Andrew Jackson Hotel

A cozy French Quarter courtyard hotel built on the site of an old boys' boarding school. The building looks charming enough — the history underneath it isn't.

The Andrew Jackson Hotel on Royal Street in the French Quarter stands on ground with a history stretching back to 1792, when the Spanish Colonial Government established a boarding school and orphanage on the site for boys who had lost their parents to the relentless yellow fever epidemics sweeping New Orleans. In 1794, the Great New Orleans Fire devastated the city, destroying over two hundred structures. The boarding school was among them, and five young boys perished in the flames. Some historical research has questioned whether the fire actually reached this precise address, noting that 919 Royal Street may not have been in the path of either the 1788 or 1794 conflagrations, but the legend of the orphan boys has become inseparable from the hotel's identity.

After the fire, a United States Federal Courthouse was constructed on the site. It was here that General Andrew Jackson, fresh from his legendary victory at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815, found himself on the wrong side of the law. Jackson had maintained martial law in the city even after the British threat had passed, going so far as to arrest a state senator and jail the federal judge who ruled for the senator's release. When Jackson finally lifted martial law, the same judge charged him with contempt of court and fined him one thousand dollars, which Jackson paid. The episode did nothing to diminish his reputation as the Hero of New Orleans, and he would go on to become the seventh President of the United States. The courthouse was eventually demolished, and the current building of the Andrew Jackson Hotel was erected in 1890.

The ghosts of the five orphan boys are the hotel's most active spirits. Guests report hearing children playing outside their windows and in the hallways when no children are present, their laughter and footsteps echoing through the building late at night. The most frequently encountered individual spirit is a boy named Armand, who's known for playing tricks on guests. Armand has been blamed for pushing sleeping guests out of their beds, hiding personal belongings, and creating noises at all hours. His pranks range from mischievous to startling, but they're never threatening -- more like the antics of a child who wants attention and refuses to be ignored.

A spectral caretaker has also been witnessed in the hotel. Guests returning to their rooms have reported seeing a figure fluffing pillows and tidying the space, only to realize that no housekeeping staff were on duty at the time. The caretaker is believed to be the spirit of whoever was responsible for the orphan boys in life, continuing the duties of care in death. Some visitors have also reported encounters with what they believe to be the ghost of Andrew Jackson himself, seen walking the hallways of the hotel that bears his name. The Andrew Jackson Hotel is consistently ranked among the most haunted hotels in New Orleans, and its history of tragedy, justice, and spectral mischief draws both history enthusiasts and paranormal seekers to its doors.