New Orleans: The Haunted Carrollton Jail

What once was the separate community of Carrollton the seat of Jefferson Parish now sits in the uptown historic district of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Old timers remember the old jail in Carrollton that sat behind the courthouse. It was once located nearby where the historic streetcars still run today.

After the Civil War this jail housed a vicious criminal accused of murdering his wife. The police officers at this station enraged by this crime--took matters into their own hands.

They beat this man to death in his cell. It was stated with his dying breath he promised he would return from the grave--presumably to take revenge.

Reports from this police station in 1899 reflect that this wife-killer did return to haunt the jail. His violent presence was noted near the cell wall where he was beaten to death.

An unseen force suddenly tossed a woman who was standing against this wall away from it. Bravely she retook her spot three more times. Each of these times as she leaned against the wall she was mysteriously thrown off.

Later, in the same week a police officer lying on a couch near this wall was tossed away from it along with the couch. Yet another officer experienced this same phenomenon.

Rumors began to spread about these odd incidents.

Other strange incidents involving the wall began to occur. A portrait of Admiral Dewey was seen spinning and a painting of General P.T. Beauregard--of Shiloh fame--dropped and broke as it hit the floor.

Both items were securely attached to this wall at the time of these incidents.

The Carrollton jail now was believed to be haunted.

9th District Police Station and Jail
on Short Street behind Carrollton
Courthouse. 1900

Prisoners kept at the jail stated, “they were beaten in their cells” by an unseen entity.

Several officers heard mysterious footsteps and others saw paperweights fly from their desks into the air.

One officer even claimed this angry ghost tried to strangle him.

Yet another ghost was seen at the jail. This apparition was that of a deceased police officer who had worked at the station. His appearances ended as abruptly as they began.

The Carrollton jail was torn down in the 1930s. The wreaking crew stated they saw a vague figure watching them as they worked. They heard this figure laughing.

Despite the fact this jail has been gone a long time there are still reports that this ghost is seen near the old Courthouse and streetcar line.

Louisiana’s Female Killer

Annie Beatrice McQuiston better known as Toni Jo Henry was 26 years old when she became the first female in Louisiana to be executed in the electric chair.

Toni Jo sitting in her cell
the morning of her
execution.

Toni Jo had both beauty and brains, but a tough childhood left her scarred. Her mother died when she was four, and an aunt took her in. Toni Jo found no love in this household. She didn't finish grade school, and she started to run away at age 13.

It was not long before Toni Jo had a reputation in her hometown of Lake Charles, Louisiana as being a “lewd woman.” By the age of 17, she was addicted to cocaine and was working as a prostitute in a local brothel.

She was arrested several times for assault, larceny, and vagrancy. She served a short stretch in jail for cutting off part of a man’s ear with scissors. Not surprising she gained a reputation for being “the most ornery gal east of the Mississippi.”

The one bright spot in Toni Jo’s life was when she met Claude Henry known as “Cowboy” in a brothel she worked in. The two hit it off right away, and Cowboy helped Toni Jo kick her cocaine habit. They fell in love and were married.

Claude "Cowboy" Henry

But Cowboy had killed a police officer in Texas before he met Toni Jo and when the law caught up to him, he was taken back to Texas. He was tried and convicted of this murder and was sentenced to 50 years in Huntsville.

Toni Jo became determined to break Cowboy out of prison. She enlisted the help of a bum, Harold Finnon Burkes--known as “Arkie.” The two started to hitchhike across Louisiana headed for Texas.

This pair pulled a pistol on a car salesman J.P. Crowley who stopped to give them a ride. They forced this poor man to strip naked and tortured him. As he begged for his life Toni Jo put a pistol between his eyes and shot--he died instantly.

The two took Crowley’s car and went on their way. But they stopped at a roadhouse where they both got drunk. They proceeded to brag about killing Crowley. In short order, they were arrested, and Crowley’s body was found.

Calcasieu Parish Courthouse

They both claimed the other had actually pulled the trigger but this ploy backfired for both were convicted of murder and sentenced to hang. During Toni Jo’s first trial in Lake Charles the hundred plus crowd in the large Calcasieu Parish Courtroom often shouted, “hang her, hang her.”

Texas released Cowboy under close supervision during this time, and he was taken to Lake Charles to coax a confession out of Toni Jo--she openly admitted to him that she shot Crowley “right between the eyes.”

Toni Jo’s lawyers appealed her conviction, and she was granted a second trial where she was sentenced to die again. They then appealed once more, and she was given a third trial where the verdict did not change.

By the end of Toni Jo’s third trial, Louisiana had brought in an electric chair to be used in state executions. She was sentenced to die on November 28, 1942.

Toni Jo became a celebrity and she was often granted privileges other prisoners were not given. She was even allowed to keep a pet in her cell. When it came time for her execution, a hairdresser was called in to cut her hair instead of the prison barber.

Cowboy managed to break out of a prison farm a few days before Toni Jo was to be electrocuted--in an attempt to save her-- but he was re-captured quickly.

It was Toni Jo’s dying wish to talk to Cowboy and even though it broke the rules she was allowed this call. “She did all the talking, and he did all the crying.”

Louisiana's electric chair.

It is said that Toni Jo was calm on the day of her execution. She spent the morning joking with her jailers, waiting for the governor’s call which never came. She did protest loudly when they cut off her hair.

After her execution Cowboy went wild and tore up his prison cell. Ironically, just a few years after Toni Jo’s death Cowboy was released from prison, but within ten years he was shot and killed.

It is said Toni Jo’s ghost haunts the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse in Lake Charles. Footsteps are heard, and a distinct perfume from the 1940s is often noticed around this building.

A woman’s husky voice is often heard in the distance but no one has been able to make out what she is saying.

An electric rotating file is often mysteriously turned off when no one is near it. This file is turned on and off with a key. Courthouse employees consider this to be Toni Jo’s handiwork. 

The door to the entrance to this area has to be unlocked with a key as well. It is then left unlocked during the day--but voter registration employees have found the door locked in the middle of the day.

Even more startling activity occurs on a stair landing. This stair is near where Toni Jo was said to be executed. A woman’s shrill screams are often heard in this area.

Here is a link to a Travel Channel episode of Ghost Stories that has several witnesses sharing their encounters with Toni Jo's ghost.

The Cursed and Haunted Desha County Courthouse

Desha County Courthouse, located in a remote part of southeastern Arkansas, has experienced an odd phenomenon with its clock. 

It is said the bells do not ring at the right time because of a ghost known as  “Willard.” Willard has haunted the courthouse for over 100 years. 

While alive, Willard was accused and convicted of a crime that he professed he did not do. Since his execution, the courthouse clock and bells have been cursed.

In December of 2008, just three minutes before noon, the bell atop the old Desha Courthouse rang only once. The bells were supposed to ring 12 times--the one time it did ring was three minutes early. 

Judge Mark McElroy told a reporter and photographer that witnessed the malfunction that Willard, the courthouse’s ghost was evidently angry again. But this was nothing new for the clock has never worked properly since Willard’s death at the turn of the century.

Willard story began between 1899 and 1903, when a man lost money gambling in an Arkansas City hotel took revenge by setting fire to this hotel and several others in the area. They all burned to the ground. 

Willard was captured and convicted of these arsons. He was then sentenced to hang at the courthouse. Willard proclaimed until his death that he was innocent.

Dee Fowler whose grandmother served on the jury that convicted Willard of the crime states that her grandmother heard Willard tell those who watched his execution:

“I will curse the new E. Howard clock that sits atop this courthouse.“ Willard went on to state: “I am not guilty and to prove my innocence, this clock will never keep the correct time again.”

Some witnesses stated that the clock stopped when Willard died. 

Judge McElroy on the bench since 1993, told a reporter that interviewed him that the clock has never appropriately worked since that time.

One night, several years before this interview, the bells rang through the night, keeping the residents awake for hours, before the judge could arrive and shut them off.

In the 1970s, the town decided to run the clock off electricity rather than weights, hoping this would solve the problem. It didn’t. 

In more recent years, the town brought in a clock expert from Florida who changed out the old parts with new ones. But it appears the clock remains cursed.

Judge McElroy and many of his staff who work at the historic courthouse feel strongly that a ghost roams its halls. 

Many have heard doors slamming and footsteps in areas where no one can be found. 

Desha County clerk, Beth McMahan states that even the clocks on the staff’s phones malfunction. The dates on their phones often reflect one day behind, and when people try to fix this--they find their efforts futile.

Frustrated, McElroy has even considered options to try and undo the curse. 

The town has considered bringing in someone who can get rid of the ghost, and McElroy has proposed holding a “mock trial” where they would undo Willard’s conviction of guilt in the arsons. 

But these ideas have been tabled, and it appears Willard’s ghost still does not rest in peace.