House of Slaves haunting traditions

Record summary

The Maison des Esclaves on Gorée Island is a preserved eighteenth-century slave-trading site frequently described in visitor writing as haunted or emotionally charged. Stories may involve footsteps, voices or a sensed presence, but the best-known status of the building derives from its commemorative and touristic role rather than a stable archive of named incidents. Historians have disputed aspects of Gorée’s scale and precise role in the Atlantic trade, making this a useful case for comparing historical trauma, heritage interpretation and supernatural language without assuming that the haunting claims are independently verified.