New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
New Orleans is well known for its vibrant nightlife, lively festivals and Creole and Cajun cuisines. But, thanks to its tumultuous past, it’s also considered one of the most haunted cities in the United States. So, with a 32oz Hurricane Slushie in hand, I joined a local-led ghost tour. A Catholic missionary locked away with beautiful vampire schoolgirls, Madame LaLaurie’s murder mansion, voodoo museums and shops were highlights of our route, but my favourite story involves Caesars Superdome Stadium.
The stadium was built on a cemetery site and is home to the Saints NFL team. The team had a string of losses, to the extent that fans attended games with bags on their heads to avoid being seen as “Aints” fans. During his 1987 visit, Pope John Paul II was asked to bless the stadium and rid it of its haunted origins.
Perhaps taken in by southern hospitality he agreed. That year the Saints finally won their first championship, 12 years after the stadium was built. Pope Francis I then tweeted his blessing to The Saints in 2019 (an unintentional hashtag mishap) leading to yet another win. Is there something supernatural happening at the Stadium that only the Pope can fend off?
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