Vampires and Casket Girls of New Orleans

When New Orleans was first founded in the early 1700’s it faced a challenge. No one wanted to live here.

To attract men to settle the French rounded up the women from prisons and brothers in France and sent them to New Orleans. But to no one’s surprise these women were not marriage material. They quickly found new brothels and committed more crimes with no cops in sight.

The French thought, where can we find good wholesome women? I know! The convents and orphanages!

Orphan girls were boarded on ships and sent with a package of supplies for the new world. Their package was in the shape of a small casket. And they were known as the casket girls.

When the casket girls arrived in New Orleans, they resided at the Ursuline Convent.

All was going according to plan for the nuns. Good wholesome women came to the city. Men were interested. And the population was growing.

But that all changed when an unplanned group of young women arrived in search of shelter.

Immediately the sisters recognized something was off. Their caskets were full size. Similar to a human casket. The newly arrived women gave strict instructions to never open their casket under any circumstances.

But late one night a sister decided enough was enough, she was going to inspect the caskets for herself. What she found rocked the convent. The caskets were empty.

Not long after the death rate in New Orleans skyrocketed. Many were found with peculiar bite marks. And drained of their blood. As legend has it these vampires are of aristocratic decent, Vampire Royalty, that fled Europe in search of new world to rule.

Today they take up residence here in New Orleans. Feasting on unsuspecting victims without warning. Learn more about New Orleans dark history on our spooky solo smart phone navigated walking tour "The Ghosts of New Orleans" on the WalknTours app. On the tour you'll see some of the most haunted buildings, restaurants and streets in New Orleans and learn their ghostly stories.

The WalknTours app offers solo tours navigated by your smart phone. Go at your own pace, on your own schedule and on your own terms. It's like a real life tour guide, only it's on your phone, way more convenient and a better story teller. Now available in Boston, Charleston, Savannah, Salem, New Orleans and Portsmouth.

To take the tour get the WalknTours app on the App Store or Google play.