Imprint on time, vivid
imagination, or do ghosts really haunt our nation’s antebellum mansions?
Take Oak Alley for
instance, the very mansion that graces the cover of “Spirit of the Rebellion.”
According to witnesses, this plantation home, facing the Mississippi River in Vacherie , Louisiana
The list is
endless. Lights turn off and on, and rocking chairs rock by themselves. Unseen
hands touch guests and employees alike. Some have heard the mournful sounds of either
a woman or a child weeping. A lady in black paces the length of the widow’s
walk, and at times, meanders beneath the shade of the mighty oak trees. A man
dressed in gray, wearing boots, haunts the kitchen. Many have heard the
distinctive clip-clop of horses alongside the sound of approaching wooden wheels. Yet, the phantom carriage never arrives. The
pleasant odor of lavender permeates the room that once belonged to the lady of the
house. Shadows lurk in the corners. And did I mention the candlestick that flew
across the room during a tour?
