Beyond Southern Hospitality: Exploring the Ghosts and Grim History of Myrtles Plantation
Yo, What's the Deal with Louisiana's Creeptastic Myrtles Plantation?
Passing through Louisiana on a road trip? Make a quick detour to check out the Myrtles Plantation if you're jonesing for some Southern Gothic flavor. At face value, it looks like your classic antebellum mansion and farmland combo. But don't let the sweet tea and crinoline dresses fool ya - this joint comes packed with way more skeletons than your average rural tourist attraction!
I'm talking creepy ghost sightings, bizarre murders, buried secrets, and enough lurid scandals and tragedy to inspire multiple horror movies. In fact, legend claims over a dozen lethal incidents went down within these genteel walls over two centuries of drama, deceit, and more questionable deaths than your average Agatha Christie novel!
So how did this seemingly charming old mansion evolve into "one of America's most haunted homes," with paranormal researchers flocking here regularly? Well, stay tuned while I walk you through the twisted timeline that transformed Myrtles into a hotspot for unexplained occurrences, ghost hunters, and daring overnight visitors tempted to interface with whatever lies beyond...
Welcome to Myrtles Plantation Est. Circa 1796
The series of unfortunate events marring Myrtles' legacy traces back over 226 years ago when a decorated Revolutionary War General David Bradford constructed a humble country homestead on 600 acres he dubbed "Laurel Grove."
Desperate for some peace and isolation during this era, Bradford lived solo out in the boonies for several years before receiving a presidential pardon, allowing him to fetch his wife and five children without legal risk in 1799. Apparently, he stirred up some spicy political drama before assuming the role of a simple cotton farmer!
Now, when Bradford kicked the bucket in 1808, his daughter Sara Mathilda inherited the sprawling property alongside her attorney hubby, Clarke Woodruff. This power couple moved in with their three young kids, looking to build their American dream in the heart of antebellum plantation country. But fate had darker designs in store...
The Tragic Downfall of the Woodruff Dynasty
Now, we first encounter rumors of paranormal activity during the Woodruff family occupancy. Local lore whispers of terrible secrets, violence, freak accidents, and early deaths plaguing Myrtles under their ownership through the early 1800s.
Their dynasty began crumbling rapidly when three family members died abruptly from yellow fever, leaving just one heir alive by the mid-1820s. Soon, widow Sara followed her children to the grave at age 45 while husband Clarke mysteriously abandoned his remaining daughter elsewhere in the state.
Dude didn't even bother passing Myrtles' property to his last living kin! Instead, the Woodruffs abandoned the mansion to creeping decay and shadowy obscurity for odd decades until a new owner eventually purchased the dilapidated plantation in 1834 for renovations...
Myrtles' Notoriously Naughty New Owner
Flash forward to shady character Ruffin Gray Stirling waltzing in with grand ambitions, returning Myrtles to its former glory - plus a splash of dramatic flair! His extensive remodeling doubled the original house size and transformed the exterior into a quintessential columned Southern mansion.
But Stirling also imported a rumored dark past from his native North Carolina, haunting his fresh chapter as Myrtle’s owner. Whispers suggested pretty young wife Mary sprung some red flags with her delicate constitution. Let's just say she kept suspiciously "falling ill" during difficult pregnancies until Mr. Stirling ultimately relocated them permanently to Louisiana's balmier climes for Mary's fragile health...
At any rate, the couple christened their renovated estate "Myrtles" after blossoming crape myrtle trees dotting the grounds. And for 20 years, the Sterlings enjoyed prosperous cotton harvests supporting their lavish lifestyle. Yet nobody seemed shocked when Master Stirling suddenly passed away, leaving everything to Mary. Nor that she died herself only a few years afterward in 1880 under fishy circumstances!
Body Count Rising with New Murders & Mayhem!
With its original namesake dynasty six feet under, Myrtles plantation began jumping owners quicker than fleas on a barn cat. But new residents kept encountering violence, mortal accidents, and other fatal misfortunes mysteriously befalling those dwelling within these unlucky walls.
Like, take that one time during an interim year when the caretaker family lived on premises while it languished on the real estate market yet again. All heads turned their way after the teenage daughter got her pistol-packing beau riled up enough that he outright shot her pa point-blank in the chest during a domestic dispute!
William Winter staggered halfway through the house, gushing blood before embarrassingly expiring in the foyer, thereby clinching his infamous legacy forevermore. Yet wisely, no further caretakers ever stayed permanently onsite as the final resident death toll ticked higher over time...
Myrtles' Haunted Happenings Suddenly Skyrocket!
With so many departed souls from myriad untimely demises haunting the grounds, no wonder Myrtles Plantation earns sensational notoriety for paranormal phenomena, sparking nonstop speculation today!
But oddly, spooky sightings only explode once a 1970s business-minded family transforms the old mansion into a functioning bed and breakfast hosting deep-pocketed guests lusting for a taste of antebellum aura with their eggs Benedict. Reader, you can guess what happens next!
Overnight visitors now report disembodied footsteps creaking down empty hallways or children's laughter echoing late at night. Furniture rearranges itself sans human hands. Portrait eyes seem to track people pacing rooms. Windows and shutters violently bang open though lacking any wind source. And ghostly silhouettes frequently flutter past unnoticed in guests' peripheral vision, only to vanish once you turn for a direct glance!
Weirdest yet, countless tourists snapshot blurry images of what resembles an African American servant girl glowering from various odd corners and concealed crannies throughout the premises. Most describe spying a young woman wearing an unmistakable green headscarf that covers part of her face and possibly hides some grotesque disfigurement...
So, Who's This "Turban Girl" Roaming the Rooms??
If you guessed the mythical Mrytles ghost we call "Turban Girl" might connect back to the plantation's deepest, darkest legend from two centuries back, then you win the prize, gang! Allow me the pleasure of introducing beyond-the-grave former resident CHLOE in all her romanticized backstory glory...
Now no verifiable public records confirming Chloe's existence survive at Myrtles or anywhere for that matter. But that slight snag fails, detracting from her sensational folklore garnering big buzz among paranormal pop culture!
As the blockbuster account goes: Once upon a time, Chloe toiled miserably as an enslaved girl forced to satisfy married scoundrel owner Clarke Woodruff's forbidden sexual urges and bearing two of his secretly mixed-race children.
But when the heartbroken wife unfairly blamed and fatally poisoned poor Chloe's offspring, the anguished mother retaliated by concocting a lethal oleander plant dessert for her white lady killer. Yet the botched revenge plot only eliminated more innocents, including herself, eventually!
You see, after Chloe's cake permanently silenced Woodruff's wife plus two daughters, the other slaves feared brutal master Clarke's certain retaliation for this failed overthrow once he returned from traveling. So they hastily sentenced Chloe to death by hanging and then disposed of her weighted body into the winding Mississippi River for fish food.
Now, the betrayed slave eternally invades Myrtles' ethereal plane, donning a green turban masking her ghastly ear mutilation from Woodruff's sick abuse. She mostly keeps to cold shadows, but occasionally, a lucky guest glimpses her forlorn features, skulking rooms, still desperately seeking justice or revenge denied from beyond the grave...
Just Another High Profile Haunting or A Hoax Hiding Truth?
Quite the sensational tragedy, eh? No wonder the haunting mythos of a poisonous pariah like Chloe captivates overnight ghost-hunting getaways and even mainstream TV shows investigating Louisiana's freakiest forgotten "true crime" tales!
Except not so fast, ya'll! Multiple amateur Internet sleuth researchers uncovered gaping plot holes poking through this historical whodunit nail-biter thriller:
Zero documentation substantiates Chloe or any Woodruff offspring ever existed.
The family died from yellow fever like many Louisiana residents pre-vaccines. No criminal poisoning or foul play is evident.
Clarke Woodruff lived another decade before finally passing peacefully in his sleep as an elder widower. So no implied revenge against supposed invisible enslaved babies.
Why in hell's blazes would other plantation slaves bother publicly lynching and then hiding one of their own?? What did they gain by turning against Chloe?
Clearly, we confront another classic example of "print the legend" myth-making clouding actual events! Someone creatively connected the dots between Myrtles' various misfortunes, inventing a sensational tragic heroine representing generations of innocent suffering built into slavery system mechanics.
While admirable fanning facts into folklore and spreading awareness of past social injustice, we nevertheless lose integrity in rewriting history and fusing fiction without transparency. But fear not, readers- plenty of REAL, unembellished intrigue still clinging to Myrtle’s walls worth spotlighting as prime paranormal bait!
More Bone-Chilling Tales from Beyond the Grave
Judging by recurring ghostly guest sightings, our dear departed Chloe receives ample metaphysical company from earlier lost souls with asylum IDs. artifacts potentially explain the rich phenomena experienced here for decades...
Now, records confirm Myrtles Plantation's proprietors continually imported expensive furniture and luxury goods straight from Europe for decades. And we need only a glimpse at antiquated superstitions dominating both aristocratic Continental and rural Southern lifestyles back then.
Purportedly, old-world psychics and occultists warned of peril should owners ever neglect to perform proper burial rituals, sending beloved material possessions "into the light" alongside deceased former keepers. Failure to appease possessive ancestral spirits risks future calamity befalling unenlightened inheritors!
So when we consider shoddy archaeological inventory practices disturbing or directly destroying precious Native American artifacts plus two full centuries of chaos continuously uprooting heirlooms from their familiar settings, small wonder, negative paranormal energy still runs rampant! Given free rein, manifesting as poltergeists occupying the premises now.
Yet while ghostly shades certainly enjoy terrorizing unwary guests and staff at the bed & breakfast daily, we stay asleep anticipating far more dangerous entities awakening hungry once sunset swallows the antique mansion whole after-hours...👻😱
Tread Cautiously When Visiting Myrtles After Dark!
In sunlight, Myrtles Plantation resembles your archetypal quaint country inn - whitewashed columns wrapped with ivy vines, rocking chairs swaying on the veranda, magnolia-scented zephyrs stirring lace curtains across open windows.
But once the crickets sing moonrise lullabies hushing blue forest twilight into velvet oblivion, allow your eyes deceive you not! What appears cliche by day soon shape-shifts sinister through the witching hour...
Locals spin bloodcurdling campfire stories of demonic creatures stalking these decrepit acres way back before any structures ever disturbed their ancient hunting trails. And recent decades unleashed alarming reports suggesting these diabolical entities reawakened, eager to investigate new blood in their established territory.
You may revel in glimpsing ghosts of past tragedies forgotten by history. Yet dare not jovially provoke infamous Myrtle’s spirits in the deep hour without appropriate spiritual protection or defenses yourself, lest they retaliate directly by dawn!
Consider yourselves cautioned against storming any so-called haunted houses in Louisiana near water without holy hosts of heaven or hellfire at your side! 😇😈 Hospitality melts quicker than powdered sugar on bananas fosters once darkness falls below the Mason Dixon...
Where to Find Myrtles Plantation:
7747 US-61, St. Francisville, LA 70775
