Haunted Swamp, Louisiana

One of the last stops of my Southern tour--at a "haunted" swamp.

Gator trying to keep out of the cold.

What a beautiful swamp.

Caught this critter just before it scurried away.

I guess the only thing "haunted" about the swamp is this graveyard right smack in the middle of it.

People come to pay their respects almost every day. Not sure who's buried here though.

Was on a riverboat like this.

Spanish moss hanging from the trees, very characteristic of the New Orleans and Louisiana landscape.

A model Cajun trapper's house--it looks straight out of Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Our guide is an nth generation true blue Cajun with an accent to boot. 

He's a trapper in his free time.

 Another cold gator.

Laura Plantation

After the opulence of Oak Alley, here's a more intimate Creole plantation that was run by 5 generations of women. Not all of them were nice. Laura Plantation was also where Alcee Fortier compiled the Louisiana Creole versions of Brer Rabbit (Compair Lapin).

Banana trees in the plantation.

The grounds at Laura Plantation were not as well manicured as Oak Alley but it did lend

more authenticity to how an actual working plantation would have looked like. 

Wine cellar. Not sure why they chose to make this creepy mannequin 

part of the display.

Outdoor kitchen. In any plantation, all cooking is done outside of the main house.

The five generations of women who ruled Laura Plantation. The one in the middle of the first row was a real firecracker, causing a stir with her devil costume on Halloween.

Slave overseer's house.

Slave grounds.

Slave house.

Mission bell in front of the slave quarters.

 Inside slave quarters. Obviously, no pictures were allowed on the walls then. 

The pictures here are of actual slaves at Laura Plantation in the 1800s.

The house where Alcee Fortier stayed and compiled the Compair Lapin stories.

Inside Oak Alley

 The guide inside Oak Alley was quite entertaining. Just don't bring in your mint julep even though they tell you that you can. She can be right prickly about things like that.

Inside the parlour where guests would be received. Notice the lone candle on the table. 

That was held by the owner of the house whenever suitors came a calling. 

If he did not like the boy, he would twirl the candle shorter.

In the dining room. Everything is short and small because the average Creole stood at only 5 feet tall.

The flatware was big though--the larger your silverware, the wealthier you were deemed to be.

 The nursery. Creepy.

 Note the baby doll in front of the guide. Super creepy.

Stairway to the attic. Triple creepy.

 Ladies guest bedroom. Guests would stay for a great length of time due to the travelling time it took to visit.

 The main bedroom. Note the baby's cot.

 View from the terrace ala every Tennessee William's play you can think of set on a plantation.

The bell would be the alarm for everything that went on in the house including signalling work and rest times for the slaves. 

Master's study. 

Original brickwork showcased in the master's study