Literary Travel: Haunts of New Orleans

6 Oct

New Orleans’ dark underbelly, supernatural superstition and witching practices are well documented, so in preparation for spooky season and perhaps as you choose something to read, perhaps with a beignet and chicory coffee, you might consider opening one of these titles that explore the city’s devilish dark history – from fires to fever mistreatment, and spiritual tradition mixed with paranormal presences. 

Beyond the French Quarter, Bourbon Street, Frenchman Street, the swamp lands surrounding, Café du Monde, Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, and even a cemetery tour by day, New Orleans offers another bloodline to explore, one that continues to haunt and inspire today.

Once you venture off the touristy paths, you realize that New Orleans has much more intrigue behind hidden doors, windows shut and bolted from the outside, secret messages, and taboo rituals. So, if you find yourself there, these books could help you understand what ghoul is walking among you, what legend is pulling you in, or what spirit or occult practice is summoning your energy.  

Non-Fiction

Haunted New Orleans by Bonnye Stuart: A tour through the city’s most reputedly haunted addresses, from Garden District mansions to French Quarter courtyards – told through ghost stories from locals. In BCCLS catalog

Haunted New Orleans by Troy Taylor: ghost-lore historian Troy Taylor walks us through the fires, plagues, and violence behind the city’s most famous haunted sites, including the French Quarter, the cemeteries or “Cities of the Dead” History weaves with ghost story. Audiobook on Hoopla.

New Orleans Vampires by Marita Crandle: Written by the owner of the French Quarter’s Boutique du Vampyre, this traces how New Orleans became America’s vampire capital, from fiction works to folklore and real historical studies. It’s the origin story behind the city’s most successful piece of self-mythologizing. In BCCLS catalog. Ebook in Hoopla.

The Magic of Marie Laveau by Denise Alvarado: A hands-on spiritual guide built around the real Marie Laveau’s legacy, offering prayers, rituals, and practices drawn from the Voodoo Queen’s tradition rather than just her legend. Written for practitioners, not tourists. In BCCLS catalog. Ebook in Hoopla. Audiobook in Hoopla.

Witch Queens, Voodoo Spirits, and Hoodoo Saints by Denise Alvarado: A broader guidebook to New Orleans’ occult landscape, including its Voodoo queens, Hoodoo saints, and resident spirits. The title maps the city’s magical practices back to their cultural roots and tradition. In BCCLS catalog. Ebook in Hoopla. Audiobook in Hoopla

The Axeman of New Orleans by Miriam C. Davis: The true story of the early 1900’s axe murderer who terrorized the city’s Italian immigrant community and mailed a letter to the newspaper claiming to be the devil himself. This is a true-crime account of a case that was never solved. In BCCLS catalog.  

Fiction:

The Originals (TV): The Original vampire family – Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah Mikaelson – return to New Orleans to reclaim their faction of the city they built centuries ago, but witches, werewolves, rival vampires await along with an unborn child prophecy. The Originals is a spinoff of The Vampire Diaries. In BCCLS catalog

Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice: Louis de Pointe du Lac recounts two centuries of his life to a modern-day reporter, starting with his transformation into a vampire on a Louisiana plantation by the seductive, Lestat. Their toxic bond results in their vampire-child Claudia. This novel begins Rice’s fictional landscape of New Orleans as the birthplace of American vampire fiction. In the BCCLS catalog.

(Movie and AMC series also available in the BCCLS catalog and Hoopla.)

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice: Neurosurgeon Rowan Mayfair discovers she’s the latest in a centuries-long line of New Orleans witches bound to Lasher, a spirit who has shaped her family since the 1600s. In BCCLS catalog.

(AMC series also available on Hoopla.)

Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson: Told as one long letter from Constanta to the ancient vampire, Dracula, who saved and then possessively remade her. It’s a gothic retelling that follows her from a peasant girl to an immortal realizing her “savior” is also her captor. In BCCLS catalog. Audiobook on Hoopla.

Hit subscribe to get weekly updates on posts from the Hoboken Public Library!

Written by:
Sean Willey
Information and Digital Services Assistant

Tags: , , , , , , ,

New Fantasy Fiction: The Lost Spectacular, Spellstruck, The Haunted Librarian and Vengefully Matched

1 Oct
The cover for The Lost Spectacular by Zoe Duhaime. Include a drawing of a cat over the words You're Invited to... The Lost Spectacular. A large umbrella forms the top of a circus tent. There also drawings of a young woman and man as well as two houses, paper airplanes, books, a fountain pen, and old fashioned lanterns along the covers edges.
Cover for Spellstruck: A Novel by Martha Waters, author of Then There was One. Features a brown haired man wearing a suit standing next to a blond woman with a curly bob in a beaded flapper dress holding a smoking martini. They are standing in front of a bar surrounded by blue curtains; beaded chains hang in front of them.
Cover of The Haunted Librarian by National Bestselling Author of The Late-Night Witches, Aurallee Wallace. Includes drawing of a chair surrounded by stacks of books. A table next to the chair has a Tiffany style lamp with a teapot and a teacup which has steam rising from it in the shape of a ghost. Text above the title says, "It's time for a new chapter."

The Lost Spectacular
by Zoe Duhaime
The Lost Spectacular by Zoe Duhaime is a charming whimsical fantasy set in a City Not-Unlike-Montreal and a City That-Could-Have-Been-New York. Having a fondness for both cities, I enjoyed how she captured their essences even with a few tweaks here and there. Two childhood friends are now rivals, one, Munro Forrest a curator seeking to preserve, the other, Noon Bonaventure, a former bookstore proprietress steals forgotten bits from stories and art for her own use and that of the Spectacular, a marvelous metafiction dream carnival. The story is sure to delight fans of Erin Morgenstern’s Night Circus and the works of Jeanette Winterson. The Lost Spectacular is a deeply moving bittersweet nostalgic journey through classic works that explores the process of loss, letting go, and reconciliation. You’ll long to visit The Spectacular yourself; Duhaime’s novel is one you won’t soon forget!

Spellstruck
by Martha Waters
Spellstruck is a fun historic fantasy set in 1920’s Britain where alcohol is legal, but potions and spellcasting are not. The novel is populated with charming characters including the whimsical flapper, Vesper Holloway. Vesper is the proprietor of a private club that mixes cocktails with spell ingredients activated by her family’s word of power. When odd incidents start happening at magic speakeasies in London, Vesper gets involved with an old family friend who is now part of FLEA, the agency enforcing the ban on magic. Magic is fading in the spellcasting families so spells tend more about making someone more glamourous or food taste better rather than having dramatic effects so this story will appeal to those looking for fantasy that is light on violence and gore. This is a delightful novel that will appeal to fans of cozy mysteries, fantasy and romances with quirky and compelling characters. Fans of this story can also check out the romances Christmas is All Around You and Regency Vows series also by Waters.

The Haunted Librarian
Auralee Wallace
The Haunted Librarian is Auralee Wallace’s new cozy fantasy romance about an introverted bookworm, Amelia, who is cursed with the ability to see ghosts. When she is hired to be the night librarian at a charming library branch with a handsome head librarian, she thinks it is her dream job despite the warnings of the ghosts she sees along the way. I found this to be a fast paced and fun read. It was enjoyable to see how prickly Amelia learned to open herself to others and not hide behind lies to find friendship and a sense of belonging. Working in a library, myself, I found some of those story details did not always ring true, but the emotional heart of the story shone through and I’d highly recommend this one. If you enjoy this story you can also checkout more magical reading from Wallace including In the Company of Witches and The Late-Night Witches.

Vengefully Matched
by Audrey Goldberg Ruoff
Vengefully Matched is the new novel by Audrey Goldberg Ruoff and is about the sister of one of the love interests, Azrael, in her previous romance Hopelessly Teavoted. Pricilla Hart fled her wedding on her way to the alter when she realized she and her ex weren’t compatible, embarrassing herself in front of the witch community. But standing in her way from restoring her reputation is Agatha Vanderbilt Voisin the pink loving witch council president and frequent victim of Pricilla’s pranks. I did wish there had been a bit more character development beyond often characters sharing didactic view points and I felt the plot felt a bit jumbled, but there is a lot going on in the novel to keep one interested including mysterious attacks on Agatha. This will appeal to those who enjoy spicy enemies to lovers romance stories and fast-paced cotemporary fantasies that bring in modern language and social issues. Fans of Ann Acguire’s Fix-It Witches series may also enjoy this series.

Cover of Vengefully Matched: A Novel by Audrey Goldberg Ruoff, author of Hopelessly Teavoted. Includes a drawing of a tall black haired woman in a black dress facing a shorter blonde woman in a pink dress suit. Behind them is a table with a computer monitor, flowers in beakers, and a mug. Shelves on the wall contain books, candles, and a skull. A large window shows leafless tree branches, a full moon, and a shimmering trail of purple sparkles.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

Tags: , , , , ,

← Older Entries