Myrtles Plantation

7747 Hwy 61, St. Francisville, LA , USA

Haunted Myrtles Plantation

Built in 1796, The Myrtles Plantation is located near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In the 1970’s, the mansion was converted into a Bed & Breakfast. Those who visit are treated to the splendor of 1790’s southern architecture, with the grandeur of a traditional plantation-style home. In addition to opulent chandeliers, a vast veranda, and ornamental furnishings, the Bed & Breakfast also offers a ghastly history full of violence and scandal. Visitors experience the mystery firsthand via daily guided tours… and firsthand while they sleep.

History of the Myrtles Plantation AKA Laurel House

Myrtles Plantation Stairs where William Drew Winters died on the 17th step

The stairs where William Drew Winters died on the 17th step. Listen for Winters’ ghostly footsteps.

Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville Louisiana certainly has one of the most intricate histories dating back to the Whiskey Rebellion of the 1790’s. The house was built by General David Bradford in 1796; it was originally called “Laurel house” and lies on 600 acres. The plantation was passed down to General David’s son-in-law, and eventually came to be owned by Ruffin Gray Stirling and his family, who changed the name; it is now casually referred to as “The Myrtles.”

When Ruffin Gray Stirling died in 1854, his wife Mary Cobb Sterling was left to manage the property. She enlisted the help of attorney William Drew Winter, who would later marry her daughter Sarah; they had several children, one of whom died at the age of 3 of typhoid fever. In 1871, William Drew Winter was shot while standing on the front porch of the Myrtles home. He is said to have stumbled inside the home and climbed the staircase, making it only to the 17th step before succumbing to his wounds. His murder has never been solved.

The Hauntings Begins

Over the following decades, the Myrtles Plantation changed hands several times. Eventually the house and property were purchased by Marjorie Munson, who reported “odd happenings” within the home. Her accounts were just the beginning of a long list of reports of paranormal activity taking place on the plantation over the following century. These stories have been given new life in the form of the Bed & Breakfast’s “Mystery Tour,” and by numerous accounts of guests brave enough to spend the night within its haunted walls.

Guests who stay in the mansion have reported paranormal activity happening in the night: While some have had their bedsheets mysteriously removed while they slept, others have been violently pushed from their beds! And in the notoriously creepy “Fannie Williams Room” also known as the “Doll Room,” visitors have awoken to finding ceramic dolls inexplicable tossed across the room!

Fannie Williams Doll Room in the haunted Myrtles Plantation

Fannie Williams Doll Room in the haunted Myrtles Plantation

Ghost Story: A Slave to Vengeance

The most infamous report of paranormal activity involves a young slave who was said to have been owned by previous plantation owners, Clark and Sara Woodruff. The slave girl, who was named Chloe, was taken as a mistress by Woodruff. The affair went on for some time, but eventually ended and when it did, Chloe began to spy on the family; driven by her fear of being banished to working the fields. One day Woodruff discovered the young slave lurking outside his study and cut off her ear as punishment. Chloe became known for wearing a green turban to hide her unsightly scars.

In a quest for vengeance, Chloe is said to have poisoned the family with a cake containing boiled oleander leaves. While Clark failed to consume the poisonous pastry, Sara and two of her young daughters who ate the cake were sickened and died within hours. Chloe was consequently hanged by fellow slaves who feared the ripple effect of her treachery. To this day, visitors report ghost sightings of the “girl in the green turban” hiding in shadows throughout the plantation.

Myrtles Plantation Chloe Ghost Photo

Many ghost sightings of Chloe have been reported over the years.

Clark Woodruff’s revenge did not go unpunished. Residents and visitors alike have long reported sightings of his wife Sara and their children trapped within a 200-year-old parlor mirror in the mansion. Hand prints and drip marks are visible and appear to be inside the mirror, as no amount of cleaning has been able to remove them.

Murderous History

As many as 10 murders have been reported to have occurred in the Myrtles Plantation home, but the most famous is that of William Drew Winter in 1871, who you’ll remember was shot while standing on the front porch of the Myrtles mansion. Over the last hundred years, residents and visitors have reported hearing his ghostly footsteps ascending the staircase in the night, always climbing no further than the 17th step.

In the 1970’s the plantation’s owner Frances Kermeen published a book about the mansion, calling it “the most haunted house in America.” The plantation has more recently gained notoriety through several television features including Unsolved Mysteries (2002), Ghost Hunters (2005), Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures, and even an episode Oprah.

The Myrtles was recently mentioned as a “bucklet list must,” for those interested in historical and paranormal mysteries. The author encourages visitors to take the guided tour, but aptly advises against eating the cake…

Posted in Bed & Breakfast, Haunted Hotels, Haunted Mansions, Most Haunted Places in America and Real Haunts

6 Reviews

  1. Holli

    My husband and I stayed in the carriage house in 2015. I’ve only been to Louisiana three other times and each time I had some kind of a paranormal experience. This was the first time I actually went looking for it. We happily fell asleep to the croaking of frogs and clicking of crickets. I awoke frequently, because, yeah, I was a little freaked out. There was absolutely no caretaker that we ever saw at the property after dark! And it was April, so it wasn’t fully booked. We were alone in the carriage house which must have 3 or 4 rooms total.The room was softly illuminated by a phone light. I always expected to find someone staring back at me every time I awoke, but that’s not how things went down, lol. Instead, every time I fell back to sleep, I heard the sounds of a dozen or more children playing and screaming as children do. They were SO loud and annoying. That’s actually why I kept waking up! I must have woken and went back to sleep half a dozen times and those children were always there. I even heard the quick clacking of shoes on the floor above me…only, the carriage house doesn’t have a second floor. When we took the tour the next morning and I mentioned the children, the tour guide said it was only parents and teachers who heard the children. I quizzed her about the sound of running feet above, and she said the carriage house once had a flat roof and the plantation owners children often played with the slave children. The owners children would have worn shoes, but not the slave children. Overall it was a fun and, not too scary, experience. I definitely got my moneys worth. Btw, I took several flash photos around the property at night and nothing ever appeared on those that I noticed.

    May 19, 2019 at 12:49 pm Reply
    1. Lunar Foxx

      That’s so awesome! I really need to go there! I’ve been obsessed with ghosts and things since childhood and I think this would be cool

      May 12, 2020 at 12:06 pm Reply
    2. holli

      your name is spelt same way as me

      September 25, 2021 at 7:26 pm Reply
  2. Cody Granger

    I been to the plantation a few times even slept over night but on the outside cabins but we are headed bk their today and sleeping in the plantation , I’m excited .yeah I hope I hear something get that scary rush lol

    January 25, 2021 at 6:22 am Reply
  3. Brandon Guldseth

    I did not believe in paranormal activity until I stayed at myrtles in the doll room. The whole house has an oppressive feeling to it. Something is not right with it. Wife woke me in middle of night and told me to stop shaking the bed. I was not shaking the bed and was in a deep sleep when she woke me. The bed stopped rocking right after I woke up. This place is no joke. I thought ghost hunting would be fun and exciting. It is not. The energy from this house drains you and you feel dread. A scary place that can make you think twice about what paranormal really means. This is no Casper the ghost!

    October 15, 2021 at 12:47 am Reply
  4. Mindy Harris

    My husband and I stayed there once and have been there many times, going on the mystery tour and just being on property. We ate at the Oxbow Carriage restaurant on property and we even moved about 20 minutes up the road from there based on the ambiance of Myrtles and the whole plantation area. We were the only ones in the house when we stayed, we stayed in two separate rooms, the first night my husband went to sleep right away and I thought I heard some footsteps in the hallway but nothing major, the second night we went in and I went into the corner little closet area and we felt like taking a picture of it. When we looked at the picture there was an orb right next to me in the picture. I think it was posing with me and it told my husband to take the picture or something. Kind of cool. I think Hester still is the main caretaker and tour guide, shes an amazing person, go and visit, it’s beautiful. On a visit we also had trouble with our camera. I was trying to take a picture of my brother in law and sister and it wouldn’t click. I handed it to him and he took one of us and no problem, it clicked. I tried to take it and it wouldn’t click. This happened 4 or 5 times, it didn’t want me taking the pics. While we were there someone had a brand new roll of film in their camera but left their camera in the car for some reason, I think they thought they couldn’t take pics on the tour or something. When they went back to the car every picture had been snapped. Weird.

    June 8, 2023 at 3:00 pm Reply

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