Gardette-Le Pretre House - New Orleans

The Gardette-Le Pretre House is located on Dauphine Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana.  The house was contructed in 1836 for Joseph Coulon Gardette, a Philadelphia dentsist.  The three story Greek Revival mansion was purchased by merchant-planter Jean Baptiste Le Pretre in 1839.  Le Pretre's fortune was decimated by the Civil War and by 1878 the bank had foreclosed on the property.  Legend states that sometime during the late 1800's the house was purchsed by a Turkish sultan, who turned the mansion into a harem, throwing wild parties and indulging in over the top behavior.  One evening local residents noticed blood leaking out of the house and when they went insode found the sultan's entourage hacked to pieces in their rooms.  The sultan had been buried alive in the back garden.  No one was ever charged with the crime.  There isn't much historical evidence to support this, but nevertheless the house has earned a reputation as one of the most haunted in the city.  Having fallen into disrepair by the 1960's the mansion was restored and turned into apartments.  

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