Myrtles Plantation - St. Francisville, LA - Scores 6/6



I figured on my list of 50 places I'm researching, I should probably do the Myrtles soon because on Friday night, Zak "Baggypants" and his bro's (or is that dude's? They use both words so often...) from "Ghost Adventures" will be locked down in the Myrtles Plantation for a night of girlie screaming and taunting invisible entities. I've heard a great deal about the Myrtles being one of the top 10 most haunted sites in America and I was always was a bit hesitant to believe it. The Deep South loves its haunts and stories, but upon researching it, there's actually some great reasons for it to be haunted.

1. The land is sedimentary rock.
2. The house is older than 50 years (1794).
3. Lots of death--a slave woman cooked oleander into a cake and the wife and two children of her master passed on. A man was shot on the porch and died there. Countless numbers died of typhoid and other diseases through the generations.
4. It's near a train track.
5. It's near a stream.

So, how do I come up with 6/6? I couldn't give it a point for construction because the house is frame/clapboard. But... the house was built on top of Tunica Indian burial grounds. The man building there simply discarded the bones while clearing for the mansion. This is significant enough to bump it up a point.

If you recalled "Ghost Hunters" episode at The Myrtles, you probably recall the interesting footage where Grant was sitting in a chair in one of the cottages and Jason was lying in bed and the lamp on the table slowly slid across the table top. That was perhaps the most "hard" evidence they got there, but it was interesting. I have to admit finding "Ghost Adventures" a guilty pleasure just to see these three stooges pretending to ghost hunt in great locales. If you just ignore them, you might enjoy the show just for the beautiful setting and moodiness. This will be shown Friday night on Travel Channel.

Comments

  1. I always think of areas like this would be great ones for hauntings-I hadn't heard of this exact location before-but you are so right about the incredible beauty of some of these places-if I ever have money again I will get cable back so I can catch some of these shows-very interesting series!and thanks for the work and research bringing it to us!!

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  2. Hey Devin;
    You might try this to see episodes of Ghost Hunters online
    http://www.scifi.com/rewind/

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  3. OMG, you are so funny "Zak Baggypants". I have to admit that I enjoy watching them and will continue to do so. I do remember the GH show and the moving lamp. Pretty cool stuff.

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  4. You have to have your guilty pleasures, those shows you hate to admit you watch. I admit, however, that I've never watched one of their episodes twice--once is really enough because nothing so exciting happens that I have to see the evidence again. On the "I'm proud to admit it" side, my favorite show in the world is "Big Bang Theory" (every household should have a Sheldon).

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  5. ha ha , the three stooges, how funny!
    i can actually tolerate the other two a lot more than Zak. He barely lets them get a word in. But I'll keep watching this show just in case they catch something interesting.

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  6. Sandra;
    Totally agree--Nick seems like the daddy of the group and poor Aaron--I just love that expression he constantly makes--mouth hanging open, eyes all bug-eyed. He's like a teddy bear locked in a gnome factory.

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  7. Is the picture actually from the place?? It is so beautiful!!!!!

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  8. Yup, that's a real photo of it. The setting has been used as a photo for many things because it's so beautiful, so it's probably pretty familiar looking.

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  10. 1. the land is alluvial. it was not built on top of a burial ground.
    2. yes.
    3. lots of deaths at the many surrounding plantations and no reports of hauntings. primarily fiction concocted by a former owner, frances kermeen.
    4. there is no train track nearby.
    5. the closest stream is bayou sara and that is easily a mile away, perhaps more.

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  11. Thanks for the heads up. If you Google map the location, there is a division of train tracks running alongside airport road that are perhaps 500-1000 feet from the location. The geology of the area is not specific, but general for that region which is marine sediment which includes alluvian. The history of deaths associated with the place vary from many past owners and their family members dying of disease to a man being shot on the porch and dying inside as well as the legend of the slave woman poisoning some family members. Whether these reports are incorrect or passed along as legend is unclear, but a home of this age obviously has seen its share of natural deaths which occurred frequently in this region due to typhoid and scarlet fever and without hospital stay. This is part of why I factor in if the site is over 50 years (more generations, more history). In my preliminary research into my haunted formula, streams (any running waterways) and train tracks within a mile of the location are included. As I learn more about the actual "proof of hauntings" (that is hard proof, not orb pictures and class C EVPs), I will be able to adjust the formula to account for which elements seem to more important in a haunting. This hasn't been set in stone yet, as I am learning more and more about other factors of the land that are important. It is reported in several places that there was indian burial ground and the original owner had to discard bones and such. Of course, being a few centuries ago, there is no one to document if this is true or not. I readily admit that this plantation has had such a romantic set of tales about it that it's never really "held water" for me personally. I can only plug it into the tentative formula and decide if it has the right factors to be haunted. Later, in my second wave of research, I will be looking to see what evidence people have of haunting. If the two are incompatible, that will help me to adjust the formula and account for certain variables. I grew up in a Civil War field hospital and admitted there were many historic homes around the area that had seem much action, as well, but they were not conducive to hauntings as much as our house. There were obvious extenuating circumstances. Those circumstances are what I am seeking. Thanks for reading my post.

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  12. OMG Autumn, I love the Big Bang Theory. Sheldon is my favorite! Another guilty pleasure, lol.
    Julie

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  13. I love your blogs, very funny! And informative. I have been to Myrtles and it is, in my opinion one of the most beautiful places in this country. Creepy, but absolutley breath taking! As for it being haunted I would have to say no but I'm glad I got to go.

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  14. Hey Julie,

    Rememder when you said ZakBaggypants?It's not that it's Zak Bagans.:)


    L8ERS,
    Ivy

    P.S. Zak is sooo awsome:P

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