In 1834, neighbors discovered seven tortured enslaved people chained in a New Orleans mansion during a fire, revealing Delphine LaLaurie's sadistic brutality. Despite multiple reports of abuse, she fled to France unpunished, while her house became America's most haunted—where enslaved spirits allegedly torment visitors nearly 200 years later. Delphine LaLaurie tortured enslaved people for entertainment rather than punishment, breaking bones and resetting them to cripple victims who could barely work, revealing she was a sadist seeking suffering infliction. Local authorities received multiple reports and court cases documenting LaLaurie's severe abuse starting in 1828, but failed to hold her accountable until the 1834 fire exposed bodies suspended by spiked metal collars.