Ghostly Madam Seeks Naughty Teens?

So, there's a fairly new urban legend popping up in that Venn Diagram where horny teenagers and the supernaturally aware intersect (which thanks to shows like The Vampire Diaries and Twilight is a pretty big intersection).

If talk of sex makes you uncomfortable, look away. Maybe go here instead. For the rest of you, who don't get squeamish about that sort of thing because this is New Orleans and it's part of our history (and part of our city's favorite holiday season), the legend is as follows.

If you have sex at Mahogany Hall, the ghost of Lulu White will show up and take you to the glory days of Mahogany Hall, back when it was the biggest, most successful brothel in the U.S.'s only legal red-light district back before it was demolished in the 1940s.

Oh, you don't know about Miss Lulu White and Mahogany Hall? It was a four story/five parlor/fifteen bedroom brothel made of marble, staffing as many as forty mixed race women, right at the heart of the District, or Storyville as it was unofficially called. Miss White was a savvy business woman who made a fortune servicing the, erm, needs of the men of New Orleans.

She even almost owned most of Hollywood. When public approval of Storyville's unapologetic prostitution industry started to turn unfavorable, she sent someone out west with $100,000 to buy up a lot of the land down there. Turns out, that guy wasn't trustworthy and he scampered off with her cash, but had he done as she asked, she'd have been not only the Madame of New Orleans, but the Queen of SoCal. She didn't die penniless, but she definitely lost a lot of her financial stability with that swindle. Fortunately she had friends she could rely on from her glory days to keep her from falling to total ruin and she passed away in relative comfort.

That's where the rumor comes in. She was happiest in the good old days when she could openly run a successful brothel, even publishing tourist guides to let newcomers to the city know where to find her, who her girls were (with photographs!), and what their rates were. Then when people got squirrely about sex again, her life took a decline it never recovered from. Her ghost, they say, is looking to recapture the spirit of the old days by seeking out like-minded individuals. People who aren't embarrassed or ashamed to get busy and have fun, nasty fun.

I haven't met anyone who knows someone directly who has been taken to the old Mahogany Hall. It's all been someone knows someone who knows someone who knows someone. As such, I haven't heard a clear story about whether you're whisked off for a night of fornication, or if she takes you to the brothel to spend the rest of eternity (possibly dead) surrounded by ghostly prostitutes.

I told my girlfriend about this (you remember my girlfriend, right?) and she suggested we find out the old fashioned way, wink wink nudge nudge say no more say no more. I'll admit I was tempted, but the fact is, I had to tell her that while I would love to practice summoning that ghost, if you get my drift, I'm not sure I want to spend forever surrounded by ghost prostitutes. I mean, who even has that much money?

I kid, of course. Even so, I'm not summoning any ghosts if I don't have to. That's how horror movies start.

If you've heard the rumors, though, or some variation of 'em or know someone who did the deed, share what you've heard in the comments. Maybe we can get to the truth of this new legend.

Until next time,

Stay Strange!
-Steve