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Friends,
Today, we head deep into the American South, home of boiled peanuts, muggy summers, mild winters, fried chicken, and, of course, haunted houses.
The Myrtles Plantation, established in 1796, stands in St. Francisville, Louisiana. It features a wraparound veranda and ancient oak trees draped in moss. It exudes an atmosphere that makes you feel as if entering the front door will whisk you back to an era of garden parties, lavish four-course meals, voluminous dresses that barely fit through doorways, and refreshing glasses of sweet tea.
But that’s not why we are heading to the Myrtles Plantation. We’re traveling to the heart of the Deep South to uncover the truth behind the events that earned it the reputation of being one of the most haunted houses in America.
What Happened?
Let’s begin with the tale of the Green Turban ghost, perhaps the plantation’s most infamous legend. According to local lore, during Judge Woodruff’s ownership of the estate, enslaved people toiled in the cotton and indigo fields under brutal conditions.
Whispers among those forced to work on the plantation painted Woodruff as a man whose rage could ignite without warning, leaving scars both visible and hidden.
Chloe, a house slave with a penchant for eavesdropping on ‘family business,’ found herself in a perilous situation when her curiosity led her to listen in on a conversation through the keyhole. Chloe was caught.
Someone from the family, perhaps Judge or Mrs. Woodruff, caught her red-handed. The consequence was merciless and brutal, a punishment delivered with swift, unforgiving severity.
Chloe was held down as an unidentified person cut her ears off, and then she was sent to work in the fields.
The Woodruff family wasn’t entirely heartless. They found Chloe’s disfigurement so disturbing that they permitted her to cover it with a green turban. Essentially, while Chloe would be left to endure the agony and memories of her punishment, the family could conveniently ignore their own cruelty.
Needless to say, Chloe planned her revenge.
Hell Hath No Fury like a Woman Scorned.
Reports indicate that Chloe made her move during Woodruff’s daughter’s 9th birthday. She cleverly slipped oleander leaves into the birthday cake with the intention of poisoning Mrs. Woodruff and her children. Some accounts suggest that Chloe didn’t actually intend to harm anyone seriously; instead, her goal was to make the children ill enough so that she would be asked back into the home to help nurse them back to health.
Unfortunately, Chloe was heavy-handed with the poisonous leaves, and Mrs. Woodruff and her children ended up dying.
Consumed by rage and desperation, Judge Woodruff’s mind spiraled into a frenzy, unable to unravel the mystery behind his wife and children’s tragic deaths. His suspicion turned into fury as he cast blame upon every slave in his household.
Driven by sheer terror and the instinct to survive, the slaves seized control of their destinies, enacting a brutal, desperate justice of their own. They mercilessly hanged Chloe and cast her lifeless body into the cold, unforgiving waters of a nearby river, the current swallowing her as if erasing her existence.
What Is The Real Story?
Here’s where the mist of myth blurs the edges of historical record. My investigation into the Cursed Mirror of Myrtle Plantation hit a crossroads of contradictions: the tale of Chloe and the Woodruff family splinters into multiple versions, each one claiming to be the truth.
Another story claims that Chloe was forced into Judge Woodruff’s bed, her body becoming yet another possession he claimed ownership of in the dead of night. When a younger woman caught his eye, he cast Chloe aside like garbage, condemning her to backbreaking labor under the merciless Louisiana sun.
Desperate and humiliated, Chloe’s mind fractured. She crushed oleander leaves into a birthday cake, convinced that nursing them through their sickness would return her to the relative safety of the house—away from the whips, away from the fields that were slowly killing her.
Once again, the grim outcome unfolds. And once again, the tale circulates that Chloe met her end at the hands of her fellow slaves, her lifeless body cast aside like a forgotten relic.
A third, even darker tale exists—this one spelling her name Cloe—where Judge Woodruff’s beloved daughter Kate writhed in agony as yellow fever ravaged her small body in 1861. Desperate and watching his child burn with fever, Woodruff summoned Cloe, who was known to practice voodoo.
For days, Cloe worked tirelessly, her hands stained with crushed herbs and sacrificial blood, the air thick with smoke from forbidden candles. When Kate’s final breath rattled from her lips despite these forbidden arts, Woodruff’s grief transformed into murderous rage.
At dawn, Cloe’s body swung from an oak branch, her neck broken.
There Has To Be A Ghost
Interestingly, I could not find much information about Chloe on the Myrtles homepage. It is now an upscale hotel that serves oysters, Lobster Crawfish Bucatini, and Truffle Mac & Cheese. It is apparently well known for its desserts, soft pillows, and the St. Francisville Food & Wine Festival—nothing on their website honors the dead, which brings over 60,000 people to their front door each year.
But I did stumble across a brief explanation for Myrtle Plantation’s reputation as America’s most haunted location. Back in 1992, an insurance agent photographing the property captured something unexpected: a turbaned woman strolling across the grounds.
Here’s the chilling part… the agent was alone that day. No visitors, no staff. Nobody. The spectral figure only revealed herself later, when the film returned from processing—a surprise guest who’d never been there at all.
And then there’s the mirror—that ornate, gilded monstrosity dominating the foyer wall. Visitors report spectral handprints materializing from within—marks that resist all attempts at cleaning. After the glass was replaced, the phantom impressions returned within days. Could these be the playful traces of ghostly children? Local lore suggests Sarah Woodruff and her young ones press their palms against some otherworldly barrier, though no one can claim certainty.
Final Thoughts
Do I believe the stories of Chloe? I really can’t say I do. Firstly, and mostly, because there is no record of a slave owned by the Woodruff family named Chloe or Cloe. Secondly, it has been proven that Sarah and her children didn’t die by poison.
So why do the stories remain tied to the home?
Maybe it is haunted. Maybe there was a woman who met her death while serving on the plantation and refused to leave. Perhaps the story has been told so many times that the Myrtle Plantation couldn’t survive without the paranormal activity of those who have passed on.
Regardless, too many people have reported experiencing something otherworldly for me to be dismissive of it.
Besides, ghosts rarely tell us their side of the story, and I hate to be the one who closed the door on their chance.
Until next time, Keep Reading and Stay Caffeinated.
For those hungry to explore more, click below to find additional readings:
Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places. Paying attention not only to the facts behind a ghost story, but also to how those facts change—and why—Dickey paints a version of American history left out of the textbooks, one of things left undone, crimes left unsolved.
Haunted America. Carefully blends historical facts with terrifying tales of true hauntings, strange stories of unexplained events, and bizarre bits of paranormal phenomena that are sure to make a believer out of the staunchest skeptics.
If you’re looking for your next favorite read, I invite you to check out my series, The Raven Society. This spellbinding historical fantasy series takes us on a heart-pounding journey through forgotten legends and distorted history. Uncover the chilling secrets of mythology and confront the horrifying truths that transformed myths into monstrous realities. How far will you go to learn the truth?
The Writer and The Librarian (Book 1):
Signed copies at:
https://rlgeerrobbins.com/product/the-writer-and-the-librarian-the-raven-society-book-1/
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Sources:
The Myrtles Plantation — Southern Gothic
Myrtles Plantation: The South’s Spookiest House | National Geographic