The Casket Girls of New Orleans: Vampire Legend or Dark Colonial History?

About this episode

This episode explores the chilling legend of the Casket Girls of New Orleans and its ties to vampire lore and colonial history.

In 1728, a group of young women arrived in New Orleans carrying small wooden chests known as cassettes—but over time, their story evolved into one of the city’s most chilling legends. In this episode of The Strange History Podcast, we explore the real history behind the Casket Girls of New Orleans and how it became tied to vampire lore. Sent from France to stabilize the early colony, these women were housed at the historic Ursuline Convent, one of the oldest buildings in the Mississippi Valley. Historical records confirm their arrival, their role in colonial society, and the structured marriages that followed. But over time, language shifted—cassettes became “caskets”—and the story took on a darker tone. Local legend claims the convent’s third-floor windows were sealed to contain something brought over with the girls. While historians attribute the closed shutters to preservation and architecture, visitors continue to report eerie sensations, shadowy movement, and unexplained sounds near the upper levels. Is it just folklore built on misunderstood history… or something more? This episode blends documented colonial records, linguistic evolution, and modern accounts to explore one…

People in this episode

Host: Strange History

Topics covered

• Casket Girls
• New Orleans history
• vampire lore
• colonial society
• folklore
• linguistic evolution

Keywords

• Casket Girls
• New Orleans
• vampire legend
• colonial history
• Ursuline Convent
• folklore
• linguistic evolution

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ursuline Convent

Places: New Orleans, France

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