Chloe of the Myrtles: The Slave Ghost with Poisoned Cake
The ghost of Chloe, a slave who allegedly poisoned her master's family with oleander cake, is said to haunt the Myrtles Plantation - though historical records cast doubt on her existence.
Chloe of the Myrtles: The Slave Ghost with Poisoned Cake
The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana is considered one of America’s most haunted locations. Its most famous ghost is Chloe, a slave woman wearing a green turban who allegedly poisoned the plantation owner’s wife and children. Her spectral image has been captured in photographs, and her presence is felt throughout the property – though historians question whether she ever existed at all.
According to popular legend, Chloe was a slave at the Myrtles. She became the mistress of Clark Woodruff, the owner, and she was caught eavesdropping on a business conversation. As punishment, Woodruff cut off her ear. She wore a green turban to hide her disfigurement.
The Poisoning
The legend continues: Chloe wanted to regain favor with the family. She baked a birthday cake for one of the children, adding oleander leaves (poisonous) to it, intending a small dose to make them sick. Then she could nurse them back to health.
The Deaths
According to the story, the poison was too strong. Sara Matilda Woodruff (wife) died, and two of the three children died, with Clark and one child surviving. Chloe had killed three people.
Chloe’s Fate
The legend’s conclusion was that the other slaves, fearing retaliation, seized Chloe. They hanged her from a tree on the property, and her body was thrown in the Mississippi River. Her spirit never left the Myrtles; she’s been seen ever since.
The Ghost
Witnesses describe a woman in a green turban, dressed in servant’s clothing, standing on the veranda, walking through the house, and appearing and disappearing suddenly.
The Famous Photograph
The most famous evidence is a tourist photo taken circa 1992, showing a figure between two buildings, appears to be wearing a turban, and many believe it’s Chloe. The photo has been analyzed extensively.
Other Manifestations
Chloe is also blamed for tucking children into bed, moving objects in the children’s room, the smell of poisonous plants, cold spots on the veranda, and feelings of guilt and sadness.
Historical Problems
Historical research reveals that no slave named Chloe appears in Myrtles records. Sara Matilda Woodruff died of yellow fever in 1823, and the children died in a yellow fever epidemic. There’s no evidence of poisoning, and no record of a slave being hanged.
Death Records
Documents show that yellow fever killed many in the area, and the Woodruff family deaths fit the pattern. Multiple family members died in the same period, which was common during epidemics. No mention of foul play was made.
Alternative Histories
Some historians suggest that Chloe is a composite of several stories, she may be conflated with other plantation legends, the story grew through oral tradition, tourism may have embellished the tale, and the ghost may be real but not Chloe.
Other Myrtles Ghosts
William Winter was another famous ghost: He was a lawyer who lived at the Myrtles, shot on the front porch in 1871, staggered inside and died on the staircase, and his ghost is heard climbing the stairs, always stopping at the same step. The Children were various child spirits seen playing on the grounds, heard laughing in empty rooms, may or may not be the Woodruff children, multiple witnesses over decades, often seen by visiting children. The Ghost Mirror is a famous artifact: A mirror where handprints appear inside the glass, allegedly contains spirits of those who died, cleaning doesn’t remove the marks, the marks return, and multiple photographs document them.
Investigations
Numerous ghost hunting groups, television programs, academic researchers, and skeptical investigators have investigated the Myrtles. All have yielded varying results.
Evidence Collected
Investigators report EVPs (electronic voice phenomena), unexplained photographs, temperature anomalies, EMF fluctuations, and personal experiences.
The Bed and Breakfast
The Myrtles operates as a historic bed and breakfast. Guests stay in reportedly haunted rooms, and many report experiences, staff collect testimony, and the haunting continues.
The Power of Story
Even if not historical, the story is compelling, it speaks to plantation history, it humanizes the enslaved, it suggests guilt and retribution, and it resonates emotionally. The case demonstrates how legends develop around hauntings, the difficulty of verifying old ghost stories, the appeal of dramatic narratives, tourism’s influence on folklore, and the truth may matter less than meaning.
Visiting Today
Visitors can tour the historic buildings, take ghost tours, stay overnight, learn both history and legend, and form their own opinions. Guests continue to report seeing figures in period dress, hearing footsteps and voices, feeling presences, capturing anomalies in photos, and experiencing something unexplained.
Conclusion
Chloe may never have existed. The historical record suggests the Woodruff family died of disease, not poison. No slave named Chloe appears in any documents. The story may be entirely legend, created or embellished by those who loved a good ghost story.
And yet – people see her. The photograph exists. Something wears a green turban and walks the grounds of the Myrtles Plantation. Something stands at the veranda, something haunts the children’s rooms, something leaves its image in old photographs.
Perhaps Chloe is real in a different sense. She represents the countless unnamed slaves whose stories were never recorded, whose suffering was real even if we’ve forgotten the specifics. She embodies the guilt that haunts such places, the weight of history that can never be fully lifted.
Or perhaps she’s just a ghost – whatever ghosts are – wearing her green turban and waiting for someone to remember her name, even if that name was invented long after her death.
At the Myrtles Plantation, Chloe continues her vigil. Whether she lived or not, she clearly never left.