NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — In 1924, a young man by the name of William Faulkner, a writer beginning his career, moved to New Orleans to become inspired. As a struggling artist, he sublet a room from successful artist William Spratling in his four-story house located on what is known today as Pirate’s Alley. The two partied and got into mischief in the French Quarter. Faulkner was quite the ladies man, flirting with women who passed by the house and he had several girlfriends. In 1926, Faulkner wrote his first literary masterpiece, “Soldier’s Pay”, in the house.
Today the 624 Pirate’s Alley, or the Faulkner House and bookstore is owned by a couple who might be William Faulkner’s biggest fans. Rosemary James, a reporter turned interior designer and her husband Joe DeSalvo, a lawyer and literary collector, purchased the building and restored it to what it would have looked like in the 1920s. The house is filled with beautiful 18th-century style furnishings, and the first-floor functions as a bookstore, paying tribute to William Faulkner.
The books in the store range from $25 to $25,000 and the room used for the store is the actual space where William Faulkner slept. Rosemary said their first house guest in their renovated home was a young woman whom Faulkner mentored, and was rumored to have been dating. The woman said she felt his presence in the second and third floor corner by the window, where Faulkner spent his time near the balcony.
She claims now that young, attractive women, feel a ghostly presence from time to time: a hand on the arm, a touch on the waist, or from personal experience, a flirtatious brush of the cheek.
William was known to party, he smoked a pipe, and loved his bourbon. According to Rosemary whenever they are celebrating the life of William or paying particular attention to him during their Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, they will randomly smell pipe smoke, when no one around them is smoking. Their dog Creolea will bark for no reason, or howl in the middle of the night. Rosemary said he isn’t a maleficent ghost. He was concerned he would be forgotten, as most writers are when they question the value of their work. So she thinks he appreciates being remembered and any attention drawn to him — especially his work.
New Orleans psychic Cari Roy is a third generation medium who is using her talents this weekend to channel the spirit of William Faulkner at their literary festival, Words and Music, at the Monteleon this Friday and Saturday. Roy was present during my visit to the Faulkner house and sensed his presence.
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