During tonight’s premiere of American Horror Story: Coven, viewers will meet two real-life women who helped shape New Orleans: Madame Delphine LaLaurie (portrayed by Kathy Bates) and Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau (portrayed by Angela Bassett). Although the two women were contemporary residents of New Orleans in the 19th century, their legacies are very different.
Madame LaLaurie was born into a prominent family around 1775. Although she was married three times, it was her third marriage to Leonard Louis Nicholas LaLaurie that gave Madame LaLaurie her lasting name. It was also in that relationship that Madame LaLaurie gained infamy.
The LaLauries bought a property at 1140 Royal Street in New Orleans in 1831 and subsequently built a three-story mansion. Fitting with the culture at the time, the LaLauries kept slaves. However, even among other slave-owners, Madame LaLaurie was believed to be particularly brutal. In one case, she was reportedly caught “cowhiding” a young slave girl in the home’s courtyard. The girl supposedly then threw herself off the roof.
The semi-public scene attracted the attention of law enforcement officials who found the LaLauries guilty of cruelty. As punishment, the LaLauries were forced to give up nine of their slaves.
That apparently didn’t inspire Madame LaLaurie to change her ways. On April 10, 1834, a fire was reported at the LaLaurie residence. The first responders discovered a slave woman chained by her ankles in the kitchen who admitted to setting the fire in a bid to avoid Madame LaLaurie’s wrath. Concerned neighbors then forced their way past the LaLauries and into the home. According to an account by Harriet Martineau in 1836, the bystanders discovered seven additional slaves who were emaciated, visibly injured from frequent beatings and bound by short chains.
Modern folklore tells an even more gruesome story of Madame LaLaurie’s violence. According to local legend, Madame LaLaurie commonly gouged out her slaves’ eyes, sewed their lips together or ripped off their fingernails.
Yet, there was no real justice for Madame LaLaurie’s victims. According to some reports, she fled to Europe. Others say she never left the area… Either way, the end of her life is shrouded in mystery.
Marie Laveau is equally well-known in New Orleans’ history, but for very different reasons. According to the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, Marie was born in 1801 to two free Creoles of color. She married when she was 18, but her husband died by the mid-1820s. She began another relationship with Louis Christophe Dominick Duminy de Glapion and they had as many as 15 children together. (Some sources say seven, while others say 15. The most famous of their children was Marie Laveau II, who later assumed her mother’s role as Voodoo Queen.)
Although Marie was Catholic, she was most renowned for another aspect of her spirituality: She was the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans for 40 years. As such, many people within the community came to her for spiritual guidance or healing.
Unlike Madame LaLaurie, Marie was highly regarded by many in the community. To this day, Voodoo practitioners make pilgrimages to her crypt in New Orleans. Still, many believe Marie practiced dark magic and was actually quite sinister. Interestingly, she’s been called a saint by some and a witch by others.
See how Ryan Murphy decided to portray Madame LaLaurie and Marie Laveau by tuning into American Horror Story: Coven on FX tonight at 10/9c.
