Paranormal Pajama Party

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Episode 28: Chloe, Cleo, and the Myrtles Plantation

Stephanie Summar

Historical horrors and plantation tourism

The Myrtles Plantation lit up at night beneath the trees.

In the heart of Louisiana stands the Myrtles Plantation, dubbed “America's Most Haunted House” by America’s Most Trustworthy News Source (sarcasm intended, Internet!), the National Enquirer.

Its most famous ghost story centres on Chloe, an enslaved girl who supposedly poisoned the plantation manager’s family and was hanged for her crimes. Thousands of tourists flock to the plantation every year hoping to catch a glimpse of her spirit, buy Chloe-themed merchandise, or snap photos of mysterious figures on the veranda.

There's just one problem: Chloe never existed.

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The commodification of historical trauma

The transformation of plantations into tourist attractions and event venues raises uncomfortable questions about how America processes its history of racial violence.

These sites, where countless enslaved people suffered unimaginable horrors, have become destinations for ghost hunters, thrill-seekers, and even couples getting married. Tour guides craft dramatic narratives about vengeful enslaved spirits, while gift shops sell themed merchandise that turns real historical trauma into entertainment.

As historian Tiya Alicia Miles points out, we wouldn't dream of running ghost tours at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center or hosting gift shops at massacre sites. So why do we accept—and even celebrate—the commercialisation of plantation violence? This selective approach to historical trauma reveals deeply ingrained racial biases in how we remember and memorialise different aspects of American history.

The other problem with plantation ghost stories

The ghost stories told at the Myrtles Plantation started to become more popular in the 1980s – and it shows.

Chloe’s appearance, for instance, draws on the “Jezebel” and “Mammy” tropes that were used to dehumanise Black women during and after slavery. These narratives perpetuate damaging stereotypes while simultaneously making the violence of slavery more palatable for tourists.

And here's the thing: slavery's violence shouldn't be palatable. The whole point of preserving plantation sites and telling their histories is to confront the brutal reality of what happened there – not to soften it with spooky bedtime stories and souvenir dolls. If America is going to move forward as a country that once built its wealth on the exploitation and torture of human beings, we need to actually sit with that discomfort. 

The good news is that ghost stories might be a way to crack open the door to these important conversations.

The role of ghost stories in historical memory

Ghost stories aren't inherently problematic. In fact, they can serve as powerful vehicles for confronting difficult histories. As Miles writes, “Ghosts are the things that we try to bury, but that refuse to stay buried.” When handled thoughtfully, ghost stories can centre the people who were sidelined in life and force us to confront uncomfortable truths about the past.

America's relationship with its past is complicated, and ghost tourism is just one manifestation of our struggle to process historical trauma. While there's something deeply troubling about selling souvenirs of slavery, perhaps these tours represent an attempt—albeit an imperfect one—to grapple with our nation's dark history.

The key is to move beyond sensationalised ghost stories and toward a more honest engagement with the past. Rather than searching for fictional spirits, we need to confront the very real spectres of racial violence and inequality that continue to haunt American society.

So when we consider these sites, we have to ask: What stories are we telling? Whose voices are we amplifying? And most importantly, how can we honour the real people who lived, suffered, and died in these places?

As promised, here’s a link to the photo of Chloe.

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