Rose Hall Great House in Montego Bay, Jamaica. (Credit: jamaicagetawaytravels.com)
In the spirit of Halloween, USA Today recently shone a spectral spotlight on the Caribbean, focusing on some of the legendary myths and mysteries that have long puzzled locals and visitors alike.
The rest of the region hadn’t a ghost of a chance of competing with Jamaica in the publication’s roundup of “things that go bump in the night,” starting with the story of the infamous “White Witch” – and possibly the Caribbean’s first serial killer – Annie Palmer, who presided over Rose Hall Great House in Montego Bay, a Georgian mansion built in 1770.
According to the USA Today account, Palmer “was a ruthless mistress, practicing voodoo and torture, murdering her three husbands and then taking up with her slaves, who she would poison when she grew tired of them.”
“The Rose Hall Great House still stands and has gone through a full renovation, with tours being regularly held,” adds the account. “Even today, there are accounts of mysterious bloodstains appearing on the floors, whispers, footsteps and the wailings of distressed infants.
“Some claim to have seen a ghostly rider clad in green velvet, galloping across the grounds at night astride a black horse. Local scuttlebutt in Montego Bay claims that in decades no one has dared spend a full night alone in the house.
“Musical legend Johnny Cash was so impressed by the stories of the White Witch of Jamaica that he wrote a song about her, The Ballad of Annie Palmer.”
Still in Jamaica, the former pirate haven of Port Royal was once known as “The Wickedest City in Christendom” and many claimed it was divine retribution when the area was devastated by a massive earthquake in 1692.
According to USA Today: “Most ghost stories take place at night, when shadows add an element of confusion and mystery to sightings of apparitions. Not in Port Royal; locals believe ghosts of those killed in the earthquake still roam the earth, appearing on days when the sun is at its brightest.”
Read more at caribbean360.com
