Between 1918 and 1919, an unidentified serial killer paralyzed New Orleans with a series of brutal home invasions targeting Italian immigrant grocers and their families. Known to history as the Axeman of New Orleans, this shadowy figure entered folklore not just through century-old police records, but through Ryan Murphy's television series American Horror Story: Coven. While the show recast the killer as a supernatural entity entangled with a coven of witches, the true historical narrative involves a city gripped by wartime panic, a unique racial dynamic in the American South, and a baffling, unsolved letter-writing campaign.
Understanding the real history behind the television adaptation requires separating documented police investigations from the macabre mythology that continues to captivate true crime enthusiasts today.
The Reign of Terror in 1918 New Orleans
The first confirmed attack occurred on the night of March 13, 1918. Joseph Maggio and his wife Rosie, who ran a grocery store on Jackson Avenue, were brutally murdered in their bed. The attacker used an axe belonging to the victims, breaking through a back door panel and leaving the blood-stained weapon behind.
Just months later, on June 27, 1918, grocer Louis Besumer and his housekeeper Harriet Lowe were attacked in a similar manner. Lowe survived long enough to provide a vague description, but died days later. By August, another grocer, Nick Cortimiglia, and his wife Mabel were attacked in their home, resulting in the tragic death of their infant daughter.
The pattern was terrifyingly consistent. The killer targeted neighborhood grocery stores—many owned by Italian immigrants—usually striking in the middle of the night during hot summer months when doors and windows were left open for ventilation.
The Jazz Letter and Psychological Warfare
What transformed the murders into an urban legend was a public letter sent to local newspapers in November 1918, purportedly written by the killer himself. Published across the city, the letter declared that the Axeman was a spirit from the netherworld, capable of seeing and hearing all.
"Now, I am going to be reasonable. I am not what you call a devil, but I am a very hot spirit, of the proper place called hell... If you are wise, you will do as I say and please me. Hark ye: my power is more than human and your city would be saved if you would do what I desire."
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The letter concluded with a chilling ultimatum: the killer promised to spare the lives of anyone whose home played jazz music on the night of the following Tuesday. On the designated night, New Orleans transformed into a surreal party town. Saloons, dance halls, and private residences blared jazz music until dawn. Amateur and professional bands played in streets and parlors alike, and miraculously, no murders were recorded that night.
Historians note that this bizarre cultural event did more to cement jazz as the defining soundtrack of the era than any single musical performance before it.
Suspects and Theories
Despite widespread panic, local authorities never positively identified the Axeman. Investigators initially suspected labor disputes within the Italian immigrant community or retaliation from local black-hand extortion rings, but these theories yielded no convictions.
In 1920, a woman named Esther Albano claimed her husband, Joseph Mumfre, was the killer. Mumfre had a violent criminal history and was serving time in prison for assault before escaping. However, the lead was never fully substantiated by physical evidence. Later that year, a woman in Los Angeles claimed a man named Joseph Mumfre had shot and killed her husband before dying in a shootout with police. While newspapers at the time linked this dead man to the New Orleans murders, modern historians treat the connection as circumstantial at best.
How American Horror Story Adapted the Legend
In American Horror Story: Coven, Danny Huston portrays the Axeman as a suave, jazz-loving entity who meets a violent end at the hands of the coven in 1919, only to return as a spirit haunting the academy. The television series borrows several real historical touchstones:
- The Jazz Obsession: The show centers the killer's affinity for jazz music, directly mirroring the famous 1918 newspaper letter.
- The 1919 Climax: The season places the Axeman's demise in 1919, coinciding with the exact period when the real-world murders abruptly stopped.
- The Italian Immigrant Context: While the show focuses on supernatural witchcraft, it nods to the period's atmospheric tension and period architecture.
However, the real Axeman left no supernatural residue—only a profound sense of paranoia that forced a major American city to lock its doors, rely on vigilante night patrols, and lean heavily into the comfort of brass bands.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people did the Axeman of New Orleans kill?
Police records attribute six murders and several non-fatal attacks to the Axeman between May 1918 and October 1919, though historical researchers suspect the total number of victims might be higher due to unlinked home invasions during the era.
Did anyone actually play jazz to save their lives?
Yes. On the night specified in the killer's published letter—Tuesday, November 12, 1918—thousands of New Orleans residents, alongside local jazz musicians, kept their phonographs and instruments playing through the night. No attacks occurred that evening.
Was the Axeman ever caught?
No. The case remains officially unsolved. While a man named Joseph Mumfre was frequently named by historical writers as the likely culprit, no conclusive forensic or legal proof was ever established linking him to the murders.
Why did the Axeman target Italian grocers?
Historians suggest several socioeconomic factors, including anti-immigrant sentiment of the period and neighborhood rivalries, which may have made immigrant grocers—who frequently kept cash on hand—vulnerable targets for opportunistic criminals.
