Ghosts of the Myrtles Plantation Artwork

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Join historian Kathy Kelly, proprietress of The Paranormal Museum, and psychologist Traci Stein as they explore the evidence for - and against - a paranormal explanation for all things mysterious, historical and most of all - paranormal.

[Theme song, "The Paranormal is Real" by Leonell Cassio, used with permission.]

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Ghosts of the Myrtles Plantation

January 20, 2026 • Kathy Kelly and Traci Stein • Season 2 • Episode 20

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Join Kathy and Traci as they explore one of America's most famous haunted locations: the Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana.

In this episode, Kathy shares the story behind a unique artifact in the Paranormal Museum—a cutting from the oleander tree at the center of the plantation's most enduring ghost story.

But this isn't just another retelling of the legend of “Chloe,” the enslaved woman said to haunt the property. Instead, Kathy examines what happens when we strip away romanticized narratives of the Old South and the Myrtles legend, and confront the brutal historical realities of plantation life and the people who were enslaved there.

What You'll Discover:

The legend of Chloe and the poisoned birthday cake—and why the historical record tells a different story
How ghost stories form around places shaped by systemic trauma and exploitation
The famous 1990s photograph that captured what appears to be a spectral figure
Why the Myrtles' haunting persists
The significance of the Oleander tree as a “living witnesses” and the "DNA of a ghost story"
Kathy's take on whether the Myrtles is truly haunted

This episode goes beyond typical ghost story fare to explore how hauntings can be structural rather than tied to single events, and why removing one explanation doesn't remove the experiences themselves. It's an honest examination of how we tell stories about haunted places—and whose stories are and are not recorded.

Content Note: This episode includes frank, historically accurate discussions of slavery, s*xual exploitation, and violence against enslaved people.

3:20 - Overview of the Myrtles Plantation

11:51 - The Legend of Chloe

18:43 - The Brutal Reality of Enslavement

34:46 - The Famous Photograph

39:35 - The Oleander Tree Artifact

44:57 - The Nature of the Haunting

48:39 - Kathy's Take on Whether the Myrtles is Haunted

52:56 - Trees as Living Witnesses

For more on Kathy Kelly and the Paranormal Museum, visit: https://paranormalbooksnj.com/

For more on Traci Stein, visit: https://www.drtracistein.com/

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