Myrtles Plantation

The Myrtles Plantation is an antebellum home near St. Francisville, Louisiana, in the historic plantation country north of Baton Rouge. The main house was built in the late 18th century, around 1796, by General David Bradford, and was enlarged and embellished by later owners in the 19th century, giving it the long verandah, ironwork and period interiors typical of the region. Like all such sites, its history is inseparable from the labour of enslaved people who worked the land and built its wealth, a difficult reality that any honest account must acknowledge.

The house is frequently promoted as one of the most haunted homes in America, especially through the widely told story of "Chloe," an enslaved woman said to haunt the grounds. Historians have shown this and several related tales to be largely folklore, and reports of apparitions and unexplained events remain anecdotal and unverified.

Approached responsibly, the Myrtles offers a window into antebellum architecture and the layered, painful history of plantation life in the American South. Its greatest value lies in engaging honestly with that history rather than in the ghost stories that surround it.

The Myrtles Plantation operates as a bed and breakfast and historic house, open to the public for overnight stays and for daytime historical and evening "mystery" tours of the house and grounds. Accommodation and tours can be booked in advance, and opening times vary seasonally.

Because the site's history is tied to slavery, visitors are encouraged to engage with that history respectfully and to treat the property, its staff and other guests with courtesy.