Located just south of New Orleans, the LeBeau House was built on land that had been used as a plantation in the 1700s, and had over the years been converted into a hotel and even an illegal gambling casino. Unoccupied since the 1980s, the historic locale has been the sight of many reports of paranormal activity, local residents alleging that they've seen lights going on and off inside the building - a strange thing to see, given the fact that there's been no electricity running through the house in decades.
These are the stories that resulted in a group of seven would-be ghost hunters spending a night inside the LeBeau House last Thursday, carrying out an amateur investigation that included tools like weed and booze, rather than the usual infrared cameras and EVP recorders. As reported by the website Roadtrippers, the so-called investigation took a turn for the worse in the early morning hours when a massive fire broke out in the building, burning the entire structure to the ground. Though it was originally reported that the fire was a freak accident, more recent reports suggest that the men actually set the building ablaze intentionally, frustrated with the lack of paranormal activity they were experiencing.
The seven men - who range in age from 17 to 31 - have been arrested and charged with arson, burglary and criminal damage. They all escaped the building unscathed... aside from the charges and hefty fines.
Way to give the entire ghost hunting community a bad name, fellas!