The True Story of Delphine LaLaurie
The character portrayed by Kathy Bates in AHS Coven.
If on April 10, 1834, a fire hadn’t erupted at 1140 Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the sadistic and criminal nature of Madame Marie Delphine LaLaurie might never have been uncovered.
Prior to this, she was a respectable member of New Orleans’ high society, a cousin of the city’s former mayor.
She later became a symbol of absolute evil: in her grand home, several slaves were found.
Confined in the attic, with evident and horrifying signs of torture.
Since that distant day in 1834, when Madame LaLaurie refused to hand over the keys to the servants’ quarters, increasingly chilling details have emerged about what the rescuers found in the house, though there is no way to verify them.
However, some facts are certain: slaves were found in the attic, clearly subjected to prolonged sessions of torture.
Eyewitnesses reported finding “seven slaves, more or less terribly mutilated…
Suspended by their necks, with limbs seemingly stretched and torn from one end to the other.
Other stories, not supported by direct testimony, speak of slaves with their mouths filled with excrement, lips sewn shut, body parts skinned to create grotesque patterns, eyes gouged out of their sockets.
It was even said that a woman was found with broken bones then rejoined to give her the shape of a crab, and another with intestines tied around her waist.
After the fire, many conflicting reports emerged, describing the discovery of around a hundred corpses with horrific mutilations.
Even accounting for all these gruesome descriptions, Madame LaLaurie remains one of the most brutal criminals of the 19th century.
What triggered her sadistic streak remains unknown, as she had previously shown no signs of particular cruelty.
A chilling story that added an even more macabre touch to the season of AHS Coven…
Did you like The True Story of Delphine LaLaurie? Leave a comment
Source: Vanilla Magazine
Subscribe to our YouTube channel