White Witch of Rose Hall

The White Witch is the story of a haunting in Jamaica.

Contents

History

The story states that the White Witch was Annie Palmer, who was born in Haiti. She later moved to Jamaica, where she was married to John Palmer in 1820. As an adult, she reportedly stood 4'11".

John was the owner of Rose Hall Plantation, east of Montego Bay. Annie's husband (and two subsequent husbands as well) died suspiciously, and it is speculated that Annie herself brought about their demise. Annie became known as a mistress of voodoo, using it to terrorize the plantation, and taking male slaves into her bed at night and often murdering them.

She is also supposed to have dispatched her lovers allegedly because she was bored of them. Assuming this is true it would make Annie an extreme example of a clinical psychopath although the stories are speculation at best. The legend has her being murdered in her bed during the slave uprisings of the 1830s by one of her slave lovers.

Rose Hall is widely regarded to be a visually impressive house and the most famous of the Great Houses in Jamaica. It is a Georgian mansion with a stone base and a plastered upper story, high on the hillside, with a panorama view over the coast. Built in the 1770s, Rose Hall was restored in the 1960s to its former splendor, with mahogany floors, interior windows and doorways, paneling and wooden ceilings. It is decorated with silk wallpaper printed with palms and birds, ornamented with chandeliers and furnished with mostly European antiques. There is a bar downstairs and a restaurant. Presently, Rose Hall is a museum for tourists who wish to see where Annie Palmer ate, slept and also areas of the house where she is said to haunt. Possible areas where the murders took place, e.g. in her bedroom where she suffocated one of her lovers with a pillow. But the investigators of Ghost Hunters International did not find any paranormal clues.

Rose Hall is also known for holding seances to try and conjure her spirit and gain answers about the mysterious deaths of her husbands and fanciful legends of underground tunnels, bloodstains and hauntings that surround it. There is little evidence to support the legend other than a version written by H. G. de Lisser in his 1928 novel The White Witch of Rose Hall.

An investigation of the case in 2007 by Benjamin Radford showed the case to have been based on a fictional story.[1][2][3]

Ghost Adventures Crew

The Ghost Adventures Crew investigated here. That includes Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin and Nick Groff. They have found enough information to conclude that the evidence of haunting is inconclusive.

Refurbishment

Rose Hall was bought in 1977 by former Miss USA Michele Rollins and her entrepreneur husband John Rollins. They refurbished Rose Hall at great personal expense and conceptualised a tour that showcase Rose Hall's slave history, antique splendor and original fittings.

Tourists can tour the halls of Rose Hall as it is now a museum. It also has a night tour with re-enactments of the story line consistent with the published book.

References

  1. ^ Radford, Benjamin (September 2008), "The White Witch of Rose Hall", Fortean Times (239), ISSN 0308-5899 
  2. ^ Jim Stefko, "The White Witch of Rose Hall", Suite101.com (site blocked)
  3. ^ "Heeding (Or Ignoring) Skeptical Investigation". Center for Inquiry. 2011-10-22. http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/entry/heeding_or_ignoring_skeptical_investigation/. Retrieved 2011-11-14. 

External links