The Myrtles Plantation Ghosts

The legend of Myrtles Plantation ghosts has grown stronger and stronger with time. If you have ever been interested in ghost stories and haunted places, you would definitely have heard about Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana.

Considered to be one of the most haunted buildings in America, Myrtles Plantation is a bed and breakfast hotel today, and has been and continues to be the testing ground for scores of ghost hunters.

Some estimations claim that Myrtles Plantation houses at least 12 ghosts, and it is said that there have been 10 murders in the house.

Well nobody questions the authenticity of the claim that the house is haunted, only a handful of stories behind its ghosts are backed with facts. Nevertheless, the legends of Myrtles Plantation are as fascinating as the idea of ghosts itself.

The Legend of Chloe

One of the most popular ghosts of Myrtles Plantation is that of Chloe. She is said to have been a slave owned by Clark and Sara Woodruff, but this is not supported by historical reports.

In fact, there are no reports claiming that Woodruff owned any slaves. Nevertheless, many believe that the plantation is haunted by Chloe.

There are two versions to the legend behind Chloe. One is that Clark Woodruff forced her to be his mistress. The second is that she used to listen in on the conversations of Woodruffs through the keyholes.

Either way, on being caught, the Woodruffs cut off one of her ears. It is said that she used a green turban to cover her cut-off ear.

Chloe, in an attempt to take revenge on the Woodruffs, is said to have used boiled and reduced extracts of the poisonous oleander leaves while baking a birthday cake. There are many other contradicting reasons as to why she did this.

Her revenge plan did not go completely as planned as only Sara Woodruff and her two daughters ate the cake, and succumbed to the poison.

Clark and his son did not eat the cake and escaped the fate of the rest of the family. Chloe was then hanged to death. Her body was later thrown into the Mississippi River.

Even to this day, many people claim that a woman wearing a green turban haunts the place.

William Winter and The 17 Steps

William Winter and Sarah Stirling married sometime in the second half of the 1860s. The Winter family owned the plantation for over a decade between 1865 and 1880. In 1871, William Winter was shot by a certain E.S. Webber on the porch of the house.

One legend is that, in an attempt to reach his wife, he tried to drag himself up the stairs to the first floor but died on the 17th step. Another legend is that he died in the arms of his wife on the 17th step.

He is said to haunt the plantation even today. He is reportedly seen walking, dragging, or crawling up the stairs and stopping at the 17th step. Employees and visitors claim to hear his dying footsteps.

Indian Burial Ground and Other Stories

The plantation is built on an Indian burial ground, and there are reports of a young Native American woman haunting the house.

Also, Union Soldiers had ransacked the house during the civil war, and three soldiers were supposedly killed in the house.

Indian Burial Ground

There are weird incidents reported by the residents. It is claimed that a human-sized bloodstain on one of the walls cannot be cleaned irrespective of what is done. When cleaners have tried to clean it, they have not been able to push their brooms or mops over that area.

One of the weirdest stories from the plantation, even supported by photographs, is the spotting of Sara Woodruff and her daughters on the plantation.

Their spirit is supposedly trapped in one of the mirrors in the house. It is reported that they are all occasionally seen in this mirror, and sometimes even leave handprints.

10 Murders – Fact or Fiction?

Even though popular belief is that there have been 10 murders in Myrtles Plantation, there is only one officially reported murder that is backed by historical records, and that is of William Winter.

None of the others can be verified through historical records. In fact, factual evidence points towards Sara Woodruff and one of her daughters having died due to yellow fever while her other daughter, Mary Octavia, having died in adulthood instead of as a child.

Irrespective of whether the stories are true or not, there is nothing denying the fact that there are forces at work in Myrtles Plantation that we still do not completely understand. The legend of Myrtles Plantation ghosts is here to stay and will continue attracting ghost hunters to solve the mystery.