A notorious New Orleans manse is seeking a new owner — one who’s undaunted by its dark history.
The Big Easy’s legendary Lalaurie mansion has hit the market, with seller and energy trader Michael Whalen seeking $10.25 million for the historic, ghost story-steeped Empire Style estate, the Wall Street Journal first reported.
The over 10,000-square-foot eight-bedroom abode has long been rumored to be haunted, and is a fixture of many paranormal tours of the town.
“I’m Catholic, and that kind of stuff doesn’t scare me,” the mostly Texas-based Whalen told the Journal. Whalen — who purchased the 10-bathroom property for approximately $2.1 million in 2010, a year after the actor Nicolas Cage lost it in foreclosure after a brief ownership — has spent more than $4 million on renovations during his nearly 15 years owning the landmark.
His changes have impacted every room and include the addition of a 2,000-or-so bottle wine cellar and outfitting the primary bedroom with a stylish speakeasy that’s accessed through a mirror, he told the Journal.
First built in the 1830s, the initial structure was burned in an 1834 fire, which revealed to its French Quarter neighbors the ghastly horrors which had been taking place within. Its owners, socialite Delphine Macarty Lalaurie and her third husband, Dr. Louis Lalaurie, appeared to have been abusing slaves, whose starved, tortured and chained bodies were now on view for all to see. Disgusted, those who bore witness destroyed the home’s smoldering remains, and the Lalaurie family sold the land in 1837, the Journal reported.
The residence was subsequently rebuilt and had a number of lives, including as a girls’ high school. Today, it is laid out as a three-story primary structure connected to a four-story service wing.
The main house contains a billiards room, a guest suite and double parlors on its main floor. There’s a grand dining room and kitchen on the floor above, and three bedroom suites on the third level.
“Adding to its allure, the mansion includes servant wings with two independent apartments and two more bedroom suites, one currently serving as a sizable home office,” notes the listing, which is held by Patrick Knudsen of Latter and Blum Compass. “The highlight is the enormous wrap-around gallery/balcony accessible from original triple-hung windows, offering views that embody New Orleans old world charm.”