Haunted New Orleans by Troy Taylor

Author:Troy Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Haunted New Orleans: History & Hauntings of the Crescent City
ISBN: 9781614232599
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2011-12-15T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 5

THE OCTOROON MISTRESS

THE HAUNTING OF A LOST LOVER IN THE FRENCH QUARTER

Located at 734 Royal Street in the French Quarter is a building that serves as home to one of the city’s most enduring ghostly legends: the “Octoroon Mistress,” a beautiful spirit that only appears here on the darkest nights of December. It is a time of year when even the warmth of New Orleans is tempered by cold winds, icy rains and sometimes even freezing temperatures.

They say that she walks on the rooftop of this building, completely naked and unprotected from the cold. As the wind slices around the eaves, the lovely phantom huddles in misery with her arms wrapped about her as if they can somehow shield her from the elements. The stories say that she huddles beneath the eaves throughout the night, only to vanish as dawn begins to color the sky. Those who have seen her, and have come to search for her in the night, will find no trace of her in the darkness, and yet the apparition will return to the rooftop the following night. She is doomed to repeat these actions over and over again—but only on the coldest nights of the year.

Who was the mournful figure in life? And why does she haunt this cold winter rooftop?

According to legend, her name was Julie, and she was the octoroon mistress of a wealthy Creole man who kept her in an apartment on Royal Street. In the early 1800s, it was common for many rich young white men to keep attractive black, or mixed-race, women as mistresses in the city. These wealthy sons of plantation owners sometimes supported these mistresses in addition to their “legitimate” white families. Even though these young women carried only a trace of African blood, marriages and open relationships with them were forbidden.

These women were not prostitutes but rather proper, educated young women, widely known for their beauty and grace. The Creole gentlemen who “kept” these young ladies would support them in fitting style, usually giving them the deed to a small cottage or paying the rent on an apartment in the Vieux Carre. Many of these arrangements would last for years or perhaps for a lifetime. In addition, many of the ladies became well known for their business establishments, while others simply enjoyed the fine things such arrangements allowed them. They were unhampered with jobs or families and were content to enjoy what being a white man’s mistress would allow them in the segregated world of that time.

This was certainly the case with Julie. Her life was simple and filled with plenty of food, fine clothing, expensive jewelry and more. She was content in such things, until she made the mistake of falling in love with the man who gave her such a lavish lifestyle. Such an emotion would not seem so terrible in a different time and place, but because of the situation, a more permanent arrangement than what she already enjoyed could never take place.

When Julie would explain to her protector that she loved him, he would always reply that he loved her as well.

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