In American Horror Story: Coven, a very powerful witch digs up the unmarked grave of a rather horrible woman. Said woman tries clean up her name by spreading false rumors about it, and at the end of the series, ends up going to Hell because of her actions. That woman is Madame Delphine LaLaurie, a New Orleans socialite dedicated to torturing and murdering her slaves. Many books have been written on the murderess. From Mad Madame LaLaurie: New Orleans’ Most Famous Murderess Revealed by Love and Shannon, to Madame Delphine LaLaurie: The Real New Orleans Horror Story by James Bank, it’s clear that LaLaurie has had more than her fair share of bloodshed. 

LaLaurie was born in New Orleans in 1787. Her uncle was Esteban Rodríguez Miró, who oversaw Florida and Louisiana. Her cousin was the Mayor of New Orleans, so she already had a network of powerful allies at her side. LaLaurie first married a Spanish royal officer, but before long he died. After another failed marriage, she finally settled for a physician, who was younger and had a lower social standing than her. During that time, she built a two-storied mansion, where she began torturing her slaves between 1831 and 1834.

There were many tales of LaLaurie’s treatment of the slaves. Despite the slaves’ haggard and grotesque appearances, LaLaurie appeared polite to other black people, and had even inquired about their health. What’s more, though a lawyer went to investigate these claims, no evidence could be found. A neighbor of LaLaurie had witnessed that one of the slaves had fallen to their death in a desperate attempt to avoid LaLaurie’s painful punishment. The incident finally led to an investigation of the mansion, where local authorities found that LaLaurie had been brutally torturing their slaves. This, however, wasn’t the end. A fire broke out in the mansion. When authorities investigated, they found a slave chained to the stove. She stated that she was setting the fire because she didn’t want to be punished by LaLaurie, and would rather commit suicide than subject herself to any more. When the abused slaves were finally released, a mob attacked the mansion, and destroyed everything that was found there. However, LaLaurie had somehow managed to escape. She later went to France, where she died in her self-imposed exile.

Tales of LaLaurie’s torture continued to circulate. For instance, in Demoness by Martin Kage, LaLaurie was one of the reincarnations of Lilith, the very first female demon and the mother of monsters. In the found footage movie, The St. Francisville Experiment, a camera crew decided to search LaLaurie’s mansion for evidence of supernatural activity. Buzzfeed covered the mansion in a similar manner. The mansion has continued to attract attention, whether it be from horror enthusiasts, skeptics, or history buffs who need a reminder of humanity’s darkest times. 

LaLaurie has left a legacy of blood and murder. Though she attempted to hide herself behind the mask of high society, in the end, it was her own actions that spoke for themselves. As such, she is a figure that will continue to haunt us throughout history.