I have relied on TV and film as an escape for as long as I can remember. I would come home after school and escape into various landscapes, different times, and new cities each night on my screen. I fell in love with the ability to lose myself and be immersed somewhere else in the world. New Orleans had become a place I thought I knew well after watching The Originals with my sister during the pandemic. I became captivated by vampires and all things mythical, but I had never been able to experience this place until now.
On my first day in New Orleans, halfway through Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, I became invested in the characters, excited to see the city through the eyes of Louis and the eerie atmosphere Rice portrays. Armed with my prior knowledge of the city, I was patiently waiting for the mystery and dark undertones the city holds. Having never feared ghost stories or menacing creatures, I developed a fascination with vampires. From Dracula to Twilight and modern shows like The Vampire Diaries, I enjoyed the slight variations in supernatural creatures. Rice’s vampires provided depth and emotion while still managing to evoke fear in the world around them.
“There was something forever savage and primitive there, something that threatened the exotic and sophisticated life both from within and without.”
I went searching for the darkness in New Orleans that the shows and Rice depict. However, I was left disappointed, or so I thought. I discovered the beauty of this city through hidden entryways. Behind rusted metallic gates that acted as bars for the light peeking out from them, lay a contrast with the vibrancy of green. Fountains in the middle were surrounded by bricks leading up to them. The vividness of the bushes, the buds of flowers, and the trees provided quiet moments in this bustling city.
Croissant D’Or courtyard
Moments of magic were felt. On the first day in the city, sweaty and tired from the intense heat after walking around, we looked for food. The French Quarter was packed, tourists filling the streets, making it nearly impossible to get in anywhere for lunch. We found ourselves at the edge of the quarter, the street suddenly bare and quiet. Along this residential street, tucked away amongst the rows of houses, stood a coffee shop. Croissant D’Or saw us all relieved as we were met with the cool air conditioning and refreshing tranquility found in the courtyard. We had found a hidden gem. Since then, I have tried to return but have been met with closed doors twice, despite the website saying it is open. Perhaps it was luck that we found it that day, or maybe something else.
During the days, we explored the city, from the mansions in the Garden District, visiting Anne Rice’s house, searching for cowboy boots on Magazine Street, and admiring the architecture of the Quarter and St. Louis Cathedral. I had fun exploring this city with my friends, but still, something was missing. It didn’t feel like the New Orleans that Rice had painted for me.
“The moon that rose over New Orleans then still rises.”
Klaus Mikaelson’s house
That was until one night, just after sunset, I ventured out, and suddenly my body tensed. Crows were flying above, cawing as if producing warning cries. The humid weather provided a never-ending heat, but the breeze did nothing to chill. The lights overhanging buildings, still with a gas flame, flickered in the night as I watched the shadows of trees dance on the ground. It was everything I had imagined and more. I began to picture the apartment Louis and Lestat lived in on Royal Street, the corner Claudia ran off to cry, and the places they’d stepped. New Orleans suddenly became the perfect place for vampires to be.
During a ghost tour of the French Quarter, we walked around the streets, quieter than I thought, with only streetlamps and shadows of people around the corners, creating a more sinister feeling as people analyzed their pictures to see if they captured any ghosts. I found myself excited as the tour guide pointed out filming locations of The Originals. Suddenly, what I had seen on the screen was in front of me; I had arrived at my perception of this city.
“In which a vampire, richly dressed and gracefully walking through the pools of light of one gas lamp after another might attract no more notice in the evening than hundreds of other exotic creatures.”
Band on Frenchmen Street
While the fear that darkness often brings exists, I saw another side of this city. Bourbon Street was lit up with neon lights and upbeat tourists. On Frenchmen Street, local musicians performed on the street. As I listened to one of the bands, a man with a trumpet joined in, not a part of the band but welcomed as if he was. The spirit and culture of this city can’t help but leave you smiling.
This city is multifaceted, offering something for everyone, with history and culture in every corner. But if there is one thing I must recommend, it is seeing this city at night. How one street can be so full of life with music bouncing off the walls while another may be empty with only those gas lamps to guide you. While I can’t guarantee that you will see ghosts or vampires, there is still something eerie down those dark alleyways. Who knows, maybe it is Lestat.