'Buried Worlds with Don Wildman' Episode 6: Wildman unravels urban legends surrounding the Louisiana bayou
Louisiana, more particularly, New Orleans is a hotbed of urban legends and paranormal folklore revolving around ghosts, vampires and even a swamp monster. New Orleans is a 300-year old city in the state of Louisiana that boasts a rich history of a French foundation. In the colonial era, it was known to be a penal colony, housing murderers, rapists and thieves and even prisoners from the Bastille were sent over to the city while it was under French control. The trend created a breeding ground where the state came to be known as the murder capital of the United States. The history of slavery and voodoo in the area, an African religion focusing around working with spirits and supernatural entities is bound to have contributed to New Orleans' reputation, a psychic medium and paranormal investigator told Don Wildman, piquing his interest in the historical city.
In the latest episode of 'Buried Worlds with Don Wildman', the Travel Channel host investigates reports for cult activity in the Louisiana bayou and seeks out ghostly orbs believed to be guarding long-lost treasures. He joins in an exorcism to ward off evil and wanders into the murky wetlands near New Orleans on the hunt for a mysterious demonic beast. Wildman and many paranormal investigators that have ventured into the Louisiana bayou believe that it contains several portals and an abundance of negative energy. His goal is to find out just why it is a hotspot for otherwordly sightings and paranormal activity.
Satanic rituals - Baton Rouge
The bayou is infamous for horrifying secrets and creepy stories of ghosts and beastly creatures. According to Wildman, just being in its close proximity gives one an eerie and ominous, heavy feeling. 80 miles west of New Orleans, he heads to a stretch of wood outside Baton Rouge to track down some recent urban legends. In 2015, a series of shocking articles suggested that towards the end of the road leading to the woods, people would encounter strange figures wearing dark hooded outfits popping out of the woods. There have also been rumors of animal sacrifice, linked to satanic practices, according to these articles. They also detailed that these rituals are held near an abandoned house deep in the woods, that Wildman intends to investigate. He meets with a warlock and his coven, who can detect tell-tale signs of satanic activity and claim to sense the presence of evil.
Wildman takes a look around the woods and lands upon the abandoned house. He approached the house looking for evidence of satanic rituals and finds a full-blown carcass of a deer, that may have been killed as a part of a sacrifice. Venturing further into the woods, he comes stumbles up a tree brandishing a pentagram and upside-down crosses. The coven comprises of occultists, who are not Satanists but experts in occult rituals that can determine if a site is satanic. One among the warlocks in the coven explains to Wildman that every place has magic, but there are certain places where it becomes especially concentrated. Theses places are usually where dark rituals happen and he affirmed Wildman's theory, that the tree is a temple of a satanic cult. There's some sort of current on the land, the warlock added, most of it being emotional negative energy that's steeped in the woods.
Wildman joins the coven in an exorcism ritual, where they call upon St Michael, the archangel who is known to draw demons back to hell. The warlocks consecrate the space, forcing whatever evil is lurking in the area to go back to its dimension. As the ritual progressed, Wildman explained feeling a chill down his spine, that one of the warlocks had warned him about, indicating that the demons had passed through the space and been drawn back to hell. He felt the dark energy that was in the space being lifted, but also added that if this place is a gateway to summon these spirits, then there is a high chance that they could be summoned again.
Grunch
There are other mysterious creatures that roam the bayou, per Wildman, that are both demonic and paranormal and go by the term 'cryptids'. They take many forms, but the most terrifying on according to Louisiana folklore is the Grunch. The Grunch is the New Orleans version of the Mexican legend, El Chupacabra and is described to be a cross between a canid and reptile. It is said to have razor-sharp teeth, the legs of a goat and is the size of a man. Wildman meets two Grunch Hunters, who equipped with their cryptid hunting tools should be able to track it down. The plan is to locate the Grunch with thermal cameras, then capture an image on night vision cameras. They try to attract the Grunch using steak as bait, while they waited, but only managed to capture a black mass on camera that disappeared sometime later.
Fifollet
Wildman learns of the legend of the Fifollet, and travels to the south of Louisiana, to the Jean Lafitte National Park to explore the secrets of the 'Cajun Fairy' that appears as a phosphorescent ball of fire in the swamps and marshlands of Louisiana. Their goal is to confuse those who follow their light until they become lost in the swamps and drown to their death. He meets a psychic medium who claims to have seen these shining orbs before and gives him a tour of the swamp, where they were spotted. The park is named after the legendary pirate, Jean Laffitte who sailed the waters and people say that he buried his treasure, somewhere in these swamps. The popular belief is that the Fifolet are the souls of those that have died protecting the treasure and appear to keen treasure hunters seeking the pirate's hidden riches.
'Buried Worlds with Don Wildman' premieres on Mondays at 9 pm ET/PT on Travel Channel.