The hauntingly beautiful city of New Orleans has it’s own style of architecture containing a mix of French and Spanish flare. Many buildings are two stories tall and have balconies supported by metal columns. They are decorated with flowers or other ornaments. Some of the posts also contain unique metal architecture known as “Romeo Spikes”. These spikes are similar to modern day barbed wire and were a deterrent for late night boyfriends. As you can guess by the reference to Romeo and Juliet, the spikes were a painful wake up call for many young boys who attempting to climb up to a young woman’s bedroom. Unfortunately they also played a role in one of the most gruesome deaths in New Orleans; the death of a young man known as the Hanging Boy.

Romeo Spikes (also called “Romeo Catchers”) where the hanging boy was killed

The Hanging Boy

In the late 1880’s there was a family living in what is now 823 Orleans St. This family had a daughter around the age of 18 who had a secret boyfriend that the father didn’t know about. One Saturday the family made plans to head into the heart of the French Quarter for dinner. But the young daughter passed on the meal, claiming to have fallen ill. Once the family left, she ran downstairs and unlocked the front door for her secret admirer. They hoped to get some alone time. Little did she know her father was already on his way back as he had forgotten his wallet at home.

As the father entered the home he heard some rumbling upstairs. He believed it to be a thief. Grabbing his gun he ran up the stairs and opened his daughters door. He came across the site of his not so innocent daughter. Screaming and shouting at the couple, the boyfriend ran out onto the balcony to escape. He climbed over the railing and began to hang. In an attempt to scare the boy, the father came out onto the balcony and fired his gun into the air.

The sound startled the boy causing him to drop down, getting his hip caught on the spikes below. As more of his body weight hit the spike, it ripped his flesh all the way up from his hip through his abdomen, stopping only when he fell backward and landed on the ground. However, not all of the boy came down as his intestines were caught hanging from the spike.

Todays Hauntings

Today that young boy haunts the home, reliving his death to those passing under the balcony. Visitors to the house will claim to hear screams as the young man falls on the spikes below. Others walking underneath feel something dripping on them. With surprise they realize that the dark liquid on them is blood. We also spoke with a couple who claimed to see a shadowy figure hanging on the spikes in the middle of the night. As they approached the building the shadow vanished before their eyes.

To learn more about the Hanging Boy and visit the home where he died, we encourage you to visit http://www.hauntedhistorytours.com/ and take one of their amazing tours. There is no better way to learn about the haunted history of New Orleans.

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Haunted Places, Legends and Ghosts

The Hanging Boy : New Orleans, LA

The Hanging Boy : New Orleans, LA

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