La Nouvelle-Orléans, or New Orleans, is one of the most unique cities in the South, if not the world.  Its countless ghost stories, legends and folktales spring from a multicultural gumbo of French, Spanish and African immigrants (Cajun and Creole), along with native peoples.  New Orleans’ turbulent history – floods, war, disease, racial unrest, and general tolerance toward “sinfulness” – set it apart from more genteel areas of the South.  Strolling the French Quarter or other New Orleans neighborhoods feels like a walk not through America, but a European-inspired world all its own, dripping in mystery, strange energy and joie de vivre.

Other than its renowned jazz scene, the best way to explore New Orleans is through its stories.  Below you can read and hear terrifying ghost stories like The Sausage Ghost.  Or the flaming tomb of Storyville madam Josie Arlington.  Families may enjoy old Cajun folktales like Knock, Knock, Who’s There?