Sunday, September 30, 2012

ANOTHER NEW ORLEANS GHOST
The ghost of Judge Francois X. Martin:
   For ten years, beginning in 1816, Judge Martin lived in a house at 915 Royal Street, just a few blocks from the where the Lalaurie Mansion now stands. It's said that the reclusive Judge Martin lived alone with one male servant. After going blind, he often had to be assisted back home when he lost his way around the French Quarter. Frequent reports suggest that the blind judge still haunts his old Royal Street home, bumping into things at all hours, tampering with the plumbing and opening doors.
  The house is now a small B&B, The Cornstalk Hotel, named for its distinctive and well-known fence. The fence came along after Judge Martin entered the spirit world. The legend is that a later owner built the fence for his wife who missed the cornfields of her native Iowa. Another version says it was built for his mistress. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a guest here when she was inspired to write Uncle Tom's Cabin. These days, guests at the Cornstalk Hotel still report hearing footsteps in empty hallways and say the ghost of the blind judge even bumps into guest's beds at night. If you are visiting New Orleans, be sure to take a look at the Cornstalk Hotel and the Andrew Jackson Hotel next door, also said to be haunted. The walk down Royal Street to the most haunted house in NOLA, the Lalaurie Mansion.

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