GHOST STORIES OF OLD NEW ORLEANS
Book Details + Condition: Rinehart and Company (New York and Toronto). First Edition, 1946. Very scarce. Hardcover with original dust jacket. 374 pages. Illustrated by Charles Richards. From a LSU Press summary: Ghosts are said to wander along the rooftops above New Orleans’ Royal Street, the dead allegedly sing sacred songs in St. Louis Cathedral, and the graveyard tomb of a wealthy madam reportedly glows bright red at night. Local lore about such supernatural sightings, as curated by Jeanne deLavigne in her classic Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans, finds the phantoms of bitter lovers, vengeful slaves, and menacing gypsies haunting nearly every corner of the city, from the streets of the French Quarter to Garden District mansions. All forty ghost stories and the macabre etchings of New Orleans artist Charles Richards appear in this edition. Drawing largely on popular legends dating back to the 1800s, deLavigne provides vivid details of old New Orleans with a cast of spirits that represent the ethnic mélange of the city set amid period homes, historic neighborhoods, and forgotten taverns. Combining folklore, newspaper accounts, and deLavigne’s own voice, these phantasmal tales range from the tragic - brothers, lost at sea as children, haunt a chapel on Thomas Street in search of their mother - to graphic depictions of torture, mutilation, and death. Stories include:
- The Mystery of Madame Vaquer
- The Soldiers Who Could Not Die
- The Ghost of the Headless Woman
- Tears of Heaven
- The Ghost of the German Countess
- The Magic of Aba Bab
- The Witch of the French Opera
- The Flaming Tomb
- The Swirling Specter
- The Ghost of Treme Street Bridge
- Warring Wraiths
- The Red-Headed Ghost of Parish Prison
- The White Skiff
- The Twin Green Spirits
- The Lost Pearl
- The Swamp Witch
- And more
Very scarce first edition copy with original dust jacket. Firm binding; lightly bumped corners and edges; a bit of fading / discoloration to bottom edge of boards; toning and light foxing to endpapers; interior is clean and free of markings. Dust jacket has rubbing to edges and corners, and still retains its original price; it is now covered with a mylar plastic cover.
