For decades, stories have persisted about hauntings at Destrehan Plantation. Now, visitors can seek to experience those paranormal activities for themselves.
Destrehan Plantation recently partnered with NOLA Ghost Riders to offer the only night tour of the plantation. The tours began in October, and since then more than 1,000 people have traversed the plantation on a quest for ghosts.
The tour is an interactive and engaging experience, not just a passive tour, that includes using equipment like dowsing rods, K2 meters and spirit boxes. This equipment helps to communicate with the spirits in the house and around the grounds, Tracy Smith, executive director of Destrehan Plantation, said.
The guides used for the tour are experienced in paranormal investigations.
“There has always been stories from tour guides at Destrehan Plantation about unusual paranormal experiences,” Smith said. “Over the years, we have received interest from ghost-themed programs about filming here but we have never followed through with any filming.”
NOLA Ghost Riders approached Smith about offering a night tour a few years ago, but then COVID hit.
“Last year we revisited the idea and decided it was the right time to offer the haunted night tour beginning in early October. Since then, we have had several paranormal investigations at the plantation conducted by LA Spirits Paranormal, with interesting results,” Smith said. “There are several YouTube videos of the investigations on their site.”
According to NOLA Ghost Riders’ website, the haunted plantation tour treats Destrehan Plantation as the backdrop for exploring diverse people such as enslaved Africans, free creoles of color, Acadians and Native Americans who shaped the unique landscape and cultural “gumbo” of Louisiana during it’s first 100 years.
“Hear The chilling stories left behind by the 1811 slave revolt and walk among the spirits that still inhabit the home,” the group says. “Discover how Voodoo came to south Louisiana and became what it is today – a fusion of African, Haitian and Catholic spiritual beliefs and practices. The mysterious world of Voodoo is one of the most misunderstood and feared religions in the world. Explore with us the riveting truth with a longtime storyteller and how it differs from what you’ve heard.”
Smith, who said he has experienced an otherworldly presence during his time at Destrehan Plantation, said tours are currently offered Thursday through Sunday. The tour normally starts at 7:30 p.m. and takes around two hours.
“We anticipate a lot more people as we go into the busy spring season,” Smith said.
Tickets can be purchased from both the websites of Destrehan Planation and NOLA Ghost Riders. To purchase tickets from Destrehan Plantation, visit www.destrehanplantation.org and click on tours. To purchase from NOLA Ghost Riders, visit nolaghostriders.com/tours.
Tickets for those who don’t need transportation are $39 per adult and $35 per child. Those that need transportation leave from Decatur Street in New Orleans and the cost is $69 per adult and $49 per child.
