The Myrtles Plantation, St. Francisville Louisiana

My wife and I are interested in Haunted places. I have previously written about our trip to Waverly Hills Sanitorium in Louisville, Kentucky. This year, we visited the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana, near Baton Rouge. This was a fantastic trip for us. The Myrtles bills itself as one of America's most haunted homes. It is an antebellum house that was inhabited by General David Bradford, a figure in the Whiskey Rebellion. Later, it became the home of Bradford's daughter Sarah, and her husband, Clark Woodruff. It is now a Bed and Breakfast and tourist attraction.

The story of the ghosts in the house involve a slave woman named "Chloe". Our tour guide told us that Clark Woodruff was sleeping with Chloe. One day, however, he caught her eavesdropping, and punished her by cutting off her ear. She was sent out of the house to work in the fields. Chloe wanted to become a servant in the house again, as the work was easier than what she endured out in the fields. She baked a cake for Woodruff's children, mixing Oleander leaves into it to make them sick. She figured that if she was able to nurse the children back to health, Woodruff might restore her status in gratitude. Unfortunately the plan backfired. The poisonous leaves killed two of the children. Chloe was hanged in retribution for their deaths, and her body was thrown into the river. It is now reported that Chole's ghost, and those of the children, can be seen or heard around the house.

There are other legends and other reports of murder on the premises lending to the spookiness of the place.

We stayed in the General Bradford suite. This was a bedroom with a full sized four-poster bed and a separate sitting room. We had a private verandah on the front, and a shared one on the back, with very nice rocking chairs. We had a nice breakfast every morning in the gift shop. The Carriage House has been turned into the Carriage House Restaurant. My wife and I had a delicious meal here on the first night of the vacation. I had Shrimp Etoufee, and my wife had a steak. Both were delicious. They have a full bar here, and it's just steps from the main house.

There are ghost tours and historic tours conducted daily. The tour guides are excellent, and the stories they tell are chilling.

The room left a little to be desired. My wife and I are used to having a king-sized bed-so downsizing to a full-sized bed left was a bit of a struggle. That was OK, though. It brought us a little closer together. The plaster on the walls was peeling off on both sides of our fireplace. The sheers on the windows looked as if they had been shredded and left hanging. The antiques furnishing the room and the artwork on the wall were a little mismatched and a little cheap-looking. (I'm no expert on either, though). I figured that the original antiques of the house, and the better antiques, were going to be used in the main parts of the house where the tours were taken.

There was a modern, but out-dated shower stall in the bathroom (no tub). The door on the shower stall was crooked, and wouldn't shut all the way. If you don't want to pay for the ghost tour, don't worry. You can hear most of it from the toilet. Unfortunately, the tour group can probably hear you as well.

There was no television in the room. (There was a coaxial cable protruding from the wall, so there must have been television here at one time.) There was no telephone, although there was a phone jack. I guess that wouldn't bother most people, who were there to look for ghosts, but I think it would have been nice to have a TV.

Also, they have a policy about not eating in the rooms. That was a shame. I think it would have been extremely nice to have room service from the Carriage House restaurant delivered to the room. But it didn't really make much of a difference. We still had a lot of fun.

Whatever was lacking in the interior of the home was made up by the beautiful exterior. The landscaping and garden in the place was just beautiful. The color and aroma of the flowers around the building were very pleasing. One could tell that a great deal of time and effort went into keeping up the grounds.

I think the best thing about our experience was that the management and staff there were extremely friendly and helpful.

Did we experience any ghosts? We did have a few unsettling occurrences. During the ghost tour I felt something poke me in the chest; while my wife felt someone tugging at her sleeve. At night time, our closet door began banging all by itself. Later, our bed shook. My wife said that she felt children getting in bed with her. She actually saw the mattress depress under their weight. This happened twice-both times after I left the bed.

When we weren't hunting ghosts, there was plenty to see in the nearby town. St. Francisville is blessed with many old historic homes and buildings. We shopped at a couple of places. My wife really liked Grandmother's Buttons , a little jewelry store and souvenir shop.

We had a really nice weekend at the Myrtles. We recommend it to anybody. Don't expect the Ritz Carlton in the guest rooms, but if you're into ghosts and history, this will be a very pleasant stay for you.

http://www.myrtlesplantation.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrtles_Plantation