Haunted hotel guide · New Orleans, Louisiana

The Haunted Lamothe House Hotel, New Orleans: The Woman in Red

A Creole double townhouse from about 1839 under the oaks of Esplanade Avenue, the Lamothe House is a quiet, affordable French Quarter stay. Guests say a woman in a red dress shares it with them.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate hotels

2.8/5Haunted Rooms Score
c. 1839Year built
Woman in redBest-known ghost

Check availabilityMeet the ghosts

The Lamothe House Hotel sits on Esplanade Avenue, the broad, oak-shaded boulevard that forms the downriver edge of the French Quarter, a block from the Frenchmen Street music clubs of the Marigny. Built around 1839 as one of the first double townhouses in New Orleans, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today it is part of the small French Quarter Guest Houses group, with suites in the old house and more rooms in the carriage house around a flagstone courtyard and pool.

It is not a hotel that advertises its ghosts, and that is part of its appeal. The stories come from guests: a woman in red who steps out of a room and vanishes, children laughing late at night, and a mother who seems to be searching for them. Here is what guests report, what we know about the house, and how to make the most of a stay. For more nearby, see our guide to the most haunted hotels in New Orleans.

Lamothe House at a glance

2.8/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation3
History4
Ghost hunter access1
$ · Under $150Pet friendly
  • Address 621 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116 (between Royal and Chartres)
  • Built About 1839 as a Creole double townhouse; listed on the National Register of Historic Places
  • Most haunted spots The hallways of the main house, the courtyard, guest rooms in the side buildings
  • Best-known ghosts A woman in a red dress; children heard laughing at night; a mother looking for them
  • Booking the haunted room There is no single haunted room. Ask for a Grand Antique Suite in the original 1839 house.
  • Good to know Five Grand Antique Suites and nine deluxe rooms in the main house, more in the carriage house; courtyard pool and hot tub; leashed pets accepted. It is in a quiet residential stretch, a short walk from both Bourbon and Frenchmen streets.

Check availability

The ghosts of the Lamothe House

The woman in red

The Lamothe House’s best-known ghost is a young woman in a red dress. Staff and guests describe her stepping out of one of the rooms into the hallway and then simply vanishing. Nobody has put a name to her, and no story explains who she was, which only adds to the mystery.

One guest who stayed over Halloween 2022, and wrote about it online, described waking around 3 a.m. to see a woman in a long dark red dress standing near the foot of the bed. Accounts like that are personal and impossible to check, but they keep the legend alive.

Laughing children and a searching mother

The second story is about a family. Guests report children laughing and playing in the middle of the night when no children are staying, and a woman walking the hallways as if looking for them. One guest in a courtyard room said they heard a child humming a nursery rhyme and skipping outside their door around midnight, but found nobody there.

Lights, knocks and moving things

Most recent reports are small and domestic. Guests posting on haunted-places sites describe overhead lights that switch back on after being turned off, a TV turning itself on, tapping on the walls, and a baby’s rattle shaking on its own when the baby was asleep. Some guests say faces show up in photographs taken around the house. These are unverified, user-submitted stories, but they are remarkably consistent.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • Grand Antique Suites: The five suites in the original 1839 house, with high ceilings, cypress floors and antiques.
  • Main-house hallways: Where the woman in red is seen stepping out of a room.
  • The courtyard: A flagstone courtyard with a garden pond, where children are heard at night.
  • Carriage house rooms: Behind the pool; several guest reports come from these side buildings.

History of Lamothe House Hotel

According to the history long told for the house, the land was bought in 1829 by Marie Virginia Lamothe, who sold it a few years later to her brother Jean Lamothe, a wealthy sugar planter. He built the double townhouse around 1839, one of the first of its kind in the city, with two families sharing a single grand facade.

In 1859 the house was sold to two Frenchmen, Paul Rivera and Henry Parlange, who hired Louis Folliet to remodel it. The old carriage entrance was turned into a central entrance hall, an unusual layout that survives today. Around 1860 came the Corinthian columns, the double entrance and the two winding staircases to the second floor. The original ceiling timbers, iron hardware, rolled-glass window panes and wide cypress floors are still in place.

The house became a guest house in the 20th century and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with a marker beside the front door. Note that published accounts of its early owners differ: the National Register marker page describes it as largely a Lamothe family house, while some modern writers name other early owners. The architecture, at least, speaks for itself.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • Ask for the main house. The Grand Antique Suites are in the 1839 building where the stories began.
  • Check the payment rules. Some listings say the hotel is cash only for certain charges, so confirm when you book.
  • Enjoy the quiet. Esplanade is calm at night. Bourbon Street is a 10-minute walk, Frenchmen Street even closer.
  • Walk to the other haunts. The Hotel Provincial is a few blocks away on Chartres, and the Lafitte Guest House is a short walk up Bourbon.
  • Want to investigate with a team? Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts at historic venues across the US.

More haunted hotels nearby

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We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Lamothe House Hotel haunted?

Guests and staff have long reported a woman in a red dress who vanishes in the hallway, children laughing at night and a mother searching for them. The hotel itself does not promote the stories.

Who is the woman in red at the Lamothe House?

Nobody knows. She is described as a young woman in a red dress who steps out of a room and disappears. No historical person has been linked to her.

Is there a haunted room at the Lamothe House?

No single room is known as the haunted one. Reports come from the main house hallways, the courtyard and rooms in the side buildings.

Where is the Lamothe House Hotel?

At 621 Esplanade Avenue, on the edge of the French Quarter and the Marigny, about a 10-minute walk from Bourbon Street.

Does the Lamothe House allow pets?

Explore Louisiana lists leashed pets as allowed. Check with the hotel when you book, as policies change.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.

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About the authors

The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

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