The popular image of New Orleans as a spooky, mysterious city full of witchcraft and voodoo needs no introduction. But few know that the city owes this image largely to the work of an Irishman named Lafcadio Hearn – a Victorian-era writer and traveller who sought out magic and mystery wherever he went, a collector of folklore and stories of everyday life. During his ten years writing about life in the Crescent City, he emphasised its sensuality and difference from the rest of America.
Today, the ripples he created still affect how we think about New Orleans and Louisiana. So join Cian for a bourbon at the cabin in the woods as we explore the backstreets of the French Quarter and the bayous beyond, searching for the reality behind the myths of voodoo queens and superstitions.
Sources:
A Fantastic Journey by Paul Murray
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fantastic-Journey-Literature-Lafcadio-Hearn/dp/1873410239
Inventing New Orleans by Frederick Starr
Book Of The Dead by Jamie Russell
Ghosthunter theme (PS2) The Swamp Cemetary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY6c4nkB4x4&t=119s
Marie Laveau by Papa Celestin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLRfDLJLjxc&t=29s
Tellers Of Weird Tales
https://tellersofweirdtales.blogspot.com/2017/03/weird-tales-books-stories-of-walking_18.html
Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens