New Orleans is a city that never buries its dead too deep. Its past lingers like smoke in the streets, winding through moss-draped oaks and crumbling cemeteries. But one of the most chilling tales comes not from the graveyards—but from the convent on Chartres Street.
In 1728, a ship from France docked in the Port of New Orleans, carrying a strange cargo—young women, pale and solemn, sent to marry French settlers. They were known as les filles à la cassette, or The Casket Girls, named for the small coffin-shaped trunks that held their belongings. But what exactly those trunks carried remains one of the city’s most unsettling mysteries.
A Strange Arrival in the French Quarter
The French colony needed wives. So the king answered with shipments of orphaned or impoverished girls, raised in convents or charitable institutions. But these weren’t ordinary immigrants. Locals immediately noticed their ghost-pale skin and the eerie silence that followed them. Each girl carried a trunk shaped uncannily like a miniature coffin—an image that would haunt the city for centuries.
They were taken to the Ursuline Convent, a structure still standing today in the heart of the French Quarter. There, they were to be educated in the ways of domestic life before being matched with eager husbands. But rumors began almost instantly. The girls were said to sleepwalk. Some claimed to see blood on their linens. The sisters of the convent reportedly insisted the trunks be stored in the attic—and never opened.
Vampire Legends and the Sealed Attic
Over time, deaths followed. Illnesses with no name. Shadows moving without cause. Locals whispered that the girls had brought something with them—something inhuman. Many believed the Casket Girls were vampires, or had smuggled one across the sea inside their strange trunks. As fear spread, the attic of the Ursuline Convent became the focus of countless ghost stories.
The attic windows were sealed with nails said to be blessed, and to this day, they remain shuttered tight. Some say you can still hear footsteps pacing the floor above. In the 1970s, investigators claimed the attic was finally opened—and found empty trunks, untouched by time. But the air was heavy. And something didn’t feel right.
Haunted History Lives On
Today, the tale of the Casket Girls has become one of New Orleans’ most spine-tingling legends. The Ursuline Convent is still visited by ghost tour groups and curious seekers drawn to the dark whispers of the past. It remains a cornerstone of New Orleans haunted history, blending elements of Southern Gothic mystery, vampire lore, and religious secrecy.
Whether the girls were misunderstood, mythologized, or truly cursed, their story continues to cast a long shadow over the city. Perhaps the most unsettling part? No one ever opened those trunks when they arrived.
So if you ever find yourself walking Chartres Street, pause a moment at the convent. Look up at the attic. If the wind carries a whisper, don’t be too quick to ignore it.
Personal Note:
My husband and I visited the Ursuline Convent a few years ago. They vehemently deny the legend of the vampires there. Still, the story is made of the kind of fairy dust that creates the best type of legends, which is probably why it’s lasted so long. The convent is beautiful, and I highly recommend their tour. We had a lovely time.
Casket Girls, New Orleans haunted history, vampire legends, Ursuline Convent, Southern Gothic, haunted convent New Orleans, French Quarter ghost stories, real vampire stories, New Orleans folklore, spooky Southern tales
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