THE HISTORY
New Orleans • Louisiana
Get in the Jazz spirit this Spring at the Axeman's Ball presented by Krewe of BOO! The New Orleans' Official Halloween Parade.
Celebrate Jazz and the Jazz Age, an era known as the Roaring Twenties, by donning your best flapper dress and swing attire, get out your gaudy beads and fedoras to join us at The Axeman's Ball.
THE STORY OF THE AXEMAN
As the birthplace of Jazz, New Orleans music has influenced musicians, performers, authors, painters, and even an infamous serial killer known only as The Axeman.
While Jazz grew out of drumming and musical improv, it was an artform rejected by high society in its early days, only to be played in gin joints and dime-a-trick cribs in the old Storyville District.
Between two world wars and among a great depression, Jazz music became the uplifting spirit in a time of battle and loss. Instruments were made to sing notes played from the heart rather than sheets of paper. Brass bands began performing syncopated Jazz on the stage of riverboats, all-night bars, and rowdy dance taverns, working its way into the esteemed theatres and upscale venues.
Therefore, when the city was terrorized by a murderous Axeman who slayed families in their homes, a letter was sent to the local newspaper written by the Axeman himself, telling the people of New Orleans that he would spare the city any killings one certain night if every household were to play his favorite type of music, Jazz. On that night, folks hired bands, played records, and packed in to music halls to comply with the serial killer's request. No one was axed down on that night. Jazz had saved the city.
The folklore of the Axeman's Jazz signifies how Jazz music can transform and transcend. It is the marriage of a cornet, a trumpet, and a trombone. It is the lifeblood of New Orleans. It is the soundtrack of the city, the cosmopolitan cadence, the melting pot of music.
Jazz is legend.
LISTEN + LEARN
YouTube Episode
The Terrifying Axeman of New Orleans
Dive into the chilling true crime case of the Axeman of New Orleans, a serial killer who terrorized the city in 1918. This BuzzFeed Unsolved episode explores a series of brutal axe attacks, leaving behind bloody weapons and shattered lives. The investigation uncovers bizarre letters, potential mafia connections, and a surprising suspect.
Season 1, Ep. 20
Jazz, Murder, and the Phantom Killer Who Terrorized a City
Between 1918 and 1919, New Orleans fell under the grip of a faceless horror—the Axeman. In this episode of "Terror Bites: Bite Sized Crime", we dive into one of America’s most mysterious and theatrical serial killers. Victims were butchered in their beds with axes stolen from their own homes. The killer left no clues—only bodies and fear and an obsession with jazz.
Podcast Episode
The Cleaver, The Fiend & The Axeman's Jazz of New Orleans
In the humid nights of New Orleans in the early years of the 1900’s, a shadowy figure prowled the moonlit streets. A series of attacks by a violent perpetrator struck fear into the hearts of citizens who were already terrified of the brutal, seemingly random violence that had been wrapping the city in a terrifying mystery for almost a decade.
Podcast Episode 117
The Axeman of New Orleans
In this episode, we talk about a 99-year-old unsolved case that links a serial killer, the Mafia, folklore, and the supernatural. Join us as we take a look at the story of the Axeman of New Orleans, an unidentified serial killer who loved jazz and has become a part of NOLA’s rich culture and history.
Podcast Episode 1
The Axeman
The Axeman of New Orleans is considered to be one of the top 10 serial killers of all time. He begins his killing spree, putting New Orleans citizens on edge. Hosts Carter and Wenndy examine clues from the first three attacks and the bizarre details of the murders while our voice actors bring the crimes to life.
Podcast Episode 320
The Axeman of New Orleans
While the U.S. was wrapped up in the final days of World War I, New Orleans was facing an enemy right in their own backyard. In the early 20th century, a wave of fear rolled through Crescent City as a mysterious man began axing people in the dead of night while they were fast asleep.
BLOG: HISTORY, LEGEND + LORE
