After jumping from a balcony in New Orleans, a woman claimed the host had tried to bite her. After searching his house, police found blood and bloodstained clothes from every time period. Who was this Jacques St. Germain, dubbed the Vampire of New Orleans? And what was the connection to a mysterious immortal aristocrat from Europe?
In a city overflowing with ghost stories, grisly murders, and old-world superstition, few legends endure like that of Jacques St. Germain, the mysterious 20th-century aristocrat believed by some to be an immortal vampire stalking the streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter.
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His story intertwines with the rich, eerie folklore of the city — a place where fact and legend blur in the mist rising from ancient cobblestones. But before he became the legendary vampire of New Orleans, he was the immortal aristocrat of Europe who dined with kings and queens and watched empires rise and fall.
A Familiar, Yet Ageless Name of the Count of St. Germain
To understand how the vampire legend took root, we have to backtrack to the old country who the New Orleans vampire was thought to be. The origins of Jacques St. Germain’s legend trace back to an 18th-century European figure, The Count of St. Germain, a nobleman, alchemist, and alleged immortal who appeared in courts across Europe for decades without ever seeming to age.
He really was a real man at the European royal courts, but his life and identity was a mystery, even to his peers. He ate at the dinner with kings and queens, philosophers like Voltaire, musicians like Mozart and historians like Casanova. Known for his dazzling charisma, impossible wealth, and claims of ancient wisdom, the Count of St. Germain vanished from records in the late 1700s — though some say he never died.
His background seems shrouded in mystery as well. He was born maybe in 1691 or in the early 1700s. Perhaps by then, he was already centuries old by then. He was perhaps from Spain, Italy or Poland, and his real name is not known as St. Germain’s refusal to give his true name, except maybe to the King of France, Louis the XV as he kept him close at his court. He knew many languages, was a skilled musician, chemist and alchemist. So much so that some believed that he had found the way to an immortal life.
The renowned historian Giacomo Girolamo Casanova wrote of St. Germain in his memoir: “This extraordinary man, intended by nature to be the king of impostors and quacks, would say in an easy, assured manner that he was three hundred years old, that he knew the secret of the Universal Medicine, that he possessed a mastery over nature, that he could melt diamonds, professing himself capable of forming, out of ten or twelve small diamonds, one large one of the finest water without any loss of weight. All this, he said, was a mere trifle to him. Notwithstanding his boastings, his bare-faced lies, and his manifold eccentricities, I cannot say I thought him offensive. In spite of my knowledge of what he was and in spite of my own feelings, I thought him an astonishing man as he was always astonishing me.”
Already then he claimed to be centuries old and sold women liquids that supposedly would make them younger and stop the aging process. He would not be seen eating anything, but only drinking this mysterious tea. He claimed to have had conversations with Cleopatra and the Queen of Sheba and been present at countless historical milestones like the council of Nicea and the wedding in Cana when he turned water into wine. He was also rumored to be involved in helping Catherine the Great seize the throne, being employed by the French King although speculations about him being a spy were ever present.
At a party at the manor of Madame de Pompadour, who was the mistress of the king of France in 1760, Countess von Gregory approached him. She thought he was the son of a man she had known in 1710, but discovered that it was the same man, and he hadn’t aged a bit. A French ambassador from Venice called Rameau testified that he had known St. Germain in 1710 and that he had still looked like a man in his fifties.
In a letter from Horace Walpole, the 4th Earl of Oxford, he describes Comte St. Germain with: “An odd man, who goes by the name of Comte St. Germain. He had been here these two years, and will not tell who he is, or whence, but professes that he does not go by his right name. He sings, plays on the violin wonderfully, composes, is mad, and not very sensible. He is called an Italian, a Spaniard, a Pole; a somebody that married a great fortune in Mexico, and ran away with her jewels to Constantinople, a priest, a fiddler, a vast nobleman. The Prince of Wales has had unsatiated curiosity about him, but in vain.”
In 1779 he moved to Germany and spent time with Prince Karl of Hesse-Kassel. He said he was 88 years old and the son of Prince Ragoczy of Transylvania, who had lost his throne. Some have claimed him to be his youngest son born in Bohemia and that his parents were Prince Franz-Leopold Ragoczy, of Transylvania and Princess Charlotte Amalia of Hesse-Wahnfried. Then he was placed as an infant under the care of the last Medici family, Gian Gastone.
According to records, he died February 27 in 1784, but there were sightings of him long before he reached New Orleans. But did he really die? According to more than one source, he kept appearing throughout different times, never aging at all.
The Active Afterlife of the Count of St. Germain
Some would even venture that Comte de St. Germain was not his first life, and that he had been alive long before the 1700s, perhaps even since the time of Christ. Historian and philosopher Voltair allegedly said about him: “He is a man who knows everything and who never dies.”
In 1785 he was known to reside in Germany, befriending Anton Mesmer, the pioneer hypnotist and it was said that he had given Mesmer the ideas of it. He was also chosen as the Freemasonry representative for the annual 1785 convention. in their own records.
He went back to France after the taking of Bastille and was a counsel to Comtesse d’Adhémar who last saw him in 1822, not looking a day older. She wrote in 1821: “I have seen Saint-Germain again, each time to my amazement. I saw him when the queen [Antoinette] was murdered, on the 18th of Brumaire, on the day following the death of the Duke d’Enghien, in January, 1815, and on the eve of the murder of the Duke de Berry.”
Then he took on a new identity and Albert Vandam wrote: “He called himself Major Fraser, lived alone and never alluded to his family. Moreover he was lavish with money, though the source of his fortune remained a mystery to everyone. He possessed a marvelous knowledge of all the countries in Europe at all periods. His memory was absolutely incredible and, curiously enough, he often gave his hearers to understand that he had acquired his learning elsewhere than from books. Many is the time he has told me, with a strange smile, that he was certain he had known Nero, had spoken with Dante, and so on.”
The Vampire Reaches New Orleans
So how did this European aristocrat end up in New Orleans centuries later? According to the legend, by boat. In 1902, a man bearing the same name arrived in New Orleans. Like his supposed predecessor, Jacques St. Germain was described as charming, urbane, impossibly wealthy, and oddly ageless. He threw extravagant parties at his home on Royal Street, where guests marveled at the fine wines and exotic art — though curiously, no one ever saw him eat.
Jacques St. Germain knew many languages and captivated his audience with tales from hundreds of years ago, strangely with so much detail, you would almost believe he was there.
The Terrifying Incident on Royal Street
It was said Jacques St. Germain was only observed drinking what appeared to be red wine. He claimed to be a descendant of the Comte and people pointed out the physical resemblance from portraits. Some started to wonder if it could be him. He was said to be a charming womanizer, often venturing out to the French Quarter to meet young women.
The legend took a sinister turn when a young woman, invited to his home one evening, fled the house in terror. Some say that she jumped out from the second-story of his house. She was either a prostitute or one of the guests at one of his lavish parties he had invited to his balcony.
According to police reports, she claimed that Jacques St. Germain had tried to bite her neck to draw blood. She escaped by leaping from a second-story window and running to the authorities, battered and terrified.
When police arrived at the house, St. Germain was nowhere to be found. What they did discover was deeply disturbing: bloodstains everywhere and all of his belongings gone. There were wine bottles filled not with wine, but with human blood. The incident sent ripples through the community, and though a warrant was issued for his arrest, Jacques St. Germain was never seen again. Or… perhaps he was.
A Haunting Presence in New Orleans Lore
Since his disappearance, stories of a pale, well-dressed gentleman seen walking the French Quarter at night have persisted. There are reports about him up until the 1970s. Richard Chanfray was the man who claimed to be the Count in the 1970s.
During the 1970s, Chanfray began appearing on television, claiming to be the count and supposedly demonstrating the ability to transmute boring old lead into gold in front of an audience. However, Chanfray later died by suicide in 1983.
Witnesses describe a tall figure in old-fashioned clothing, speaking in a strange, antiquated accent, vanishing into alleyways or slipping into buildings long abandoned.
Some local historians and paranormal enthusiasts believe Jacques St. Germain to be one and the same as the immortal Count of St. Germain, relocating from Europe to America in search of fresh hunting grounds. Others remain sceptical, as there are no police reports found from the incident, and not a trace of him ever having lived on Royal Street.
Today, his supposed Royal Street residence still stands, a stop on many New Orleans ghost tours, with guides recounting the legend of the vampire aristocrat whose thirst for blood was hidden behind a facade of sophistication and charm. One of the second floor windows is bricked up, said to be the one the woman jumped from.
Whether an immortal alchemist, an old-world vampire, or simply a creation of New Orleans’ love for the macabre, Jacques St. Germain remains one of the city’s most enduringly eerie legends. If you find yourself walking Royal Street on a misty evening, keep an eye out for the elegant stranger with a pale complexion and ageless face — and if he offers you a drink, you might want to politely decline.
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References:
Jacques St. Germain, The Infamous Louisiana Vampire
Jacques St. Germain, Vampire of the French Quarter – Locations of Lore
A closer look at Jacques de St. Germain | Author Lyn Gibson
The Bizarre True Story Of The Count Of Saint Germain – Grunge
Walpole, Horace. Letters of Horace Walpole. Vol. 1. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1890:Letters of Horace Walpole — Volume I by Horace Walpole | Project Gutenberg.
Jacques St. Germain, Vampire of the French Quarter – Locations of Lore
