On this day, April 10, 1834, a fire at a New Orleans mansion leads to the discovery of a torture chamber where slaves were brutalized by the sadistic socialite Delphine Lalaurie. Rescuers were refused keys to the slave quarters, and broke down the doors revealing slaves chained by the necks and limbs who claimed to have been imprisoned for months.
When the news got out, an angry mob sacked the mansion and ran Lalaurie out of town. She is believed to have fled to Paris.
The mansion still stands at 1140 Royal St., where it is said to be haunted by a young girl who jumped from the attic to avoid Lalaurie’s whips. In 2007, Nicolas Cage reportedly bought the mansion before it was lost in foreclosure in 2009.
Scott McCabe
