New Orleans and the haunted window

Last month Cliff and I... headed to Shreveport, Louisiana where we spent the night.  The next morning we got up early to check out the Louisiana scenery as we made our way to New Orleans.  We traveled through several small towns, having lunch in Alexandria, and hitting Baton Rouge, finally making it to the outskirts of New Orleans rather late in the day.

Downtown Alexandria

Stuck in traffic... we noticed that bees were swarming around us.  They were landing all over Cliff’s back and I kept swatting them away.  It occurred to me that bees were landing all over my back too,  it was freaking me out to say the least.  They were buzzing around us like crazy, there was no escaping them.  We inched along in traffic, and at one point there were so many bees I seriously thought we might end up making a visit to an emergency room before it was over!  Traffic finally started moving, and low and behold, there was a huge semi truck carrying nothing but honey bees ahead of us!  We couldn’t get in front of this truck fast enough.

The truck full of bees!

Once in New Orleans... the cemeteries we passed instantly fascinated us.  Amazing above ground cemeteries with incredibly ornate head stones and monuments.  We stopped at a Masonic cemetery to get a closer look.

We zipped through New Orleans… giving ourselves a whirlwind tour as the sun began to set.  The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina could still be seen, but the personality of New Orleans was in full force, no hurricane can destroy that!   The French Quarter and Bourbon Street were filled with street performers, artists, tourists, and bar hoppers having a great time.

Still on the bike... we found Canal Street and boarded the Algiers Ferry that took us to the West Bank where our hotel was.

After cleaning off the dust and dirt of the day... we headed back to Bourbon Street sans motorcycle, had dinner and absorbed the New Orleans energy.

The next day... we hopped on the bike again and checked out Cafe du Monde and the St. Louis Cathedral before leaving New Orleans.

We took a different route... back to Shreveport, cutting through a section of Mississippi, and boy, are we glad we did.  Natchez, Mississippi is one cool town.

Filled with lots of Greek revival architecture... Natchez is a place we’d love to visit again.

Back in Shreveport... we decided to hit the Sam's Town Casino.  Cliff won some money playing black jack, but slot machines ate my money like I was giving it away or something! Exhausted from our adventure, we headed back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.

On our way home... we stumbled upon a town in Eastern Texas called Jefferson.  We love small towns in Texas, and Jefferson proved to be exceptional.  Lots of neat old homes, buildings, bed-and-breakfasts and antique shops.  We had lunch at Auntie Skinner’s Riverboat Club.  There were so many bikes, we asked a local if there was a rally or some kind of biker event going on.  "Nope!  It's just sunny today!"  was his reply.    We met lots of nice people and traded ride stories.

After lunch... we stopped in an antique store where we found a 130-year-old stained glass window that we bought on the spot.

Cliff asked the store owner... if she knew anything about the window.  She mentioned that it came out of the Schluter House just down the road... we should drive by and check it out.  We did.

We were told the stained glass window came from this top window.

The Schluter house was restored over the past few years.

 
Back at home... intrigued by our window, the house it came from, and Jefferson, Cliff started doing some Google searches. Turns out Jefferson is full of history.  F.A. Schluter, one of the town’s first settlers, built the Schluter House in 1856.

But it gets really interesting… the following evening, as I sat petting my dog, I heard a man’s voice from my kitchen say, “Right there.” I knew my dog heard it too, the way he perked up.  I got up to see if a TV was on, or if it was Cliff talking to me.  It wasn’t either one!  I dismissed it, thinking I must have heard something from outside.

Around midnight... my ten-year-old daughter came knocking on our bedroom door.  She said a little girl whispered in her ear… “Psssst, listen.”   We figured she was having a bad dream, and sent her back to bed.  The next morning, my six-year-old son tells me people were talking but he couldn’t hear what they were saying... the voices kept him up all night.

The following night... sitting in bed watching TV, our bedroom door slowly creaked open.  Cliff and I just looked at each other and totally got the creeps!  He got up to shut the door, and I said, “Are you sure you want to shut that?  Maybe whatever just walked in here needs to walk back out!”

After another Google search… you won’t believe what we found!  Jefferson is apparently ranked as one of America’s most haunted places, they even have a ghost tour.  The house our window came from is apparently very haunted too!   Someone once snapped this picture of a ghostly little girl walking in front of it.  Click here to go to the site where this picture comes from,  zoom in on it and take a closer look!

Could this ghostly girl be the one who whispered in my daughter’s ear? 

We shared our weird story with family and friends… receiving all kinds of mixed reaction.  Some said they wanted to come over with an Ouija Board and ask it questions.  Some said they didn’t believe any of it.  Others advised to get rid of the window.  Still others said to give it “time” to adjust to it’s new home and see if anything else happens. 

We chose the last option, and thankfully… Nothing else has happened.  Our stained glass window from Jefferson hangs happily between our kitchen and family room.  Talk about a conversation piece!

 

However, if anything else creepy happens... you know I will post it here!