Talk:Delphine LaLaurie

message: *Entertaining story, but it would be nice to have some sources fo the information. Also, needs some more work on the grammar and some NPOV help. --Barista | a/k/a マイケル | T/C 07:52, 28 August 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Nice page 

message: I'm doing some research on Delphine Lalaurie (nee Macarty), and I'll update the entry with what I find.
--Brecluse 01:21, 7 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Lalaurie research

message: I'm wondering what the source of this image (Delphine Lalaurie image) is.  It would be nice to actually verify that it is indeed Delphine. 
--Brecluse 17:37, 3 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Laulaurie image 

message: It's nice that you found another mention of it in the Papa La-Bas book, but this book is a work of fiction and not a reliable source.  I am still planning on cleaning this up, but I've just not had time to do more research or updates.  Maybe later this summer.
Brecluse 17:14, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Madame Lalaurie has a descendant called the Revered Synthia Darkness? 87.224.74.143 (talk) 14:07, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Fiction v. Fact

message: I first started to do research on Delphine Lalaurie 10+ years ago as an idea for a movie. Much of the story is shockingly true. In fact the true events that occurred are way beyond most people’s imagination!  I also think that the bodies discovered years later is fiction. The horror found in the attic was so much worse than this page describes! As it turns out, Ted Bundy, Gacy , and Dahmer are just child’s play in comparison. Any movie made about Delphine Lalaurie would never be rated anything except X and would never even get off the ground! A word of warning to anyone researching Delphine Lalaurie, know that what you will find are things so disturbing you may wish to never know about, and you’ll never be able to forget.  
I'd really like to verify the image is indeed Delphine (one of the things I'm sure Wikipedia wants), can you tell me where you got it? I'd really appreciate it.  Thanks.  
Brecluse 17:16, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: This website  seems to verify it. --Kerowyn  Leave a note  08:19, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

text: I have read all the nineteenth century sources on this case available in the British Library (which turns out to have a pretty comprehensive selection of New Orleansiana) and none contain reproductions of this image, or any other claimed to represent Lalaurie. I think its provenance has to be rated extremely doubtful until someone can come forward with an exact source or reference to an archive holding. Mikedash (talk) 10:17, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Donnald: where did the image come from?

message: Is the story factual? The external links were entirely worthless, and the only source mentioned is a book from 1921 (which, judging by the title, is by no means focused on this person and the story). If the story were true, surely police records etc. would support it, and there'd be a whole lot more about it. I've never read about this person in books dealing with serial killers (she certainly would qualify), and a Lousianan friend dismissed this entirely as "a ghost story." The article doesn't even attempt to address that the story is not verified and is generally regarded as fiction. --84.230.123.136 18:14, 29 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Fact or Fiction?

message: Actor Nicolas Cage has bought the LaLAurie Mansion.  —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 87.78.126.114 (talk) 09:23, 28 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Nicolas Cage 

message: Why is it just Delphine who is infamous for the treatment of the slaves etc in the house? Presumably her husband must have had a hand in it, or at least known about it?
: I also think that would be interesting to know. Someone should insert exactly who did what, if there are any information about it.--85.226.235.206 (talk) 14:39, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  Yeah, the article says nothing on her husband Louis, even if he escaped when there was an angry mob. William Ortiz (talk) 05:47, 1 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Why just Delphine?

message: I have found several sources on the net that suggests a Auguste Macarty was elected mayor in 1815. No 'Augustine' elected in 1812 is mentioned anywhere, as far as I can see. I have changed the article accordingly. 80.203.143.201 22:45, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Auguste Macarty 

message: There is very little about her life before the 1830s. There should be at least the names of her first husbands, and more about her early life in general, if this is known. Are they, for example, any indications, perhaps gossip, that she did something like this when she was young? Are there any information about her parents, and if they did something similar? This would be interesting from a psycological point of view.--85.226.235.206 (talk) 14:44, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, I think that would be interesting and helpful, even if the verifying, as often with historical subjects, is difficult. I have found something myself which I added today regarding her first marriages. A source on the net say: She was born Marie Delphine, daughter of Louis Barthelemy Chevalier de Maccarthy. She was first married on June 11, 1800 to Don Ramon de Lopez y Angulo. When he died on March 26, 1804 in Havana, Cuba, she married Jean Blanque in 1808, who died in 1816. From there she married Dr. Lalaurie on June 12, 1825. I have inserted this as well as the source in the article. --85.226.235.206 (talk) 13:02, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Earlier history 

message: The article does not state where she was born. Was it New Orleans or Haiti? It just says that her parents were members of the New Orleans community, but then it adds (almost casually) that they were killed in a slave uprising. Which slave uprising? Where and when? Loiusiana did not have many slave revolts, however, Haiti, as we all know, did.--jeanne (talk) 08:18, 14 October 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: When I read this article last, I seem to remember that it did say that they were killed in a slave revolt in Haiti. Perhaps it was reverted, or I've read it somewhere else. Anywhay, that's what i seem to remember, though I can't say were I've read it if it wasn't here. my guess: the information about her earliest life seem unclear, so maybe the family either emigrated from Haiti during the revolt, or simply visited Haiti at the time of the revolt there. Only a guess! --85.226.47.188 (talk) 13:35, 6 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, several sites on the net claim that her parents were killed in a slave revolt on Haiti. Here is one []. It seems as though her parents were visitng Haiti when this happened. Perhaps this had some effect in her view on slaves, who knows. --85.226.47.188 (talk) 15:00, 9 November 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Delphine's birthplace

message: As always, the key to understanding a story is to go back to the original sources. These confirm some of the basics of the "legend", notably the alleged death of a slave girl who jumped from the roof, the setting of a fire by one of the slaves,  the discovery of a number of maltreated slaves by rescuers, and Madame Lalaurie's flight. None of the ridiculously ludicrous allegations listed in the 'rumours' section are substantiated, however, and few can be traced to sources published any earlier than the late 1990s. This is not entirely surprising, as no nineteenth century newspaper would have published such lurid and suggestive details, and the 'facts', if real, would have had to come either from court papers or eyewitness testimony, neither of which have ever been shown to exist. I have added a brief corrective, but really this entire article needs rewriting to state the history clearly and to reduce the 'rumours' section to what it should be, a brief one or two line mention at the foot of the article. I would be more than happy for the main contributors to the article as it stands to take this on. Over to you, gentlemen and -women. Mikedash (talk) 10:07, 6 January 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I have asked a question about this subject below (Question:"Why was people so upset? Why was the second time different?")--85.226.44.190 (talk) 09:06, 15 April 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Historical accuracy 

message: In 1775, New Orleans was part of New France, and not of the United States. Accordingly, she was born French (as much as a baby born today in French Guyana. He wasn't born in mainland France, but in France nonetheless, thereby making him a French citizen, and not a "South American"). She was not "american" (in the sense of the word as is used in Wikipedia). Please correct it.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.45.180.152 (talk) 07:16, 8 January 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Actually, New Orleans was a part of Spain in 1763-1800. But otherwise you are correct. --85.226.44.74 (talk) 20:56, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Citizenship 

message: In 1842, when she allegedgely died, she was sixty-something. So couldn't she be born anytime between 1772 and 1783? And be 60 or 69 year when she died?--85.226.44.74 (talk) 20:56, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Year of birth 

message: If everything about torture, murder, etc was all fantasy, and nothing else happened but some slaves being locked up in a room, then why was poeple so upset that she had to leave town? This was a slave society after all, surely it was not uncommon for slaves to be badly treated. So why was people so upset that she was nearly lynched? Would that not mean that the slaves was wounded in unusaul ways? Even if it was uncommon to go so far as to chain slaves, it is hard to imagine that this nearly led to a lynching in a slave society. In short; why was people upset to this degree? There must have been a reason. --85.226.45.227 (talk) 11:36, 7 April 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, why have this drawn attention at all? Why is it famous? Why did people even bother, if nothing unusual hapened? --85.226.46.215 (talk) 13:39, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: There is no reason to be upset. You do not understand my point. Yes, I read the article, I read about the first fines, that is exactly why I have asked my question. This is just what I am talking about. Why was she just not punished the same way as she was the last time? Just as you say, she was given a fine and had her slaves taken from her the first time. Why was she just not given another fine and had the slaves removed from her again? Why was this time considered any different? The law is one thing, public oppinion another. I the law decided, she would perhaps have been given another fine. But people was upset enough to chase her out of town. Why did they not do this the first time? The assumption must be, that this was different, much worse; that she had done something uncommonly cruel. And yet, the article states that nothing else was discovered but some slaves locked up in a room; mistreated, yes, but not mutilated and tortured. This would have lead to another pair of fines and removal of slaves. But instead, she was nearly lynched. Why? This is a reasonable question, and nothing for you to lynch me about. I am from Europe and of course I know that this is a sensitive question in USA. If you are so superior to me in your knowledge in history, then perhaps you can explain this to me. --85.226.46.215 (talk) 10:35, 11 April 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: To say that all of it is fantasy, will make it just as strange as saying that all wild theories about this case is true. The truth must surely be somewhere in the middle. Wether she really conducted medical experiments may well be untrue. But something terrible must have happened (more than what would otherwise be accepted in such a society) otherwise there would have been no reason what so ever for this case to have been known in history at all. Surely she was not the only slave owner to have broken the law (if this was truly the case) by looking her slaves up. It is important to learn how to conduct a discussion without being emotional. --85.226.44.190 (talk) 17:13, 13 April 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: This is indeed an interesting question, which needs to be answered if one feels it is necessary to discover the truth about this case. It is, truly, contradictive to logic in many ways; if none of the torture etc happened, why have this case became known in history? If it did happen, then why does the article claim nothing happen more than (If I remember correctly) the locking up of slaves in a room? No matter what the law say, would this have been considered terrible by the  majority in this society? This is contradicitve, and needs to be clearified. However, cases of this sort is usually controversial, and it is easier to let your emotions ran away with you than to discuss fats. It is not uncommon, that many feel that it is more important to distance yourself from things like this and state your opinions, and to present facts which supports this opinion such as: "She was a massmurderer who tortured and conducted medical expermients" or "She was the target of lies and propaganda and was in fact innocent" rather than to present and discuss facs wathever they may say. That was speaking in general about such cases. I myself have no idea wath is true about this case in particular. The facts about this case may also simply be unknown, or hard to look upon neautrally. It is also important to realise, that some things, sadly, may be simply be too sensitive to discuss for some, which may be sad, but something important to consider. Perhaps these contradictive facts will be clearifyed some day. Regards--Aciram (talk) 11:00, 18 April 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Answers aren't forthcoming not because of racial tensions but because the sole book about this event was written, as is stated in the article, by someone who appears to have written it to advance her tourism business.  Newspaper sources from the 1800s show that the information in the book is incorrect.  Until more information on the event is discovered, these questions won't be answered, unfortunately.  This was a minor event two hundred years ago, which has become an urban legend because of a self-promoting book written in the last few years.  If that book hadn't been written, this article probably wouldn't even exist - as it is, the article is to a large degree a disproof of the book.  It's not that Americans don't want to look at this question because of racism or because of troubled history, it's that (1) it's a really minor event that was blown up into an imaginary grand guignol by a tourism promoter, and (2) since it was a minor event, there are no historical studies of it.  Flopsy Mopsy and Cottonmouth (talk) 04:14, 19 April 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Why were people so upset? Why was the second time different?

message: Obviously a lot of work's been done here since the last AfD and a lot of stuff has been sourced.  I've been making some effort to source the remaining uncited material (such as about her late life and death) and been having no luck - most of the online information is citing this page (or an earlier versino of it) as its source.  I'm therefore giving notice that I intend in the near future to delete the remaining unsourced material on the page to prevent further corruption of online sources and to provide a clean slate for building the article back up usingly only reliable, sourced information.  If you're able to source anything on the page that isn't already, please prioritise it! - DustFormsWords (talk) 05:09, 26 November 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Sources

message: With some regret, I'm going to have to remove the portrait of Ms LaLaurie from the article, as it's tolerably clear from this site that it's still in copyright, and as it was painted within the last 20 years and can't therefore be claim to be an accurate representation of her, I'm not sure how it can be claimed to be fair use. - DustFormsWords (talk) 03:53, 13 December 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Picture

message: ... is not a reliable source.  But it is oftimes a hilarious one. - DustFormsWords (talk) 00:13, 20 December 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: The Weekly World News...

message: I'm putting many of the stories of LaLaurie's cruelty back into the article (the death of the young girl, etc).  Originally they appeared here unsourced, and were removed as unverifiable.  I've now traced them to Harriet Martineau, writing only four years after the Royal Street fire and recounting stories that were current in New Orleans at that time.  I'm still not sure how reliable they are, but I'm being careful to say that they're Martineau's account as I reinstate them.  Whether or not they're true, they originate from a contemporary source which is generally reliable in other areas, and there's no other contemporary source which directly contradicts them, so it seems to me they should be represented in the article. - DustFormsWords (talk) 01:25, 7 January 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Allegations of cruelty to slaves

message: I've added a consensus banner to the top of the page reflecting what I understand to be our consensus on portrait images of Delphine, and of the reliability of the major ghost-story-centric sources.  The intention is to help new editors to not have to wade through the same morass we already have in discrediting these sources.  Feel free to discuss here if anyone thinks that I've inaccurately portrayed editor consensus and I'll take it down. - 03:01, 7 January 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Consensus

message: Guessing from the fact that LaLaurie was born in 1775 and Louisiana was administered by the Spanish from 1762 to 1802 ¿shouldn't the article use contemporary names such as Nueva Orleans and Luisiana for her place of birth? Sincerely, --86.81.201.94 (talk) 23:22, 18 June 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Louisiana Vs. Louisiana, New Spain 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 3 external links on Delphine LaLaurie. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
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*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20101218031708/http://www.nola.com/lalaurie/archives/fire2.html to http://www.nola.com/lalaurie/archives/fire2.html
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120421221754/http://www.nola.com/lalaurie/trail/plate.html to http://www.nola.com/lalaurie/trail/plate.html
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thread_title:  External links modified 

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I have just modified one external link on Delphine LaLaurie. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110807152536/http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04042005-171447/unrestricted/Morlas_thesis.pdf to http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04042005-171447/unrestricted/Morlas_thesis.pdf
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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: The citation for the uses of the mansion after it was rebuilt in 1838 is a property listing that cites this very Wikipedia article as the source. However, in 2007, when this Wikipedia article was cited, it gave no citation for its information. I have not found a new source to replace this source, but a partial replacement source could be the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans. Acadiansith (talk) 18:13, 21 May 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  LaLaurie mansion history circular citation