The Old Absinthe House

The two-story building at 240 Bourbon Street was constructed in 1806 by Spanish commission merchant Pedro Front and Francisco Juncadel as an import-export house dealing in Spanish food, wines, and coffee. In 1815, the secret second-floor meeting room served as the rendezvous point for pirate and privateer Jean Lafitte and General Andrew Jackson to negotiate a military alliance, securing Lafitte's gunpowder, artillery, and men for the Battle of New Orleans in exchange for presidential pardons.

In 1874, Spanish bartender Cayetano Ferrer transformed the ground-floor space into an authentic European-style saloon named the 'Absinthe Room.' Ferrer introduced traditional green absinthe served from imported French marble drip fountains, attracting literary, political, and cultural luminaries. Prominent patrons included Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, O. Henry, P.T. Barnum, Sarah Bernhardt, and occultist Aleister Crowley, who wrote his famous poem 'The Green Goddess' after sipping absinthe at the bar in 1916.

During Prohibition in the 1920s, federal agents targeted the establishment, forcing the removal of its historic fixtures to secret locations to avoid destruction. The original marble absinthe fountains, copper taps, and cypress bar counters were later returned and reinstalled, preserving the 19th-century atmosphere for modern patrons.

The Old Absinthe House is steeped in pirate lore and 19th-century ghost stories. The most famous legend involves pirate Jean Lafitte himself. Bartenders and late-night patrons report seeing a tall man in a 19th-century privateer's coat and tricorn hat standing in the shadows of the upper floor or leaning against the wooden bar counter. According to folklore, Lafitte's spirit lingers to guard secret treasures and documents connected to his Baratarian privateers, occasionally shifting glasses or whispering to unsuspecting patrons late into the night. His imposing shadow is frequently witnessed near the courtyard doorway, lingering silently before vanishing into the brickwork.

General Andrew Jackson is also believed to haunt the second-floor secret meeting room where the Battle of New Orleans plan was forged. Visitors report seeing a stately figure in military uniform sitting in a wooden chair near the fireplace, accompanied by the distinct smell of pipe tobacco and leather that fills the empty room.

Other urban legends center on the green spirit absinthe itself, dubbed 'The Green Fairy.' Local folklore suggests that decades of absinthe rituals and intense emotional gatherings created a psychic reservoir inside the brick building, attracting spirits of 19th-century poets, Voodoo practitioners, and card gamblers who refuse to leave their favorite watering hole, continuing their nocturnal celebrations long after closing time. Many visitors claim to hear faint glass clinking near the fountain counters, adding to the saloon's enduring mystique.

Bartenders, staff members, ghost tour guides, and night patrons at The Old Absinthe House report a steady stream of supernatural occurrences. Common reports include empty bar stools rotating on their own, bottles shifting on back-bar shelves without human hands, and the brass taps on the historic marble absinthe fountains turning slowly as if preparing a drink for an invisible guest.

Late at night after closing, staff members cleaning the floor report hearing disembodied laughter, clinking glasses as if a crowd were celebrating a toast, and heavy footsteps pacing across the upper cypress floorboards. Disembodied whispers calling staff by name and sudden icy cold spots near the corner tables are also regularly documented by evening tour groups, making it an active spot for ghost hunters and curious travelers seeking authentic French Quarter encounters. Electric lights occasionally flicker rhythmically during nighttime investigations, and guests frequently report feeling an uncanny sensation of being watched from the second-floor windows.

The Old Absinthe House is an exceptional surviving example of early 19th-century Spanish colonial architecture in the French Quarter. The corner building features thick stuccoed brick exterior walls, French doors opening onto Bourbon and Bienville Streets, and wrought-iron balcony railings overlooking the streetscape.

The ground-floor barroom retains its 1870s interior layout, highlighted by the original marble-and-brass absinthe drip fountains, antique copper fixtures, dark cypress woodwork, and thousands of business cards and dollar bills pinned to the walls and ceiling by patrons over the decades. The second floor houses historic private function rooms and the famous secret meeting room where military history was made.

The Old Absinthe House is located at 240 Bourbon Street at the intersection of Bienville Street in downtown New Orleans. It is open to the public daily from late morning through late night. Entry to the bar is free, though visitors must be 21 years or older to purchase beverages or enter bar seating areas.

Guided walking ghost tours and historic pub crawls stop directly outside or inside the establishment nightly. Visitors can order classic New Orleans cocktails, including the traditional Absinthe Frappé invented at this location, while taking in the historic memorabilia, antique fixtures, and vibrant Bourbon Street atmosphere.

The Old Absinthe House achieved legendary status due to its authentic 1806 Spanish colonial structure, its pivotal role in the War of 1812 with Jean Lafitte and Andrew Jackson, its connection to famous literary figures, and frequent visitor encounters with phantom pirates and spirits near the absinthe fountains that draw dark tourism enthusiasts, ghost hunters, and history buffs year-round from all over the world.