Hollywood star bought one of America’s most haunted mansions to write horror novels. Later, reported strange paranormal activities and hidden chambers

Buying a quiet cabin might be the conventional way to find inspiration for a book. However, Hollywood actor and producer Nicolas Cage went in a very different direction that many won't even think of doing. The Ghost Rider actor bought one of New Orleans' most notorious properties: a mansion associated with a horrific chapter of the city's history and generations of ghost stories. Nicolas's plan was unusual even by celebrity standards; the actor hoped the surroundings would inspire him to write what he called the “great American horror novel” What exactly happened with Nicolas Cage after he lost the most controversial house in the US? Scroll down to find more details.

The dark history behind the New Orleans mansion

The LaLaurie House stands at 1140 Royal Street in New Orleans' French Quarter and takes its name from Delphine LaLaurie. The property's grim reputation stretches back to April 1834, when a fire exposed the brutal treatment of enslaved people in the LaLaurie household. After evidence of the abuse became known, an outraged crowd badly damaged the residence.

Importantly, the building tourists see today isn't exactly the house in which those events occurred. The Preservation Resource Centre of New Orleans says the original two-storey residence was destroyed, while the present three-storey house was constructed in 1838. Stories surrounding the address nevertheless existed. By 1885, a New Orleans guidebook was already referring to it as the “Haunted House Royal Street”.

Why did Nicolas Cage buy a haunted mansion?

Nicolas Cage purchased the property in the 2000s for around $3.4 million. Years later, he explained exactly what had attracted him to such an unsettling address. “I once lived in the most haunted house in America,” Nicolas revealed in an interview later cited by Vanity Fair. He explained that he bought the mansion believing it would be a good setting in which to write his ambitious horror novel. The result? As Nicolas Cage put it: “I didn’t get too far with the novel.”

His fascination wasn't necessarily based on a personal ghost encounter. In an earlier interview, the Hollywood actor said he hadn't experienced anything paranormal at the property but enjoyed its sense of mystery. Nicolas even joked about his unconventional real-estate choice: while other people had beachfront property, he had “ghost front property.”

How did Nicolas Cage lose the mansion?

Nicolas Cage's ownership proved short-lived. The actor ran into well-publicised financial difficulties during a period when he had accumulated an extraordinary portfolio of properties and other expensive purchases. The Preservation Resource Centre records that the LaLaurie property was ultimately lost to foreclosure in 2009. Reports at the time put the foreclosure sale at roughly $2.3 million, substantially below what Cage had paid for it. The property changed hands once again. In 2010, businessman Michael Whalen bought the mansion for about $2.1 million and later carried out extensive renovations.