SULTAN'S PALACE – Mayhem and Malice in Louisiana Legendary Ghost Story!
Perhaps the most told story when you go on ghost tours in New Orleans is the Sultan’s Palace. Only rivaled by the LaLaurie Mansion, the Sultan’s Palace location is steeped in history and is a fantastical legend and staple to Louisiana horror folklore. Here is more information on this legend and be sure to check out our Patreon channel and website for more Louisiana history, folklore, horror, and culture.
Host: Kyle Crosby
Camera/Editor: Michael Malley
Transcript:
In 1836 this incredible mansion was built and was known for its opulence throughout New Orleans, but because of an event following the Civil War, it would gain notoriety for a very different reason. Initially it was constructed for a dentist named Joseph Coulon Gardette, but was sold in 1839 to local merchant Jean Baptiste LePretre. Now, LePretre would have lavish parties and definitely show-off in front of the local elite. This building came to be known locally as the Gardette-LePretre House after the two owners. However, when it came to partying, LePretre just couldn’t hold a candle to the building’s next owner.
After the Civil War, a Sultan from modern day Turkey purchased this home on 716 Dauphine St. Excitement spread around the city as the sultan arrived, and the spectacle only got bigger when he got here. His massive ship docked on the river near Jackson’s Square and out came his harem of women, followed by eunuch guards and slaves carrying furniture and chests of gold. The sultan came out last and they all made their way to the new home. The Sultan was now a permanent resident of the Crescent City. People in the French Quarter said night after night they could hear all kinds of noises coming from here. Lavish parties and orgies would go on all hours of the night, basically every night. So much noise could only be drowned out by Mother Nature.
One evening, a violent storm hit the city and the next day a guy was walking and heard something the area wasn’t accustomed to: silence. He noticed that these stairs were flowing with blood and called the police. When the cops broke in, they saw a rather macabre sight. Dozens of dead bodies with beaucoup body parts laid all over the floor which was layered with blood. 37 bodies in total actually with zero survivors, but a note was found on a table that basically said “Traitors get what they deserve” or something along those lines. Every one of the women, eunuch guards, and slaves were all slain, but it wasn’t until they ventured to the back courtyard when they found the Sultan.
Once in the courtyard, police found a freshly dug grave with a hand protruding from it. The Sultan was tortured and buried alive, but the scarier part is that the culprit or culprits were never found. HOWEVER, an investigation was launched and as it turned out, the Sultan wasn’t who he claimed to be. In fact, the actual Sultan was still in the Middle East, and this guy was his brother who was in hiding because he stole beaucoup money and possessions from his Sultan brother. Assassins crept into the home under the cover of the storm and “repaid” the debts owed to the real Sultan.
After this, the building was abandoned till the 1930s when it was renovated and divided into apartments. It was later occupied by the New Orleans Academy of Art but was forced to close down after most of its students were drafted during World War II. Once again, the building went abandoned until real estate investors would buy and restore the building in the late 1960s.
It is now an apartment complex and while the current owner believes that the massacre was nothing more than an urban legend, she also believes that something supernatural does exist on this property.
Paranormal activity has been rampant at this location since the massacre. People who have lived at the location report party noise all night, which lets face it, isn’t all that strange considering the proximity to Bourbon St, but they would also hear blood-curdling screams during the partying, which also isn’t that out of the ordinary in New Orleans these days.
On many occasions, keys to the apartments would disappear and never show up again. Tenants who have lived in the building have also reported many paranormal activities occurring such as dark shadows and disembodied voices in the middle of the night. Phantom music can also be heard throughout the house, although the source of it can never be found. The apparition of a man, believed to be the brother who was assassinated, can also be seen roaming the common areas of the mansion.
It is noteworthy that there are no other historical records on the event other than Gardette-LePretre themselves. Whether you believe this story or not, it has definitely been welded into Louisiana horror folklore. For more Louisiana horror stories be sure to subscribe to Louisiana Dread on Patreon and visit the website LouisianaDread.com
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