This photograph was taken from the restaurant balcony. It looks like the form of a woman in the balcony across the street. There was no one visible when I took the shot. The top image is enlarged and cropped. Regarding the woman in the window, the style dates the very tailored look of the "ghostly clothing" and hat at between 1890 and 1905.  The hat appears to have some sort of plume or decorative object on it.

Photograph from the restaurant balcony, image has been slightly cropped. Images © 2003, B. Greenfield

The next day we were off to spend the night at the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, LA., which operates as a Bed and Breakfast.

For a detailed history of the Myrtles, and its hauntings check out this site, www.prairieghosts.com/myrtles.html

The following is a recount of our experiences at the Myrtles Plantation on 2/9/03.

	3:00: Our stay began with a tour of the plantation home lead by guide Marguerite. The tour begins in the entry hall where the large "Haunted Mirror" hangs. This is a most peculiar mirror as the glass has permanent smudges that look like smeared handprints. No amount of cleaning can remove the marks. Even when replaced with new glass, identical smudges have reappeared.  Many people have reported seeing faces in this mirror, which hangs directly above an Indian Burial Mound. Shortly after leaving this room, Jenny felt extremely nauseous and had to go outside.
	6:00: In Grace's own words, "Early in the evening, while several of you were outside taking photos, I was sitting quietly in the Peach Room. I felt a real sense of sadness in the room and was thinking, 'Why don't you let go and move on?' Just then Olivia's EMF meter beeped."  This indicates a spirit may be present due to an increase in the electromagnetic field (EMF).
	8:00: Jennifer took a photo outside which reveals 4 ghostly figures standing by a fence.
	9:15: Vicki, Karen, Jenny and Bev were sitting on the bed in the Blue Room, (Chloe's room) playing cards. We heard footsteps, a rustling sound and creaking coming from the hallway.
	10:30: In the Sterling Room that used to be the children's nursery, Vicki was filming many shooting orbs.  Debra was asleep in this room when Vicki started filming. After Debra got up, the orbs began to fly around her.  They also appeared to be coming out of a large mirror standing on the floor.
	10:45: Jennifer was watching the orbs on the video camera when she felt someone looking over her shoulder, turned around, and no one was there.
	11:30: Four of us, Debra, Karen, Jennifer and Bev went outside the house to take pictures and look around. We approached the Game Room to take pictures through the window.  Four murders took place in this room for allegedly cheating at card games. As we got close to the room, all of us immediately felt extremely uneasy. Debra felt a sudden tightness in her shoulders. Karen felt tingling on her head and such pressure to leave that she had to force herself to keep moving. Jennifer once again had nausea to the point where she could not get near the window.  She asked Bev to take a picture through the window for her. Bev also felt extremely anxious, but was able to take some shots into the room.
	12:30am: Back inside, Jennifer was feeling very agitated and on the verge of a panic attack. We decided to try to get some sleep. Jennifer and Bev were in the Blue Room, Karen and Debra took the Sterling Room, and Grace and Vicki got the Peach room, (William Winter's Room). Jennifer's distress was mounting as she was seeing dark spots shooting around the room, mainly near the mirror. She even saw a dinner plate sized orb with the naked eye! Vicki entered the room with the video camera and started filming orbs. Jennifer was still awake and several times had the sensation of being touched on her forehead, as if a cotton ball was stroking her. Once she felt it at the exact same time Vicki videotaped an orb brush across Jenny's face.

Bev also saw some dark spots, but dismissed them as her eyes playing tricks on her. Bev finally went to sleep with her partially filled water bottle next to her on the night table. Some time later Bev woke up and tried to open the water bottle. The cap was on so tight she could not open it. She gave up and went back to sleep. When she woke up again, the top was off the bottle and lying next to it on the night table.

Throughout our stay, Vicki's tape recorder was on in hopes of recording electronic voice phenomena (EVP). She succeeded in capturing sounds of whispering female voices.

2/10/03: The next morning we took more outdoor shots before leaving the Myrtles. Karen got a remarkable photo that we believe to be an apparition of a Confederate soldier.

An apparition of a soldier is seen under the tree to the right! Shot with Kodak digital camera; Fill flash; Auto Exposure; Quality -Best. Photo was taken  as we were preparing to leave. No rain, intermittent clouds, sun just coming out. Did not see anything while photographing; just shooting the overall property. (Image by K. Lee)

We returned to New Orleans and checked into the haunted Andrew Jackson Hotel.  Many years ago, several children died in a fire on the same site. Sounds of phantom children are sometimes heard playing in the courtyard. There is also a haunted guest room. A man hanged himself in this same room.

That night we had dinner at the Royal Cafe in the French Quarter and took more pictures. Bev took a photo of what appears to be an apparition of a Victorian lady. The ghostly figure was standing on a second floor balcony across the street from the restaurant.  After dinner, we walked back to the Andrew Jackson, taking photos on the way. At the hotel, Vicki once again captured orbs on the video camera, most of them flying over the roof of the Andrew Jackson and the adjacent buildings.

Sadly, the next morning our haunted adventure had to end. The experience left us with a sense of awe, but we were also eager to get home where we could seriously analyze our findings. We discovered first hand that Louisiana has enough unexplained phenomena to captivate any paranormal researcher.