THE REAL GHOSTS OF NEW ORLEANS

Very little is known with any certainty about the life of Marie Laveau. One must keep in mind that her surviving daughter had the same name, so the two were confused in later years in most recalled accounts. However it is thought, the mother was more powerful and the daughter was more elaborate in encouraging the public events (including inviting attendees to the St. John's Eve rituals on Bayou St. John) and financial response to their efforts. It is not known to which (if not both) the voodoo queen reputation refers in most respects. Marie I is supposed to have been born in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana around 1801, the daughter of a white planter and a free Creole of Color. She married Jacques (or Santiago, in other records) Paris, also a free Creole of color, on August 4, 1819; her marriage certificate is preserved in Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.

Very little is known with any certainty about the life of Marie Laveau. One must keep in mind that her surviving daughter had the same name, so the two were confused in later years in most recalled accounts. However it is thought, the mother was more powerful and the daughter was more elaborate in encouraging the public events (including inviting attendees to the St. John's Eve rituals on Bayou St. John) and financial response to their efforts. It is not known to which (if not both) the voodoo queen reputation refers in most respects. Marie I is supposed to have been born in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana around 1801, the daughter of a white planter and a free Creole of Color. She married Jacques (or Santiago, in other records) Paris, also a free Creole of color, on August 4, 1819; her marriage certificate is preserved in Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.