Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana, booksignings this month

            Ghost stories abound in the Cajun and Creole city of Lafayette, Louisiana. The Hub City boasts a multitude of spirits and specters, from those lost in Civil War skirmishes and fever outbreaks to those souls that simply can’t say goodbye. Today, they wander the halls of bed-and-breakfasts and restaurants and linger along back roads and cemeteries. Pirates are rumored to guard buried treasure, and ancient French legends hide in the swamps, bayous and woods. 

            I visited Lafayette’s haunted sites and traveled the countryside in search of ghostly legends found only in South Louisiana and published "Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana," with The History Press.

            Just in time for Halloween I will be signing copies of “Haunted Lafayette” at the following:

Oct. 17, 2015: I will sign “Haunted Lafayette” as well as “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History” from 10 a.m. to noon at 1921 Jackson Street: A Coffee House in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Oct. 31, 2015: I will sign “Haunted Lafayette” and her other books — “Exploring Cajun Country,” “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History” and “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets” — from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at Barnes & Noble Lafayette.

Ghost stories and rum, oh my! Haunted presentation Thursday at Vermilionville in Lafayette

            It’s that time of year, when the sun’s descent toward the horizon produces shadows long and sinewy. And if you follow the old Celtic calendar, and the origins of Halloween, the veil between living and dead grows thin.

            Or maybe we just need an excuse to be scared.
            I’ll be telling ghost stories from my book Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Vermilionville for the presentation “Ghosts Along the Bayou.” And if that’s not enticing enough, Donner-Peltier Distillery of Thibodaux will be handing out samples — to adults — of their Rougarou rum. Come out and hear about Lafayette’s haunted spots.
                         Looking for some more haunted suggestions to keep you up at night?

             Sarah Bartlett travels the world for ghost tales, vampire myths, UFO sightings, sacred spots and more in National Geographic’s “Guide to the World’s Supernatural Places.” There’s well-known sites such as Machu Picchu, Stonehenge and Area 51 but lesser-known odd places to pique your interest, such as the astronomical Ocmulgee in Macon, Georgia, the more than 30 labyrinths of Zayatsky Island or the Manchester, Vermont, church where a dead woman’s organs were burned in the hopes of releasing her husband’s current ill wife from a vampire’s grip. Closer to home are sites such as Marie Leveau’s tomb, the Myrtles Plantation and the cursed town of Frenier, outside New Orleans. Spotlighting 250 sites, the book offers a great trip around the world for lovers of the mysterious and the unexplained.
            Travel writer Kathleen Walls, a native of New Orleans, takes readers on a road trip with “Hosts With Ghosts: Haunted Historic Hotels in the Southeast.” In addition to well-researched ghost tales at numerous inns and hotels, Walls offers a travel guide to the areas mentioned, plus a handy resource list. It’s the perfect addition to a southeastern road trip ghost tour.

Cheré Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.