Ghost Story Series: Entry 3

Myrtles Plantation

Claimed to be the most haunted house in the world, Myrtles Plantation is located in St. Francesville, Louisiana. The amount of paranormal activity here is quite impressive. Hand prints in the mirrors, footsteps on the stairs, mysterious smells, vanishing objects, death by poison, hangings, murder and gunfire — these are just a few of the things that have occurred supernaturally

The house was built in 1794 by David Bradford, who was leader of the Whiskey Rebellion and said to havea price on his head by President George Washington. After trading his home for 230 barrels of flour, he moved his family down the to plantation house where he lived until 1817

While Bradford was alive, he took students in to learn law, one of which married his daughter Sarah Matilda. His name was Clark Woodruff. It was Woodruff that bought the plantation from his mother-in-law. Woodruff and his wife lived there with their three children.

However tragedy befell the family when Sarah Matilda contracted yellow fever and died shortly after, along with two of their children.

In April 1835, Woodruff sold the house toRuffin Grey Stirling. The Stirling’s were a very wealthy family who owned several plantations on both sides of the Mississippi River. On January 1, Ruffin Grey Stirling and his wife, Mary Catherine Cobb, took over the house, land, buildings and all of the slaves that had been bought from Elizabeth Bradford by her son-in-law.

The house traded hands several times over the years and the stories followed with it.

Woodruff was known for his promiscuity and forced himself on a house servant known only as Chloe. Rather than be sent out to the fields to work, she allowed him his sexual demands.  When Woodruff grew tired of Chloe, she resorted to eavesdropping on the family, listening for her name to come out. It was Woodruff that caught her and punished her by cutting off an ear.

Later she had her revenge when she toss a handful of oleander into a birthday cake for Woodruff. While Woodruff didn’t eat any, his wife and two children did. It is said they supposedly died from oleander poisoning.

Fear of their master, the other slaves, dragged Chloe from the house and hanged her in a tree. They then attached rocks to her feet and tossed her into the river.

It’s believed that Chloe still haunts the grounds. She’s been sighted between two buildings on the land. She’s often been sighted when a child cries, and she responds to the cry or leaning down over a sleeping guest.

While these have been accepted as facts, what really happen no one will know as there was no actual evidence that anything like this had taken place.

A mirror in the house is said to have some of the victims trapped within. Causing handprints on the inside of the glass. Oddly enough, the glass was replaced and still the hand prints came back.

More haunting tales of Myrtles are dealing with probably the only movie that was filmed there that wasn’t of a paranormal nature. The cast and crew of The Long Hot Summer experienced shifting furniture. The crew would move the furniture only to return and find it back in the original places.

There have been many claims for Myrtles Plantation, but with a history that’s muddle, broken and missing in places, it’s hard to pinpoint any one true account. Employees have first hand experience with the supernatural beings of Myrtles Plantation. One man was hired as a gate man to meet and greet people as they came to the Plantation. He opened the gates for a woman dressed in white who didn’t speak a word to him. He quit his job and never returned when she vanished through the front door without opening it.

There is even a piano that is said to start playing music by itself and stop when someone enters the room.

The legends and stories of Myrtles will be around for years to come. It’s amazing how much stuff there is lurking in this house. How many people claim to have had paranormal experiences. Things like this will keep people going back year after year.