One of America's most interesting burial grounds has to be New Orleans St. Louis Cemetery

No. 1.

St. Louis No. 1 is a maze of distinctive above ground crypts built in the French style.

Like so many things in New Orleans, the cemetery gives the impression that you're not in

an American city.

St. Louis No. 1 has more in common with the famous Parallel Chasse Cemetery in Paris than

it does with most North American graveyards.

And where Parallel Chasse has its fair share of famous graves, being the final resting

place of Chopin, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison of the Doors, St. Louis Cemetery has its

own catalog of dead notables, none of which is more famous than the Voodoo Queen, Marie

of O.

If you wind your way through the labyrinth of white painted burial vaults, you may find

yourself standing in front of a crypt at plot 3, 4, 7.

Now even before you read any of the plaques or inscriptions identifying the inhabitant

of the tomb, you can easily tell that there's something a little different about this burial

site.

For years, you would have seen the tomb covered in X's, scrawled with the crumbling bricks

from other nearby graves.

The X's are a symbol that's often used in Voodoo and other magical traditions.

The X is meant to act as a concentration point for magical energy.

In front of the tomb, you might see offerings of rum, flowers, devotional candles, marty

grab beads or cups filled with silver coins.

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