The Haunted Guide to New Orleans

Come along for a haunted treck through New Orleans, where evil ghosts horrify, and good ghosts inspire. New Orleans thrums with ghosts, some so strong they terrify holy Voodoo priests. This guide, for the truly intrepid, leads you to ancient ghosts who patrol the French Quarter. Reveals the spirits who dine at Antoine’s and Commander’s Palace. Introduces you to the eternal residents of the Hotel Monteleone. Lures you under the shade of giant oaks to the undead duelling nearby. Teases you with mirages of vampires climbing from flooded caskets in Lafayette Cemetery. Fuels you with the power of Voodoo to call on your departed ancestors. Warns you to sneak past ruptured tombs and wicked mansions like Madame LaLaurie’s, where tortured spirits wail. 

RORY O’NEILL SCHMITT is an author, photographer and professor. Raised in New Orleans, Rory was always fascinated with art. Upon graduating from St. Mary’s Dominican High School, she moved to New York, where she attended Fordham University and earned her bachelor’s degree in art history and studio art, as well as a master’s degree in art therapy from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and a PhD in curriculum and instruction studies with a concentration in art education at Arizona State University in Tempe. Rory has gained professional experiences over the years at museums and galleries, such as the International Center for Photography, Cristinerose Gallery, Visual Arts Gallery and others. She currently works at the University of Southern California’s Bovard College, where she coaches and supports expert faculty.  ROSARY HARTEL O’NEILL lives in New Orleans and New York City with her husband, Robert Harzinski. She is the author of twenty-five plays and three books of nonfiction. A Senior Fulbright Drama Specialist, she has received six Fulbrights. Other awards include residencies at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland, American Academy in Rome and the Irish Cultural Center and Cartoucherie Theatre in Paris. In New York City, she is an active member of the Actors Studio, the Players Club and the National Arts Club. In New Orleans, Louisiana, she is professor emeritus of drama and speech at Loyola University and a member of Louisiana Women in Film and Television. She founded the Southern Repertory Theatre, the premier professional theater in New Orleans.