
The Sultan’s Palace
Posted: 01.23.2025 | Updated: 02.06.2025
When you think of a city brimming with spirits, one comes to mind above all else: New Orleans. From Voodoo practices to above-ground cemeteries that look like small cities, the Big Easy has plenty of spectral energy floating around — and it seems a hub of that energy is concentrated at the Sultan’s Palace in the French Quarter.
The site of a horrific mass murder, the ghosts living in the Gardette-LePretre Mansion have been terrifying people for centuries. Yet, being scared is the reason many people flock to New Orleans every year: to get the chance to spot the local spirits.
If you want to see the most haunted locations in New Orleans for yourself, book a ghost tour with NOLA Ghosts tonight.
What Is the Story Behind the Sultan’s Palace?

The Sultan’s Palace is legendary in New Orleans circles. While the exact facts behind the deaths may have been lost to the wind, the lore of the grand building has been retold by generations of New Orleanians.
From deceit and betrayal to royal murderers, the tale of the Sultan’s Palace is twisted enough to make even the bravest grow weak in the knees.
But before it was the site of a heinous crime, the Gardette-LePretre Mansion was simply a very nice house.
The History of the Gardette-LePretre Mansion
The Gardette-LePretre Mansion sits squarely in the French Quarter of New Orleans. While the name suggests that the area would have mostly French influences, this isn’t entirely true. In addition to French, there are characteristics of Spanish, African, Caribbean, and, of course, Creole culture. This makes each house in the French Quarter beautifully unique from its neighbors, and the Gardette-LePretre Mansion is a perfect example of this.
The large home was built in the 1830s for a dentist named Joseph Coulon Gardette. The huge, 3½-story Greek Revival home sits at the corner of Dauphine and Orleans streets. Once it was completed, it immediately became one of the most luxurious residences in town.
However, what really sets this home apart came from the second owner, Jean Baptiste LePretre. LePretre bought the house around 1839 and decided to add on the new iconic cast-iron filigree balconies.
Ironically, LePretre only enjoyed the views of his gorgeous homes for part of the year. LePretre owned a large plantation by the Mississippi River, and during the summer months, he lived at his plantation to oversee the harvest process. In the fall, he would move back to his city mansion to take part in the social events of the winter.
The Later Years of the Sultan’s Palace
LePretre owned the home for 40 years until the bank acquired the house after a lawsuit against LePretre. The home went through many phases over the next century: in the ‘30s, it was converted into apartments.
The next decade, the New Orleans Academy of Art moved into the building for a few years. When they moved out, the mansion sat empty for 20 years, slowly deteriorating with time and age. In the late 1960s, a group bought the building and redeveloped it to the appearance it has today.
They did a meticulous job of the renovation, and the house is often cited as one of the most photographed homes in all of New Orleans. The mansion is currently broken up into individual apartments. Yet, not everyone is willing to rent an apartment in a building with such a gruesome past.
What Happened at the Sultan’s Place?
As we know, LaPretre would be away from his mansion for extended periods of time. Because of this, he would sometimes rent out the house to short-term tenants. This takes us to sometime in the mid-1850s when LaPretre was asked if he would rent out his home to a Turkish sultan.
LaPretre agreed, and the sultan soon arrived with a full entourage, including his harem of five wives, servants, and trunks of silks, jewels, and other fine goods. He was said to hold elaborate parties where people walking by on the street could smell the strong scent of the incense being burned.
However, the story goes that the sultan was very paranoid. He installed new locks on the doors and put up heavy drapes to hide what was happening inside the walls of the Gardette-LePretre Mansion. The question then arose among his neighbors: was the sultan trying to keep those close to him in? Or keep someone else out?
The Dramatic End to the Sultan’s Fun

The truth came to light one morning when a person walking by saw blood leaking out from under the majestic door onto the front steps. When officials entered the home, they found a total bloodbath.
Some accounts say that the occupants of the home were completely dismembered. Women and children were amongst the dead, and body parts had been flung about the house with abandon. For a while, they couldn’t find the tenant of the home — the sultan himself. Then, they went to the backyard.
In the grass, they found a hand sticking up from a newly dug grave: a seemingly last ditch effort to save himself before being buried alive.
Who Killed the Sultan’s Party?
The plot thickens when it comes to the person responsible for the sultan’s death. It turns out that the “sultan” was never a ruler at all. Some sources claim the sultan was a lowly criminal who stole the real sultan’s money and then took off across the ocean. Others say the man was the sultan’s brother, taking on the identity (and using the money) of his brother.
Whatever the truth is, it’s said that the sultan sent a group of assassins to kill the false sultan and send a message to his enemies that he didn’t take theft lightly.
The Hauntings at the Sultan’s Place
It’s not that surprising that the spirits of the victims of the slaughter haven’t been able to leave the Gardette-LePretre Mansion. Ever since the mass murder, all kinds of strange occurrences have been witnessed at the house.
Women’s laughter can be heard on the street emanating from the third floor. A strange song is often heard sung by eerie voices, and a man’s voice can be heard pleading in the bellows of the home, shortly followed by low groans.
Veiled figures are also seen hovering between the floors. Owners have reportedly tried holy water to rid the building of its spirits, but they have remained steadfast — refusing to vacate.
Haunted New Orleans
The phony sultan and his entourage have plenty of company as far as the spirit world goes. Not far from the mansion is another massive estate: the LaLaurie Mansion.
Here, even worse crimes were carried out by the home’s owner, Madam LaLaurie. After a fire broke out during a party, guests were horrified to discover the bodies of tortured and mutilated slaves that had been kept in a secret room in the home.
Nearby is also the Old Ursuline Convent, where French orphan girls were brought to be potential suitors to the French men in New Orleans. However, the story goes that the girls brought a little extra something in their luggage from overseas: vampires.
If you want to see the birthplace of America’s vampire legends or see the ghosts of the many victims of New Orleans’ crime, book a ghost tour with NOLA Ghosts.
To learn about more of America’s most horrific mass killings, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. To read about other New Orleans lore and legends, check out our blog.
Sources:
- https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/home_garden/the-sultan-s-house-the-haunted-history-of-one-of-the-french-quarter-s-most/article_03fe9808-22b8-11ea-bd26-6fa625d09750.html
- https://househistory.com/gardette-lepretre-mansion-716-dauphine-st-new-orleans-la-70116/
- https://www.verylocal.com/haunted-nola-slaughter-at-the-sultans-french-quarter-palace-gardette-lepretre-house/9188/
- https://wgno.com/news/the-bloody-truth-the-haunted-tale-of-the-sultans-palace-2/
Book A New Orleans Ghosts Tour And See For Yourself
Step inside New Orleans's dark past and visit The Big Easy’s most haunted locations on a spooky New Orleans Ghost Tour.
Walk in the footsteps of voodoo queen Marie Laveau while you learn about the most haunted places in New Orleans and discover the spirits of the French Quarter.