Le Pavillon New Orleans
Located at 833 Poydras Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Le Pavillon Hotel has a very interesting history and is considered one of the most haunted hotels in New Orleans. The land this fine hotel was built upon was part of a land grant the founder of the New Orleans Colony gave to the Jesuits. Eventually, the Jesuits were banished from New Orleans and the land was integrated into part of a large indigo and sugar cane plantation that was owned by Jean Gravier. After he met with financial failings, the land became, once again, swamp.
In 1830, the New Orleans Carrollton railroad reclaimed this land and filled it so it was more useable. The main train depot was erected on the exact spot that Le Pavillon Hotel stands today. When the railroad let it go during the early part of the 19th century, the depot was renovated to host various types of entertainment. In 1867, it was turned into the German Theatre by Philip Werlein, but burned down in a fire of suspicious nature.
Finally, an amazing hotel called New Hotel Denechaud was built from 1889 to 1907. The name would change in 1970 to Le Pavillon Hotel after some massive restoration was completed.
The haunted Le Pavillon Hotel boasts Italian statues that are symbolic of peace and prosperity watching over the front door. Not only is the Le Pavillon Hotel haunted, but it also contains sparkling chandeliers of crystal, lovely antiques, and a décor of elegance that covers the whole building, which is adjacent to the French Quarter. It’s at this magnificent hotel where EVPs have been recorded of voices that tell people “Get out!” and “I see you!”
How the Le Pavillon New Orleans is Haunted
First of all among the paranormal manifestations, there’s Adda, the Pavillon Hotel’s lost ghost. She’s also known as Eva, Ava, and the Crying Lost Ghost Girl. She’s a crying teenage girl ghost that hangs around the lobby and main entrance. She has brown eyes, brown hair and fair skin, and wears a long black skirt, hat, and shawl in the fashion of the mid-1800s. The story is that a runaway carriage killed her just as she was boarding a ship with her family.
This ghost paces in the lobby and, occasionally, runs into people. Then she apologizes, saying she’s lost just before suddenly vanishing. Many times, Adda is mistaken for a person in costume or a Mardi Gras celebrant. The people that she’s bumped into report that she feels solid. Others have smelled the scent of lilacs or roses.
A great little story surrounding Adda concerns a taxi driver’s encounter with her. It’s a cold and rainy night and a hotel doorman helps her into a taxi. She tells the driver to take her to the ship passengers’ terminal. Within a few blocks of the hotel, she suddenly vanishes. When the cab driver returns to the hotel, he relates the experience to the doorman. The doorman nods in agreement, saying that this has happened to others.
Adda has also appeared to people outside of the hotel and asked if they knew how to get to the terminal. One couple was approached by her with that question. When they replied that they, too, were going on a cruise and were happy to share a taxi with her. They assumed she was an actress in costume. Though all 3 of them got into the taxi, she vanished after they had ridden a few blocks, leaving behind the scent of roses.
The Le Pavillon Hotel has a ghostly couple, too. It’s said that the man died suddenly following a walk the couple took together, with the woman dying years later. When the woman is spotted alone, she’s crying. However, when they’re spotted as a couple, they’re happy and holding hands as they walk in the gardens and the hallways. Wearing fashions of the 1920s, they stroll through doors and disappear into elevators.
The man wears a dark hat, smokes a cigar, has a dark moustache and carries an umbrella or a cane. The lady is said to not be his wife and wears a long dress of light blue, has dark hair and carries a beaded purse. Her room is believed to be on the 3rd floor because her perfume lingers there. His room on the 4th floor carries cigar smoke.
There’s also the ghost of young man with long hair and no shoes, wearing a brightly colored shirt, bell bottom pants and a sizeable belt buckle that has been seen all over the hotel, parking lot and sidewalk. He appears to be quite happy. At times, he runs through the hotel like someone’s chasing him. Other times, he walks on the sidewalk and disappears into a wall.
This ghost is a prankster and does such things like moving around the belongings of guests, hides their room keys and shoes, and also yanks the sheets off the beds through the night. Some have spotted his reflection in mirrors and his face peeking into the windows of rooms even as high as the 3rd floor and higher. Security investigates and never finds anyone: The Le Pavillon hotel is haunted indeed.
Visitors Encouraged
These are just a sampling of the ghosts that reside in Le Pavillon Hotel, which is a member of the Historic Hotels of America. This is the ideal place to celebrate during the Carnival season of New Orleans as well as Halloween. However, amateur ghost hunters enjoy this as one of the haunted hotels in New Orleans all year long.