Aug 17, 2021 4:08 pm

New Orleans is, and has always been, one of the most colorful urban centers in America. Few cities in the United States can boast such a deeply rich and multi-cultural heritage. The city is a melting pot of Native American, Spanish, French, Acadian, and Creole influences mixed with later Haitian, Latin American, Vietnamese and Middle Eastern elements. This has resulted in an interesting cultural blend that cannot be easily defined or categorized. This fusion of cultures is perhaps best expressed in the city's world-renowned art, music, architecture, cuisine, unique dialects, and annual celebrations.
New Orleans is home to two separate thriving religions. It boasts a Catholic majority and a significant Voodoo minority. Yet, it is known far and wide as a city of vice, drawing millions of tourists who come to shed their inhibitions in yearly festivals such as Mardi Gras. The city is an endless combination of debauchery and faith, punctuated by tall cathedrals, flickering street lights, crowds of strangers, and entire neighborhoods that exude a complex culture and rich sense of place. In N'awlins, history struts as loudly as Carnival, and the supernatural is very prevalent if one knows where to look.
As with any modern city, New Orleans has its troubles. Crime is a significant issue, which is perhaps not surprising given the city's high number of visitors. Wealth disparity is also very visible, with the rich dwelling in the palatial houses of the Garden District, and impoverished, overcrowded neighborhoods like the Lower Ninth Ward remaining devastated from the effects of Katrina. New Orleans struggles with infrastructure problems as it combats regular flooding, subsidence, and pollution (the city's fishing industry still suffers from the ecological damage caused by the BP oil spill in 2010). Each year the city sinks a little deeper into the surrounding swamp. And this is on top of all the ghosts.
New Orleans has one of the highest (if not the highest) population of ephemeral entities in the United States, earning among Sin-Eaters the appellation of "Most Haunted City in America." The municipality's tumultuous and tragic history is a large reason for this, as is the abnormally high amount of cenotes and Underworld gateways found within the region. Its many past battles, natural disasters, fires, outbreaks, and brutal slave trade, as well as more recent catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina and the global pandemic, have all contributed to the city's sheer number of hauntings. New ghosts are constantly being born, and older ghosts tend to be established and powerful. It's enough to keep the New Orleanian Bound busy and vigilant.
Being a Sin-Eater in New Orleans means having your work cut out for you.
Also Called: The Big Easy, Crescent City, N'awlins, NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Population: 383,997 (1,270,530 in the metro area)
Area: 349.85 square miles
New Orleans Geography
To be written...
Lexicon of the New Orleans Sin-Eater
Anchor: A person, place, or thing that keeps a ghost tied to the world of the living. Equivalent to a Sin-Eater's Burden. Resolving a ghost's emotional attachment to its Anchors allows it to Pass On.
Barghest: A term for the ghost of an animal, any species.
Bayou: As used in Louisiana, this refers to the vast wetlands, streams, and marshy lakes that comprise the Gulf Coast region of the Southern United States.
Cajun: An ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana. They are mostly descended from the French-speaking Acadians that came from Eastern Canada. Known for their vibrant traditions, cuisine, music, and unique dialect.
Cast-Off: A ghost object.
Chthonian: A term for one of the monstrous natives of the Underworld.
Cities of the Dead: New Orleans cemeteries. Because of the high water table, bodies in New Orleans tend to be buried above ground rather than under it. Elaborate monuments and headstones cluster together like small communities.
Corpse Cake: Due to Plasm's offensive taste, Sin-Eaters developed the practice of placing such ghostly residue inside small cakes or pastries before consuming it. The term "corpse cake" has now come to refer to any foodstuff used to mask the taste of Plasm. In New Orleans, local cuisine such as king cakes, po'boys, and beignets are common for this purpose.
"Eat Sin": A figure of speech for resolving a ghost's Anchors. To "eat a ghost's sins" means to take on a ghost's Burdens; to help it let go of its Anchors in order to Pass On.
Ectophagia: The act of eating a ghost. All Sin-Eaters are capable of committing ectophagia, which fully restores one's Plasm, but the act is terribly upsetting to geists.
Ghost-Eater: An umbrella term for any non-Bound individual who has learned how to eat ghosts and draw power from it.
Great Below, The: The Underworld.
Gris-gris: Pronounced gree-gree. Originally a term for a Voodoo talisman, New Orleanian Sin-Eaters have borrowed the word to use in reference to a memento.
Haint: Another word for "ghost." Derived from Gullah folklore.
Holy Trinity, The: Celery, bell pepper, and onion. The three vegetables that are staple ingredients in Cajun and Creole cooking.
Keener: A mercenary Sin-Eater. Although many of the Bound accept money for their services, keeners are motivated solely by profit. The term comes from the word for professional mourners paid to grieve at funerals.
Lagniappe: Pronounced lan-yap. This is Cajun French for "a little extra." Often used to describe something good or an unexpected benefit.
"Laissez les bon temps rouler": A Cajun French expression meaning "Let the good times roll." A common Mardi Gras catchphrase.
Louisiana Creole: People descended from the original inhabitants of colonial Louisiana before it became a part of the U.S. Their ancestry is mainly African, Spanish, French, and/or Native American. Although the word once implied mixed racial origins, it is not considered a racial label, and people of many different backgrounds identify as Creole. Creole culture has had a strong influence on the music, cuisine, and religious practices of Louisiana.
Loup-Garou: The term, as used by most Louisiana Sin-Eaters, refers to a werewolf.
Low Place: Another term for a cenote, on account of the fact that many cenotes are located in subterranean locations or far below sea level (i.e., literal low places).
Memento: An object saturated with death energy. Mementos are solid to ghosts and provide Sin-Eaters with access to additional Keys.
Ofrenda: Spanish for offering. This occurs when the living take an action to remember the dead; such remembrances generate Essence for the remembered ghost. An ofrenda can range from visiting a loved one's grave to full-blown festivals like Dia de Los Muertos.
Parish: Louisiana's equivalent to a county.
Picayune: An old Spanish coin that was 1/8 of a dollar. Connotes something small or petty.
Plasm: Ectoplasm. The residue left behind by a ghost when it manifests. Also generated when a Sin-Eater unlocks one of his Keys. It typically takes the form of a foul smelling and tasting jelly. Sin-Eaters use Plasm to fuel their Haunts. As a physical substance, Plasm cannot simply be absorbed by the Bound and must instead be consumed like food.
Sacrosanct: A Sin-Eater fundamentalist. Sacrosanct krewes follow extreme ideologies that make them dangerous to the living and/or the dead, including other Bound.
Shotgun House: A type of house popularized by New Orleans. Characterized by being long, narrow, single room wide, and a few rooms deep. Popular folklore says that the homes’ design allows a shotgun to fire a bullet through the open front door, straight through each room and out the back door unscathed.
Tick: A derogatory term for a vampire.
Twilight: The natural state of ephemeral beings when in the Material World. Beings and objects in Twilight cannot be seen, heard, or felt by mundane senses.
Vanitas: A memento crafted by a Sin-Eater.
Wanga: Another word borrowed from Voodoo. New Orleanian Sin-Eaters used it to refer to a curse or hex, usually of the variety imposed by The Curse Haunt.
Yellow Bones: An old ghost. Typically at least a century or older.