The Axeman of New Orleans — Killer Files | Paranormal Response Network

Alleged / reported perpetrator

Identity unknown — perpetrator unidentified

Status: unidentified

Case overview

Between 1918 and 1919, an unidentified perpetrator later known as the Axeman terrorised Italian-American grocery families in New Orleans, Louisiana. The killer entered homes at night by chiselling out door panels and attacked victims with axes or straight razors while they slept. Six people were killed in confirmed att

Reported paranormal context

The Axeman case has attracted ongoing paranormal interest in New Orleans, where the attacks left a lasting imprint on local memory and folklore. Investigators and tour operators report an atmospheric unease in streets of the Tremé and Uptown neighbourhoods where the attacks occurred. The Jazz Letter itself — whether authentic or hoax — has become embedded in New Orleans' oral tradition, and the figure of the Axeman recurs in local ghost lore as an unseen nocturnal presence.

Timeline

1918-05-23 · attack
First confirmed attack — Maggio family
Joseph and Catherine Maggio attacked at 4901 Magnolia Street. Both killed. An axe found in a neighbouring yard.
1918-08-10 · attack
Romano attack — two nieces witness killer fleeing
Joseph Romano, 55, attacked at 2208 Upperline Street. Died two days later. Nieces Pauline and Mary Bruno witnessed the attacker but could not identify him.
1919-03-10 · attack
Cortimiglia attack — Mary Cortimiglia killed
Charles and Rosie Cortimiglia attacked in Gretna, Louisiana. Their two-year-old daughter Mary was killed. Both parents survived. Rosie initially falsely accused neighbours; later recanted.
1919-03-14 · communication
The Jazz Letter published
A letter signed "The Axeman" appeared in New Orleans newspapers declaring any home playing jazz on St. Joseph's Night (19 March) would be spared. No attack occurred that night.
1919-10-27 · attack
Mike Pepitone killed — last confirmed attack
Mike Pepitone killed in his bedroom. His wife witnessed the killer fleeing but could not identify him. This is the last confirmed Axeman attack.

Attack / sighting map

Axeman Attack Corridor (area marker)New Orleans, Louisiana

Explore geographic context on the PRN Map Explorer.

Media archive

image · historical
"The Mysterious Axman's Jazz" sheet music, 1919
1919 New Orleans sheet-music cover depicting a family playing jazz to ward off the Axeman, referencing his March 1919 letter.
Open
image · historical
Map of the Axeman attack sites, March 1919
Illustrated Times-Picayune map marking the locations of the Axeman of New Orleans attacks.
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Reported paranormal activity

atmospheric · unverified
Tour operators and paranormal researchers report a persistent atmospheric unease in the streets where the Axeman attacks occurred, particularly in the Tremé district. The figure of the Axeman has entered New Orleans ghost tour lore as a nocturnal presence associated with the city's unsolved violent past. No structured scientific investigation has been published.
Area: Tremé and Uptown neighbourhoods, New Orleans
atmospheric · unverified
The Axeman's March 1919 letter claimed he was a demon "invisible, even as the ether" and would spare homes playing jazz; the supernatural claim is part of the legend, not evidence.
Area: New Orleans, Louisiana
atmospheric · unverified
The Axeman's letter published in New Orleans newspapers on 13 March 1919 is a primary-document paranormal claim: the writer identifies himself as 'a demon from the hottest hell' and 'a fell messenger' who is 'invisible, even as the ether,' and who will spare any household playing jazz at midnight on a specified Tuesday. The Louisiana Advocate's coverage of New Orleans haunted legends (published October) specifically identifies this self-declared supernatural identity as central to why the Axeman case is embedded in New Orleans ghost folklore, noting that Death did not strike that Tuesday night — a fact local lore treats as confirming the killer had genuine supernatural power over life and death. Cited here as a named press source tracing the letter's role in Axeman supernatural folklore, distinct from the existing 'demon letter' DB row (which covers atmospheric unease; this entry isolates the self-identification lore and names the Advocate article).
Area: Italian-immigrant grocery district, New Orleans — Axeman 'demon' self-identification in 1919 letter as reported in The Advocate
atmospheric · unverified
Multiple New Orleans ghost-tour operators — including New Orleans Ghost Tour (neworleansghosttour.com) and Ghost City Tours — include the Axeman's attack corridor as a regular stop on walking tours of the French Quarter and Tremé. Tour narrative draws on the Axeman's own 1919 letter, in which he described himself as 'a demon from the hottest hell' who was 'invisible, even as the ether,' and frames this self-declared supernatural identity as the origin of the site's persistent paranormal reputation. Guides report that visitors on the Tremé stops frequently describe an acute atmospheric unease distinct from other parts of the tour. The French Quarter Phantoms tour operator specifically offers a 'Tour Tremé' route that covers attack-site locations. All cited as tour-transmitted lore and visitor anecdote.
Area: New Orleans Ghost Tour route covering Axeman attack sites, Tremé and French Quarter
atmospheric · unverified
Following the WGNO-reported investigation, Haunted Rooms America additionally documents that ghost hunters conducting an overnight investigation at the Haunted Hotel NOLA registered anomalous EMF-style readings in a specific corner of the courtyard, with investigators characterising the energetic signature as that of 'a killer lying in wait.' Visitors on subsequent nights have reported an acute feeling of being watched or followed in the same courtyard corner. These accounts are collated on the Haunted Rooms America platform and are presented here as reported investigator and visitor experiences in an events context.
Area: Courtyard of the Haunted Hotel, Ursulines Avenue, French Quarter, New Orleans — paranormal investigation reading
atmospheric · unverified
WGNO-TV (New Orleans ABC affiliate) reported that the Haunted Hotel on Ursulines Avenue in the French Quarter is locally believed to have been one of the Axeman's hiding places during his 1918–1919 spree, based on the theory — promoted by Haunted History Tours New Orleans — that he was a handyman who rented a room in the former slave quarters on the property. A paranormal investigation of the hotel reportedly detected anomalous readings in one specific corner of the courtyard, which investigators interpreted as consistent with a concealed watching presence. A bloody axe found behind a wall during renovation is displayed in the hotel lobby and functions as a focal point for visitor reports of unease. All claims are transmitted through the local tour operator Haunted History Tours and reported by WGNO as local colour.
Area: The Haunted Hotel (formerly an 1829 building on Ursulines Avenue), French Quarter, New Orleans

Sources

The Axeman of New Orleans: The True Story — Miriam C. Davis, 2017Tier 3
The Axeman Letter (published in New Orleans newspapers) — 1919Tier 4
The Axeman of New Orleans: A Mysterious and Terrifying Killer — Haunted History Tours, 2022Tier 3
Louisiana True Crime: The New Orleans Axeman — Eddy Hage, 2022Tier 3
Ghost City Tours: The Axeman of New Orleans — Tim Nealon, 2019Tier 3
These 10 Louisiana legends add to New Orleans' haunted folklore: Axman, Jean Lafitte, more — The Advocate staff, 2021Tier 3
The Axeman Of New Orleans — New Orleans Ghost Tour, 2023Tier 3
Haunted Hotel NOLA Overnight Ghost Hunt, New Orleans — Haunted Rooms America staff, 2023Tier 3
New Orleans ax serial killer still haunts hotel in the French Quarter — WGNO staff, 2015Tier 3