A 'canaille' ghost named Amelie

The room where the taping took place.

            Being October, I was asked by KATC-TV in Lafayette for an interview on ghost so we decided upon Aaah! T’Freres Bed and Breakfast, a chapter in my book and an establishment that houses a Cajun ghost named Amelie. Owner Maugie Pastor suggested we do the taping in the front bedroom, a room that gets the most activity.

            Maugie commented that within the last year two men had felt a heaviness in their chests while in this room. The two men had reported the same feeling but separately; they didn’t know each other. I remarked how some haunted places I visited in the research for the book had set off my asthma, although T’Frere’s was not one of them.

            We began taping and Maugie cited numerous paranormal events that led her to believe there was a ghost in the house, one named Amelie and the sister of Oneziphore Comeaux, the original owner. (His nickname was T-Frere, or “Little Brother,” hence the name of the B&B).

            Suddenly, I felt a tightness in my chest and became lightheaded, but I didn’t say anything since they were taping. Then the camera clicked off. We laughed that it was Amelie and began again. The camera once again clicked off. The battery was at 95 percent and everything in working order so why it stopped was a puzzle. It happened several times more.

            “She’s a canaille,” Maugie explained, Cajun for a mischievous person.

            Later, the reporter interviewed me on the porch and this time the camera failed to work at all. He changed out the battery and everything worked fine. Still, the original battery was fully charged. And lest you think the battery the culprit, the reporter included the phenomenon in his broadcast.

            It’s a fabulous bed and breakfast and Maugie a gracious host. Their “ooh la la” breakfasts are renowned, items such as cheese-stuffed crepes topped with homemade jam or Bananas Foster. In the afternoons, Maugie serves cocktails and crab canapés.

            If you stay at T’Frere’s, however, you might receive lagniappe, a Louisiana word for “a little something extra.” And that lagniappe may go by the name of Amelie!
            You can read the full story of Amelie in “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and view the 2013 TV broadcast here.
            For an article describing my experiences with Louisiana Spirits paranormal investigators at T'Frere's on Sept. 16, 2014, click here.