The LaLaurie Mansion is arguably the most famous residence in New Orleans. Decades of local legends and stories have created a mysterious atmosphere around the home revolving around its vilified first owner, Madame Marie Delphine LaLaurie.

LaLaurie, born Marie Macarty, was the daughter of wealthy Creole and Irish-American parents and thrice married influential New Orleans civic leaders and businessmen.

After her first two husbands died, Marie married physician Leonard Louis Nicolas LaLaurie and began construction on the Royal Street home that bears her name.

The three-story mansion was constructed in the classic New Orleans urban style showcasing both Greek Revival and classic French architectural components including iron-work embellishments and a private courtyard complete with slave-quarters.

Marie LaLaurie was an influential New Orleans socialite but came under increasing levels of scrutiny over her apparent mistreatment of her African slaves. Rumors of a young slave girl falling to her death from the roof-top of the mansion into the courtyard spread across the city and the family was fined at least once for apparent misdeeds.

On the night of April 10, 1834 a fire broke out at the LaLaurie residence and a group of concerned citizens offered assistance. The family refused the crowd entrance to the slave quarters and eventually the door was broken down. What the onlookers saw horrified many and was described by the local news paper in grizzly detail. Inside the small room a number of African slaves were discovered malnourished, physically tortured, and restrained in inhuman ways.

The slaves were removed and word quickly spread of the LaLaurie's deeds leading to an angry mob attacking the house a few days later. The family escaped but the house and its furnishings were completely destroyed. Little is know of what happened to Marie LaLaurie,with conflicting stories existing about whether she died in exile in Europe or secretly returned to her native New Orleans.

The house lay vacant and in shambles for many years until it was restored around 1888. The property has since been used as a public high school, a conservatory of music, a tenement, a refuge for young delinquents, a bar, a furniture store, and a luxury apartment building.

The stories surrounding the house have been greatly embellished over the years leading to its status as one of the most "haunted" buildings in the city. Despite the murkiness of its past, the LaLaurie Mansion remains one of the most recognizable structures in the city and a reminder of New Orleans' complex and often dark history.