Entering one of the apartments of the burning structure, the rescuers discovered seven enslaved men in a garret, “suspended by the neck” and showing evidence of being tortured by Delphine Lalaurie, called “the demon of form of a woman. .”
The bound men “were kept in existence only to prolong their sufferings and to subject them to all that could be done in the most refined violence,” wrote the reporter. It’s not entirely clear, but the “cut” men apparently died in the fire.
Three female slaves were saved, who also suffered more than the usual cruelty of captivity and forced labor.
Although history remembers Madame Lalaurie as the ultimate sociopath, her husband seems oblivious to suffering. As fellow citizens rush to search the burning house for possible trapped survivors, Monsieur Lalaurie chides them for minding their own business.
The Lalauries appear to have successfully fled as an angry mob destroyed all that was left of their home and possessions until the police broke up the “riot.”
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The interior of the historic Lalaurie House photographed in the French Quarter on Thursday, October 17, 2013 by New Orleans Designer Katie Scott designed the interior of the mansion. (Photo by Chris Granger, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)
The mansion was eventually rebuilt in its present, handsome, Italianate form at 1140 Royal St. Needless to say, the location has been at the center of supernatural lore for two centuries and remains a cornerstone of countless ghost tours that line the streets of the French Quarter at night.
If the Lalaurie house isn’t the most haunted place in Louisiana, it’s certainly the most famous haunted place, thanks to its Hollywood connections.
Actor Nicolas Cage owned the place at the beginning of the 21st century, but it was seized and sold at auction in 2009 for an unpaid debt. In 2014, the legend of Lalaurie inspired the third season of the “American Horror Story” television show with actor Kathy Bates playing a more evil version of the lady of the house.
After an extensive renovation that took place around the same time as the TV show, residents reported that poltergeists still seemed to be part of the picture. A door opens by itself, a microwave oven is damaged, a bed appears to be printed in a human form, and a dog barks unseen threats. Ruh Ro Raggy!