Ghosts

From Acadiana’s epoch of Evangeline to the myriad tales of haunted habitats in New Orleans’ French Quarter, South Louisiana has a rich heritage ? and active interest ? in the plausibility of wandering souls from beyond the grave.

In these parts, ghost stories abound, mostly the sort told around campfires to adolescent audiences for pure entertainment. But actual sightings by reasonable, mature adults evoke a different reaction.

Houmas House Plantation and Gardens is the site of two very serious, inexplicable events: one precipitated by nature, the other by the very unnatural.

The Legend of The Gentlemen

In the days before the levee, Houmas House’s Oak alley ran across the grand lawn, through the batture, and on to the river’s edge. The perfectly formed and heroically erect trees spread their branches arm-in-arm to welcome visitors to the property, all of whom approached from the River Road.

John Burnside, a colorful bachelor who presided as owner during the late 1800s, lovingly referred to these giant, leafy sentinels as “The Gentlemen.” The reference prevailed through generations of stewardship until progress, in the form of flood control, came to the Great River Road.

The legend and the irony