S1 – 11: America's Most Haunted House

ghost through a series of seances. The research team consisted of Dr Owen's wife, Iris, an industrial designer and his wife, a heating engineer, an accountant, a bookkeeper, and a sociology student. The research collective settled on a character named Philip Aylesford, referred to as Philip throughout the bulk of the experiment. His fictional history was a smorgeseport of real history and

complete applications per the experiment. Philip was born in England in sixteen twenty four, served in the military throughout young adulthood, and was subsequently knighted at sixteen. Philip was serving in the English Civil War, where the parliamentarians and Royalists went to war over issues of England's governance and record on

religious freedom. When he met and later became a close ally for Charles, the second King of Scotland, England and Ireland until his deposition in sixteen fifty one, and later king from the sixteen sixty Restoration until his death in sixteen eighty five. Philip, though never had a chance to see much of Charles's rule, Having fallen in love with the romane E girl, she was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Despondent, Philip died by suicide in

sixteen fifty four. He would have been thirty years old. The group worked tirelessly to contact their invention, their fictional Philip, hoping that by sheer belief in him, they could in effect will the spirit of Philip to exist. These attempts, at first proved unsuccessful. Dr Owen then changed the experiment conditions, altering several key environmental variables, dimming the lights, for instance,

to more closely resemble a conventional seance. After dr Owen made these changes, participants reported phantom breezes, vibrations, vocal echoes, and a rapping sound whenever questions were posed to Philip. The table was said to tilt and move about the room without human contact. Audio, visual and firsthand accounts documented this phenomena. I've had luck with conducting experiments very close

to this one. If any of you have ever watched my show Kindred Spirits, you may remember an episode called Zombie Boy in season five where Adam Burry and I very much create a spirit, give it a backstory, and proceed to interact with it. What does any of that have to do with the historic haunt we're about to discuss, you ask, Well, we'll get into that at the end of this podcast, but keep it in the back of

your mind until then. Let's take a little trip to one of the most haunted states I know, Louisiana, and explore one of the most haunted locations I know, the Myrtles Plantation. I'm Amy Brunei, and this is haunted Road built in the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, is an outstanding example of a raised cottage plantation house. Particularly noteworthy is its size. Its front porch extends on seven ft, it's handsome cast iron vine and great patterned galleries, and

its interior plaster work. St. Francisville, where the plantation is located, is a charming, pocket book sized town with lavishly restored Creole style cottages and is situated on the Mississippi River. Myrtles Plantation hovers just beyond St. Francisville's Historic district up a long and meandering road. The plantation has manicured grounds

of moss draped oaks and crape myrtles. As for the main home itself, it's an aged two story cottage just around a bend in the road beyond the plantation entree gates. The structure appears delicate, even dainty, with outstretched porches below and galleries above, all be decked by ocean green shutters and decorative iron railings. The original home, called Laurel Grove, seemed destined to be a home of note, as it was built by Whiskey Rebellion conspirator David Bradford in the

late seventeen nineties. Bradford was born in Cecil, Maryland, in seventeen sixty two. He was one of five children born to Irish immigrant parents. He first made a name for himself in Washington County, Pennsylvania as a successful attorney businessman and deputy Attorney General for the county. His first attempt to marry ended only days before his wedding. Nothing is known about this, but he later met and married Elizabeth

Porter in seventeen eighty five and started a family. The family had a beautiful home built in Pennsylvania, but had little time to enjoy it. David was forced to flee the house in October seventeen ninety four after he became involved in the infamous Whiskey Rebellion, and legend has it that President George Washington placed a price on the man's head for his role in the affair. The Whiskey Rebellion began in seventeen ninety one in the wake of a

new federal tax on all distilled spirits, including whiskey. The tax law was intended to cover debt from the Revolutionary War, but because of the popularity of whiskey, it was easier to preserve for longer than rummer beer. It was opposed by many in places like the Western Frontier, where farmers relied on whiskey as a means of using up surplus materials as well as a form of currency. The whiskey tax was hotly resisted. In the summer of seven, a mob of five hundred men attacked the home of a

tax inspector in Pennsylvania. President Washington rode at the head of an army to suppress the insurgency with thirteen thousand militiamen provided by the governors of Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The rebels all went home before the arrival of the army, and there was no confrontation. Of the twenty or so arrested, all were acquitted, but it scared those involved and scattered some of them to the win, one of whom was our whiskey Dave Bradford. Leaving his

family behind, Bradford fled Pennsylvania. He first spent time in Pittsburgh before settling near what is now Sat. Francis Phille, Louisiana. Bradford was no stranger to the area. He had originally traveled here in seventeen ninety two to try and obtain a land grant from Spain. When he returned in seventeen ninety six, he purchased six hundred acres of land and a year later built a modest, eight room home that

he called Laurel Grove. He lived there alone until seventeen ninety nine, when he received a pardon for his role in the Whiskey Rebellion from newly elected President John Adams. He retrieved his family in Pennsylvania and they settled into Laurel Grove. When David Bradford died in eighteen o eight, Elizabeth or Eliza inherited the property. In eighteen seventeen, their daughter, Sarah Matilda Bradford, married Clark Woodruff, a lawyer who would

become a judge. Woodruff would also eventually take over ownership of the property from Eliza, but in the meantime managed the property for the family. Both Woodruff and Bradford enslaved people. In eighteen twenty, Eliza had twenty four persons in bondage, Woodruff had five. By eighteen thirty, Woodruff had thirty three

enslaved persons associated with him, while Eliza had ten. According to author Troy Taylor, Woodruff expanded the holdings of the plantation and planted about six hundred fifty acres of indigo and cotton. Together, he and Sarah Matilda had three children, Cornelia, Gayal James, and Mary Octavia. However, tragedy was on the horizon. Yellow fever was a threat in New Orleans and South

Louisiana virtually every year during the warmest months. Between eighteen twenty three and eighteen twenty four, Sarah Bradford Woodruff died along with two of her children. Yellow fever may have been the cause. The legend handed down says otherwise, Historians insist that Sarah Woodruffe and her daughters died in a yellow fever epidemic. This is hotly contested, and we'll get more into that shortly. Sarah went first on July twenty three.

Their son James passed almost a year later on July fifteen. In September eighteen twenty four, daughter Cornelia Gale was the third Woodroof to die from yellow fever. But they were not alone, as the epidemic raged through the Louisiana region. Clearly, the eighteen twenties were probably emotionally challenging for Woodruff, but not financially. The eighteen thirty census listed property ownership at

four thousand acres and four hundred eighty enslaved people. Woodruff eventually bought the property from his mother in law, Eliza Bradford. At this point, Eliza had outlived her husband, her daughter, and at least two grandchildren. She lived with Woodruff in the estate until her own death in eighteen thirty In eighteen thirty four, Woodruff sold Laurel Grove to married couple

Rough and Gray Sterling and marry Catherine Cobb. The Sterlings were a very wealthy family who owned several plantations on both sides of the Mississippi River. On January first, Ruff and Gray Sterling and his wife, Mary Catherine Cobb took over the house, land and buildings. They enslaved one hundred seventy three black men, women, and children, ranging an age from infancy to seventy years old. As prominent members of the community, they remodeled Laurel Grove to reflect their status.

They enlarged and embellished the house, orchestrated the planting of a myriad of crape myrtle trees and renamed the plantation the Myrtles. They added the ornate European chandeliers and elaborate floral moldings formed of moss and clay plaster. The completed project nearly doubled the size of David Bradford's original house. Ruff and Sterling died from tuberculosis in eighteen fifty four, so Mary assumed the responsibility for the property. Ruff And

Sterling and his wife had nine children. The most notable daughter for our purposes was Sarah. Their oldest son died in eighteen fifty four, the year his father passed away. Her daughter, Sarah Mulford Sterling, had married attorney William Winter in eighteen fifty two, and Mary Cobb requested Winter's help in managing the properties. Then came the Civil War. The Civil War certainly affected the family and the people they enslaved.

Many of the families personal belongings were looted and destroyed by Federal soldiers, and the wealth that they had accumulated was ultimately in worthless Confederate currency. To make matters worse for them, Mary Cobb had been invested heavily in sugar plantations that had been ravaged by the war. She eventually lost all of her property. Through her financial challenges, Mary decided to grant Sarah and William Winter the myrtles for

their personal use. Additionally, William was engaged as the family agent and attorney. In eighteen sixty seven, the Sterling Winter family lost the home due to debt after the Civil War, but Sarah Winter later regained her father's property. It isn't clear just what happened to put them in the financial position to retake the home, but it seemed as though things were improving for the family until in eighteen seventy one, William Winter was shot and, according to legend, staggered upstairs,

reaching the seventeenth step before expiring. A newspaper accounts hells

Us slightly different story. William was called to his front door by some person unknown on the night of the six at about seven and a half o'clock, and as he appeared at the door of his sitting room, there being no one in sight, he requested to know who wished to see him, and at that instant a double barrel gun was discharged at him, loaded with seven large buckshot, six of which took effect upon his person, five in his breast and one through his neck, killing him instantly.

Upon his stand, he fell and expired instantly without uttering a word. There are a number of theories and rumors about his death, especially regarding political or economic motivations about the plantation itself. According to a contemporary newspaper account, Mr Winter was not known by his most intimate friends, to have any enemies, or to be involved in any controversies

calculated to create bitter and homicidal passions against him. He was a gentleman of mild and dignified deportment, calm, prudent, and temperate in all things, who, whilst not engaged in professional pursuits, passed his time in the bosom of a happy family, dispensing a liberal hospitality, and living the life of a Christian gentleman. The death on the seventeenth step

detail seems to have been a later addition to this legend. Together, the two widows, mother Mary Cobb Sterling and daughter Sarah Sterling Winter, lived at the Myrtles until their respective deaths. Mary died in eighteen eighty and Sarah died in April of eighteen seventy eight. A Sterling son named Stephen owned the property until March of eighteen eighty six, when he either lost it due to gambling or could no longer

manage the debt associated with the property. After this time period, details of the property became more scarce until the middle of the twentieth century. By the nineteen fifties, the property surrounding the house had been divided among the Williams's hairs, and the house itself was sold to Marjorie Months and an Oklahoma widow who had been made wealthy by chicken farms. It was at this point that the ghost stories of

the house began. They started innocently enough, but soon what may have been real life ghostly occurrences took on a life of their own. Many of the stories, especially the details that culminated in the story of a ghost named Chloe, traced to Marjorie Munson. According to oral tradition, Munson experienced odd things in the house. Wondering if perhaps the old mansion might be haunted, She asked around, and that's when

the legend of Chloe got its start. Locals and members of the Williams family, who owned the house after nine swap stories about a woman in a green bonnet who haunted the halls of the Myrtles. The woman in those accounts was older than Chloe and specifically not characterized as enslaved, and rumors of an affair didn't exist yet when Munson heard this account, she soon penned a song about the ghost of the Myrtles, a woman in a green beret over the ars have we seen in many reported hauntings.

The story grew and changed. The Myrtles changed hands several more times, and in the nineteen seventies it was restored again under the ownership of Arlands and Mr. And Mrs Robert f. Ward. During this period, the story grew even larger and evolved to include poison murders and a severed ear. Up until this point, though, it was largely just a story that was passed on by word of mouth, and

it received little attention outside of the area. James and Francis Kiramin bought the Myrtles seemingly on a whim after passing through the area on a riverboat. That happenstance changed the course of the Myrtles Haunted history in general, and specifically impacted the legend of Chloe. Francis Kiramine and her husband Jim were the first Myrtles owners to turn the plantation into a business, a bed and breakfast that hosted

a mystery dinner, theater, and offered tours. The Kiramans published stories of the hauntings well beyond the scope the local community, and paranormal experts and enthusiasts from all over the country. Were enthralled. Apparently, the earliest accounts of Chloe to appear in print appeared in a November nineteen eighty issue of Life magazine and in Richard Weiner's book Houses of Horror. Both of them mentioned the poisoned deaths of Sarah, Matilda

and her daughters. Remember those names from the earlier yellow fever epidemic In the nineteen eighties, National Enquirer dubbed the site America's most haunted house, and the Appellachian stuck from the eighties and beyond, the hauntings associated with the property have snowballed. Additional deaths. Up to six more murders were added to the list. One of them Louis Sterling, the oldest son of Ruff and Gray. Sterling, was claimed to have been stabbed to death in the house over a

gambling debt. However, burial records in St. Francisville state that he died at the age of twenty three in October eighteen fifty four from yellow fever. Now, what about the legend of Chloe. The story says, shortly after Clark Woodruff married Sarah Bradford in eighteen seventeen, he noticed a teenaged enslaved girl named Chloe as she went about the property. Woodruff brought Chloe into the main house to be his concubine, but Chloe had a bad habit of eavesdropping on the judge.

He caught her with her ear pressed to the door of the gentleman's parlor while he was engaged in business one day. As punishment, he had Chloe's left ear cut off and banished her to the plantation kitchen behind the big house. After the mutilation, Chloe wore a head wrap to disguise the wound and a single earring in her other ear. Banishment didn't please her at all, so the legend goes, a plan was devised Chloe would bake a birthday cake for the judge's twin daughters and spike it

with the poisonous leaves of the oleander plant. The cake would sicken the girls, but Chloe would nurse them back to health and all would be forgiven. Except again, according to legend, that didn't happen. The two girls and their mother ate enough to die from the oleander poison, and Chloe fled to the quarters for the enslaved, but she was found out and a local judge ordered her hanged. After her death, her remains were dumped into the near

by Mississippi River. Due to her violent death and improper burial, Chloe haunts the Big House and the grounds of the Myrtles to day. So the story goes. As for the specter of a woman in a green turban, that very well may be true, but there's no evidence that she's Chloe. It comes from a family oral tradition and wasn't meant for the general public. None the less, she may have been what prompted the owner, Marjory Munson, to start asking

around in the first place. Francis Myers claimed that she encountered the ghost in the Green Turban in nineteen eighty seven. She was asleep in one of the downstairs bedrooms when she was awakened suddenly by an African American woman wearing a green turban and a long dress. She was standing silently beside the bed, holding a metal candlestick in her hand. She was so real that the candle even gave off

a soft glow. Knowing nothing about ghosts, she was terrified and pulled the covers over her head and started screaming. Then she slowly looked out and reached out a hand to touch the woman who had never moved, and to her amazement, the apparition vanished. Through research, author Joe Nickel hasn't found any sources that provide any evidence that the Chloe tale is true, attributing it, if at all, to legend. Archives in St. Francisville do nothing to enlighten the situation.

Their holdings have not proven that Chloe existed at all. Historical sources don't support the existence of Chloe, let alone the crimes associated with her. The legends usually claimed that Sarah and her two daughters were poisoned, but Mary Octavia survived well into adulthood. Finally, Sarah James and Cornelia Woodruff were not killed by poisoning, but instead succumbed to yellow fever. So all of that being said, many claimed the legend of Chloe is just that a legend, but those connected

to the home sometimes say otherwise. William Winter's spirit is believed to haunt the home since his murder, as is the spirit of his morning wife, Sarah eternally in black. Allegedly, the labored footsteps of Winter's ghost can be heard on the stairs. As I mentioned, legend has it that once reaching the seventeenth step of the staircase, Winter had climbed

just high enough to die in his beloved's arms. Ever since, it's been claimed that ghostly footsteps have been heard coming into the house, walking to the stairs, and then climbing to the seventeenth step, where they of course come to an end. There's mention of a Confederate soldier spirit who's polite, but there's also a rumor that specters from the Union side have also lingered on the property. There's a story that during the Civil War, three Union soldiers broke into

the Myrtles with the intent to rob the home. However, they were allegedly shot to death in the gentleman's parlor, leaving bloodstains on the floor that refused to be wiped away. Researchers claim to have discovered no historical record indicating that any of this happen, and specifically, the story has been refuted by some descendants. Another spirit attributed to the property is that of a nineteen twenties caretaker who wanders the grounds,

sometimes telling tourists that the place is closed. During another attempt to rob the home, this time in nineteen twenty seven, a caretaker was supposedly murdered, but again according to historians, as of now, there's no evidence that it happened. The Myrtles also has a very famous haunted mirror that hangs in a prominent position. This mirror contains dark shadows that are said to be the imprinted spirits of the dead

wife and children of Judge Woodruff. Another legendary haunted artifact on site is the portrait of an anonymous man hanging in the second floor foyer. His expression is believed to change right before viewers eyes, and his eyes seem to follow people as they move through the room. So the Myrtles as quite a storied fiast of property, no doubt. It's certain you've seen its share of dark history, tragedy

and death. So it's no wonder it's haunted. But let's hear some of these stories firsthand from the Myrtles property Ambassador Hester eb Miss Hester worked at the Myrtles for decades and even now retired, continues to be their spokesperson, and she does have some very fascinating stories. After that, I want to dive a bit into what I think maybe going on at the Myrtles and how even if the leadend of Chloe isn't true, and she never existed. She could still very much be haunting the old plantation

home all right. Now, I am currently joined by Miss Hester Hester Eby, who is now the property ambassador for Myrtles Plantation. She was the former director of tours, but she recently retired, but she's still very much involved in Myrtles. So thank you for joining me, Miss Hester. Thank you for asking us. Of course, Now, Myrtles is interesting because every other location just about on Haunted Road I have visited in some way, and Myrtles is one of the few that I have not yet had the pleasure to

pay a visit too. So I'm learning along with all of the listeners about the property. And you know, the history is vast, it sounds like. So before we get into it too deeply, can you just kind of tell us how you got involved in the property and how long you've been involved with the property. First of all, I'd like to invite all of you to come visit us.

It's really an experience. It's easy to talk about, but once you've been with us and sid the night or even spent a couple of hours on the grounds taking a few photographs, or whatever. It's amazing. It's really an experience that you want to have for yourself. But I started the Myrtles about twenty some years ago, and like anyone else looking for a job, I didn't have transportation at the time, a long time ago. So I called and the owner at the time was Francis Kermy and

she said, well, come by please and let's talk. And so I did. And I say that the Myrtles for years. In fact, I'm still there. But you know, we're known to be hard, and it's not anything that just started yesterday. I mean, I'm an old woman. I'm in my sixties now. So even when I was a child living in Woodville, Mississippi, if we drove by the Myrtles, it's like, don't point over there, don't point over there. It's bad luck because it's haunted. So not just the tale told, it's really true.

Anything from hearing footsteps for no reason, or hearing your name Carled and thinking that it's a co worker because it's their voice and they're into what they're doing. But seventeen ninety six was when it was built to the states that it is now. Seventeen ninety four's when it started and a man named General David Bradford thought it at all. He came from Pennsylvania, built the Myrtles, and it went on to his son in law and then from then seventeen uh the Sterlings added all the beauty

that we see today to the Myrtles. I mean, we have taken a pretty deep dive into the history and the first half of the episode, and there's just so much history to it as far as who has been associated with it over the years, and it sounds like there's also a lot of stories that kind of have come from it that may not necessarily actually have happened, you know, and it's like kind of trying to weave through, you know, what's historically accurate and what is lore and

things like that. And you said in the beginning about how important it is to visit it, and I completely agree with you. You know, it's so interesting because I've heard stories for so long about the Myrtles, and I have friends that just feel very attached to it in a way that it's just a very important place to them. They go back and visit every year, and it's just kind of one of those haunts and one of those

places that draw people in. Do you think there was kind of a bit of that when you started, Did you feel just kind of compelled to be there in some way? Well, when I first started, of course, as I said, it was a job. But then the first day that I got there, the beauty of it, it's just overwhelming. It's I walked into the parlors and it was like I was walking into something out of the movies that you just didn't know what exists in San Francis too, Louisiana. So you have an attachment to it.

And the more people visit, and the more you get to know people, and the more they tell you their stories about the mysteries of the Myrtles, and you can relate to it because well, you know, this happened to a couple of few days ago or whatever. You know, it's conversation. And when I first started working at the Myrtles, unlike now, people just didn't believe. They didn't talk about ghosts. They just didn't believe some of the things that happened

at the Myrtles. And although haunted places as well, I'm sure actually happened, but I mean, we have proof of it. It's too many of us that sat at each other and talk with each other and experience pretty close to the same things. Yeah. Absolutely, So what was the first thing that happened to you there that you knew something was going on at the Myrtles. Well, the very first thing that happened is when And this was very, very

just the first day that I came. I didn't realize what was happening at the time, but a few months later I realized. I came to on the parking lot. It was the early morning. I didn't see but one car, and I was looking for the owner at the time, so I didn't see anyone. And my first thought was, you know, you got the times mixed up. No one is here. I came to the front of the house and the door was a jar a bit, just opened

just slightly, and there was a lady. She was on the staircase, I mean, just a lady, and she begged for me to come up. And of course, you know, I hadn't been there before. I didn't know. I mean, I wouldn't do that. So I kind of peeped in and I called and I don't know if I said hello there or whatever, but no one answered. And what by the time I looked back up after kind of peeping my head in and calling. The lady was on the staircase kind of becking for me to come up.

So anyway, I didn't do that, and I left the door the way it was, and I was headed back to the parking lot and Francis Kerman was in a little garden area, whether a sister and or well is, and she was doing flowers and she said hey, and so we got to talking and whatever, and I remember very well she had on a green movement that's, you know, a big dress and uh, purple pump, and purple is my favorite coast. I know this goes plump. And so we were talking a bit and she said, can you

start work tomorrow? Well, first of all, you don't know me that well, you hadn't got a resume or anything on. It kind of puzzled me just a bit, but I said yes, and she said, oh, you can start doing tours. I said tours? Was that about? Because I wasn't familiar. And then she went on and told me. I said, I know nothing about this house. And she said, oh, I don't give you the information you need. And so

I started and then it went on and about three weeks. Well, I guess maybe a month, maybe a little over a month or so. Maybe. I asked her about the lady on the staircase. She said, Oh, don't worry about her, but that lady, I mean, she was a spirit. She was a lady, and she just begged for me to come up. She was not an antevelop gown or anything like that. She had on what looked like maybe a day dress or something that would have been popular for the arian. I don't know. It was so quick, but

the lady she was telling me, was a spirit. She existed, but not in human form. But I mean she was a lady, becking for me to come up. Yeah. We hear that a lot, where people will see an apparition and it just to them looks like a person. And it makes you wonder how many times we've seen apparitions in our lives and just didn't realize that they were a spirit because they do look so solid, exactly exactly.

We have photographs and one of the most famous one is a lady and she's an antebellum gown, but she's on the staircase, you know, I mean, she's seeing who's coming into her home. That's the way I feel. Yeah, And so who do you think that was? You have any idea? I don't know, because I wouldn't go as far back as the eighteen hundreds. The way the lady looks, I really don't know. We with our cameras now, even our phone cameras or whatever, we're picking up things so quickly,

you know. It's not like the old photographs used to be had to wait for her to get developed and all that. We're picking up things that are actually happening around us that we're not aware of, right right, I have no idea of who she was, But as I said, I don't believe she goes as far back as the eight hundreds the way she was dressed. On the contrary,

you can tell they're dressed in period costa. We had a young man not that long ago thought it was a thrill to have his wife come to a hunting house to do some surprise that happens all the time. And she realized she was at the myrtles and it's like, honey, I don't know if I can stay in the main house, you know, And so we got ready to move them to one of our cottages, which people do want to stay on the grounds, but not actually stay in the main house because of the age and because of so

many stories. And he went upstairs. She went to the other room him. He went upstairs to get the rest of their stuff and their luggage, and he took a while. But when he came down, he said, oh, you know what, I met the owner and we, you know, kind of looked at each other and he said, yeah. He said, I was lucky enough to meet Mr Winter. And he said, it's great that all of you dressed in costume. Now I never dressed in costume, but our cher guys to do,

and it adds to it. People love that. But Mr Winter owned the home in the eighteen hundreds, and for someone to tell him that he was Mr Winter and then someone to be up there in costume, because he said, you know, he even tipped his top hat to me when we first started our conversation. But who he talked to with someone from the past, I don't doubt he

talked to him at all. That's fascinating. Yeah, But when he went over, you know, to talk to his girlfriend and let her know that they were all settled for the night. Uh, she still didn't feel comfortable saying Mr Winter, he was shot right according to legend, did that actually happen or oh, yes, it really did happen. He died on the seventeenth step of the main staircase. And the story goes that Mr Winterer he had a few things

going on. He had married the sterling's daughter, their only daughter, and he was from St. Louis. He had left a lady in St. Louis spoiled the so the writing said. But in that time he may have even kissed her. You know, that was considered an automatic engagement. And he owed a huge gambling debt, and he had a good chance of becoming governor at the time it was written.

But he had quite a few enemies as well. So the story goes that someone wrote up following gentleman in need of an attorney, and Mr Winterer came out of his gentleman's parlor onto his north porchway to answer the collar. But when he got to the porch way, whoever it was on horseback shot him and continued to go, but the blast blew him back into his home, and he made it through the parlors trying to reach his wife, and the seventeenth step is where he died in her

arms as he was calling for her. She was trying to get him, and this is where you know he took his last breath. So a lot of times people hear the footsteps, they hear a lady's cry, and sometimes the smell of perfume is overwhelming to people that are in that upstairs sweet where Mr Winter and his wife shared. So it is said also that a lot of people will put a ball on the seventeenth step because Mr

Winter didn't like children playing ball in the home. And I don't know if they did it or not, but on the seventeenth step, if you place a ball there, the story goes. And I have not seen it personally happened, but I've seen it where people have set up their cameras and you will see that ball come off that seventeen step and it comes off with a force. It's

just no one kicked it or something right. So, when I was going through the history, I think that sometimes people assume every spirit or ghost is from like an older time period, But the history has just been kind of constant with the myrtles as far as death's associated with the poverty who has lived there over the years now, you having spent so much time there, who do you think is maybe the most prevalent spirit in the plantation. I would guess Chloe is, because she loves the idea

of being around people. She seems to be fascinated with jewelry, and so I do believe out of all the years that I have been there and out of personal things that have kind of happened to me, and you just wonder, well, you know, was this something out of the supernatural or was it just something that happened, you know that just does not happen every day. But I think she is.

In fact, I think people see her more than we realize, because we have a restaurant on the grounds as well, so everything you need is right there, and we've had guests just on the back porch and the rockers, you know, in late evening, and they told us how nice it is they have everyone, the waitresses in the restaurant in costume. Who they're seeing, I don't know, because our waitresses are not in costume. But it was an area where you would go back and forth from the butler's pantry to

get food prepared for the household. And who they're seeing is probably people from the past. That's so crazy because that happens like in Gettysburg a lot too. Or people will think they're seeing re enactments and then turn around and no one is there, and you know, they're just assuming that it's people in costume. Now, I feel like the Ghost of Chloe, like that is a story too

that I don't know as always properly portrayed. You know, it sounds like not everyone is convinced that things happen the way they say they it historically, and that's something like we're always trying to clear up what have you heard? What is the story of Chloe according to what you

all think? Well, the story goes that the second owner, Judge Clark Woodroff, General Bradford's son in law, took on a mistress that was one of his house servants and she was caught eavesdropping on some of the family business

and as punishment, she cut off her left earload. Well, it left her so upset that a few days later she baked the birthday cake for his oldest daughter, used the juices some a popular leaf the oleander baked it in the family's cake, killing the Judges's wife, Sarah, and two of their children and their three of the ghosts, along with Chloe the slaves who still lived there. After Chloe confessed of poisoning, she was killed. And this is

the story that we tell. But I do want to say, you know, Ki was a nanny of the children, so she care of them. It's just a personal feeling that after she was sent to the fields, away from the children, that she wanted to do something to get back in

the good graces of the family. So this is and this is in my opinion, that she did the cake, not thinking that put the lander in a birthday cake, not thinking that she would kill the children by any means, or the mother which also died, but that she would make them ill having to care of them for years. She could come back in knowing what was already wrong. There's them back to health and get on the good graces of everyone again and be invited back into the household.

But it was overdone. Regardless to why the reasons, it was overdone and they all died. And after Coli confessed to the poisoning, I believe she confessed taking someone older or wiser will be able to save the family. Of course, she is killed, but that is the most popular story, and a lot of people question that story, but I do not, because something happened there, and she and the children are very often seen, and a lot of people say that she has a knack of showing up. We

have a mirror in the fourier that's very popular. I'm sure you've heard about it, and they the face of the children and Chloe show up, without a doubt. I have seen that and people have said that they took the picture and it looks like a first children are there, but then it looks like something larger shape of a person comes and kind of coverage the children, as if she's pushing them away. I believe it's Chloe and our children that were poisoned, but I believe she's still trying

to protect them no matter what. So that's the most popular story of the Myrtles in my viewpoint, and a lot of people have the scene the in mirror, the image of Choe as well as the children, and most of the time the children first, and this this image coming as if it's protecting them. A lot of our guests, and then especially in the old side of the hall, which would have been the only side that was they're

doing Koe's time. A lot of times they've gotten warm, pulled their covers back a wake an hour so later it's only two of them, but yet they're tucked in tightly. Things like that has happened. We used to have school, or COVID has now kind of delayed us with everything. But we're on the National Register of Historical Places, so a lot of school groups come to visit us, and I had had a couple of times. Same day, two kids asked me, are you hungry? And one little girl

asked me, I guess she was. I don't know how she was. She was in the elementary, but she was with her mother and there was a group of about fifteen of them and we were waiting for them to tap their turn to go into the house. I was just killing time and talking to him or whatever. And when I got to the end of the line, she and her mother were the last people, and she said,

why are you dirty? And I kind of looked down at myself because it was after lunch, you know, I'm known to do that, and it looked pretty decent, you know, I didn't look like I had it filled anything. And she said, are you hungry? And I realized as she was talking to me, she was looking to the side of me, is if someone was behind me, and she was not talking to me at all, but I was trying to answer her. And then I said, honey, are

you talking to me? And she said no, and then she turned around as if she was talking to someone behind me, and uh. I looked at her mother, and her mother looked at me kind of smiled or whatever, because she never want to I don't know how parents feel, so we never said, oh, she sees a ghost and their children, so I didn't. I was waiting for the next step from her parents, and then her mother kind of winked at me, and I waked my eye back.

And then after they went in, the mother stayed out and talked to me for a second and she said, I really think she was talking to someone else behind you. I said, yeah, I get that feeling too. Yeah. I mean, that's really the way to handle it. We've always asked me like how to handle ghosts and children, and I feel like you guys were doing the exact correct thing.

Was just kind of not make a big deal out of it, because then that makes them afraid, whereas if you just kind of act like it's, you know, just a normal happening. Then they just move on from it and don't dwell on it. You know, they see things I believe very often that we do not. I had a young man with his grandfather and they came on tour and I was just talking to him or whatever, and if we have extra time, we listened to a story that they want to tell. And this gentleman told me.

He said he and his grandson were arriving around on their property and they do it almost every other evening on a four wheeler. And when his grandson was younger and the little boy was about ten at the time, they were using us. When the little boy was young or he would tell his grandfather to stop by this house that used to belong to an old lady that lived on the property way before he bought it. And he wouldn't get off before Willow, but he would wave

that Miscedi, and he would do it. You know, he just do it because he asked him to. We do all you things to our grandchildren. And so this particular evening, after he stopped seeing Mercedie and she would wave at him from the porch, his grandfather stopped by Mercedes house, you know, gave it a pause and he said, pahpa, while you stopping, He said, don't you want to wave that mess? Sadies said, Mercedes not here anymore. She's gonna heaven. And so after that they never stopped by Mercedes house.

But when he was at the Myrtles, we were talking, we were in the ladies parlor. He had his attention to the gentleman's parlor, which is right next door for some reason, and eventually, you know, he moved a little bit towards the parlor, moved a little more, and we knew as if he wanted to go in that room, and he couldn't wait for us, So I told his grand aither he could go ahead. So he went in

the room, and he went to the corner. And when he went to that corner, I knew was the corner that a lot of kids have said that there's a little boy playing marbles. And I didn't hear the marbles on the floor, because sometimes we've heard that it's a wood floor. But he went in that corner and he acted if he was talking to someone. So he held his little hand out and then he closed it and we kept, you know, we kept talking to each other.

And when he got into the next room, he opened his little hand to show his papa that he had a rock, and his papa asked, Hi, where did he get the rock? Prom he pointed, in there, a child

gave it to him. In there, he said, And then all of a sudden he stopped talking to us about it, and he did his little finger over his lips like you would do when you were saying, you know, be quiet, And so he did that, and we knew that the person in there that he was seeing and we could not was telling him not to talk to us about it.

If they sound like such interactive spirits, you know, the fact that people see them so strongly and think that they're just a living human being is so fascinating to me. Like how often are people having experiences there? Well, when I was there on a daily basis, it was something that we could not predict. It would at least a month would not go by without someone having something happened. And a lot of times they didn't realize that at the time. They would send us photographs back saying who

is this? You know, and of course you know you can't always answer, you can. Yeah, In fact, you never are sure of an answer, but you can tell them what this story was told about this area. You know. But some people I think are attracted to persons from their past. You know. I think that sometimes people from their past seemed to kind of connect at the myrtles. And I could be wrong about that, but I've seen so many times. We had some guests that came to visit and they went on a trip that they do

every year. Well, unfortunately one of their friends had passed on and he was not able to come on this trip. They sent me a photograph and they said, look at this. Well, I'm looking at the photographs and I don't know because everyone seems like, you know, just normal. And I thought they meant I could see something in the background like other photographs. Who is this or whatever? But then when I looked at the two pictures that they sent me,

I saw nothing. And then on the little letter that they sent me, which I should have read first, I guess the little note it says that Don is here, and so then they have a little arrow that they drew to the man that is done. Well, Don looks like everyone else to me, but Don is the person that was no longer with them. That is wild. It makes me wonder, like, what is it about the myrtles,

Like what's going on there? You know, no, I know, but it's look not to be and I know you're not because you're so used to this and you travel to other places so much, and people are just so they're not like they used to be. You know. It's nothing to scare you. It's just I know, it's kind of unbelievable, but it happens, you know, it just happens. I mean, I don't know why they're drawn to the myrtles.

I know that we have a lot of past that involves you know, ghosts and mysteries and whatever, but it continues to happen. It just rolls on. We've had guests that have stayed in one room and the ladies they're overwhelmed with sadness for some reason, so much so that they're shedding a little tear and they don't know why. But we are sensitive as women, and a lot of times too if it involves a child, that really kicks in.

So this particular room, the family Williams Room, there's always kind of a sadness there and people have said the children still play in the closet there, and I do believe it. Yeah, I mean, now you're you're making me want to visit even more. I always have wanted to visit. Now, how did everything I knew that IDA didn't really affect that area in particular, but I know the Myrtles was housing some evacuees and everything. So how are things bearing

there now? Everything is going as well as can be expected. And we were lucky in this area, so we were able to help our neighbors and help our friends. And the Myrtles still has some guests staying with us because they're unable to go to their home right now, and that's a good thing. But in fact, you know, Louisiana, you've seen it on all of our commercials and it's

really really true. As our Lieutenant governor and our governor says, we're set of people that look out for each other and we're strong people and we're not leaving this area because of hurricane and whatever else because we love where we are. But to answer you, the Myrtles is still sheltering people and we'll continue to do it as long as needed. And that's just the way it is. Well, Louisiana is one of my absolute favorite places to visit.

I've been really fortunate to see quite a bit of the state, but I definitely need to at the Myrtles off at some point very soon. I do really appreciate you sitting and telling us some great stories, and I think everyone's interest is very peaked. I'm sure people will be paying a visit very soon. If they want to book a day or anything, they just head to the website. Right are you guys doing tours right now? We are.

We only close for tour of the short period that you know we're asked to because of COVID, but everything is as close to normal as we can get it, and we welcome our guests. Bed and Breakfast still open. As I said, our restaurant is outstanding and some of the food that you will only get in the South is certainly there. But you know, we have tours every

day and of course in the evenings. This is what really is exciting to me, and I love it because on Friday and Saturday nights we still do evening tours and those tours are focused on nothing but ghost stories and I love that and a lot of times when

our GUIDs start the tours, you'll have someone. It's like children in a classroom have someone in the back wants to say something and they will raise their handle and they have a story to tell, and we take time for that because it's an our tour and it's it's enjoyable.

I love that you guys are doing that because I mean, I just feel like the history of the Myrtles is incredibly important, and then I think sometimes when you add in ghost stories and legends and mysteries, it just really gets people interested and you know, they learned so much as a byproduct with that as well. So I love what you're all doing there and I can't wait to visit. So thank you so much for spending some time with me. I know we went back and forth trying to make

this interview happened. I'm so glad it finally happened, and I really appreciate it that it happened as well. And I'm so sorry I missed you on Friday, But you know what I'm saying. Franceville is a beautiful town anyway, So you know, we have other plantations as well, so I mean, we're just in the heart of everything, and I want you to come and please let me know when you're coming. It's gonna be being news anyway, probably everyone will know. But let me know when you're coming

so we can meet each other. I would love that so thank you so much. I appreciate you taking the time. All right, thank you, love Blaye bye. The reason I cited the Philip experiment at the beginning of the podcast was because, after going through the history and research of the Myrtles, I was convinced the story of Chloe was a legend, a story passed down for decades, something we

see all too often in the paranormal. Many times these bits of misinformation can be truly harmful because they cause existing spirits to be misidentified or ignored and in turn frustrated.

But as I spoke with Miss Hester and she relaid the story of Chloe so strongly, it dawned on me that whether the story of Chloe actually happened, it has been so long perpetuated one way or another at the Myrtles and become so incredibly detailed and elaborate that our creation of Chloe could very well be walking those halls. The same apply is for every other rumored spirit or death that took place there. Maybe William didn't make it to step seventeen and fall dead in that spot. But

in our minds he did. In the minds of the thousands upon thousands of people who have visited, they all stared at those steps. They all envisioned this man making it to step seventeen and collapsing in his love's arms, And then slowly the footsteps started. Am I saying this is for sure what's occurring at the Myrtles? Absolutely not.

I have yet to set foot inside. To be honest, the stories of Chloe could very well be true, just documentation of it well and purposefully hidden, as we've seen in so many other tragic instances when researching enslaved people of that time. Yet, if it is what's happening there, what does that mean for other hauntings? How do we determine which are of actual spiritual origin and which are

coming from us? Regardless, as Miss Hester seemed to allude to, there is something very peculiar and very special happening at the Myrtles, something that seems very different from any haunting I've encountered before. Armed with all this information, theory and speculation, I intend to visit very soon, and I hope you will too, Haunted Road is a production of I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. The podcast is written and hosted by Amy Bruney. Executive producers include

Aaron Manky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. The show is produced by rema Ill Kali and Trevor Young. Taylor Haggerdorn is the show's researcher. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.