Best Andrew Jackson Hotel New Orleans Haunted Stories
The Andrew Jackson Hotel is an iconic New Orleans location to visit. The hotel is reported to be one of the most haunted locations in the French Quarter. Many walk past this small quaint hotel and do not know the location’s history, but we assure you that this location is one of the hottest supernatural spots in the city. If you want to read some interesting Andrew Jackson Hotel New Orleans haunted stories, keep reading to learn more.
The Confused History of the Andrew Jackson Hotel
The history of the Andrew Jackson Hotel is often told wrong about the source of the hotel’s hauntings. Many speak of the location being an orphanage that burned down in the city’s second large fire in 1794.
The first fire, known as the “Good Friday Fire,” happened on March 21st, 1788. In that fire, 856 of the 1,100 buildings in the city burned to the ground. Since the fire was on Good Friday, the church did not ring the bells to sound the alarm because the Catholic Church doesn’t allow bells to ring from Good Friday till Easter. So even the St Louis Cathedral burned down.
The second fire was just six years later. Young boys started this fire just behind the location of the first fire destroying another 300 buildings.
After this fire, the Spanish government required new buildings not to be made of wood. This fire and the previous one are why much French architecture left the city; we have Spanish-style buildings today. The city’s oldest example of French colonial architecture and the only building not to be touched by either of these fires is the Ursuline Convent.
Where do I start? The fires! The story is that five young boys perished at the orphanage during the second fire. Looking at the maps of the first and second fires, you can clearly see both fires didn’t touch the location (marked with a red X). There are no recorded deaths in either fire (unrecorded, who knows?)
So a boy’s orphanage never burned down at 919 Royal St. Actually, there was never an orphanage at this location.
What was here in the late 1780s? The Spanish government built a boy’s public school. They constructed The school here because the original school burned down on Bourbon St. during the Good Friday Fire and needed a larger building to house students. The school took the land where the Andrew Jackson Hotel and the Cornstock Hotel are today. Some students were boarded at the location, being they lived out on plantations and could not commute to school every day. Maybe, the boys being boarded at the school is why there are rumors of the orphanage.
When the Louisiana Purchase took place in 1803, the city was now American territory. The land was divided up, and the new government turned half of the land belonging to the public school into a courthouse. The courthouse is how the Andrew Jackson Hotel gets its name. (a story for another time)
The current structure was originally built in 1890, but of course, just because you put something new on the land doesn’t mean the spirits go away.
Top Andrew Jackson Hotel Haunted New Orleans Haunted Stories
Just because the school never burned down doesn’t mean the hotel isn’t haunted by young boys. Boys did die here like the rest of the buildings in New Orleans. Even today, the biggest killer in the city, diseases. Yellow Fever is the biggest one, and Cholera Second.
Many guests from the hotel swear that they hear the laughter of little boys in the hotel, and some have reported sightings. There is one boy in particular who makes more appearances than others, who’s named Armand. Armand lost his life by falling from the school’s roof and now haunts room 208. Room 208 is one of the most haunted rooms in the hotel. Armand is the most well-known spirit in the hotel. Guests report being woken up by laughter and having an overall eerie feel while in the room. And Armand is not the only spooky thing that’s happened in the hotel walls.
Learn More Andrew Jackson Hotel New Orleans Haunted Stories on a Unique NOLA Tour
If the story of Armand intrigued you, then you need to take a Unique NOLA ghost tour. We visit several locations with incredibly haunting energy you won’t miss. Check out all of our ghost tours and read up on 5 Myths of the LaLaurie Mansion before signing up for a Unique NOLA tour today.
