Over two years ago I paid for a nightly tour around what is thought to be one of the Most Haunted places in the World – ROSE HALL.
Unfortunately, Rose Hall does not allow you to take footage or pictures within certain rooms around the location, therefore it did restrict me to how much I wanted to show you but its understandable, as those who run Rose Hall want you to come and visit the location for yourself.
Rose Hall is a Jamaican Georgian plantation house now run as a historic house museum. It is located in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Thought to be one of the country’s most impressive plantation great houses, it had fallen into ruins by the 1960s, but was then restored. The museum showcases the slave history of the estate and the legend of the White Witch of Rose Hall.
We decided to visit at night, which was a good choice, if you love spooky attractions, this is the tour to go on. As you enter each room, actors appear and jump out at you while they tell you the history of the house and of course the ghost stories that go along with it. I did get a glimpse of the The White Witch but unfortunately it was just a actor roaming around the corridors, well I hope it was haha.
THE WHITE WITCH LEGEND
Legend says, Annie Palmer (née Patterson), dubbed the White Witch of Rose Hall by the slaves, was a female plantation owner of the most vicious sort. Annie was born in England in 1802 to an English mother and Irish father. The family moved to Haiti when Annie was ten. Her parents died from yellow fever a year later and her nanny, a voodoo priestess, raised and nurtured her in the black arts. After her nanny’s death, Annie moved to Jamaica in search of a wealthy husband; she might have been 17 or 18 at the time. She met and cast a spell on the owner of Rose Hall Estate, John Palmer, to trap him in marriage.
The legend states that Annie killed her husband John as well as two more husbands that came after him. It is also said that Annie took several slave lovers in her husband’s absences.
The circumstances surrounding Annie Palmer’s death are shrouded in mystery and several theories exist to explain how she died. However, most accounts agree on the involvement of an enslaved man called Takoo, who is described to be one of Annie’s many lovers.
Haunted Grave on the Grounds
Accounts state that Annie’s body is buried in a tomb on the plantation. This tomb was allegedly sealed using a voodoo ritual in order to keep her spirit inside. However, this ritual was botched or incomplete and it is said that Annie’s spirit can be seen roaming the plantation either on her horse or on a balcony.
It must be noted that the legend of Annie Palmer is widely contested. Historians and Anthropologists alike have argued that the story’s content is completely false, and that the popularity of this fallacious legend began with the publishing of the novel, “The White Witch of Rosehall” by Herbert G. De Lisser. In his defence, De Lisser did point out that the story was fictitious.
Haunted Painting at Rose Hall
Allegedly the painting is of Annie Palmer when she was younger with her siblings, Annie is thought to be the girl dressed in red. Many have reported seeing the young girls eyes move in the painting as you walk past it and feelings of being watched are felt strongly in the area in which it hangs. I was drawn to the picture as soon as I entered the room. There was numerous other paintings hanging up but this particular one did seem to stand out. It did seem that where ever you stood within the room the girls eyes on the painting did seem to follow you even though I can not say I actually seen them move.