If you’re visiting New Orleans, there are several spooky ways to laissez les bons temps rouler. Caroline Colvin has you covered.
New Orleans, Louisiana, is long-awaited holy ground, both literally and figuratively, if you’re anything like me: A spooky individual, with an interest in the esoteric sides of Catholicism, an insatiable lust for blood, and an insatiable lust for knowledge. What I love about NOLA is that, unlike some other haunted cities I’ve been in, such as Charleston, South Carolina, or Savannah, Georgia, the whole populace leans into their weird, morbid history.
Slavery, the introduction of voodoo and vodou, the influx of riches at its ports, and unfettered hedonism have all contributed to NOLA’s rich historical fabric. This is best seen in adaptations of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. NOLA is the setting of folk horror The Skeleton Key and ’80s horror-thriller Angel Heart. It’s also the backdrop for the vampire chaos of True Blood, the occult power struggle of American Horror Story: Coven, and the supernatural family drama Eve’s Bayou.
As the witchy type, I felt called to celebrate my Saturn Return birthday in New Orleans. (IYKYK!) I feel lucky the trip fell in October, because I couldn’t imagine a better time to see NOLA than peak spooky season—second only to Mardi Gras or the heyday of the Essence Festival of Culture. No matter what time of year you visit NOLA, here is your not-so-average New Orleans travel guide, listing out macabre NOLA must-dos for certified horror freaks only.
If You’re A Nerd: Go on a Ghost Tour
I find that the best way to learn a history of a city is to go on a ghost tour, if you’re able to walk.
You learn so much about the souls that once made that place happen and the souls that still linger today. We went with Haunted History Tours, specifically their “French Quarter Ghosts & Legends Tour.” While I felt like we were conjuring up the ghost of APUSH more than anything, I can say that a few of the locations we visited made my heart sink.
Before the tour guide even opened his mouth, I could sense that the building up ahead, which turned out to be the Andrew Jackson Hotel, was haunted. Learning the details about how yellow fever and the Great Fire of 1794 led to the haunting of Room 208 was fascinating. It was the same when we passed the infamous mansion of , whose taste for torturing slaves wasn’t exaggerated at all in Ryan Murphy’s
Madame Lalaurie
AHS.
We did the nighttime tour for full horror movie effect, but of course, when you’re walking around the French Quarter at night, you get the full NOLA flavor. There’s nothing like Lee Harvey Oswald’s ties to the city while a car blasting New Orleans bounce rolls by.
If You’re Thirsty: Sip on a Blood Bag
You don’t have to sit down for food at New OrleansVampire Cafe or its sister restaurant, Vampire Apothecary Restaurant & Bar, to sip on sangria or (vodka) pomegranate lemonade in a blood bag. You can walk right up to a window at the Vampire Café and get a blood bag to go.
Now, I know the mortals are asking: How was the human food at the Cafe or Apothecary? Unfortunately, we wouldn’t know. According to the workers, the Cafe understandably doesn’t take reservations in October. Everyone, including the Cafe staff, recommends walking a few blocks to the Apothecary if the Cafe is super busy.
In our case, after hearing the wait for the Cafe was 2 hours, we went to the Apothecary and put our names down for a 45-minute wait. While the courtyard area where we were seated at the Apothecary was absolutely beautiful — especially since it was decked out for Halloween — unfortunately, their food shipment for the day hadn’t arrived, and they weren’t doing modifications.
Eventually we had to bow out and hit up our Plan C for lunch, but of course, we took some blood bags to go. I just started The Vampire Diaries — whose spinoff, The Originals, takes place in New Orleans, BTW — so I felt very Stefan-Salvatore-robbing-the-hospital-coded that day.
If You Need Swag: Shop at Boutique du Vampyre
Inevitably, you’ll need to kill time if you’re keen on the Vampire Cafe. Luckily, there’s a store next door that’ll make your little goth heart grow three sizes. Boutique du Vampyre sells fangs and stakes, but also gorgeously macabre goth jewelry, alt makeup and accessories, and vampire media merch. Like all good spooky haunts, there’s also an upright coffin for all your Instagram needs.
My favorite purchases from Boutique du Vampyre were my Kreepsville 666 fan and my bat-shaped sunglasses. Especially after Francis Ford Coppola had Gary Oldman looking fly in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, what’s a modern-day vampire without a pair of tiny sunglasses?
Enjoying the coffin in Boutique du Vampyre and repping my favorite Creole vampire, Beyoncé, via @delicatehoodoo on Instagram
If You’re Brave: Go on a Cemetery Tour
You’re reading this, so I take it you’re cool with cemeteries, right? After visiting Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh, I put a few more on my travel wishlist: Highgate Cemetery in London, Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans.
What sets St. Louis No. 1 apart is that because the city is below sea-level and prone to flooding, graves are almost exclusively aboveground. Every family prestigious enough to get buried there have mini mausoleums. Your bones are put inside the marble tomb and, once someone else dies, you’re pushed to the back to make room for the next bombshell entering the villa.
Notable people interred in St. Louis No. 1 include Homer Plessy of Plessy v. Ferguson; soldiers from the American Revolution, War of 1812 and the Civil War; the Haydel family that put king cake on the map. It is also the final resting place of Marie Laveau, famed voodoo queen of New Orleans. Of course, as a Black witchy person, I was pleased as punch to be there. When’s the last time you saw someone look so happy at a cemetery?
If You’re Restless: Enter The Dungeon
I love when musicians cuss out their fans for having their phones up the whole show. I also hate when people go to the club to stand around nonchalantly and look cool. So of course, I was enamored with New Orleans’ The Dungeon, which isn’t strictly a no-phones club, but enforces a “no photos, no videos” policy. In a world where people are so apathetic and isolated, I think it’s really beautiful when people create such intentional spaces for connection… Including throwing it back on your best friends to “Them Bones” by Alice in Chains and “Blind” by Korn.
TBH, I knew the night was going to be cinematic as soon as we pulled up. You have to shimmy through a skinny alleyway, As Above So Below-style, and walk through a mystical courtyard to enter the building. While there are bad bitches doing the Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)” choreography upstairs under red lights, the ground level will remind you of your favorite local dive bar, but sexier.
Every corner of The Dungeon lends itself to skulls, chains and the taboo kind of pin-ups you’d find under your cool cousin’s bed — all lit up by garish and ghastly neon lights. Alright, so maybe I did feel like I was in a Rob Zombie movie when I flounced in wearing tight jeans and a black fur jacket, as “Thunderkiss ‘65” blared from the speakers.
If You’re Fierce: Visit ThisAmerican Horror StoryLocation
Speaking of Lalaurie and Laveau, who many of us first came to know through Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett in AHS: Coven… One of AHS 3’s most iconic filming locations is the Buckner Mansion, the site of Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies.
The Buckner Mansion still is a private residence, so you cannot go inside. Still, just being near the property was exhilarating. It’s surreal to stand outside of a house you’ve seen on TV and on Tumblr a thousand times.
I was planning on bringing my cunty fur jacket to NOLA anyway, since I was visiting for my birthday, but I was really in my Madison Montgomery bag as I strutted my stuff in front of the Bucker Mansion. Emma Roberts, eat your heart out.
If You’re Sentimental: Pay Homage to Anne Rice
If you’re a vampire freak, a perfect way to kiss the ring is to visit Anne Rice’s house. The diva is no longer with us, but as a horror scholar and TV and film critic, it felt so special to stop by. I only had a couple of hours left in NOLA, but I knew I needed to pay her a visit on this particular trip. I can’t think of a creative in horror whose work positively affected my life in 2026 more than my girl.
I got to cover The Vampire Lestat’s splash onto our TVs, including seeing the flesh-and-blood incarnation of Rice’s favorite creation ever, up close and personal at the Beacon Theatre. I faithfully watched each episode, and covered TVL and its finale for Dread Central. This put me in the orbit of so many dope people. Rice’s work introduced me to new vampire freaks across the U.S. and the world, who I am so happy to call my friends.
I also got the honor of interviewing Interview with the Vampiredirector Neil Jordan. Although it was just a moment in Jordan’s storied, expansive career, it felt so magical to go from secretly watching gay vampire drama as a teenager to having my own Daniel Molloy moment with film’s creative architect.
The plaque on Anne Rice’s house, which was already historic and iconic; via @delicatehoodoo on Instagram
Rice’s work has continued to have a positive impact on my life this year, and I know that won’t stop any time soon. Some people throw coins in the Trevi Fountain. Other people visit the coolest vampire author’s house and touch the historic plaque on the gate with holy reverence.
You’ve got your itinerary. Make sure to pack plenty of velvet, satin, lace and a mini fan. Drink lots of water and don’t get too hammered… You could stumble down a dark alley and become undead, or accidentally follow a lonely spirit into the Mississippi River.
