Terror And Tiaras

I am honored and thrilled to be launching Terror and Tiaras, my own travel experience and tour guide company!

If you know me at all, then you probably already know I have spent the better part of a decade being a New Orleans tour guide, learning a wide variety of different tours and working for various companies. So why start out on my own?

Mostly, I believe by working independently, I can provide you the best experience possible. Because I am no longer with a company, I don’t have to beholden myself to things like Groupon, pamphlet advertising, scripts, “mandatory stops” and more. I have more control to create a customized tour, with routes and stories tailored to my guests, and I can ensure quality over quantity. I believe in smaller groups, not packed to capacity, quieter paths, and stories rooted in authenticity versus sensationalism. That’s not to say there arent bizarre tales on the tours, as I often say, “New Orleans is weird without my help” and because of that, I try my best to impart that oftentimes, the fact is far more frightening than fiction.

I began my career as a tour guide purely by accident. My friends were already working hard creating costumes and building props for the film industry (both tv and movies) and i was assisting where i could. We were sitting around talking one day, and i will impart here pretty much how the conversation went (its one of my favorite anecdotes):

“Moira you like talking to strangers.”
“Yes I do.”

“You like telling stories.”

“Yes I do.”

“You like dressing up in costume.”

“Yes I do.”

“Do you want to make money doing that?”

“….. Yes I do.”

And the rest, as they say, is history. Now the start of my career wasn’t easy. The very first tour I ever gave was during Mardi Gras season, on walking parade night. I had no script, no route, no manifest, and no way to take payments. It was pure chaos. And i fell in love right then and there. I have given tours during parades and festivals, through biting cold, blinding rain and oppressive heat, before and after hurricanes, during spring breaks, Mardi Gras, Halloween and more. I have seen this city through good times and bad, and loved her, and my job, all the more for it.

Now, I will be the first to admit that i am neither native nor local. I was not born and raised in New Orleans, nor do i live there, and never have. I live in a smaller bayou town called Houma, deep in the heart of Cajun country, which is a far different world than the creoles of the city. And that disconnect is honestly why I take my job so seriously. I realized early on that even though I may not live there, I am a representative of the city to thousands of strangers, some of which have never set foot on her soil before. She is a living, breathing, moving, evolving being, and is my responsibility to portray her, and her people accurately, authentically and appropriately. People have been born here, lived here, died here, for centuries and will continue to do so. We walk past the front doors of their homes, we eat in their kitchens, dance in their neighborhood streets, listen to their families play music, and look and the graves of their loved ones. She is not a theme park, she is not a movie set, the citizens are not props and the culture is not content. I strive to make sure I continue to educate myself, update my stories, evaluate my presentation, expand my language, anything to ensure that i respectfully display the diversity, inclusion, progression, and evolution this city and her occupants deserve.

In the years I’ve done this job, i have also developed a personal cornerstone of collaboration and cooperation over competition. While i genuinely i am one of the best tour guides in the city due to my continuing education, dedicated image, and practiced delivery, i am not the best tour guide at every single tour. There are tour guides who have become incredibly passionate about particular topics. There are tour guides that are avid followers and initiated practitioners of certain beliefs. There are tour guides who have years of knowledge and personal experience in niche subjects, like mortician work. There are tour guides who are also accredited professors at local universities. There are tour guides that specialize in history that directly impact themselves and their communities, such as Katrina aftermath or LGBTQ+ History. If I think they are more knowledgeable, more experienced, more passionate, more committed, as well as honest, respectful, and authentic, i will send you to them. My goal isn’t money; there are plenty of tourists in the city to go around for all of us to work and pay bills. My mission is always accountability, respectability, responsibility and education.

I genuinely hope you’ll join me on a journey through one of the most unique cities not just in the country, but i believe in the world. even if you don’t have a trip planned YET, I hope you read our blog for history lessons, additional tips and tricks, a peek into our cultures and traditions, a little bit of longing during our parades and festivals, and when you’re finally ready to make your way to the Big Easy, you keep us in mind.

With all my love,

Moira