New Orleans, Louisiana · Haunted hotel guide
Bourbon Orleans Hotel: Haunted History, Ghost Stories & Where to Stay
In the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter, just steps from Bourbon Street and behind Jackson Square, stands a hotel with more than two centuries of stories behind it.
The Bourbon Orleans Hotel has been connected to grand balls, opera, a convent, a school, an orphanage and generations of guests. And according to its paranormal legends, some former occupants may never have left. Guests and staff have reported mysterious footsteps, apparitions in the corridors, children seemingly playing in empty hallways and even a solitary dancer beneath the chandelier of the historic Orleans Ballroom. Today, you don’t have to settle for hearing the stories from outside. You can actually stay here.
Reported hauntings are folklore and guest accounts; a reservation does not guarantee a paranormal experience. Booking links open the named provider’s website. Read our affiliate disclosure.
Plan a stay at Bourbon Orleans Hotel
Compare dates and room types on the official website. If a particular room or floor matters to your trip, confirm it directly, along with access arrangements and the full price, before booking.
Bourbon Orleans Hotel at a glance
- Location
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- The setting
- Historic French Quarter property — dating to 1817; hotel opened 1966
- Reported lore
- A Confederate soldier, ghostly children, mysterious nuns and the lonely ballroom dancer
- Famous for
- The historic Orleans Ballroom, former convent and orphanage, and its location steps from Bourbon Street
- Best fit
- Haunted getaways, French Quarter trips, history lovers and paranormal travellers
The Real History of the Bourbon Orleans
The story begins long before the Bourbon Orleans became a hotel. An earlier Théâtre d’Orléans was destroyed by fire in 1816. In 1817, entrepreneur John Davis acquired the property, rebuilt the Orleans Theatre and added the Orleans Ballroom. The complex became an important entertainment and social venue in nineteenth-century New Orleans. Opera performances, masquerades, carnival balls and major social gatherings took place here. Another fire destroyed the theatre in 1866, although the ballroom survived. Then the property’s history took a dramatic turn.
In 1881, the Sisters of the Holy Family acquired the former ballroom and used the property as a convent and motherhouse. St. Mary’s Academy operated there, and an orphanage for girls was constructed on an adjacent portion of the property. The Sisters remained there until selling the property in 1964. Construction of the modern hotel followed, while the historic ballroom was preserved and incorporated into the development. The Bourbon Orleans Hotel officially opened in July 1966. That unusual combination of theatre, ballroom, convent, school, orphanage and hotel provides the backdrop for the property’s extensive ghost lore.
The Ghost Children of the Bourbon Orleans
Among the hotel’s eeriest stories are reports involving children. The hotel itself describes stories of a little girl rolling a ball and chasing it through sixth-floor corridors, along with reports of light footsteps in the hallways. The legends are frequently associated with the period when the property was operated by the Sisters of the Holy Family and included a girls’ school and orphanage. Of course, hearing footsteps in an old hotel isn’t proof of anything paranormal.
But when the footsteps sound like children running through a corridor where nobody appears to be present, it’s easy to understand how the Bourbon Orleans acquired its reputation.
The Lonely Ghost Dancer
Perhaps the most atmospheric Bourbon Orleans legend belongs to the historic Orleans Ballroom. The ballroom once hosted some of New Orleans’ grandest nineteenth-century social events. Today, stories claim another guest occasionally attends. A mysterious solitary figure has reportedly been seen dancing beneath the ballroom’s crystal chandelier. Other accounts describe unexplained rustling around the ballroom’s draperies or the impression that someone is hiding behind them—only for nobody to be found. The hotel includes these stories in its own account of the property’s haunted history.
The dancing apparition has become one of the property’s signature ghost stories and is also noted by New Orleans’ official tourism organization.
The Orleans Ballroom After Dark
Of all the spaces inside the Bourbon Orleans, the Orleans Ballroom may be the easiest place to imagine a ghost. Its history stretches back to the early nineteenth century, when New Orleans was developing a reputation for elaborate entertainment, music and social gatherings. The ballroom survived even as other parts of the original theatre complex disappeared. That means guests standing beneath its chandeliers today are occupying a space connected to generations of celebrations, performances and gatherings. It also gives the story of the mysterious dancer a particularly effective setting.
According to the legend, a solitary figure has occasionally been seen dancing in the ballroom when no event is taking place. Imagine catching movement beneath the chandelier from across the room. For a moment, you see someone there. Then you look again. The ballroom is empty. Whether anyone has actually encountered a supernatural dancer is impossible to establish, but this is the kind of ghost story that works because of its surroundings. The Orleans Ballroom doesn’t need fake cobwebs or theatrical lighting. It already has history.
The Confederate Soldier
Another recurring Bourbon Orleans legend involves a mysterious male apparition commonly described as a Confederate soldier. Reports have particularly associated this figure with the hotel’s third and sixth floors. The hotel’s own haunted-history account refers to him as both a Confederate soldier and “The Man.” Like many historic-hotel hauntings, the identity and origin of the apparition remain part of folklore rather than established historical fact. And that’s an important distinction. There is plenty of documented history at the Bourbon Orleans. The ghosts are another matter.
From Ballroom to Convent and Orphanage
One of the most fascinating things about the Bourbon Orleans is how dramatically the purpose of the property changed. This wasn’t simply a hotel that became old. The site moved through very different chapters of New Orleans history. The entertainment era eventually gave way to the Sisters of the Holy Family, who established their motherhouse here. The property was associated with religious life, education and the care of children. That history matters when considering the hotel’s paranormal folklore. Stories about nuns and children wandering the property didn’t develop around a building with no connection to either.
Real sisters lived and worked here. Children really were educated and cared for here. That doesn’t prove that the footsteps guests report today belong to children from another century. But it gives the stories a historical foundation that many supposedly haunted hotels simply don’t have. It also creates one of the strangest contrasts at the Bourbon Orleans. Walk outside today and you’re almost immediately surrounded by the energy of the French Quarter. Walk back inside and you’re entering a property that once housed a religious community. Few hotels can claim histories quite that different.
The Ghostly Nuns
The children aren’t the only apparitions associated with the property’s religious period. Stories have also circulated about mysterious female figures interpreted as nuns. That association is understandable given the Sisters of the Holy Family’s long presence at the property. As with the hotel’s other apparitions, however, it’s important not to turn folklore into documented history. We know the Sisters were here. We don’t know that any of them remained after death. Still, imagine encountering a darkly dressed figure at the far end of a hotel corridor late at night. Perhaps you assume she’s another guest. You look away.
When you look back, the corridor is empty. Inside an ordinary modern hotel, you’d probably shrug it off. At the Bourbon Orleans, you might remember what the building used to be. And suddenly getting back to your room becomes a little more interesting.
Is the Bourbon Orleans Hotel Actually Haunted?
That depends entirely on what you consider evidence. The building’s history is real and unusually well documented. The ghost stories are reports, legends and personal experiences that have accumulated around that history. There is no scientific evidence establishing that ghosts inhabit the Bourbon Orleans Hotel. But paranormal stories have become enough of the hotel’s identity that the property itself discusses them and currently promotes a haunted-history experience for guests. For a paranormal traveler, that makes the Bourbon Orleans particularly interesting. You aren’t visiting a manufactured haunted attraction.
You’re sleeping inside a functioning hotel built around a genuine piece of New Orleans history.
What It’s Like to Stay Here After Dark
The Bourbon Orleans has one advantage over many supposedly haunted destinations: You don’t have to leave when night falls. During the day, the surrounding French Quarter is packed with activity. Visitors move between Bourbon Street, Royal Street and Jackson Square. Music spills from nearby buildings. Restaurants, bars and shops fill the neighbourhood. Later, the atmosphere changes. Return to the hotel after exploring the French Quarter and you’re sleeping inside the location you’ve just been reading about. The ballroom isn’t part of a distant ghost story anymore. It’s downstairs.
The corridors associated with reports of footsteps and apparitions aren’t in a paranormal documentary. You’re walking through them on the way to your room. That doesn’t mean something supernatural is going to happen. Most guests will presumably have a perfectly normal hotel stay. But that’s part of what makes haunted hotels fun. You spend the evening wondering whether anything will happen. Then a floorboard creaks. An elevator stops unexpectedly. You hear something in the hallway. And suddenly all those perfectly rational explanations become slightly less reassuring.
Can You Stay at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel?
Absolutely. The Bourbon Orleans remains an operating hotel at 717 Orleans Street in New Orleans, in the French Quarter near Bourbon Street, Royal Street and Jackson Square. Guests can choose from rooms and suites while also enjoying a courtyard, heated saltwater pool and other modern hotel amenities. So you can spend the afternoon exploring one of America’s most famous historic neighborhoods, return to the hotel at night and then discover whether the Bourbon Orleans’ reputation follows you upstairs. Explore staying at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel
The Bourbon Orleans is one of the incredible places featured in our guide to 15 Haunted Hotels You Can Actually Stay In.
Ready to Stay at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel?
Spend the night in the heart of the French Quarter and see whether the Bourbon Orleans’ centuries of ghost stories feel a little more convincing after dark.
Why Go Ghostly
The Bourbon Orleans checks nearly every box we’re looking for in a Go Ghostly destination. It has genuine history. It has architecture and atmosphere. It has longstanding paranormal legends. It’s surrounded by one of America’s most fascinating historic neighborhoods. And most importantly: You can go there yourself. Spend the night, wander the French Quarter after dark and walk through a property whose history stretches back more than two centuries. Maybe you’ll hear footsteps. Maybe you’ll encounter the ballroom dancer. Or maybe you’ll simply get a great night’s sleep in New Orleans.
Either way, the Bourbon Orleans isn’t merely another haunted-hotel story. It’s a ghost story you can travel to.
Ready to Spend the Night at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel?
Book your stay in the heart of New Orleans and see whether the Bourbon Orleans’ centuries of history feel quite as lively after dark.
Keep planning your haunted getaway
Find another historic stay, compare the original collection, or pair your hotel with an evening tour.