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A comment on HJ’s YouTube video about the Hotel Monteleone’s Haunted 14th Floor (embedded below) and the Missing 13th Floor… post on Ghost Hunting Theories sparked another Friday the 13th post today.
On the video, a YouTuber asked, “how did everyone in there die?”
Good question. I hadn’t talked about that in the video. I answered her and made a mental note I really needed to cover that on the blog since I hadn’t when I wrote about the hotel. (I only wondered if ghosts in haunted hotels give guests privacy and I talked about how the 14th floor isn’t what it seems.)
When I saw the post on GHT about missing 13th floors today, which the Hotel Monteleone has, I thought Friday the 13th was a perfect time to write about the ghost that haunts their missing 13th floor. (Autumnforest, if you happen to read this, THANKS for inspiring me. Your “missing 13th floor” wording was awesome. Couldn’t resist using it, but I’m giving you full credit for where I got it from!)
HE DID NOT DIE THERE
Even though the ghost of a little boy of about three-years-old has often been reported haunting the Hotel Monteleone’s 14th floor, he did not die there. He’s thought to be the ghost of a child who once stayed there. (There’s also another ghost like that. A boy who didn’t die at the hotel, but returned after he passed. The two are now thought to be playmates.)
But the tale of the three-year-old boy is a sad one. He ended up losing both of his parents within a year. The following is the story copied from a document posted on the Hotel Monteleone’s website.
…legend has it that he was the son of Josephine and Jacques Begere who stayed at the Monteleone when they came to New Orleans to attend an opera in the famous French Opera House on Bourbon Street in the late 19the century.
Maurice, their young son, was left with his nanny while the couple went off to the opera. Unfortunately, an accident occurred as they were returning to the hotel. The horses bolted when they heard a loud noise and Jacques was thrown from the buggy, killing him instantly. They say that Josephine died within a year of a broken heart.
The speculation is that the ghost of young Maurice sometimes roams the halls searching for his parents. His presence is especially felt on the fourteenth floor near the room where his parents were staying.
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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Is it just me, or is re-naming an actual 13th floor the ’14th floor’ just a bit pointless??
I have to wonder if the “missing 13th floor” tends to attract spirits.
That is a very sad story. The ghosts of children are always the saddest.
That is a very sad story. The ghosts of children are always the saddest.
That is a very sad story. The ghosts of children are always the saddest.
Seems so silly to name a 13th floor the 14th floor. It must have been a cat fat politician that came up with that. lol
Agreed!
They really are, Jessica. I’m not a mom, but it tugs at my heartstrings when I think of children perhaps trapped here because their life ended too soon.
Not you. SO pointless!
I was wondering the same thing, Lewis!!! But not until after I wrote this post…
Many buildings in LA who have over 13 floors skip the number. It has nothing to do with a politician. It is old Louisiana superstition that the 13th floor is extreemly unlucky and death will bad luck will befall on those on that floor. There are many old superstitions like this in the area that the elderly swear by. I am Louisiana born and raised and my grandfather was a contractor and most owners would request there not be a 13th floor marked in the elevator.
I was on the 14th floor of the Monteleone yesterday afternoon. I tuned around in the hall, and saw the wrist and hand of a small child holding balloons behind a maid’s cart – and then it was gone. The hallway was cold, and the hair on my arms stood on end.
There’s definitely a ghost there.
Super cool experience, Ashley! So glad you stopped by to share it. THANK YOU!
I will swear on a stack of anything anyone holds sacred that there most definitely ARE young child ghosts playing in the halls. I heard them & this wasn’t a new experience for me. I KNOW when what I’m experiencing is paranormal – have all my life. Yes, it may seem sad, but “the kids in the hall” were having a fine time when I heard them.
I believe you Jane. And even if they had to pass at an early age, wouldn’t it be nice if they were able to enjoy themselves in their afterlife? That’s kind of nice really. I’m glad you said something.