We are back again this year with our summer series New Iberia Haunts with Louisiana Spirits. If you are interested in the paranormal as well as the history of New Iberia then this is the series for you.
We are ready to give you the details, share our personal experiences, and give you a peek behind the scenes of paranormal investigations with The Acadiana Chapter of Louisiana Spirits.
In 2022, we participated in five investigations with the Acadiana Chapter of Louisiana Spirits. You can click the links below to learn about what happened at each location:
The Sliman, formerly known as The Evangeline Theater
The Old Post Office on Main Street
Centerville Steamboat Inn in Franklin
 Image by Louisiana Spirits |
On Saturday, May 13, 2023 I headed to Main Street for my seventh investigation with Louisiana Spirits as part of the 2023 New Iberia Haunts Series. It was going to be a double-header with the team as we were scheduled to hit two top spots on Main Street, Victor's Cafeteria and the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce buildings. I prepared for a late night with my Ghost energy drink (yes, pun intended) and made my way to Main Street in downtown New Iberia.
I originally planned on writing one article for both investigations but the night's activity had other plans for me. Both locations gave us some interesting happenings so much so that I decided to write up each one separately. So for this article, we will focus on what happened at Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce. I met up with the Louisiana Spirits team who were already setting up at Victor's Cafeteria and in the process of wrapping up a preliminary walk through the restaurant.
Investigating for the night from the Acadiana Chapter of Louisiana Spirits were Danny, Michele, Jean-Paul, Hunter D., and Hunter L., with Danny and Michele taking the lead.
 May 2023 |
Preliminary Walkthrough and Discussions
It was around 7:10 or so when the entire group headed to the Chamber building. Danny was setting up motion-detectors in the Chamber and thought he heard footsteps shuffling in the hallway. He looked but no one was there. The rest of us were just sort of milling around the Chamber office to get a feel for the place. We all headed back to Victor's Cafeteria to meet with Mrs. Kathryn and decide who would go to which building first.
Michele, Jean-Paul and myself headed back to the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce building and Danny leading the rest of the team to the attic of Victor's Cafeteria. We switched up throughout the night between the buildings to avoid having too many of us in one place. There were also no cameras set up for the Louisiana Spirits team that night in either location. We relied on EMF readers, rem-pods, mel-meters, light-up toy balls, Danny's motion detectors, our phones for collecting video and EVPS, and of course.. our spidey senses!
To learn more about the type of paranormal equipment the team uses, click here. You can also connect with and follow Louisiana Spirits on Facebook for some more videos, comments, photos, and insight on what happens after our investigations.
As we headed over the the Chamber building, I must admit I had a bit of nervousness surrounding me. I have been on several investigations with the team and not once did I feel somewhat hesitant about what was in store for the night. Before Michele, Jean-Paul and myself headed up to the attic of the Chamber we chatted briefly with Thomas Falgout, the current President/CEO of the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce, and found out about some of the experiences from those who work in the building.
One of the most common things reported was hearing footsteps in the hallway next to the conference room and side offices. This is exactly what Danny had experienced a little earlier. Thomas, who will be celebrating two years of service with the chamber in August, said he often stays late and is alone a lot of the time in the building. He has gotten the scent of strong cigarette smoke in the building while there alone on occasion and then it just seems to vanish. He also said that he sometimes gets a whiff of an awful smell, similar to that of a dead animal or mouse to be particular, and proceeds to investigate around he office thinking he will find something but never does.
I found that strangely odd, but I bring it up here because it is a vital part this story and directly corresponds to some events we experienced later that night. I will also say if you have ever smelled a dead mouse, which I have, you can not mistake that for something else. It is quite a pungent and consuming odor. We also have to take into account that the Chamber building is directly next door to a night club that is on Main Street in downtown New Iberia, which could explain the sometimes smell of cigarettes.
Thomas also told us that the Chamber has only been in this building since 1983. In its earlier use, the building used to be known as Franklin's Department Store and ran as small, family owned business for residents in New Iberia to do their shopping.
The Investigation Begins
After chatting with Thomas, the three of us headed up to the attic in the Chamber and the rest of the team headed back to Victor's to start on their investigation. As we got further up the stairs, I was feeling very uncomfortable, almost to the point of needing to walk out. I found out later that indeed Michele had experienced something similar on her first time entering the attic and was so nauseated she had to walk out. You could almost feel a heaviness, or pressure on your chest the further up the stairs you went. Now I will say there was no air conditioning in that attic and you immediately being to sweat as you hit the stop of the stairs so this alone could account for the uncomfortableness we both seemed to experience. Michele headed to the far back corner, Jean-Paul staying in the middle of the attic, and I decided it was best for me to stay at close to the stairs as possible so I could get out of there if I needed to.
We turned off the lights, turned on our voice recorders, and began an EVP session. One thing I will note here is that the investigators always introduce themselves, any guests or members of the team before asking any questions. They also make it a point to acknowledge any sounds or noises that are made while investigating so there is no confusion when they go back later to listen to the recorded sessions for any evidence.
We asked several different questions: about the past history of the building, the name of the family that ran the store, we asked about the folks who worked in the building presently, and tried to find out if there was any connection to the experiences at Victor's Cafeteria. There were no audible responses to any of our questions and no activity captured from the rem-pod that was up there with us.
 Stairs heading up to the Chamber attic Pictured: Jean-Paul, Danny, Michele, and Hunter L. May 13, 2023 Image by Tracie Ysaguire |
As usual, we stopped investigating for a bit and just began to chat. As we did that, I started to feel a little bit more at ease being in a dark attic. The three of us chatted until around 8:00 pm and then Danny and Hunter L. joined us upstairs. We turned the lights on and each team began sharing their experiences from the investigation of the night so far.
As soon as Danny hit the top of the room, he said he thought he was hearing a typewriter going off. Now, I am showing my age here but if you have ever used a typewriter, you know exactly how that sounds when it is being used. He was picking up on this energetically as he walked around the boxes in the attic. He was also sensing two ladies working up here, like maybe a mother and daughter, as well as an older gentleman. As I was standing there looking around the attic that was full of boxes and old equipment, I spotted a typewriter hidden behind the boxes. I took a few pictures and you can see below how small the space is. And note that I zoomed in on the typewriter when I took this picture. This is not something that would catch your eye as soon as you hit the top of the stairs as it was behind a stack of boxes in the curve of the attic.
 Hallway in the Chamber May 13, 2023 Image by Tracie Ysaguire |  Typewriter in Chamber Attic May 13, 2023 Image by Tracie Ysaguire |
The Investigation Continues
After our session in the attic as a group, we switched out and left Danny and his team at the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce building with Michel, Jean-Paul, and myself heading back next door to Victor's Cafeteria. You can read all about what happen at Victor's here.
After I concluded my investigation at Victor’s Cafeteria, filled with the excitement of the activity that was happening over there, I headed back to the Chamber with a few of the Louisiana Spirits team, including Danny, Hunter L., and JP. Thomas was already in the office and decided to stay upfront in the reception area to keep an eye on the door. It was an active night, Saturday night on Main Street in New Iberia ... in more ways than one.
We all sort of ended up in the conference room of the Chamber talking about the night so far, sharing stories about New Iberia and our stories from our childhood. It was probably a little after 9:00 pm at this point and we decided to break out into small groups with Danny, Hunter L, and Jean-Paul heading back to the Chamber attic. Hunter D. and myself decided to stay in the conference room and investigate for a bit to see if picked up on anything. Thomas turned out all the lights and headed to the reception area.
As Hunter and I were just chatting, the motion detector in the hallway went off. As Danny explained to me, in order for the light on the motion detector to go off, there must be a break in the sensor beam, a direct motion in front of it. Hunter and I were excited at this and began asking each other what that could have been. He decided to go get the motion detector from the floor of the hallway and put in on a table across from us in the conference room. This is where the night really takes a turn for me and was probably one of the most heightened experiences I have had so far investigating with Louisiana Spirits.
 Paranormal equipment used in the investigation at the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce May 13, 2023 Image by Tracie Ysaguire |
I started recording the session on my the voice memos of my iPhone and Hunter D. introduced us and began to ask questions. We did this first session for about 12 minutes with no direct response to our questions and none of the equipment going off, not even the motion detector on the far end of the table. (You can see it in the far distance on the table in the room of this picture above.)
I decided to stop recording and Hunter and I just chatted about Macaroni KID New Iberia, our favorite paranormal shows, and past experiences we've had while investigating. It was then, as we sat in that dark room, that the motion detector went off again. I chuckle as I write this because I can still see Hunter D's face when that light lit up the dark room we were in. We both had big eyes of excitement! It was right after this that Danny, Jean-Paul and Hunter L. joined us in the conference room.
We told the rest of the team what had just happened and they got excited too. Danny explained that they did not get anything in the attic on their last attempt. So with that, the five of us grabbed a spot and sat in the conference room.
Now, it may have the lateness of the night, or maybe my Ghost energy drink was wearing off, but we all sort of deviated from investigating to laughing as we shared personal stories and just hung out. We could hear the music from the club next door and had a good laugh at Jean-Paul having a little dance off with himself on the other side of the room.
As we talked Hunter L. thought he heard a knock on one of the tables. A couple of the others thought they heard it too. We tried to debunk the knock Hunter L. heard. Was it the bass from the music next door at the club, was it one of us moving, or could it have been Thomas up front in the reception area? We weren't sure but Hunter L. knocked on one of the tables and they each confirmed that sound was exactly what was heard. We went back to chatting and laughing in the dark conference room and it was then I heard the knocking sound as well. We all heard it and it was louder this time.
I started to record on my iPhone again and Danny took the lead asking questions. As we asked for whoever was there to knock again, we got not one, but several knocks to our questions that we could only take as a direct responses. It happened more than once, and actually it happened so many other times during the rest of the night at the Chamber that I actually lost count.
Each time any member of the team asked a specifically, "Can you knock again for us?" we got a knocking sound in the room. It's important to note that the sound of the knocking was heard over the thump of the bass from the club next door and it definitely sounded as if the knocking was coming from inside the room with us.
Thomas walked into the conference room at that time to check on us. He had heard the knocking too and just assumed it was us. He had also heard us as a team asking questions and trying to debunk what the knocking could be. Danny and Hunter L. also heard the shuffling of footsteps around the room. Someone or something was definitely making there presence known.
 Wall of Past Presidents Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce Conference room May 13, 2023 Image by Tracie Ysaguire |
As I sat there listening to the team explain what we had experienced, I started to notice that my entire frame of mind was starting to shift. I immediately got aggravated, annoyed, and wanted to tell the rest of the team to be quiet. I wanted to leave. This feeling of aggravation seemed to come from no where. It was at this time that Thomas told us that his computer in his office was on and he distinctively remembers turning it completely off when we went to Victor's earlier. As we sat there, Hunter L. also thought he saw a shadow or something dart in the back corner of the room behind the motion detector.
It was then that Danny began to pick up on an energy in the room and felt that there was a man in the room that was not happy we were there. He began to ask if there was someone in the room with us who was aggravating me. We began to hear the knocking again, much louder than before, and the motion detector light went off again. Danny felt whoever or whatever this energy was was moving around the room as we sat that. I was covered in complete chills from head to toe during all of this and and even had the sensation of something crawling or softly touching my arm.
Jean-Paul was across the room from me and he began to pick up on something as well. He said he did not feel like anything bad was here but that someone was worried about me. It was important to note that I was the only woman in the room at the time. Jean-Paul said he was picking up on someone standing behind me. Hunter L. also heard ruffling or scratching noise in that same area, as he was sitting on the same side of the room as me. As Danny asked again who was there and why they were bothering me, several members of the team heard an audible sound in the room. It was garbled sound that was indistinguishable. I was recording at the time and actually have it captured on my iPhone.
That's a Wrap
To say I was completely fascinated by the end of the night is an understatement. There were so many personal experiences during this investigation that happened to different members of the team in each location. We either heard unexplained sounds, saw shadows, got touched, or felt like there was someone next to us trying to get our attention.
Other than my spidey senses going off, there was no point during the night where we felt there was anything bad or even scary, but each of us definitely felt that something was going on otherworldly around us.
Louisiana Spirits will be in New Iberia again this weekend with another class and investigation at The Sliman Theater. They are also partnering with four businesses on Main Street in New Iberia this July for the Spirits of Main Street class and investigation. Unfortunately, both of these events are full, however they do still have some openings for a class and investigation at the St. Landry Parish Courthouse happening on July 29, 2023.
Marci Lee, Director of the Acadiana Chapter, is working now to get more classes and events with Louisiana Spirits on the schedule in New Iberia this year, as well as other locations around Acadiana. For more information on how you can participate, contact Marci with Louisiana Spirits at mlee@laspirits.com.
If you are interested in having the team come to your home or business, or have a recommendation that you would like to submit for New Iberia Haunts,
then be sure to email us at mackidnewiberia@macaronikid.com.
