Reverend Zombie's House Of Voodoo, New Orleans, Guide du visiteur et quoi faire à proximité

Reverend Zombie's House of Voodoo is a voodoo shop at 725 St Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It sits across the street from Preservation Hall, in a building tied to a local ghost legend about a carpenter who vanished in the 1790s. It is a good stop for anyone curious about the city's voodoo culture and its haunted stories.

The story behind it

Local lore says the building was still under construction in 1795, when a carpenter named Francisco Gagnie worked on it and never finished the job. The property owner took him to court and won, but Gagnie had no money to pay. Soon afterwards he disappeared. The tale goes that he was killed, though nobody can say so for certain, and that a nearby well was filled with brick and sand soon after. Treat all of this as legend rather than documented history.

Staff and visitors have long told stories of a cursing voice, doors that get kicked and tools that go missing. Some people say the carpenter's spirit still lingers near the old well. It is the kind of tale that fits this stretch of St Peter Street.

What to look for

• The shop front and window displays, which show how voodoo is sold and remembered in the Quarter today.
• Preservation Hall directly opposite, a modest, weathered building where traditional jazz has been played since 1961, and where the sound often drifts into the street in the evening.
• The wrought-iron galleries and old masonry along St Peter Street, which give you a sense of the colonial-era streetscape.
• Pat O'Brien's further along the same street, famous for the flaming fountain in its courtyard and its dueling pianos.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 30 minutes to browse the shop, longer if you also want to linger on the street and listen to the music from Preservation Hall.
• Come in the late afternoon or evening, when the street is at its liveliest and the ghost stories feel most fitting. Check current opening hours before you go.
• Browsing a shop is free, and you can see the building from the street at any time.
• Bourbon Street is a block away and Jackson Square is a few blocks, so it combines easily with a longer walk through the Quarter.

See it on a quest

Ghosts of New Orleans: Underworld suits this address well. You walk to the shop as one stop on a longer route through the French Quarter, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in New Orleans is a darker way to take in the same streets. You reach each place on foot, hear its story from the app and work out a puzzle in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Shadow of the Voodoo Queen: French Quarter, New Orleans fits the voodoo theme of this shop. It leads you from place to place through the Quarter, tells you about each one as you get there and sets a puzzle in what you see. One ticket covers the whole group.