House of Horror and Assorted Goodies

pandora · October 2010

We enjoyed exploring on a trip to New Orleans, awesome cemetery with much history, very very cool

The St. Louis Cemetery # 1 Haunted Cemetery in Louisiana

The most haunted cemetery in Louisiana is called “The St. Louis Cemetery # 1”. Annually, many exciting events take place in the New Orleans area. There is a great diversity in this area of Louisiana when it comes to culture, festivities, music, and more. In the shadows of the ever-popular French Quarter lies one of the most haunted places, as well as one of the oldest places in the area – this is the St. Louis Cemetery which is often referred to as “number one”. This is a beautiful cemetery with carefully sculpted tombs and markers of individuals who played a vital role in the history of the area. Here, you will learn about the fact that it is also the most haunted cemetery in Louisiana.

The St. Louis Cemetery # 1 has so many real ghost stories and legends associated with it, that Hollywood has made good use of it by making it the setting of very popular films. You may have seen the cemetery in the movie “Easy Rider”, or even in the box office hit called “Interview with the Vampire”. While these are two of the most popular movies to feature this spooky graveyard, they are not the only cinemas to feature the location. The entire “look and feel” of this particular cemetery lay way for some of the best of the best when it comes to ghosts and legends that are frightening in nature.

Not many individuals realize it, but New Orleans is an area that lies below sea level. This means, when it comes time to bury the dead, it is done by building above ground structures that house the dead bodies. These are often referred to as “tombs”. Instead of these grounds being called “cemeteries” or “graveyards”, they are often referred to as “The Cities of the Dead”. This particular “City of the Dead” hosts one of the most notorious tombs of all time – and that is of Marie Laveau. This particular woman is known as the “Grande Voodoo Queen”. Many individuals in the area believe that this particular woman’s spirit haunts the graveyard, and any and all individuals who try to disrupt her rest, or “awaken” her!

pandora · October 2010

Halloween Fun Facts

The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts wondered the streets on all Hallows Eve so they began wearing masks and costumes in order to not be recognized as human.

The jack-o-lantern tradition comes from an old Irish folk tale about a man named Stingy Jack. It was said that he was unable to get into heaven and was turned away from the devil because of his tricky ways. So he set off to wander the world looking for a resting place. For light, Stingy Jack used a burning coal ember in a hollowed out turnip. When the Irish immigrated to the U.S. during the Great Potato Famine of 1845-1850, they found that turnips were not as readily available like they were in the homeland. So they started carving pumpkins as a replacement for their tradition.

Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America
- The number one candy of choice for Halloween is Snickers

Halloween is the second most commercially successful holiday, beat out only by Christmas
Halloween is the third biggest party day of the year behind New Year’s and Super Bowl Sunday, respectively

86% of Americans decorate their homes at Halloween
Approximately 82% of children and 67% of adults take part in Halloween festivities every year

In the movie “Halloween” the mask worn by Michael Meyers is actually the mask of William Shatner painted white :shock:
- Magician, Harry Houdini died on Halloween, 1926 in Detroit, MI.