Join us on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 for a talk and reading with Folklorist and LSU Professor Emeritus Frank Decaro. A book signing and halloween candy reception will follow. The talk will begin at 5:30 pm. This event is free and open to the public. Frank de Caro is professor emeritus of English at Louisiana State University. A folklorist by training, he served as president of the Louisiana Folklore Society and editor of the Louisiana Folklore Miscellany.

Originally printed in 1944, DeCaro reintroduces this classic volume, Ghost Stories of New Orleans, by Jeanne deLavigne (d. 1962), which has been republished by LSU Press (October 2013).

Drawing largely on popular legend dating back to the 1800s, deLavigne provides vivid details of old New Orleans with a cast of spirits that represent the ethnic mélange of the city set amid period homes, historic neighborhoods, and forgotten taverns. Combining folklore, newspaper accounts, and deLavigne’s own voice, these phantasmal tales range from the tragic—brothers, lost at sea as children, haunt a chapel on Thomas Street in search of their mother—to graphic depictions of torture, mutilation, and death.

Folklorist and foreword contributor Frank de Caro places the writer and her work in context for modern readers. He uncovers new information about deLavigne’s life and describes her book’s pervasive lingering influence on the Crescent City’s culture today.

A New Orleans native, Jeanne deLavigne (d. 1962) also collaborated with Jacques Rutherford on the novels And the Garden Waited and Fox Fire.

A small exhibition of ghostly items from Hill Memorial Library will be on display just for this event!

See more about this book at: http://lsupress.org/9780807152911