In the French Quarter of New Orleans sits the Old Ursuline Convent. It is a stately building that is centuries old and rich in history. Interestingly, a vampire legend has become attached to this place. Some say that, during the colonial period, the convent became home (or perhaps a prison) to a group of vampires known as the Casket Girls.
The vampiric legend of the Casket Girls seems to be a popular one with tour guides in New Orleans. However, there does not seem to be an official version. Rather, there’s quite a bit of variation in the details you may hear or read. Below is a general summary of the tale.
Front of the Old Ursuline Convent
The Legend
New Orleans was founded with the intention that it would serve as a strategic port city in New France. During its early days, there were very few French women living there. Because of this, French officials were concerned that the settlement would not endure. The government ended up sending women from France to help populate the colony.
In 1728, a new group of women arrived in New Orleans. They were all orphans with respectable backgrounds that had been handpicked for the journey. When they disembarked from the ship, the residents of the city noticed how pale these young women appeared to be. Their luggage was also quite striking. Each woman brought a trunk that resembled a casket. Hence, they became known as the Casket Girls. They were then given lodging on the third floor of the Ursuline convent until suitable husbands could be found.
Old Ursuline Convent – Note the third floor windows
Shortly after the arrival of the Casket Girls, the city started to experience mysterious deaths. The nuns became suspicious of the women who they had taken in. One night, they went to check the mysterious casket-shaped trunks. These chests should have been filled with clothing and possessions brought from France. However, when opened, the trunks were found to be empty.
It’s at this point that the legend branches in a couple directions. In one version, the Casket Girl smuggled vampires to the New World in those chests. In the other version, the Casket Girls themselves are the vampires, sleeping in those chests during the daylight hours.
Realizing the vampiric situation, the nuns have the shutters on the third floor windows nailed shut – using silver nails blessed by the pope. Depending on the version, this was done to either seal the vampires in or prevent them from returning to their caskets. Those shutters remained closed to this day, lest the vampires return.
The History
This vampire tale, as it exists today, seems to be the result of misunderstandings and mythologizing. Let’s examine each detail separately and compare it to what is known of New Orleans history.
Women were indeed sent from France to Louisiana on various occasions with the intent that they would marry colonists there. Although some sources state that the Casket Girls arrived in 1728, the historical record apparently does not support this. The only women to arrive in New Orleans that year were the Ursuline nuns.
Interior of convent
The women who we now identify as the Casket Girls likely landed in New Orleans in 1721. That year, 88 women arrived on the ship La Baleine. Most came from La Salpêtrière, which was a women’s prison, orphanage, and home for the poor. It is unclear how many of the 88 were the handpicked Casket Girls. (Some scholars even argue that there weren’t any Casket Girls at all in New Orleans.) Regardless, it would seem the arrivals of the Casket Girls in 1721 and the Ursulines in 1728 were conflated into a single story.
When the women arrived, they didn’t bring large coffin-like chests. Rather, they each carried a cassette, which is a small box that would have held their supplies and valuables. Cassette actually translates to English as casket. It may surprise modern readers to learn that the word casket originally meant a small box. Its funerary definition was added in the 19th century. Because of the boxes, the women were referred to as “filles a la cassette,” which roughly translates to casket girls. Because the language has changed, their sobriquet gives an entirely different impression today than it did in the 1700s.
19th Century Illustration of the Casket Girls (Source: British Library Flickr)
So, did the Casket Girls go to live at the Ursuline Convent upon their arrival? The answer is no for two reasons. First, as was already mentioned, the Ursulines arrived 7 years after the Casket Girls. Secondly, the convent building we see today wasn’t finished until 1752-1753. As such, the timeline doesn’t seem to fit with the vampire girls getting sealed up on the third floor.
It’s been hypothesized, and I tend to agree, that the story of the vampiric Casket Girls is a modern myth that likely came into being in the late 20th century. Perhaps it was inspired by the Anne Rice vampire novels that feature New Orleans. When I did some brief checking for Casket Girl vampire references in 19th century sources, I found none.
Interior of convent
The Convent
Although it seems unlikely that the Ursuline convent played host to a group of vampires, it’s still a fantastic site to visit. The building is the oldest in the Mississippi Valley, with construction having been completed in 1752-1753. Originally, the Ursulines used the first floor as an orphanage, which would have included classrooms, an infirmary, etc. The nun’s living quarters were on the second floor. The third floor was attic space and had some quarters for those in the nun’s care.
Historic staircase
Needing a larger facility, the nuns handed over the convent to the Bishop of New Orleans in 1824. It then became the bishop’s residence until 1899. During that period, in 1848, a chapel was added onto the building. Afterwards, the former convent had various other uses, including offices for the archdiocese, archives, and a seminary. Today, the Old Ursuline Convent is part of the Catholic Cultural Heritage Center of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The building houses a museum where you can learn about how the Ursulines and their convent fit into the history of New Orleans. The adjoining chapel is now St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Tours of the old convent, which include the church, are available to the public on certain days. I very much enjoyed my visit to the Museum at the Old Ursuline Convent. It is a wonderful window into the story of the Crescent City.
Interior of convent
Conclusion
Although the legend of the vampiric Casket Girls is likely a modern one, it certainly seems to have established itself in local folklore. Various tours will bring visitors to the street outside the convent and share some version of the terrifying tale. While the story is likely due to a misinterpretation of history, it may also be the result of expectations. After all, New Orleans is now strongly associated with vampires due to various fictional works. Given the mystique of the Crescent City, a group known as the Casket Girls would certainly pique the modern imagination.
Gated room in the convent
Location
Museum at the Old Ursuline Convent
1112 Chartres Street
New Orleans, LA 70116
Official site: stlouiscathedral.org/convent-museum
Sources
Branley, Edward. “History of the Casket Girls of New Orleans.” GoNOLA.com. October 16, 2018. https://gonola.com/things-to-do-in-new-orleans/history/the-casket-girls-wives-for-french-new-orleans.
Branley, Edward. “NOLA History: The Old Ursuline Convent in the French Quarter.” GoNOLA.com. March 30, 2011. https://gonola.com/things-to-do-in-new-orleans/history/nola-history-the-old-ursuline-convent-in-the-french-quarter.
“The Casket Girls.” Ghost City Tours. https://ghostcitytours.com/new-orleans/ghost-stories/truth-casket-girls/.
Crandle, Marita Woywod. “The Convent Attic.” Marita Woywod Crandle. https://www.maritawoywodcrandle.com/secret-letter.
Crandle, Marita Woywod. New Orleans Vampires: History and Legend. Charleston, SC: Haunted America, 2017.
Democker, Michael. “My Granny Was A Vampire-Smuggling Casket Girl: A (Possibly) True Story.” Very Local. October 26, 2021. https://www.verylocal.com/ursuline-convent-casket-girls/20209/.
“Explorers and Settlers (Ursuline Convent).” National Park Service. March 22, 2005. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/explorers/sitec23.htm.
“Lieux de Mémoire Français en Louisiane: the Old Ursuline Convent.” Consulat Général de France à la Nouvelle-Orléans. July 31, 2020. https://nouvelleorleans.consulfrance.org/lieux-de-memoire-francais-en-3186.
McFarland, K. M. “What is the Mysterious Connection Between New Orleans, Vampires, and the Ursuline Nuns?” K. M. McFarland Author. July 19, 2022. https://www.kmmcfarland.com/blog/new-orleans-vampires-and-the-ursuline-nuns.
“Museum at the Old Ursuline Convent.” St. Louis Cathedral. https://www.stlouiscathedral.org/convent-museum.
WGNO Web Desk. “Casket girls, Ursuline nuns. How did vampires come to New Orleans?” WGNO.com. October 30, 2015. https://wgno.com/news-with-a-twist/casket-girls-ursuline-nuns-how-did-vampires-come-to-new-orleans/.
Zug, Marcia. “Lonely Colonist Seeks Wife: The Forgotten History of America’s First Mail Order Brides.” Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy 20, no. 1 (2012): 85. https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1236&context=djglp.
Written by A. P. Sylvia
