A figure in a green turban watches from an old photograph. Children appear in mirrors. Footsteps stop on the 17th stair. These stories helped turn The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville into one of America’s best-known haunted destinations.
The house is more than a paranormal attraction. It is a nationally recognized historic property shaped by slavery, disease, violence and decades of changing ownership. Some frightening events are documented. Others appeared much later through books, tours and television.
Visitors can now explore that tension through historical tours, evening mystery tours and overnight stays. The deeper question is not simply whether The Myrtles is haunted. It is how documented history and carefully retold folklore became almost impossible to separate.
Creep Factor Score: 8.2/10
Rating: Nightmare Fuel
| Historical Darkness | 7.5/10 |
| Paranormal Reputation | 9/10 |
| Atmosphere | 8.5/10 |
| Horror Fame | 9/10 |
| Visitor Experience | 8.5/10 |
How We Calculated This Score
This editorial score reflects The Myrtles’ documented plantation history, one verified homicide, extensive ghost folklore, television fame and unusually strong visitor access. Its paranormal reputation scores higher than its historical darkness because several famous stories are not supported by surviving records.
Why Is The Myrtles Plantation Famous?
The Myrtles became famous for stories of ghosts associated with its former residents. The best known is Chloe, an enslaved woman said to appear wearing a green turban.
Other reported spirits include children reflected in a mirror, a Confederate soldier near the pond and William Drew Winter, who was murdered at the house in 1871. Guests have also described unexplained footsteps, moving furniture, strange scents and beds that shake during the night.
Television spread these stories far beyond Louisiana. Ghost Hunters investigated the property in 2005. The house has also appeared on Unsolved Mysteries, Ghost Adventures and Netflix’s Files of the Unexplained.
That exposure transformed a regional landmark into a major dark tourism destination. Yet television did not create the reputation. Owners had promoted ghost stories for decades, and overnight visitors supplied a steady stream of new accounts.
The Story Behind the Legend
From Whiskey Rebellion Refuge to Plantation
David Bradford established the property after taking refuge in Spanish-controlled West Florida following the Whiskey Rebellion. The house is commonly dated to 1796, although its National Register of Historic Places documentation dates construction to 1797.
Sources also disagree about whether Bradford originally called the estate Laurel Grove or Richland. Both names appear in modern histories. Whatever its first name, the property developed into a plantation that produced cotton and indigo through enslaved labor.
Bradford died in 1808. His daughter, Sarah Matilda, married attorney Clark Woodruff in 1817. She died in 1823, probably during a yellow fever outbreak. Two of the couple’s children, James and Cornelia, died the following year.
The Chloe Story and What Records Reveal
These deaths later became central to the Chloe legend. In its familiar form, Chloe was caught listening at a door and had one ear cut off as punishment. She supposedly baked a poisoned cake while trying to regain the family’s favor. Sarah Matilda and two children died after eating it. Other enslaved people then allegedly hanged Chloe and disposed of her body.
Surviving records do not support that story. Researchers have found no confirmed record of an enslaved woman named Chloe belonging to the Woodruffs. The documented deaths also point to yellow fever, not poisoning.
Historian Tiya Miles examines how such stories can distort the experiences of enslaved women in Tales From the Haunted South. The problem is not that folklore exists. It is that a dramatic invented crime can overshadow the real violence and loss of freedom inherent in slavery.
Ruffin Gray Stirling acquired the property in 1834, renamed it The Myrtles and substantially enlarged the house. Its most memorable feature is a long gallery stretching across the front. Inside are carved plasterwork, decorative medallions, stained glass and a cantilevered staircase that became a stage for the property’s most persistent ghost story.
William Winter’s Murder and the 17th Stair
William Drew Winter married Stirling’s daughter Sarah. On Jan. 26, 1871, an assailant called Winter outside and shot him on the front porch. Winter died from his wounds.
Legend says he staggered inside and climbed to the 17th stair before collapsing in his wife’s arms. The shooting is documented. The dramatic journey up the staircase is not.
The house passed through several families before falling into disrepair during the 20th century. Later owners restored it, opened it to tours and eventually converted it into a bed-and-breakfast. Frances Kermeen’s 1992 book, The Myrtles Plantation: The True Story of America’s Most Haunted House, further established its national reputation.
Why People Think It’s Haunted
The claimed hauntings often gather around three locations: the entrance hall, the staircase and a large antique mirror. Visitors say the mirror contains unexplained handprints or the faces of children. Folklore claims the Woodruff family’s spirits became trapped inside when no one covered it after their deaths.
Chloe’s reported image provides the property’s most famous piece of visual evidence. The photograph appears to show a shadowy figure standing between buildings. Believers see a woman wearing a turban. Skeptics suggest a living person, motion blur or an image artifact.
Guests have reported hearing children laugh, feeling pressure on beds and watching doors move without an obvious cause. Some describe a woman in dark clothing crossing the grounds. These are witness accounts, not independently verified evidence.
Environmental explanations remain possible. An old house produces shifting floorboards, reflections, plumbing sounds and drafts. Expectation also matters. People arriving at “one of America’s most haunted homes” may interpret an ordinary noise differently after midnight.
None of those explanations proves every witness mistaken. They do explain why the same property can feel peaceful in daylight and deeply unsettling after the lights go out.
Fact Vs Fiction
The documented history of The Myrtles is unsettling, but its most famous ghost stories changed considerably through repeated retellings.
Fact: An unknown assailant shot William Drew Winter at The Myrtles in 1871, and he died from his wounds.
Fiction: The dramatic story of Winter dying on the 17th stair is folklore, not a verified part of his murder.
Fact: Historical evidence indicates that yellow fever caused the Woodruff family deaths later blamed on a poisoned cake.
Fiction: No reliable record confirms that Chloe poisoned the Woodruffs or was executed by other enslaved people.
Fact: Only Winter’s murder is clearly documented, despite repeated claims that 10 killings occurred at the house.
Can You Visit The Myrtles Today?
Yes. The Myrtles operates as a historic attraction, boutique hotel and restaurant at 7747 U.S. Highway 61 in St. Francisville.
Visitors can choose from self-guided experiences, guided historical tours and evening mystery tours. According to the property’s official tour information, evening mystery tours are offered seven nights a week. Complimentary self-guided walking tours of the grounds are also available.
The property currently advertises 20 guest rooms, including rooms named for David Bradford and William Winter. Overnight access varies by room, and staying on the grounds does not guarantee access to every part of the historic house.
Schedules, room rates and tour prices can change. Check the official booking calendar before making the trip, especially during weekends and the Halloween season.
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Is The Myrtles Plantation Worth Visiting?
The Myrtles is worth visiting for its atmosphere, architecture and layered history. The oak-shaded grounds and long veranda create an elegant setting that feels removed from the modern highway outside.
Paranormal fans receive one of the country’s most recognizable haunted-house experiences. History travelers can examine a property listed on the National Register since 1978. Casual visitors can tour the grounds without committing to an overnight investigation.
The strongest visit treats folklore as folklore and slavery as history, not gothic decoration. The Chloe story is memorable, but its lack of documentary support matters. So do the lives of the enslaved people whose real experiences rarely survived in written records.
Whether anything supernatural remains is impossible to establish from photographs and witness stories alone. What can be proven is that The Myrtles has mastered the strange space between historic preservation and American ghost lore.
Frequently Asked Questions
No haunting has been scientifically verified. Guests, employees and investigators have nevertheless reported apparitions, footsteps, moving objects and other unexplained experiences.
Researchers have not found reliable records confirming that the Woodruff family enslaved a woman named Chloe. Her poisoning story remains folklore.
Claims of 10 murders are not supported by available records. William Drew Winter’s 1871 shooting is the property’s clearly documented homicide.
Yes. The Myrtles operates as a hotel with rooms in and around the historic property. Reservations should be made through the official hotel page.