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HAUNTED HISTORY – St. Louis Cemetery New Orleans

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St. Louis Cemetery

St Louis Cemetery #1 was built in 1789 on a span of one block. The grounds hold over 700 tombs with over 100,000 dead and counting, as it is still used today for burials for the price of only $40,000. This is considered one of the most haunted cemeteries in the United States with over 200 years of reports having interactions with the ghosts of St Louis Cemetery #1. St Louis Cemetery #2 was built in 1823. Both cemeteries are on the national register of Historic Places and the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail. 

Accessing the St. Louis Cemetery

St. Louis Cemetery is now only accessible with a guided tour due to vandalism, the latest one being Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau’s tomb as it was painted Pepto-Bismol pink. This resulted in the Archdiocese of New Orleans closing the cemetery to the public after March 2015, with only guided tours being allowed. The families of the dead buried here can apply for a pass to visit their loved ones. The cemetery is all above-ground burials. This is due to the city’s high-water table that makes in-ground burials impossible. A coffin buried underground would simply float back to the top. 

Many of the tombs are called “oven vaults” or “wall vaults.” These tombs house the remains of many family members. They are stackable gravesites, placing remains in a cabinet style. Once a body is placed inside it is left undisturbed in the grave for one year and one day. After that time, the remains can be pushed to the back of the tomb making room for another body to be placed inside. Some families prefer to collect the remains and place them inside a muslin bag.

The Voodoo Queen in St. Louis Cemetery

Marie Leveau St. Louis Cemetery

One of the most prominent people buried here is Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, born in 1801 and died in 1881. She is said to be buried in plot 347 in Cemetery #1. She was born in the French Quarter and gained local fame as a Voodoo practitioner learning herbal remedies from her mother, and was a hairdresser to the wealthy. With those herbal remedies, she helped many people during the yellow fever of the 19th century, saving many lives. Using those herbal remedies gained her a reputation as a Voodoo practitioner. Many believe she still helps people from beyond the grave, with gifts being left at her gravesite, her ghost has been seen in many locations throughout the graveyard, although he is said to not be the friendliest spirit. People have reported being scratched, pinched, or shoved down to the ground. The legend is said that if you mark her tomb with 3-x’s and make a wish, it is granted, then the person must return and leave a gift at her grave. 

The Sailor

Another ghost said to walk the cemetery is Henry Vignes, who was a sailor during the 19th century. He traveled all over the world and made his final home in a New Orleans boarding house. It was said he was always worried about important papers regarding his family’s tomb when he was at sea, and that he asked the owner of the boarding house to keep them safe while away. While out to sea, the owner of the boarding house sold his family tomb, once Vignes arrived back, he discovered the tomb had been sold and was never able to acquire the tomb back, and shortly afterward he died. Henry was buried in an unmarked grave. It is said that his ghost asks walkers by where the Vignes tomb is located as he is unable to find it himself. His ghost has been seen at funerals, often appearing behind the grieving asking if there is any more room in the tomb for him. His apparition has been caught on camera and the sound of a male’s voice saying “I need to rest”. 

St. Louis Cemetery

The Sentinel

Alphonse is another ghost said to be haunting this cemetery. His ghost has been said to take a visitor’s hand and pull them to a stop while walking and asking them to bring him home. Also, he has been seen gathering flowers from others’ graves and placing them on his tomb. The legend is said that he was murdered by the Pinead family as he has been said to warn visitors from stepping near the Pinead family tomb.  It is unknown why they might have murdered him. These are the most prominent spirits that are haunting St. Louis Cemetery #1, although there are likely many, many more.

 

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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