Marie Delphine Macarty or MacCarthy (March 19, 1787 – December 7, 1849), more commonly known as Madame Blanque or, after her third marriage, as Madame LaLaurie, was a

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

and

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

who

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

d and murdered

enslaved people Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

in her household. Born during the Spanish colonial period, LaLaurie married three times in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and was twice widowed. She maintained her position in New Orleans society until April 10, 1834, when rescuers responded to a fire at her

Royal Street Royal Street (; ) is a street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. It is one of the original streets of the city, dating from the early 18th century, and is known today for its antique shops, art galleries, and hotels. History ...

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

. They discovered bound slaves in her attic who showed evidence of cruel, violent abuse over a long period. LaLaurie's house was subsequently sacked by an outraged mob of New Orleans citizens. She escaped to France with her family."A torture chamber is uncovered by arson - Apr 10, 1834"
HISTORY.com; Retrieved on January 23, 2017. The mansion traditionally held to be LaLaurie's is a landmark in the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the (; ; ), is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans () was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Square" in English), a ...

, in part because of its history and for its architectural significance. However, her house was burned by the mob, and the "LaLaurie Mansion" at 1140 Royal Street was in fact rebuilt after her departure from New Orleans.

Early life and family history

Marie Delphine Macarty was born in

Spanish Louisiana Louisiana (, ), was a province of New Spain from 1762 to 1801. It was primarily located in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of the Mississippi River plus New Orleans. The area had originally been claimed and controlle ...

, on March 19, 1787, as one of five children. Her father was Louis Barthélemy de McCarty (originally ''Chevalier de MacCarthy''), whose father Barthelemy (de) MacCarthy moved the family to New Orleans from Ireland around 1730, during the French colonial period. King (1921), pp. 368–373. (The Irish surname

MacCarthy McCarthy (also spelled MacCarthy or McCarty) may refer to: * MacCarthy dynasty, a Gaelic Irish clan * McCarthy, Alaska, United States * McCarty, Missouri, United States * McCarthy Road, a road in Alaska * McCarthy (band), an indie pop band * Châte ...

was shortened to ''Macarty'' or ''de Macarty''.) Her mother was Marie Jeanne L'Érable, also known as "the widow Le Comte", as her marriage to Louis B. Macarty was her second. Both of Delphine's parents were prominent in the city's European Creole community. Arthur (1936), p. 148. Her uncle by marriage,

Esteban Rodríguez Miró Esteban Rodríguez Miró y Sabater (1744 – June 4, 1795), also known as Esteban Miro and Estevan Miro, was a Spanish army officer and governor of the Spanish provinces of Louisiana and Florida. He was one of the most popular of the Spanish ...

, was governor of the Spanish American provinces of Louisiana and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

during 1785–1791, and her cousin,

Augustin de Macarty Augustin Francois de Macarty or McCarthy (January 10, 1774October 16, 1844) was an American planter who served as the sixth mayor of New Orleans from September 4, 1815, to May 13, 1820. He was a member of an influential Creole family ...

, was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of New Orleans from 1815 to 1820. King (1921), p. 373. Delphine was only four years of age when the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

erupted in 1791, something that made slaveholders in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

very afraid of resistance and rebellion among slaves; Long (2012), pp. 15–17. Delphine's uncle had been killed in 1771 by his slaves, and the revolution had inspired the local

Mina Conspiracy Mina or MINA may refer to: Places Iran * Minaq, East Azerbaijan * Mina, Fars * Mineh, Lorestan Province * Mina, Razavi Khorasan * Mehneh, Razavi Khorasan Province United States * Mina, Nevada * Mina, New York * Mina, Ohio * Mina, Sout ...

in 1791, the Pointe Coupée Conspiracy in 1794, and the

1811 German Coast uprising The 1811 German Coast uprising was a slave rebellion which occurred in the Territory of Orleans from January 8–10, 1811. It occurred on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the modern-day Louisiana parishes of St. John the Baptist Paris ...

, all of which caused many slaveholders to abuse slaves even more harshly out of fear of

insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

. Long (2012), pp. 38, 45–46.

First marriage

On June 11, 1800, at age 13, Delphine married Don Ramón de Lopez y Angulo, a ''Caballero de la Real de Carlos'', a high-ranking Spanish royal officer, King (1921), p. 359. at the Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. ''Luisiana'', as it was spelled in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, had become a Spanish colony in the 1760s after France was defeated in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. In 1804, after the American acquisition of what was then again a French territory, Don Ramón had been appointed to the position of

consul general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

for Spain in the

Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was Admission to ...

and was called to appear at the royal court in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. While en route with Delphine, who was then pregnant, Don Ramón suddenly died in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Second marriage

In June 1808, aged around 21, Delphine married Jean Blanque, a prominent banker, merchant, lawyer and legislator. At the time of the marriage, Blanque purchased a house at 409

for the family, which became known later as the ''Villa Blanque''. Delphine had four children by Blanque, named Marie Louise Pauline, Louise Marie Laure, Marie Louise Jeanne and Jean Pierre Paulin Blanque. The elder Jean Blanque died in 1816. Arthur (1936), p. 149.

Third marriage

On June 25, 1825, Delphine married her third husband,

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

Leonard Louis Nicolas LaLaurie, who was fifteen years her junior. Martineau (1838), p. 137. In 1831, she bought property at 1140 Royal Street, Cable (1888), p. 200. which she managed in her own name with little involvement of her husband. In 1832, she had a two-story mansion built there, complete with attached

slave quarters Slave quarters were buildings or districts where enslaved people were housed. Slave quarters may refer to: * Barracoon, temporary holding quarters for the transatlantic slave trade * , housing for enslaved people in colonial Brazil Colonial Bra ...

. She lived at the residence with her third husband and two of her daughters, and maintained a central position in New Orleans society. The marriage soon showed signs of strain, however; on November 16, 1832, Delphine petitioned the First Judicial District Court for a separation from bed and board of her husband, in which Delphine claimed that LaLaurie had "treated her in such a manner as to render their living together unsupportable", claims which her son and two of her daughters by Jean Blanque confirmed. The separation does not seem to have been permanent, as Dr. LaLaurie was present at the Royal Street house April 10, 1834, the day of the fire. Long (2012), pp. 70–71.

Torture and murder of enslaved people and 1834 LaLaurie mansion fire

1140 Royal Street entranceway - Cable 1888

Accounts of Delphine's treatment of the people she enslaved between 1831 and 1834 vary.

Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau (12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist.Hill, Michael R. (2002''Harriet Martineau: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives'' Routledge. She wrote from a sociological, holism, holistic, religious and ...

(writing in 1838), recounting tales told to her by New Orleans residents during her 1836 visit, claimed that the enslaved people of LaLaurie were observed to be "singularly haggard and wretched" when compared to other enslaved individuals; however, at least in public appearances, LaLaurie was seen to be generally "polite" to black people, and solicitous of the health of those enslaved. Funeral registers between 1830 and 1834 document the deaths of 12 enslaved people at the Royal Street mansion, although the causes of said deaths are not mentioned. These deaths included a woman named Bonne (February 7, 1833), a cook and laundress, and her four children, Juliette (c. 1820February 21, 1833, died age 13), Florence (c. 1821February 16, 1831, d. age 10), Jules (c. 1827May 29, 1833, d. age six) and the youngest, Leontine (c. 1829August 26, 1831, d. age four), respectively. Bonne had previously been enslaved by a refugee from

Saint Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the island, Santo Domingo, which came to re ...

, and was described during her sale as "a chronic runaway"; with an influx of white and free Saint Dominguen refugees of color and those whom they had enslaved, the fear of the enslaved from Saint Domingue still lingered in Louisiana. Long (2012), pp. 82–83. Court records of the time show that LaLaurie freed two captive, enslaved people (Jean Louis in 1819 and Devince in 1832). Martineau wrote that public rumors about her mistreatment of slaves at the Royal Street residence were sufficiently widespread, so much so that a local lawyer was dispatched to the property to remind LaLaurie of the laws for the upkeep of enslaved people. During this visit, the lawyer found no evidence to suggest wrongdoing or mistreatment of enslaved peoples by LaLaurie. Martineau (1838), p. 138. Martineau also recounted other tales of LaLaurie's cruelty that were whispered amongst New Orleans' residents around 1836, saying that (subsequent to the visit of the lawyer) one of LaLaurie's neighbors saw an eight-year-old enslaved girl fall to her death from the roof of the mansion while trying to avoid punishment from a

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

-wielding LaLaurie. The girl's body was subsequently buried on the mansion grounds. Long (2012), pp. 81–82. Jeanne DeLavigne, in her 1945 account, gave the child's age as 12 years old and named her as Lia (or Leah). Later writers elaborated on the case, saying that Lia had been brushing Delphine's hair when she hit a snag, angering LaLaurie to the point that she grabbed a whip and started chasing her. According to Martineau, this incident led to an investigation of the LaLauries, in which they were found guilty of illegal cruelty and forced to forfeit nine enslaved people of the household. These nine enslaved people were bought back by the LaLauries through an intermediary relative, and thus returned to the mansion. Martineau (1838), pp. 138–139. Similarly, Martineau recounted stories that LaLaurie kept her cook starved and chained to the kitchen stove, beating her daughters when they attempted to feed themselves or others. Martineau (1838), pp. 139. On April 10, 1834, a fire broke-out in the Royal Street mansion, beginning in the kitchen. When police and fire marshals reached the residence, they found a 70-year-old cook chained to the stove by her ankle. The cook later said that she had set the fire as a

suicide attempt A suicide attempt is an act in which an individual tries to kill themselves but survives. Mental health professionals discourage describing suicide attempts as "failed" or "unsuccessful", as doing so may imply that a suicide resulting in death is ...

because she feared being punished, stating that slaves taken to the uppermost room "never came back". As reported in the '' New Orleans Bee'' of April 11, 1834, bystanders responding to the fire attempted to enter the quarters of those enslaved to ensure that everyone had been evacuated. Upon being refused the keys by the LaLauries, the bystanders broke down the doors to the quarters and found "seven people, more or less horribly mutilated ... suspended by the neck, with their limbs apparently stretched and torn from one extremity to the other", who claimed to have been imprisoned there for some months. ''New Orleans Bee'' (April 11, 1834). One of those who entered the premises was Judge Jean François Canonge, who subsequently

deposed Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Medie ...

to having found in the LaLaurie mansion (among others) a "negress ... wearing an iron collar" and "an old negro woman who had received a very deep wound on her head ho wastoo weak to be able to walk". Canonge said that, when he questioned LaLaurie's husband about those enslaved on the property, he was told in an insolent manner that "some people had better stay at home rather than come to others' houses to dictate laws and meddle with other people's business".As quoted by Castellanos (1895), pp. 58–59. A version of this story, circulating in 1836 and recounted by Martineau, added that the enslaved people were

emaciated Emaciation is defined as the state of extreme thinness from absence of body fat and muscle wasting usually resulting from malnutrition. It is often seen as the opposite of obesity. Characteristics Emaciation manifests physically as thin limbs, pr ...

, showed signs of being

flayed Flaying is a method of slow and painful torture and/or execution in which skin is removed from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact. Scope A dead animal may be flayed when preparing it to be used a ...

with a whip, were bound in restrictive postures, and wore spiked iron collars which kept their heads in static positions. When the discovery of the abused and enslaved people became widely known, a mob of local citizens attacked the Royal Street mansion and "demolished and destroyed everything upon which they could lay their hands". A sheriff and his officers were called to disperse the crowd, but, by the time the mob left, the property had sustained major damage, with "scarcely any thing emainingbut the walls." The ''New Orleans Bee'' (April 12, 1834). Marie's slaves were taken to a local jail, where they were available for public viewing. The ''Bee'' reported that, by April 12, up to 4,000 people had attended to view the slaves "to convince themselves of their sufferings". The ''Pittsfield Sun'', citing the ''New Orleans Advertiser'', and writing several weeks after the evacuation of LaLaurie's quarters of her victims, claimed that two of the enslaved people found in the mansion had died following their rescue. It added, "We understand ... that in digging the yard, bodies have been disinterred, and the condemned well n the grounds of the mansionhaving been uncovered, others, particularly that of a child, were found." ''Pittsfield Sun'' (May 8, 1834). These claims were repeated by Martineau in her 1838 book ''Retrospect of Western Travel'', where she placed the number of unearthed bodies at two, including the aforementioned child, Lia.

Escape from justice and self-imposed exile in France

LaLaurie's life after the 1834 fire is not well documented. Martineau wrote in 1838 that she fled New Orleans during the mob violence that followed the fire, taking a coach to the waterfront and traveling, by

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

, to Mobile,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, and then to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Martineau (1838), pp. 141–142. By the time Martineau personally visited the Royal Street mansion in 1836, it was still unoccupied and badly damaged, with "gaping windows and empty walls". Martineau (1838), p. 142.

Later life and death

While Delphine was living in exile in Paris with her mother and two sisters, Pauline and Laure, her son Paulin Blanque wrote on August 15, 1842, to his brother-in-law, Auguste DeLassus, stating that Delphine was serious about returning to New Orleans and had thought about doing so for a long time. He wrote in the same letter that he believed that his mother never had any idea about the reason for her departure from the city. Despite Delphine's "bad mood" and her determination to return, the disapproval of her children and other relatives had apparently been enough for her to cancel her plan. Long (2012), pp. 122–123, 175. The circumstances of LaLaurie's death are also unclear. In 1888,

George Washington Cable George Washington Cable (October 12, 1844 – January 31, 1925) was an American novelist notable for the realism of his portrayals of Creole life in his native New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been called "the most important southern artist wo ...

recounted a popular but unsubstantiated story that LaLaurie had died in France in a boar-hunting accident. Cable (1888), p. 217. In the late 1930s, Eugene Backes, who served as sexton to St. Louis Cemetery #1 until 1924, discovered an old, cracked copper plate in Alley 4 of the cemetery. The inscription on the plate read, "Madame Lalaurie, née Marie Delphine Maccarthy, décédée à Paris, le 7 Décembre, 1842, à l'âge de ." ''Times-Picayune'' (January 28, 1941). The English translation of the inscription reads: "Madame Lalaurie, born Marie Delphine Mccarthy, died in Paris, December 7, 1842, at the age of ." According to the French archives of Paris, however, LaLaurie died on December 7, 1849 and not 1842, at the age of 62.

LaLaurie mansion

The original Royal Street mansion occupied by LaLaurie did not survive. The mansion, located on the corner of Governor Nicholls Street (formerly known as Hospital Street), commonly referred to as the LaLaurie or Haunted House, is not the same building inhabited by LaLaurie. When she acquired the property in 1831 from Edmond Soniat du Fossat, a house was already under construction and finished for LaLaurie. ''Big Time Listings'' (April 24, 2007). This house was burned by the mob in 1834 and remained in a ruined state for at least another four years. It was then rebuilt by Pierre Trastour after 1838 and assumed the appearance that it has today. Over the following decades, it was used as a public high school, a conservatory of music, an apartment building, a refuge for young delinquents, a bar, a furniture store and a luxury apartment building. The dwelling had a third floor and rear building added later in the 19th century, and the rear building on Governor Nicholls Street, which had only one floor until a second one was added in the 20th century, was remodeled in the 1970s when the second-floor interior of the building was done over by Koch and Wilson, architects. At three stories high, it was described in 1928 as "the highest building for squares around", with the result that "from the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

on the roof one may look out over the

Vieux Carré The French Quarter, also known as the (; ; ), is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans () was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Square" in English), a ...

and see the

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

in its crescent before Jackson Square". Saxon (1928), p. 203. The entrance to the building bears iron grillwork, and the door is carved with an image of "

Phoebus Apollo is one of the Olympian deities in ancient Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poetry, ...

in his chariot, and with wreaths of flowers and depicting garlands in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

". Inside, the vestibule is floored in black and white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, and a curved

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

-railed staircase runs the full three stories of the building. The second floor holds three large

drawing room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th ce ...

s connected by ornamented sliding doors, whose walls are decorated with plaster rosettes, carved woodwork, black marble mantle pieces and fluted

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s. In April 2007, actor

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...

bought the house for a sum of $3.45 million. The mortgage documents were arranged in such a way that Cage's name did not appear on them. ''CNN Money'' (November 16, 2009). On November 13, 2009, the property, then valued at $3.5 million, was listed for auction as a result of

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has Default (finance), stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the Collateral (finance), coll ...

and purchased by

Regions Financial Corporation Regions Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company headquartered in the Regions Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The company provides retail and commercial banking, trust, stock brokerage, and mortgage services. Its banking subsi ...

for $2.3 million. The property last changed hands in 2010 when it was purchased by current owner Michael Whalen for $2.1 million (~$ in ).

LaLaurie in folklore

Folk histories of LaLaurie's abuse and murder of those enslaved on the property circulated in Louisiana during the 19th century, and were reprinted in collections of stories by Henry Castellanos Castellanos (1895), pp. 52–62. and George Washington Cable. Cable (1888), pp. 200–219. Cable's account (not to be confused with his unrelated 1881 novel ''Madame Delphine'') was based on contemporary reports in newspapers such as the ''Bee'' and the ''Advertiser'', and upon Martineau's 1838 account, ''Retrospect of Western Travel''. He added some of his own synthesis, dialogue and speculation. After 1945, accounts of those enslaved by the LaLauries became more explicit. Jeanne deLavigne, writing in ''Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans'' (1946), alleged that LaLaurie had a " sadistic appetite

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

seemed never appeased until she had inflicted on one or more of her black servitors some hideous form of torture" and claimed that those who responded to the 1834 fire had found "male slaves, stark naked, chained to the wall, their eyes gouged out, their fingernails pulled off by the roots; others had their joints skinned and festering, great holes in their buttocks where the flesh had been sliced away, their ears hanging by shreds, their lips sewn together ...

Intestines The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The tract is the largest of the body's systems, after the cardiovascular system. ...

were pulled out and knotted around naked waists. There were holes in skulls, where a rough stick had been inserted to stir the brains." DeLavigne (1946), pp. 256–257. DeLavigne did not cite any sources for these claims, and they were not supported by the primary sources. The story was further embellished in ''Journey Into Darkness: Ghosts and Vampires of New Orleans'' (1998) by Kalila Katherina Smith, the operator of a New Orleans ghost tour business. Smith's book added several more explicit details to the discoveries allegedly made by rescuers during the 1834 fire, including a "victim hoobviously had her arms amputated and her skin peeled off in a circular pattern, making her look like a human caterpillar," and another who had had her limbs broken and reset "at odd angles so she resembled a human crab". Smith (1998), p. 19. Many of the new details in Smith's book were unsourced, while others were not supported by the sources given. Today, modern re-tellings of the LaLaurie legend often use DeLavigne and Smith's versions of the tale as the basis for claims of explicit tortures, and number enslaved people living on the property who died under LaLaurie's care at as many as 100. Taylor (2000).

In popular culture

Kathy Bates Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actress. Kathy Bates filmography, Her work spans over five decades, and List of awards and nominations received by Kathy Bates, her accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, t ...

portrayed a heavily fictionalized version of the character in the third season of the anthology television series ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

'' to widespread critical acclaim and earned a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outs ...

for her performance. In the series, some of her actions are conflated with those of

Elizabeth Bathory Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

such as when she applies blood to her skin to appear younger. In her 1999 nove
''Fever Season''
mystery writer

Barbara Hambly Barbara Hambly (born August 28, 1951) is an American novelist and screenwriter within the genres of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction. She is the author of the bestselling Benjamin January mystery series featuring a ...

incorporated the events of the 1834 fire and discovery of the brutal treatment of the slaves into her narrative. In the 2015–2017 serialized science fiction novel ''Unsong'' by writer Scott Alexander, LaLaurie is mentioned as being in the nicest part of hell, reserved for the worst sinners, along with

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and

Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria ka, ლავრენტი პავლეს ძე ბერია} ''Lavrenti Pavles dze Beria'' ( – 23 December 1953) was a Soviet politician and one of the longest-serving and most influential of Joseph ...

Notes

References

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Academic papers

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Newspapers and magazines

* – The relevant text appears at the top-left of the linked scan. A transcript of this article can be found her
In evil's footsteps
for ease of reading. * – The relevant text appears at the top-left of the linked scan. A transcript of this article can be found her

for ease of reading. * * * *

Web content

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"The St. Francisville Experiment"
October 3, 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lalaurie, Delphine 19th century in New Orleans 1787 births 1849 deaths American expatriates in France American female serial killers American people of Irish descent American socialites American torturers Women slave owners American slave owners Culture of New Orleans Deal with the Devil History of Louisiana Louisiana Creole people People from Louisiana (New Spain) Criminals from New Orleans 19th-century people from Louisiana Racially motivated violence against African Americans in Louisiana Serial killers from Louisiana Sport deaths in France