A Taste Of The Afterlife
Courtesy of Sally Asher
Halloween is once again upon us, which means it's time to indulge our fascination with the mysterious, the macabre, and the world beyond the grave! On this week's show, we delve into the stories, traditions, and history that give Louisiana its enduring interest in the supernatural.
We begin with our old friend Sally Asher of Red Sash Tours, who on Halloweens past has taken us on special tours of three New Orleans cemeteries. Sally joins us in our studio to share what she discovered while researching her new book, Flaming Hearts and Weeping Angels: Secrets and Symbols in New Orleans Cemeteries. The book is available for preorder in both hardcover and limited-edition slipcase formats. Sally also tells us about her new nonprofit, Tomb Do You Love, which works to restore historic tombs in the Crescent City.
Then, we explore the curious history of spiritualism in America with Dr. George Schwartz of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. He talks about the spiritualist movement's surprising ties to New Orleans, its role in empowering women and abolitionists, and what all of this has to do with the 100th anniversary of Harry Houdini's death this Halloween.
Finally, we meet Rosie Grant, who stumbled upon a curious discovery: recipes carved into gravestones. Her book, To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes, brings these recipes together, along with the stories of the people who chose to preserve them in stone. It's a book about food, but it's really about memory – the meals that define us, and how we carry the people we've lost into our kitchens, long after they're gone.