Louisiana, circa 1915-- On the southwest corner of lake Pontchatrain there stood three small communities, Ruddock,Wagram, and Frenier. The three towns were located about 25 miles west of New Orleans, were spaced about 4 miles from each other and were populated by mostly German immigrants in lumber and farming.
In Frenier, there lived a woman of color, Julia Brown, who was a well known property owner and songwriter. Her favorite song was, "When I die I'm gonna take the whole town with me, when I die", a little piece she wrote and sing every day on her front porch. On the day she died, mourners came from all over to pay their last respects, a big mistake.
The Great West Indies storm of 1915 hit in all its fury. First, a big gust of wind scattered the funeral procession and carried Julia's coffin into the swamps. Next a 20 foot tidal wave hit the town and carried it into Manchac, where over 300 perished. Survivors in a railcar told the story. The dead were buried in Manchac, the lucky ones with crosses that can still be seen to this day in the depths of the swamp-- as well as the blood red hanging tree, an instrument of swamp justice in Manchac's depths.
Afterward, the rumors of voodoo spread like wildfire, deserved or undeserved, and the newspaper carried the legend of the haunted swamp to its place in New Orleans history. To this day, almost a century later, no one has rebuilt along normally valuable lakefront property. The entire southwest corner was reclaimed by the swamp and Julia brown's name still spoken in whispers by the the people of southern Louisiana.