The French Quarterly Fall 2021 | Page 17

Bourbon Orleans Hotel but left for their afterlife destination , whatever that destination may be ? Would these victims have died in anger , knowing they shuffled off their mortal coils far too early ? And if so , as portrayed in horror films , would they intentionally wreak havoc on the living ? Would these entities have added to the wicked paranormal activities observed in New Orleans ?
Disastrous weather has cut many a life short in this city . Hurricanes Betsy , Camille and , of course , Katrina are just a few of the past annual weather threats that became wide-scale , deadly tragedies . Would any of those who had unfortunately died before the natural force majeure seek to torture
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Marie Laveau ' s Tomb
others , their spirits trapped in their beloved French Quarter ?
What about a trial by fire ? This medieval practice allowed a jury to determine the extent of innocence or guilt by how cleanly the accused would heal from their wounds , be they burned at the stake or tasked with carrying a burning object . Because French Quarter society was disrupted by the great fires of 1788 and 1794 , they can be considered examples of trial by fire . These manmade catastrophes expedited a metamorphosis of architectural design in the Vieux Carré . But does the intense negative energy from widespread fire destruction still invisibly exist in the French Quarter ? And if so , does it negatively impact the emotions and actions of present-day visitors and residents ?
Of course , death has taken many souls without the need for pestilence , natural disasters , or manmade calamities . Considering that uncontested truth , are spirits eviler if their bodies died by more malicious means ? Conversely , do they behave more peacefully if they lived pleasantly , or died in their sleep ?
I didn ’ t consider a single of these questions back in 1995 , while I partnered with Larry Montz , a New Orleans-born rebellious field parapsychologist . Against convention , he wanted to take the traditional parapsychological study
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