapers.com. 

The Times-Democrat (New Orleans, La.) “Lynch Law in Carrollton.” October 24, 1868. Newspapers.com

The Times-Democrat (New Orleans, La.) “Real Ghost Story.” October 21, 1899. Newspapers.com.

Ghosts of the Williamsburg Public Gaol

Some Prefered the Gallows…

In 1638, English colonists established their first significant inland settlement on the high ground of the Virginia Peninsula, between the James and York Rivers.  In 1699 Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg and given the honor of serving as the new capital of the Virginia Colony.  As a result Williamsburg has had a truly unique place in American history. It has been witness to practically every aspect, from the Colonial era through the American Revolution and Civil War, to its present state as a modern city with a population of over 14,000.  

One of Williamsburg’s most infamous historic structures is the Public Gaol-- a place where the accused once awaited trial. Each prison cell was designed to hold six inmates shackled to the wall, and although allowances were made for the accused to spend time in the exercise yard, the overcrowding and lack of sanitation made illness a real and likely possibility.

Conditions that are said to have been so bad the some would prefer the gallows over incarceration there.

Today eerie shadows have been seen moving about the cells on the first floor without explanation, and the balls and chains on display at what is now a museum have been known to move and swing by themselves.  Some have even reported hearing the disembodied sounds of prisoners banging on the wall from inside, despite the building being empty.