Investigating Rose Hall, Jamaica Part One
The legends and haunting of Rose Hall in Jamaica is known world-wide. Its reputation as an active haunted location has been documented and showcased by several prominent teams of ghost investigators and individuals researching the paranormal. Rose Hall has come to be known as the most evil, the most haunted and the most scariest place on earth.
I was about to investigate and come face-to-face with The White Witch of Rose Hall. My investigation and research will, no doubt, shock some of the readers.
The Legend of Rose Hall and The White Witch
The Legends and Hauntings of Rose Hall surround one Annie Palmer, matriarch of Rose Hall and the surrounding sugar plantation.
In the 1700s, a woman's route to wealth and power was usually via marriage, and Annie Palmer was no exception. Born in France, Annie was a petite woman (barely 4 feet tall, it is said) who moved to the beautiful island of Jamaica to be the wife of a powerful man who owned Rose Hall and thousands of acres of sugar plantation. Little is known of her early days at Rose Hall but it is said she visited Haiti before arriving in Jamaica and studied Voodoo. We do not know if she came to the island already imbued with a streak of cruelty, or if she cultivated it under the demands of her husband and her duties as the mistress of The Great House. It is said that she pined greatly for the bright lights of Paris, and found life on the island to be a hardship.
Whatever the cause, Annie was feared by the slaves who lived on and worked the plantation. She ruled with an iron fist, and defiance, or even perceived insolence, was answered with public whippings, torture in the dungeon, or even death. Annie started her day by stepping to the small bedroom balcony and issuing the orders of the day to the assembled slaves in the yard. Her orders often included punishments and executions.
Perhaps out of boredom, or sheer wantonness, Annie started taking slaves to her bed. When the Mistress of the House lavished her attentions on a slave, that man's days were numbered. When Annie tired of her lover, she would murder him and have him buried in an unmarked grave. We know little of her first husband, John Palmer, except to say that she murdered him in his bed as well. Perhaps he caught her in the act, or maybe she just tired of him too.
These were rather lawless times, and the sudden death of the master of the estate seemed not to cause any investigation. Regardless, Annie cultivated the image of being a tough and merciless mistress, at least in part to keep her from appearing to be easy prey. These were difficult times to be a woman, particularly a rich widow in a country frequented by pirates and the like. Annie found another way to remain independent and in control – she practised Black Magic.
Many of the slaves were practitioners of the art, and in order to curry favour and live longer, they taught Annie everything they knew about magic, particularly Voodoo. This was to include human sacrifice, particularly of infants, whose bones she used in practising the black magic. Soon Annie was known far and wide as "The White Witch of Jamaica". Her reputation for ruthlessness and magic powers served to keep her safe from those who would normally consider her a target. Even so, Annie found time and reason to marry two more husbands, which she eventually dispatched in a similar manner, acquiring their wealth in the process. One has to assume they were foreigners, unacquainted with Annie's reputation on the island.
Annie's Overseer was a slave known to be quite a powerful Voodoo practitioner, a fact he managed to conceal from Annie, at risk to his own life. The Overseer had a daughter who was engaged to marry another handsome young slave on the plantation. Unfortunately, Annie's lustful eye fell upon the young man, and he was soon called upon to pleasure the mistress of the house. The Overseer knew what to expect, and began to make preparations to protect the young man from Annie's "disposable lover" policy.
However, Annie did not follow her usual pattern, and she killed the young man that same night, instead of playing with him for a week or so. Perhaps he objected to her attentions and declared his love for another. Whatever the reason, the young man was dead, the Overseer's daughter grief-stricken, and the Overseer was filled with helpless rage. Annie must die, at all costs.
A special grave was prepared in the woods, within sight of the Great House, using Voodoo ritual and markings. The Overseer then entered the house, confronting the White Witch, and engaged her in magical and physical battle. He succeeded in killing her, sacrificing his own life in the process. Slaves who were privy to the Overseer's plan entombed the body of the White Witch in the specially prepared grave... a grave designed to keep her from rising and walking the plantation again. But they failed to complete the ritual properly, and the White Witch is said to roam the Great House to this day.
That is the Legend. That is the story told.
Media Attention & Previous Ghost Hunts at Rose Hall
With such a rich heritage and such a dramatic legend it is no doubt that authors, musicians, radio personalities and television shows gained interest in Rose Hall and the said hauntings.
In recent times, Ghost Hunters International filmed an episode of their popular program at Rose Hall. Below are the full episodes for your entertainment.
And previous to GHI, Linda Blair's Scariest Places on Earth, featured Rose Hall. Once again, the episode appears below for your entertainment.
My Investigation Begins
With such media exposure I was tainted and knew the story of Rose Hall and the Legends of the Great House. I was excited and ready to begin when I was told I was not allowed to do an overnight investigation, but was welcome to participate in a daytime or evening investigation. I was told that many of the previous paranormal encounters took place in the afternoon and that I was sure to get evidence and to be prepared.
My investigation began outside, in a peaceful garden area. I moved slowly towards what the caretakers called The Dungeon of the Great House. Historically, I called The Dungeon a previous Root Cellar and now a modern gift store. I was told that people feared the location, smelled blood and felt the horrible crimes of the White Witch. I felt nothing and continued to the first floor.
Rose Hall is a spectacular piece of heritage and the curators have created a fantastic and accurate portrayal of what the Great House used to look like. The US investor spent $1.5 Million to repair and restore the Great House. There is no doubt it was a wise investment - individuals are charged $22 each to take a self-guided tour and it is one of Jamaica's top visited tourist sites.
"The Dungeon" held books, collectibles and trinkets for the tourists. The sad part is, average Jamaicans would not be allowed to visit the site, nor be able to afford any of the gift shop's offerings.
I sat on the first floor alone for several moments and decided to move on.
Several of the bedrooms were mentioned as having ghosts – the murdered souls of Annie's husbands. Each bedroom, I waited, recorded, and investigated. And again, my senses told me nothing. My equipment revealed that I was completely alone.
I was beginning to feel a great deal of disappointment and decided to call out for Annie out loud - to ask her to reveal herself to me...and to my surprise I met her.
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