NOLA Ghosts

6. Julie, the Octoroon Mistress

New Orleans, LA

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Throughout much of the 1700s and 1800s men of the Creole aristocracy would often take free women of color as their mistresses, carrying on affairs that would often last a lifetime. The women would be given a home to live in, wealth, education, and slaves as part of their arrangement with the men. Julie, the spirit who still resides in this cottage at 734 Royal, was one of these women. Julie was an octoroon, which was the designation at the time for a free person of color who was one-eighth black and seven-eighths white. She was taken as a mistress by a wealthy and charming young Frenchman. Julie fell madly in love with this Frenchman, begging him to marry her. While he loved Julie as well, the laws at the time forbade an official union between people of different races. Rather than hurt her feelings, he told Julie he would marry her if she would remain naked on the rooftop of the cottage all night long, on a particularly cold night when an icy drizzle was falling in the French Quarter. The Frenchman would spend all night playing cards with his friends downstairs, never giving the dare another thought, believing that Julie would never do something so foolish. When the sun began to rise over the city, he made his way upstairs to bed. The bed was not slept in, and the room was like ice from the night air which had been pouring in through an open dormer window. With a sinking heart, he ran to the window, and climbed out onto the rooftop. With a horror, he saw his beloved Julie, naked and frozen on the rooftop of their love nest. The spirit of Julie is frequently felt and occasionally seen throughout the building, a generally friendly and benign presence. Julie is said to be a playful spirit, often giggling and pulling pranks on visitors and residents of the building through the years. She is also seen on the rooftop of the home on any particularly cold or wet winter's night, pacing back and forth as she waits for her lover to claim her as his wife.