The Chloe Mirror:
Why Every Owner
Turns It to the Wall

The Myrtles Plantation was built in 1796 on land that, according to the Tunica people who lived there before, was already cursed. The builder, General David Bradford, chose not to heed the warning. He built his house, raised his family, and died on the property.

He was not the last to die there.

Over the next two centuries, the plantation changed hands multiple times. At least ten people died on the property under confirmed or suspected violent circumstances. The house is now a bed and breakfast. Guests come specifically to sleep in rooms where people were murdered.

Most of them check out before morning.

Chloe

Chloe was an enslaved woman who worked in the plantation house in the early 1800s, during the ownership of Clark and Sara Woodruff. Historical accounts describe her as having been caught eavesdropping on the Woodruffs' private conversations — a practice she used, it was said, to protect herself by knowing what was being planned.

When she was discovered, Clark Woodruff had her ear cut off as punishment. After that, she wore a green turban to cover the wound. The green turban is how she is consistently described by those who claim to have seen her since.

What happened next is where history and legend diverge. According to the most commonly told account, Chloe baked a cake poisoned with oleander and served it to the Woodruff family. Sara Woodruff and two of her daughters died. Chloe was hanged by other enslaved people on the plantation, who feared retribution from the Woodruffs.

Her body was thrown in the river. There is no grave.

The Mirror

According to tradition in the American South, mirrors in a room where someone has died must be covered immediately after death, before the body is removed. If this is not done, the soul of the deceased becomes trapped in the mirror.

The mirror in the front parlor of The Myrtles Plantation — a large French antique — was not covered after the deaths of Sara Woodruff and her daughters. It has remained in the house ever since.

The handprint accounts are the most consistent anomaly associated with the mirror. They appear in guest reports across decades, described in similar terms: small, as if pressed from inside the glass, visible in photographs but not always to the naked eye.

Every owner of the property has turned the mirror to face the wall at some point. Every owner has eventually turned it back. The current management leaves it facing outward. They say guests ask to see it.

What Guests Report

• A woman in a green turban seen on the grounds at night, disappearing near the old slave quarters
• Children's voices heard in rooms confirmed to be empty — always described as two voices, not one
• The smell of magnolia blossoms in rooms with no flowers and no open windows
• Jewelry and small personal items moved overnight with no explanation
• A rocking chair on the front porch that moves on its own — documented on multiple guest videos
• Guests in the William Winter room reporting a man climbing the stairs repeatedly through the night — Winter was shot on those stairs in 1871

William Winter

William Winter was a lawyer who owned The Myrtles in the 1860s and 70s. In January 1871, a stranger appeared at the front door and called his name. Winter went outside. He was shot and staggered back into the house, dying on the 17th step of the staircase.

Guests in the room adjacent to the stairs report hearing footsteps ascending slowly through the night — stopping at the 17th step, then nothing. The sound begins again. It stops at the same place. It has been reported by guests with no prior knowledge of the Winter shooting, who later discover the history after mentioning what they heard.