NOLA Ghosts

17. Hotel Monteleone

New Orleans, LA

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Built in 1886, the Hotel Monteleone remains one of New Orleans most-celebrated hotels. No wonder, then, that some of the guests here refuse to leave, even decades after checkout time. One entire family who checked in to a suite of rooms over the holidays in the late 1890s still inhabit its hallways. Jacques and Jacqueline Bergere stayed here with their little boy, Maurice. All three still reside within the hotel today. Jacques was killed in a carriage accident on his way to the French Opera House blocks away; 8-year-old Maurice dies days later, having contracted one of the many infectious diseases sweeping through the city; Jacqueline would refuse all care and food, dying weeks later of a broken heart, it was said. All three spirits roam the halls of the 14th floor on which they were staying. Each is forever searching for the other two, unaware that all three are trapped in the same space. Not just guests, but employees as well, have overstayed their welcome at the Monteleone. Cigar smoke, of a variety preferred by a former chef, wafts through the kitchen, a non-smoking area for decades now. Also, unimpressed by the current system of organization, this spirit likes to reorder the knives and pans as he sees fit. Other times he simply piles all the items in the kitchen up in the middle of the floor. The majestic grandfather clock in the hotel's lobby is haunted as well, often visited by the spirit of the clockmaker who produced it. Considered his masterwork, the clock has drawn its maker back repeatedly from across the veil. He is often seen tinkering with the clock or standing nearby. When approached by hotel staff or security, he merely smiles and fades away.