It's time for Part 5 of our New Iberia Haunts series! It is a long one, but if you are into the paranormal or interested in learning more about the haunted history of our area, this is the article for you!
Last week we stepped out of the New Iberia area and did an investigation in St. Mary Parish at The Centerville Steamboat Inn in Franklin with Louisiana Spirits. What an interesting night it was, to say the least!
Unfortunately, I was not able to stay overnight, but I was able to tour this beautifully renovated historical location earlier in the evening before we began the investigation. Before I get into the bits and pieces about what happened during the investigation, here is what I learned from the team with Louisiana Spirits and the owners, Charles and Wes.
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First, I must say the drive down Old Spanish Trail from New Iberia to Centerville is one of my favorites for sure. I love looking at all the beautiful homes in Jeanerette and Franklin that flow along the river's course.
The inn, originally known as the The Centreville Hotel, was built around 1848 only a short distance from the Bayou Teche. Before the current owners purchased the inn, it served as a private residence for over 12 years. Charles and Wes purchased the property in 2010 and began renovating the inn. There is still some work to be done, but they have done a tremendous job refurbishing the inn into an airbnb that allows travelers to book stays in this historic location.
At the time of the home's inception, Centerville was quite an active town as well as the main hub for business in the area. The main home was across the street and the inn was built for travelers to conduct business with local merchants and farmers in the area. Sadly, this antebellum home was also the site of slave sales and trades to local sugarcane farmers in the area. The inn was usually bustling and stayed busy with visitors, businessmen, travelers, and family.
 View of the main house across the street from the upstairs balcony window Image by Tracie Ysaguire |
We had eleven in total investigate throughout the night, including two members of the Acadiana Chapter of Louisiana Spirits. We began the evening with a group meet-up around 5 pm on the back porch to learn about the history of the home and share some insights. Louisiana Spirits has been here several times now and had many stories to share with us from past investigations, as well as incidents that have occurred with guests who have booked a stay in the inn. You can read all about one of the investigations they did in 2020 here.
Marci, the lead investigator, went over the equipment we would be using and the rules for us to follow that night to make sure no one would get hurt as we walked around in the dark. If you want to know what type of equipment is used on a paranormal investigation, then be sure to read Part One of our series for all the details.
We each took some tools, split up into small groups of two or three at most, and took off to different locations throughout the inn. I learned earlier that most of the activity that has occurred seems to happen after 9 pm and was usually upstairs. Downstairs seems to stay quiet, other than the passing of the traffic on Highway 87. However, there have been reports by guests of the inn who heard footsteps, doors opening, and slamming shut around 3 am or 4 am while no one else was staying in the home at the time. Do ghosts perform on command or have a typical timeframe to come out? No, and every case is different, but since there have been several other investigations of the inn in the past, we had a baseline to refer to.
 Heading upstairs at The Centerville Steamboat Inn Image by Tracie Ysaguire |
For this investigation, my husband and I were a team and mostly stayed upstairs "visiting" with the other residents of the inn. We took a K2 meter and light-up cat toy balls to see if we could capture any activity. While upstairs in the first bedroom, which I will refer to as Bedroom 1, we asked a few questions and recorded our session, but we did not get any responses. We also sat in the upstairs parlor, the master bedroom upstairs, and the hallway way with no activity or responses for us. However, other groups were in the attic and the downstairs master bedroom. They were able to get a few responses to some of their questions and even had one of the balls light up.
 Bedroom 1 upstairs at The Centerville Steamboat InnImage by Tracie Ysaguire |
We stayed upstairs and decided to investigate the bedroom that we had intended on staying in for the night. As we stood in the hallway outside of the room, I began to ask my husband some questions about construction and renovations that had occurred in the home, being that he is in that field. It was then that I thought I felt a quick tug on the back of my shirt.
 Hallway between upstairs bedrooms atThe Centerville Steamboat Inn where I felt the tug on my shirt. Image by Tracie Ysaguire |
It was very quick, no one else was around us, and it was as if someone was interrupting the conversation to join in on our discussion. We checked the wall behind me to see if any nails or anything else was sticking out but other than a picture frame, there was nothing there. I will say I was not standing up against the wall, and what I felt was more of a tug than a poke in the back. After that, we decided to go into that last bedroom and see if we could get any response or activity. This is where things began to turn to pure excitement for me.
 Upstairs bedroom 3 with Boo-bell Image by Tracie Ysaguire |
As soon as I crossed the threshold of the doorway, I immediately felt uneasy. I felt very jittery, a little nauseated, and overall just did not like the energy I was picking up in that room. Boo-bell, the rem-pod doll used for investigating, was the only guest in that room. As she sat on the bed quietly, I just kept walking around the room saying, "Nope. Nope. Nope", while my husband giggled at me. We asked a few questions and recorded the session but did not get any responses.
While we were all still in our small groups, a psychic medium was doing a walk-through of the inn. A psychic medium is used in paranormal investigations to confirm, gather, and deliver messages from the past or future by reading the energy of the location. She walked through each room with a sketchpad to draw out and write down the information she was collecting. She had never been to the inn before, and after doing her walk through she was ready to share her information with us. So it was now time for our group to convene on the back porch area to find out what each of us had experienced and uncovered while in our small groups. Now, this is when things get interesting!
 Back porch reveal with psychic medium at The Centerville Steamboat Inn Image by Tracie Ysaguire |
Most of the information that the medium shared with us could be confirmed by the team from Louisiana Spirits. She was able to pick up on many of the facts that I had only just learned earlier that night. But what she said next, floored me. While her and her partner were doing the walk-through upstairs, they both began to feel uneasy in one of the bedrooms. Guess which one? She explained they both felt tightening in their throats and had an uneasy feeling as well when they entered the same room that I too felt a little at odds. She also said she was picking up the energy of a man who may have been in some sort of construction or perhaps a surveyor, as she was seeing him looking through a long tube of some kind while looking out of the window. Was there a male from the past who was trying to get in on my earlier conversation about construction with my husband while we were in the hallway by that room? I don't know. But it certainly was one of the most fascinating parts of the investigation for me during the evening.
It was close to 9 pm now, and we decided to do a group investigation upstairs. Marci decided to set up the laser grid in Bedroom 1 that was shining out onto the wall in the parlor. (A grid or panel of lights is aimed against a wall that can detect any movement, shadows, or if anything blocks our the light shining on the wall.) This is the first investigation I have been on where the laser grid was used. With the bedroom doors open, we each grabbed a spot in the upstairs parlor and master bedroom while Marci began to ask questions.
 Laser grid lights upstairs parlor The Centerville Steamboat InnImage by Tracie Ysaguire |
At first, it was very quiet. And then as Marci began to refer to herself and her past visits to the inn, we each began to notice that the grid of lights would get really bright or begin to fade. Marci continued to talk, telling whoever was in Bedroom 1 and playing with the laser, and let them know it was okay to do so. She asked them if they could turn off the laser as a way to communicate with us and to let us know there was indeed someone there with us. As we sat there, we watched the lights go completely out in response to her instructions. It was amazing to be able to experience that!
We had other instruments spread out through the upstairs rooms; light-up balls in the hallway and Bedroom 1. Boo-bell was in the same room where I felt uneasy, and we also had K2 meters on the table in the parlor and another rem-pod in the master bedroom. We took turns asking questions, trying to gather if there was a woman, a man, or children upstairs with us. As we asked questions, different devices began to go off. Boo-bell was being played with and going off, the light-up balls in the hallway and the bedroom were going off, and the other rem-pod in Bedroom 1 was flashing. The activity with the equipment was sporadic and it seemed to be that the most responses we got were when questions were directed to the children and the woman of the inn. You can see one of the videos here of the balls lighting up.
I am thrilled to have been invited to The Centerville Steamboat Inn and experience a little of what other guests have reported. I also want to say Thank You to the owners Charles and Wes for allowing us to investigate last week. I will definitely be back!
There will be an upcoming art show at the inn in October if you are interested in visiting the location. Or you can always book an overnight stay via Airbnb and check out the activity for yourself! Franklin is just a short distance away, where you can get in on the shopping, and art galleries, visit Fifolet Candle Makers for your favorite scent or grab a bite at Lamp Lighter Cafe.
We should have some other investigations lined up in the fall with Louisiana Spirits and will be sure to report back to you with all the details.
If you have a place or a recommendation that you would like to submit to us for the New Iberia Haunts series,
then be sure to send us a message! We will let Louisiana Spirits know and get your location on the list!
