Relentless Spirits of the Crescent City: Exploring Dark Tourism through Ghost Criminology

• In Event: Seeing Punishment: Understanding Incarceration and Structural Violence Through Visual Data

Abstract

Ghost tourism abounds in the city of New Orleans. Given its turbulent history (slavery, natural disasters, and violence), the city has a plethora of ghost stories and supernatural lore. To that end, New Orleans has a booming ghost industry that caters to tourists seeking an encounter with the supernatural. To date, there are more than thirty businesses that offer tours of the city, ranging from candlelight tours of cemeteries to walking tours of well-known haunts. New Orleans was also the largest slave trade hub in the United States, known as the “Slave Market of the South.” How is this history accounted for in ghost tours? In this paper, we explore how tour companies discuss the historical legacy of slavery and structural violence in ghost stories and supernatural tales. In particular, we find that stories such as that of Delphine LaLaurie, a wealthy socialite who was found to have committed immense violence to enslaved people, sensationalizes and minimizes slavery more generally, while stories of Marie Laveau, considered the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, continue to commodify Voodoo. Perhaps unbeknownst to the tourist swaying as they walk down Bourbon Street, the history of New Orleans is ripe with structural violence and racism.

Authors

• Favian Martin, Arcadia University

• Kevin Revier, SUNY Cortland