John Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar
John Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar is located in New Orleans, Louisiana at the end of Bourbon Street. It is the oldest pub in the country; As a former New Orleans brick en poste building that dates back to 1722, it is one of the three oldest buildings in New Orleans. With this given information, one can conclude that this is a hot-spot for paranormal activity due to its old history.
Master Jean Lafitte was a buccaneer of high seas and low bayous. He is seen occasionally at the pub with his pirate hat and some of his old cronies. The building once served as a front for contraband for the Lafitte family, a black smith shop, and a front for the Gentleman Pirate. It is believed that there is still treasure hidden in the pub at select locations. When a pirate buries his treasure, he kills someone on the spot. This spirit then turns into a ghost-slave to guard the treasure so no one can steal it. Legend has it that Jean Lafitte is dead, but his spirit has never been lifted from its guard-duty.
The only way he can be released is if someone of noble heart finds the treasure and puts it to good use. He tries to find a person with a noble heart by having eyes that burst into flame and drip with blood. Research indicates that treasure still exists in the house, somewhere in the fireplace. A bartender was working late one night alone and witnessed the ghost of a small man walking out of the fireplace to the end of the bar, then disappearing into thin-air. It seems as though most of the ghosts here are just like the other patrons, wandering in and out, fitting in with the crowd.
(Source: Belanger, Jeff. Encyclopedia of Haunted Places. 2005.)
