The Conjuring writers developing new horror franchise inspired by spooky New Orleans mansion
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The LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans has not been open to the public since the early 20th century. With the exception of those who have owned the property over the years (including Nicolas Cage, of course), no one has been granted access to the interior of the mansion—until now (cue suspenseful music): According to Deadline, the creators of The Conjuring franchise are developing a new series of horror films inspired by the LaLaurie Mansion. Screenwriting duo Chad and Carey Hayes have teamed up with Faster Horse Pictures and its partner, Michael Whalen, who just so happens to be the current owner of the mansion, for the franchise. The duo will have access to the property and are said to be considering a stay there while they write the screenplay for the first installment.
For readers unfamiliar with haunted locations and/or those who abstained from watching American Horror Story: Coven, the history of the LaLaurie Mansion is upsetting, to say the least. So named for its most infamous resident, the Creole socialite Madame Delphine LaLaurie, the mansion played home to an actual house of horrors: On April 10, 1834, a fire broke out in LaLaurie’s mansion. Responders were horrified to discover slaves that had been chained in the attic and obviously tortured for a prolonged period of time. The fire, which consumed the mansion, was started by a slave who’d been chained to a stove in the kitchen. An angry mob congregated at the mansion and completely destroyed what remained, leaving the property in ruins until 1838, when it was acquired by Pierre Trastour. The new owner rebuilt the mansion, but it is not the same as LaLaurie’s previous home.
In any case, the LaLaurie Mansion is certainly fertile ground for spooky stories, but using a racist serial killer who murdered numerous slaves as the basis for a series of horror movies seems… questionable.
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For those of you not keeping up with sister site Deadspin, things are a little bonkers today
1. By all accounts LaLaurie was a hideous sadist. IMO basing a fictional series on these events would be no different than basing a series on the guards of Auschwitz or on that skeery fella John Gacy—in other words, completely fucking tasteless.2. The original house was destroyed. The house currently standing on the property is completely different and, other than the dirt it’s standing on, has nothing to do with the events being focused on. What, exactly, is the point of staying there?
Reminds me of an old Stephen Wright bit: “I have George Washington’s axe. I replaced the blade and the handle but it occupies the same space.”
The Torture House of Theseus. Sounds great.
I would have watched a movie with Nick Cage, the former owner of LaLaurie Mansion, like a reality type show about his haunted house in New Orleans. A movie about the actual awful history of it I am less sure about
There was a direct to video horror film on the subject in the early 2000s. It was shit.
“There are rumours that, to this day, the mansion is haunted … by Nicolas Cage.”
Found a new horse to beat to death?
Yeah legit not here for this. If they film at the mansion it’s going to be a legit pain in the ass for everyone who lives/works in the quarter. Also it’s history is gross AF and not a ghost story.
I’m of two minds. Its a fascinating story of abject horror and inhumane cruelty. Perfect for adaptation and its been done a few times, most notably AHS. But it is using a real life serial killer to make a horror film, and will likely feature her. That is somewhat tasteless, hell AHS can be very tasteless. Not sure how to feel, although the original tale has been exaggerated over the years, it still is the American Elizabeth Bathory.
…although the original tale has been exaggerated over the years, it still is the American Elizabeth Bathory. Whose story was also exaggerated over the years, and possibly fabricated from the start (as Gilles de Rais’ may have been), as a means for other nobility to destroy her.One of the more interesting elements of the LaLaurie story is how it was sensationalized by the very slave-holding culture it took place in. The outrageousness of the story served to salve the guilt of those telling it: “She was such a monster! Not a humane slave owner like us!”
First on Bathory, yeah that story is exaggerated as all hell. Blood bathing, 650 victims, not true. Whether she was a murderer is another matter and has both evidence pro and against. Also yeah contemporary reports are fascinating. The slave owners around her all through her under the bus as a monster. She had to flee the country and never came back.
“Based” on a “true” “story”
Lets put scare quotes around that “on” too, just to be safe.
…the mansion that isn’t the original mansion is haunted by ghosts but, like, different ones! Oooo-ooo!
So, dude bought a property that he’s going to use to collect location fees, write off the mortgage as production costs, use to generate publicity, and sell afterwards at a profit in a neighborhood/city that is being slowly deadened by “investors” who buy up property and lease it out to wealthy tourists, in the process making a sense of community and a reasonable cost of living impossible. Also, he gets to exploit ugly racist history for profit.Yeah, it’s a kind of horror.
“Mr Cage? When you sold me this place, you forgot to mention one tiny thing! That it was built on the site of a slave massacre! … No, you didn’t! … Well, that’s not the way I remember it!”*slams down phone*“He says he mentioned it five or six times.”
“Might as well monetize it. Good thing we’re coincidentally in the film industry.”
I knew that was Nic Cage’s old house the instant I saw it. Don’t ask how.