June 20, 2025 • 13 mins
Welcome back to Rogue Darkness! In this episode we’ll be delving into the eerie tale of “The Casket Girls of Ursuline Convent”. Some say they were otherworldly vampires that fed on the unsuspecting people of New Orleans, while others claim they were victims to a cruel and demanding world. Regardless which you believe, it’s safe to say the mystery and eerie circumstances that surround the Casket Girls definitely makes for a horrifying tale…
Sources:
The Casket Girls and Vampires of New Orleans – #FolkloreThursday
Womens History Month: The Casket Girls - NOLWT (neworleanslegendarywalkingtours.com)
Myth, Legend, and History: The Casket Girls of New Orleans (pelicanstateofmind.com)
Casquette girl - Wikipedia
The Casket Girls, a New Orleans Vampire Tale - Locations of Lore
The Truth About the Casket Girls in New Orleans (ghostcitytours.com)
The Casket Girls | New Orleans History
All music used in this episode, as well as all other episodes of Rogue Darkness, are royalty and copyright free and available for public use through the Creative Commons.
Contact: roguedarknesspod@gmail.com
Follow me on my socials!
IG: https://instagram.com/rogue_da...
YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC...
X: @rogue_darkness
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/rogued...
Rogue Darkness is part of the Darkcast Network. Check out all of the network’s other amazing podcasts at www.darkcastnetwork.com
Sources:
The Casket Girls and Vampires of New Orleans – #FolkloreThursday
Womens History Month: The Casket Girls - NOLWT (neworleanslegendarywalkingtours.com)
Myth, Legend, and History: The Casket Girls of New Orleans (pelicanstateofmind.com)
Casquette girl - Wikipedia
The Casket Girls, a New Orleans Vampire Tale - Locations of Lore
The Truth About the Casket Girls in New Orleans (ghostcitytours.com)
The Casket Girls | New Orleans History
All music used in this episode, as well as all other episodes of Rogue Darkness, are royalty and copyright free and available for public use through the Creative Commons.
Contact: roguedarknesspod@gmail.com
Follow me on my socials!
IG: https://instagram.com/rogue_da...
YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC...
X: @rogue_darkness
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/rogued...
Rogue Darkness is part of the Darkcast Network. Check out all of the network’s other amazing podcasts at www.darkcastnetwork.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Belief they would decrifice animals, dark world, a ritualistic child abuse?
Is there a well organized plot, an insidious design to
program the minds of our children towards the occult and witchcraft?
Does it make you want to hate murder? Or does
it make you want to do murder? Let's explore the
(00:23):
darkness of mankind, one crime at a time. Welcome back
to Rogue Darkness, the podcast that uncovers how the misinterpretations
and misinformation surrounding witchcraft, the occult, and other beliefs have
led many to do unthinkable crimes. From ritualistic killings and
(00:43):
the demons that live in all of us, to exploration
of the macabre and delving deep into the unknown, Let's
explore the darkness of mankind, one crime at a time.
I'm your host of the Grim and Gruesome Raven. In
this episode, we delve into the haunting tale of the
(01:06):
Casket Girls, pale, ghostly figures who arrived in the fledgling
city of New Orleans nearly three centuries ago, carrying with
them an aura of mystery and dread that persists to
this very day. As we navigate the shadowy streets of
the French Quarter, where the veil between the living and
(01:27):
the dead grows thin, will unravel the twisted strands of
history and legend that have become inextricably intertwined in this
unsettling saga. So gather close and let the eerie tail unfold.
To understand the legend of the Casket Girls, we must
(01:48):
first paint a picture of New Orleans in its infancy,
a time when the city was little more than a
ramshackle collection of hovels clinging to the banks of the Mississippi.
The exact year of the cities found is lost to history,
but by the early seventeen twenties it had become a
haven for the dregs of French society, vagabonds, smugglers and libertines,
(02:11):
all thrown together in a melting pot of vice and desperation.
But amidst this den of villainy, there was a glaring
absence women. The French crown, recognizing the need for a
more balanced population to ensure the colony's survival, set about
correcting this issue in the quickest manner possible, and so,
(02:36):
from the dark corners of France's prisons and brothels, a
motley crew of women were rounded up and shipped off
to the New World, tasked with becoming the unwilling brides
of the colony's unsavoury inhabitants. In seventeen twenty six, a
beacon of hope arrived in the form of the Ursuline Nuns,
(02:56):
a group of pious women from Rouan who had been
set to establish an orphanage in school for the colony's
young girls. These nuns, clad in their distinctive white uniform,
must have seemed like angels descending upon the squalid streets
of New Orleans, offering a glimmer of civility in an
otherwise lawless land. The journey was no easy feat, as
(03:21):
described by Sister Marie Madeleine Ashard in a letter to
her father, Our voyage was long and perilous, lasting five
months instead of the three we had expected. We faced storms,
scarcity of water, and the threat of pirates. Yet we
felt God's protection over us, and none of us wavered
(03:44):
in our resolve. In another letter, Mother Saint Augustine wrote,
we were greeted with such joy and relief by the
people of New Orleans. It seems that our presence was
eagerly awaited, for the colony was in dire need of
not just a day education, but also care for the
poor and the sick. We knew that we had arrived
(04:05):
where God intended us to be. But little did the
Ursulines know that their convent would soon become the focal
point of a dark and sordid mystery, one that would
echo through the centuries to come. Two years after the
ursulinees arrival, in seventeen twenty eight, a new group of
women arrived in the port of New Orleans. These were
(04:28):
no ordinary women, mind you. They were handpicked by none
other than King Louis the fifteenth, himself plucked from the
orphanages in convents of France to serve as the future
wives of the colonies men. Their arrival was an event
unlike any other the fledgling city had seen. The bustling
(04:49):
port was alive with the clamor of merchants, sailors, and
colonists alike. But when the casket girls descended from the ship,
a hush fell over the crowd. Their pale skin, almost
translucent under the bright sun, immediately caught the attention of onlookers.
Their eyes were sunken, their movements sluggish, as if they
(05:11):
had been drained of life. During their long voyage, it
was said that the very air around them felt colder,
sending chills through the spectators who watched them disembark. Pale, emaciated,
and ridden with fever, the girls clutched tightly to the
small coffin shaped caskets that held their few belongings, a
(05:33):
grim foreshadowing of the dark rumors that would soon consume them.
These coffin like caskets were small wooden chests meant to
hold their personal belongings. Yet their appearance, combined with the
girl's ghostly presence, only fueled the suspicions of the townspeople.
In a city as steeped in superstition as New Orleans,
(05:56):
such imagery was bound to stir whispers of the supernatural.
As the casket girls were ushered into the Ursuline Convent,
whispers began to spread throughout the city. Some claimed that
the girl's sickly appearance was not the result of a
harsh journey at sea, but rather the work of something
far more sinister. Had these poor, unfortunate souls unwittingly transported
(06:20):
vampires from the Old world hidden away in the depths
of their caskets, or worse, still were the girls themselves
the undead, their pallid complexions and sunken eyes betraying their
true nature. The French settlers of New Orleans had long
been wary of strange forces. Tales of vampires, demons, and
(06:44):
spirits were common among the superstitious colonists. These fears were
often stoked by the intense isolation and harsh living conditions
they endured. The Thought that these fragile women, sent to
bring hope and soar stability to the struggling colony might
in fact be harbingers of doom was enough to send
(07:06):
shivers down the spines of even the bravest men. The
casket girls were sequestered on the third floor of the convent,
their coffin shaped chests stored away with them. As the
weeks turned to months, a palpable sense of unease began
to permeate the city. The death toll, always high in
(07:26):
the disease ridden colony, seemed to spike inexplicably, as if
some unseen force was stalking the streets by night, draining
the life from the hapless citizens. Rumors swirled that the
convent's third floor had become a den of unspeakable horror,
where the casket Girls lurked in the shadows, their once
(07:47):
innocent faces twisted into hungry, predatory masks. The Ursulines, it
was said, had no choice but to take drastic measures,
sealing the shutters of the third floor windows with nails
blessed by the Pope himself, in a desperate attempt to
keep the evil contained. The idea that the nuns would
(08:10):
go to such lengths sealing the windows with holy nails
only added to the growing hysteria. It was whispered that
at night, strange noises could be heard from the convent,
the low groaning of something unnatural, and the eerie creak
of floorboards, as if the girls were pacing endlessly in
the dark. As the years passed, the Casket Girls faded
(08:35):
into legend, their true fate lost to the mists of time,
but the whispers of their dark legacy persisted, woven into
the very fabric of New Orleans haunted history even today.
If you find yourself walking past the old Ursuline Convent
on a moonlit night, you may feel a chill run
down your spine as you gaze up at those perpetually
(08:56):
shuttered third floor windows. Some say that the Casket Girls
are still there, trapped for eternity in their unholy prison,
their hunger for the living never fully sated. Others claim
that the girls escaped into the night long ago, their
descendants stalking the shadows of the French Quarter to this
very day, their thirst for blood and unquenchable curse passed
(09:20):
down through generations. The legend has persisted for centuries, and
modern paranormal enthusiasts still flocked to the old Ursulaine Convent,
eager to catch a glimpse of the supernatural. Some claim
that they've seen ghostly figures in the windows or heard
whispers when passing by late at night. Others report seeing
(09:43):
the shutters briefly opening, only to slam shut moments later,
as if something or someone was watching from inside. In
nineteen seventy eight, so the story goes, two intrepid paranormal
investigators decided to unwrap the mystery of the Casket Girls
once and for all. Under the cover of darkness, they
(10:06):
crept over the convent's walls, determined to uncover the truth
that had eluded so many or so long. The next morning,
their lifeless bodies were discovered, ravaged and drained of every
last drop of blood, their faces frozen in expressions of
unspeakable terror. To the superstitious residence of the French Quarter,
(10:29):
this grisly scene could only confirm what they had long suspected,
that the Casket Girls were indeed vampires, their dark legacy
extending far beyond the confines of the Ursuline Convent. No
official records of the investigation exist, and skeptics argue that
the story of the investigators is nothing more than a
(10:50):
modern embellishment to an already terrifying myth. Yet for the
people of New Orleans, this tale added fuel to the fire,
cementing the Casket Girls place in the city's haunted lore.
And so, dear listeners, we come to the end of
our chilling tale, a story of innocence lost, of darkness unleashed,
(11:12):
and of a city forever haunted by the specters of
its past. The legend of the Casket Girls may be
steeped in mystery, but one thing remains certain. In New Orleans,
where the boundary between the living and the dead is
as thin as a spider web, anything as possible. Whether
you believe the Casket Girls were truly vampires or simply
(11:33):
victims of unfortunate circumstance. The shadow they cast over New
Orleans is undeniable. The line between fact and fiction is
often blurred, especially in a place like the Crescent City,
where the past is never truly gone. As you wander
the labyrinthine streets of the French Quarter, keep a watchful
(11:54):
eye on the shadows that flicker in the gaslight, and
listen for the faint whisper of a long forgotten name
on the night breeze. You never know what ancient evil
may be lurking just around the corner, waiting to sink
its teeth into the unsuspecting. The casket Girls of the
Ursuline Convent a grim reminder that the past is never
(12:17):
truly dead, and that the thirst for blood is an
eternal curse that knows no bounds. If you enjoyed this episode,
please consider subscribing to Rogue Darkness on your favorite podcast platform.
Your support helps us continue to bring you more stories
(12:39):
of true crime and the paranormal. Definitely let me know
your thoughts on this case, and if you have any
questions regarding it or any other cases I've previously covered,
you can always contact me at Rogue Darknesspod at gmail
dot com. You can also always reach out to me
directly on my socials, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube are
all at Rogue Underscore Darkness. As always, be sure to
(13:03):
share the podcast with anyone who you think would like it,
and be sure to leave a rating, a review over
on Apple, iTunes, Spotify, Good Pods, or anywhere else you
can leave a review to let other listeners know you
enjoy the show, and if you want some personalized shoutouts
and other exclusives, definitely check out my Patreon by visiting
patreon dot com slash Rogue Darkness. You can also check
(13:25):
out my Bonfire shop if you want to get your
hands on some merch to support the show even further.
As always, all the links for everything discussed in my
episodes are down in the description box of the episode.
And with that said, that concludes this week's episode of
Rogue Darkness. The darkness is all around us and I
can confidently say that reality truly is more terrifying than fiction.
(13:51):
Until next time,
Belief they would decrifice animals, dark world, a ritualistic child abuse?
Is there a well organized plot, an insidious design to
program the minds of our children towards the occult and witchcraft?
Does it make you want to hate murder? Or does
it make you want to do murder? Let's explore the
(00:23):
darkness of mankind, one crime at a time. Welcome back
to Rogue Darkness, the podcast that uncovers how the misinterpretations
and misinformation surrounding witchcraft, the occult, and other beliefs have
led many to do unthinkable crimes. From ritualistic killings and
(00:43):
the demons that live in all of us, to exploration
of the macabre and delving deep into the unknown, Let's
explore the darkness of mankind, one crime at a time.
I'm your host of the Grim and Gruesome Raven. In
this episode, we delve into the haunting tale of the
(01:06):
Casket Girls, pale, ghostly figures who arrived in the fledgling
city of New Orleans nearly three centuries ago, carrying with
them an aura of mystery and dread that persists to
this very day. As we navigate the shadowy streets of
the French Quarter, where the veil between the living and
(01:27):
the dead grows thin, will unravel the twisted strands of
history and legend that have become inextricably intertwined in this
unsettling saga. So gather close and let the eerie tail unfold.
To understand the legend of the Casket Girls, we must
(01:48):
first paint a picture of New Orleans in its infancy,
a time when the city was little more than a
ramshackle collection of hovels clinging to the banks of the Mississippi.
The exact year of the cities found is lost to history,
but by the early seventeen twenties it had become a
haven for the dregs of French society, vagabonds, smugglers and libertines,
(02:11):
all thrown together in a melting pot of vice and desperation.
But amidst this den of villainy, there was a glaring
absence women. The French crown, recognizing the need for a
more balanced population to ensure the colony's survival, set about
correcting this issue in the quickest manner possible, and so,
(02:36):
from the dark corners of France's prisons and brothels, a
motley crew of women were rounded up and shipped off
to the New World, tasked with becoming the unwilling brides
of the colony's unsavoury inhabitants. In seventeen twenty six, a
beacon of hope arrived in the form of the Ursuline Nuns,
(02:56):
a group of pious women from Rouan who had been
set to establish an orphanage in school for the colony's
young girls. These nuns, clad in their distinctive white uniform,
must have seemed like angels descending upon the squalid streets
of New Orleans, offering a glimmer of civility in an
otherwise lawless land. The journey was no easy feat, as
(03:21):
described by Sister Marie Madeleine Ashard in a letter to
her father, Our voyage was long and perilous, lasting five
months instead of the three we had expected. We faced storms,
scarcity of water, and the threat of pirates. Yet we
felt God's protection over us, and none of us wavered
(03:44):
in our resolve. In another letter, Mother Saint Augustine wrote,
we were greeted with such joy and relief by the
people of New Orleans. It seems that our presence was
eagerly awaited, for the colony was in dire need of
not just a day education, but also care for the
poor and the sick. We knew that we had arrived
(04:05):
where God intended us to be. But little did the
Ursulines know that their convent would soon become the focal
point of a dark and sordid mystery, one that would
echo through the centuries to come. Two years after the
ursulinees arrival, in seventeen twenty eight, a new group of
women arrived in the port of New Orleans. These were
(04:28):
no ordinary women, mind you. They were handpicked by none
other than King Louis the fifteenth, himself plucked from the
orphanages in convents of France to serve as the future
wives of the colonies men. Their arrival was an event
unlike any other the fledgling city had seen. The bustling
(04:49):
port was alive with the clamor of merchants, sailors, and
colonists alike. But when the casket girls descended from the ship,
a hush fell over the crowd. Their pale skin, almost
translucent under the bright sun, immediately caught the attention of onlookers.
Their eyes were sunken, their movements sluggish, as if they
(05:11):
had been drained of life. During their long voyage, it
was said that the very air around them felt colder,
sending chills through the spectators who watched them disembark. Pale, emaciated,
and ridden with fever, the girls clutched tightly to the
small coffin shaped caskets that held their few belongings, a
(05:33):
grim foreshadowing of the dark rumors that would soon consume them.
These coffin like caskets were small wooden chests meant to
hold their personal belongings. Yet their appearance, combined with the
girl's ghostly presence, only fueled the suspicions of the townspeople.
In a city as steeped in superstition as New Orleans,
(05:56):
such imagery was bound to stir whispers of the supernatural.
As the casket girls were ushered into the Ursuline Convent,
whispers began to spread throughout the city. Some claimed that
the girl's sickly appearance was not the result of a
harsh journey at sea, but rather the work of something
far more sinister. Had these poor, unfortunate souls unwittingly transported
(06:20):
vampires from the Old world hidden away in the depths
of their caskets, or worse, still were the girls themselves
the undead, their pallid complexions and sunken eyes betraying their
true nature. The French settlers of New Orleans had long
been wary of strange forces. Tales of vampires, demons, and
(06:44):
spirits were common among the superstitious colonists. These fears were
often stoked by the intense isolation and harsh living conditions
they endured. The Thought that these fragile women, sent to
bring hope and soar stability to the struggling colony might
in fact be harbingers of doom was enough to send
(07:06):
shivers down the spines of even the bravest men. The
casket girls were sequestered on the third floor of the convent,
their coffin shaped chests stored away with them. As the
weeks turned to months, a palpable sense of unease began
to permeate the city. The death toll, always high in
(07:26):
the disease ridden colony, seemed to spike inexplicably, as if
some unseen force was stalking the streets by night, draining
the life from the hapless citizens. Rumors swirled that the
convent's third floor had become a den of unspeakable horror,
where the casket Girls lurked in the shadows, their once
(07:47):
innocent faces twisted into hungry, predatory masks. The Ursulines, it
was said, had no choice but to take drastic measures,
sealing the shutters of the third floor windows with nails
blessed by the Pope himself, in a desperate attempt to
keep the evil contained. The idea that the nuns would
(08:10):
go to such lengths sealing the windows with holy nails
only added to the growing hysteria. It was whispered that
at night, strange noises could be heard from the convent,
the low groaning of something unnatural, and the eerie creak
of floorboards, as if the girls were pacing endlessly in
the dark. As the years passed, the Casket Girls faded
(08:35):
into legend, their true fate lost to the mists of time,
but the whispers of their dark legacy persisted, woven into
the very fabric of New Orleans haunted history even today.
If you find yourself walking past the old Ursuline Convent
on a moonlit night, you may feel a chill run
down your spine as you gaze up at those perpetually
(08:56):
shuttered third floor windows. Some say that the Casket Girls
are still there, trapped for eternity in their unholy prison,
their hunger for the living never fully sated. Others claim
that the girls escaped into the night long ago, their
descendants stalking the shadows of the French Quarter to this
very day, their thirst for blood and unquenchable curse passed
(09:20):
down through generations. The legend has persisted for centuries, and
modern paranormal enthusiasts still flocked to the old Ursulaine Convent,
eager to catch a glimpse of the supernatural. Some claim
that they've seen ghostly figures in the windows or heard
whispers when passing by late at night. Others report seeing
(09:43):
the shutters briefly opening, only to slam shut moments later,
as if something or someone was watching from inside. In
nineteen seventy eight, so the story goes, two intrepid paranormal
investigators decided to unwrap the mystery of the Casket Girls
once and for all. Under the cover of darkness, they
(10:06):
crept over the convent's walls, determined to uncover the truth
that had eluded so many or so long. The next morning,
their lifeless bodies were discovered, ravaged and drained of every
last drop of blood, their faces frozen in expressions of
unspeakable terror. To the superstitious residence of the French Quarter,
(10:29):
this grisly scene could only confirm what they had long suspected,
that the Casket Girls were indeed vampires, their dark legacy
extending far beyond the confines of the Ursuline Convent. No
official records of the investigation exist, and skeptics argue that
the story of the investigators is nothing more than a
(10:50):
modern embellishment to an already terrifying myth. Yet for the
people of New Orleans, this tale added fuel to the fire,
cementing the Casket Girls place in the city's haunted lore.
And so, dear listeners, we come to the end of
our chilling tale, a story of innocence lost, of darkness unleashed,
(11:12):
and of a city forever haunted by the specters of
its past. The legend of the Casket Girls may be
steeped in mystery, but one thing remains certain. In New Orleans,
where the boundary between the living and the dead is
as thin as a spider web, anything as possible. Whether
you believe the Casket Girls were truly vampires or simply
(11:33):
victims of unfortunate circumstance. The shadow they cast over New
Orleans is undeniable. The line between fact and fiction is
often blurred, especially in a place like the Crescent City,
where the past is never truly gone. As you wander
the labyrinthine streets of the French Quarter, keep a watchful
(11:54):
eye on the shadows that flicker in the gaslight, and
listen for the faint whisper of a long forgotten name
on the night breeze. You never know what ancient evil
may be lurking just around the corner, waiting to sink
its teeth into the unsuspecting. The casket Girls of the
Ursuline Convent a grim reminder that the past is never
(12:17):
truly dead, and that the thirst for blood is an
eternal curse that knows no bounds. If you enjoyed this episode,
please consider subscribing to Rogue Darkness on your favorite podcast platform.
Your support helps us continue to bring you more stories
(12:39):
of true crime and the paranormal. Definitely let me know
your thoughts on this case, and if you have any
questions regarding it or any other cases I've previously covered,
you can always contact me at Rogue Darknesspod at gmail
dot com. You can also always reach out to me
directly on my socials, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube are
all at Rogue Underscore Darkness. As always, be sure to
(13:03):
share the podcast with anyone who you think would like it,
and be sure to leave a rating, a review over
on Apple, iTunes, Spotify, Good Pods, or anywhere else you
can leave a review to let other listeners know you
enjoy the show, and if you want some personalized shoutouts
and other exclusives, definitely check out my Patreon by visiting
patreon dot com slash Rogue Darkness. You can also check
(13:25):
out my Bonfire shop if you want to get your
hands on some merch to support the show even further.
As always, all the links for everything discussed in my
episodes are down in the description box of the episode.
And with that said, that concludes this week's episode of
Rogue Darkness. The darkness is all around us and I
can confidently say that reality truly is more terrifying than fiction.
(13:51):
Until next time,
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