8 Gruesome Facts About Notorious Female Slavemaster Madame LaLaurie

She "Accidentally" Killed One of Her Young Enslaved Workers In 1833 during a lavish soiree at her New Orleans mansion, Madame LaLaurie chased an enslaved girl over a balcony. The young girl, named Leah, accidentally hit a snag while combing her mistress' hair. So, in a fit of rage, Madame LaLaurie chased the girl around the room with a whip, following her through a hallway that led to the balcony. Young Leah took to the balcony's railing to escape the enraged woman but lost her footing and fell to her death. She Had Her Enslaved Workers Taken Away and Then Returned to Her As she was unable to cover up the death of Leah, Madame LaLaurie was charged a $300 fine for abusing her enslaved workers. The mistreated workers were also taken away and sold at an auction. However, LaLaurie persuaded a relative to purchase the enslaved workers and return them back to her. She Kept Her Enslaved Workers in Deplorable Living Quarters In 1832, Madame LaLaurie had a three-story mansion built at 1140 Royal Street in the French Quarter. The mansion had living quarters attached for her enslaved workers. According to eyewitness accounts, the workers were housed in horrid conditions. They also looked miserable and half-starved. This is when rumors began to swirl concerning the treatment of LaLaurie's enslaved Africans. She Experimented on and Tortured Her Enslaved Workers On April 10, 1834, firemen responding to a fire at the LaLaurie residence discovered the mangled and disfigured bodies of enslaved Africans who had been locked away in a small attic crawl space. Many of the enslaved individuals, who appeared to be the victims of indecent medical experiments, were chained to the walls. One enslaved male appeared to have undergone a sloppy gender reassignment surgery while a female had her arms amputated and skin peeled off. She Kept Enslaved Workers Chained Up During the house fire mentioned previously, the firemen also discovered two enslaved Africans chained to the kitchen stove. It is believed the two intentionally set the fire to alert authorities to what was really going on in the home. She Buried Many Enslaved Workers Alive In an attempt to renovate the decrepit LaLaurie house into modern apartments, the bodies 75 of enslaved Africans who had been buried alive were found underneath the floor boards. The screams and cries neighbors reportedly heard coming from the home following the fire were real. The remains have since been moved from the property. She Mutilated Her Enslaved Workers According to the New Orleans Bee, bystanders broke into the slave quarters located on LaLaurie's property on April 11, 1834 in an attempt to evacuate the enslaved workers. Upon entering the quarters, they discovered seven mutilated bodies. Some were hung or stretched by their limbs, while others were missing body parts. Other reports mention the enslaved workers wearing spiked collars as well. ...Then Put Their Mangled Bodies on Display The enslaved Africans who had been tortured by Madame LaLaurie were put on display at a macabre auction, where nearly 4,000 viewers attended. The condition of the enslaved individuals were so appalling that a mob subsequently stormed the LaLaurie mansion and ran the Madame and her husband out of town. She is believed to have died in Paris.

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