1140 RUE ROYALE
A presentation by Elizabeth Tramonti
THE STORY
NOTES
At the time, a Creole is
anyone who is born within
the city and its environs,
except indigenous peoples
THE STORY
THE FIRE ITSELF
 Occurred April 10, 1834
 April 11 Bee reported seven
slaves found “suspended by the
neck with their limbs stretched
and torn from one extremity to
the other.”
THE EFFECT ON THE LALAURIES
The Lalauries were shunned from France to New Orleans
and ignored, their reputation completely ruined. This is a
dismal prospect for any sort of socialite.
FIRST THEORY
FOR
Madame Lalaurie’s mother
had been killed in a slave
uprising
FICTION
SECOND THEORY
FOR
Madame Lalaurie was
acutely embarrassed that
her family members
engaged in keeping
“colored” mistresses.
FICTION
THIRD THEORY
AGAINST
Madame Lalaurie’s son had a
crippling back problem and the
screams issuing from the attic
were his as Lalaurie attempted to
fix the problem.
POSSIBLE
FOURTH THEORY
AGAINST
She emancipated some of
her slaves.
FACT
FIFTH THEORY
FOR
Madame Lalaurie was
investigated by the courts for
cruelty to her slaves.
FACT
SIXTH THEORY
AGAINST
Dr Lalaurie was an active participant,
using these crimes perhaps to further his
research on back problems.
FICTION
RELEVANT INFORMATION TO DRAWING A
CONCLUSION
 Madame Lalaurie had been married to a
slave trader at one point.
 Slave abuse was common at the time,
even more so for women than men.
 Madame Lalaurie lived in a culture in which
slaves were often beaten for silly things.
 She had already been condemned for the
treatment of her slaves before this fire
occurred.
CONCLUSION
Madame Lalaurie probably
believed she was acting
completely appropriately
towards her own slaves.
SOURCES
Arthur, Stanley Clisby., and Susan Cole. Doré. Old New Orleans. Gretna, LA: Pelican Pub., 1990. Print.
Baker, Courtney R. Misrecognized: Looking at Images of Black Suffering and Death. Thesis. Thesis / Dissertation ETD,
2008. Print.
Castellanos, Henry C., and George F. Reinecke. New Orleans as It Was: Episodes of Louisiana Life. Baton Rouge: Published for the
Louisiana
American Revolution Bicentennial Commission by the Louisiana State UP, 1978. Print.
"Harper's Weekly: "White and Colored Slaves," by C. C. Leigh (1864)." Harper's Weekly: "White and Colored Slaves," by C. C. Leigh (1864).
Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.merrycoz.org/yc/HARPERSL.HTM>.
"Index." Index. Ed. Jon Donley. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.nola.com/lalaurie/indexIntro.html>.
Long, Carolyn Morrow. Madame Lalaurie, Mistress of the Haunted House. University of Florida, 2012. Print.
Morlas, Katy F. LA MADAME ET LA MADEMOISELLE:. Thesis. Louisiana State University, 2005. Print.
New Orleans Bee 11 Apr. 1834. Print.
"The Popular Fury..." New Orleans Bee 12 Apr. 1834. Print.
Smith, Katherine. Haunted History Tours Presents Journey into Darkness: Ghosts & Vampires of New Orleans. New Orleans, LA: De
Simonin
Publications, 1998. Print.
Taylor, Troy. "Louisiana Lagniappe: The Lalaurie House." Louisiana Lagniappe: The Lalaurie House. Web. Sept.-Oct. 2012. <http://www.nicholls.edu/englwsr/louisiana/lalaurie.htm>.
ILLUSTRATION SOURCES
http://www.hauntedneworleanstours.com/hauntedhouses/lalauriehouse/lalaurie/
http://www.wehaitians.com/slave.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/images/bank/programmes_tv/mixed_race/446mixed3.jpg
http://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/7209768-L.jpg
http://www.merrycoz.org/yc/HARPERSL.HTM
http://thepaintedone.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/slavery-11.jpg
http://www.hauntedneworleanstours.com/hauntedhouses/lalauriehouse/lalaurie/images/Lalaurie-house-1800's.jpg
http://dingeengoete.blogspot.com/2012/04/this-day-in-history-apr-10-1834-torture.html
http://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/6775609/il_fullxfull.341701361.jpg
http://eugostodejogar.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/delphine-lalaurie.jpg
http://murderpedia.org/female.L/images/lalaurie_delphine/delphine-lalaurie-6.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/Delphine_LaLaurie_memorial_plate.jpg