In the heart of Louisiana, less than a few hours' drive away from cities like Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport, and Alexandria is a small community that is quite famous for one thing and even more infamous for something not a lot of people know about. As you might imagine the reason this part of the state is famous has to do with food. The reason this same general geographic area is infamous has to do with another Louisiana staple, ghosts.

Louisiana Ghost
Genie Bertrand via YouTube/973TheDawg
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Here along the Bayou, we are no strangers to "stranger things". There is an entire ghost economy that survives and thrives in the city of New Orleans. There are mansions and plantation homes and even bed and breakfast inns across the state that also boast a connection to otherworldly beings.

Even if you have just a casual interest in the supernatural you probably are well aware of Marie Leveau in New Orleans. You may have even seen a ghost in person on a visit to The Myrtles Plantation or Chretien Point. But are you aware of the legend of La Llorona or the "weeping woman"?

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What makes the legend of the "weeping woman" even stranger is that the tale is shared not only in Louisiana but in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Each state seems to have its own version of the tale and if you're not familiar with that tale here is a brief synopsis.

The legend of La Llorona involves a woman, her husband or lover, and her children. The legend suggests the husband or lover took the woman's child and killed it. There are variations on how, when, or where the child was killed depending on which state's legend you are following. In Louisiana, the "weeping woman" is alleged to have found her baby in a boat with her lover but she was unable to save the child.

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The death of the child leaves the woman to roam the Earth consumed by grief and sorrow. And those who have professed to have had an "encounter" with the woman say she appears to be crying and her mournful sobs can be heard for miles around.

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In Louisiana, the town connected to the legend is also legendary for something else. That something else is tamales, so we must be speaking of Zwolle, Louisiana and we are. Zwolle is widely known for its huge tamale festival every year it is also close to Grady Hill. Which lends its name to the Louisiana version of this legend. In Louisiana, the "weeping woman" is also known as the Crying Woman on Grady Hill.

Grady Hill is a small map dot between that not as small map dot towns of Zwolle and Many near the Toledo Bend Reservoir. Where the alleged incident involving the woman's lover and her child took place is said to be Loring Lake. Visitors to that body of water have reported hearing sobs and wails from an unidentified source, especially when the moon is full.

Of course, there are other versions of the legend too.

Is this legend enough to qualify the greater Zwolle, Louisiana area as the "creepiest small town in Louisiana"?  I guess that would depend on if you showed up there on the night of a full moon and were ready to believe.

Acadiana Towns With Multiple Pronunciations

In south Louisiana, we sure have a way with words all our own. Add in the Cajun-French influence and you will hear all kinds of different pronunciations coming out of the mouths of folks from Acadiana. How towns are pronounced is no different as illustrated by this list here.

Gallery Credit: Jude Walker

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