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Delphine LaLaurie
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Madame Delphine Macarty Lalaurie
Delphine Lalaurie, also known as Madame Lalaurie (born Marie Delphine Macarty), was a socialite and sadist in New Orleans in the 1800s.
Delphine Macarty was born circa 1775 to Barthelmy Louis Macarty (King, 1921) and Vevue Lecomte, prominent members of the New Orleans community. Delphine Macarty's cousin, Auguste Macarty was elected mayor of New Orleans in 1815, which possibly helped elevate Delphine's eventual rise to prominence in the New Orleans community. Auguste Macarty stepped down in 1820.
Twice widowed, she married physician Dr. Louis Lalaurie in 1831. The couple bought a mansion at 1140 Royal Street, where Delphine maintained a central position in the social circles of New Orleans. Although she would throw lavish parties with guest lists consisting of some of the most prominent people in the city, the heinous manner in which Delphine Lalaurie tortured her slaves is probably the most widely known of the French Quarters macabre tales.
The Lalaurie Mansion. From a postcard 1906
Contents [hide]
1 The Horrors
2 Death
3 The Haunted House
4 Resources
5 External links
[edit]The Horrors
After several neighbors allegedly saw her cowhiding a young servant girl in the mansion's courtyard, rumors began to spread around town that Mme. LaLaurie treated her servants viciously. According to one tale, a young slave girl had been brushing Mme. LaLaurie's hair in the upstairs bedroom. The young servant hit a snag in Delphine's hair, causing LaLaurie to become enraged. The girl ran away from Delphine, rather than be subjected to her punishments. By several accounts, the servant girl climbed up the building to escape but fell to her death. She was quickly brought into the LaLaurie Mansion, but not before being observed by neighbors, who would file a complaint. The neighbors would later assert that the young girl was carried into the courtyard late that night, and buried inside the well.
The legal situation was handled by Judge Jean Francois Canonge, a friend of the Lalauries, who had visited the house on a previous occasion concerning the welfare of the LaLaurie servants. The LaLauries' slaves were confiscated to be auctioned off, and the LaLauries fined a mere $300. Some of the LaLaurie relatives arranged to buy the slaves back and quickly returned them to her.
On April 10, 1834, during another party, a fire broke out in the kitchen of the mansion. The kitchen, as was the norm in Spanish mansions, was separate from the home and located over the carriageway building across the courtyard. The firemen entered the building through the courtyard. To their surprise, there were two slaves chained to the stove in the kitchen. It appeared as though the slaves had set the fire themselves in order to attract attention.
However, the biggest surprise was to be found in the attic, where the fire brigade was directed by the other slaves. The door was bolted, and the fire brigade had to use a battering ram to open the door. What they found would make their stomachs wrench; inside the crawlspace attic was the stench of death. According to contemporary accounts, over a dozen disfigured and maimed slaves were manacled to the walls or floor. Several had been the subject of gruesome medical experiments.
The exact details are unclear; owing to the horrific nature of the crime, many details were either swept under the rug or embellished. One man looked as though he had been victim of some bizarre makeshift sex change. Another was trapped inside a small cage, where her arms and legs had been badly broken and then reset at odd angles, making her appear as some sort of "human crab." Another woman had her arms and legs removed and patches of her flesh had been sliced off in a circular motion to make her appear as a giant caterpillar. Some had their mouths sewn shut and had then starved to death. Others had their hands sewn to different parts of their bodies. One woman had her entrails pulled out of her stomach and was secured to the floor by her own intestines. A small boy of about twelve had the flesh on half of his face peeled back, revealing muscle, veins, and so forth. The wound had since been infested with disease and insects. Most of the victims were found dead. Those who were still alive, begged to be put out of their misery and died shortly after.
Also discovered in the attic were teacups and saucers, encrusted with a "red substance" that was never identified. However, there were several bottles lying about with what's assumed to be the same red substance. The substance in the bottles was identified as blood.
As the discoveries were made, a mob gathered outside of the LaLaurie Mansion, demanding justice of the LaLauries, but not before Delphine escaped by horse and carriage to Bayou St. John, where it is said she paid the captain of a schooner to carry her across to Mandeville or Covington. Many claimed they escaped to Paris. Others say they remained on the outskirts of New Orleans.
