Conclusion: African American Gothic—Uncovering a (Not So) New Tradition

Abstract

Some time ago, I found myself in Baton Rouge for an academic conference. Knowing the history of the area, I thought of taking a tour of one of the plantations that still dot the Louisiana landscape. Baffled by the number of plantations still standing and open to tourists, I decided to tour Myrtle plantation, thinking that it might be interesting to learn more of the history of a place I had repeatedly heard to be haunted by one of its slaves. Of course, most of the plantations in Louisiana claim a similar fame, and understandably so; after all, in a locale notorious for its brutal industry during the era of slavery, one should only expect the area to be pervaded by shadows of grief. As for Myrtle plantation, I had heard of its spectral figure—a doomed slave named Chloe—and was equally struck when I learned that the place was now also home to a bed and breakfast, and a favored locale for weddings. Myrtle plantation did not prove to be a large plantation. And, aside from a mirror that supposedly captured the image of Chloe, marks of its slave history have been largely removed; only three pristine white buildings, trimmed in blue, remain of the original place—the slave quarters were long ago demolished. Looking out onto the property’s pond, whose water blooms bright red in the spring, I wondered when those buildings fell and what stories they took with them.