HomeRose Hall Great House (Jamaica) & The white witch
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Rose Hall Great House (Jamaica) & The white witch
by tabooXchanz Sat 26 Jan 2008, 11:01 pm
THE BASIC STORY
Annie Palmer was not what you would call a sweet person,
even though she owned a vast sugar plantation in Jamaica.
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.
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 balcony
shown in the picture below, and issuing the orders of the day to the assembled
slaves in the yard. (This is the rear of the building.) 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...
Voodoo.
Many of the slaves were practitioners of the art, and
in order to curry favor 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 practicing 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. (See the photo
in My Visit).
THE HAUNTINGS
The spirit of Annie Palmer, the White Witch of Jamaica,
still haunts Rose Hall, along with a host of other spirits... presumably those
of her victims.
According to local legend, the White Witch still haunts
the house, and would seize any intruders. Furthermore, according to the whispered
stories, she could still be seen at night riding on Rose Hall and Ironshore
estates, wearing a green velvet dress, seated on a large black horse, and flaying
with her whip anyone who got in her way. Annie is also said to manifest most
frequently as a series of hurried foots steps heard walking through the main
hall to the back entrance of the Great House.
There are also stories of whispered voices
in the dungeon, invisible footsteps on the stairs, and tapping on the walls.
Some also claim to hear the cries of the babies she murdered, as well as old,
old music as if from a long ago ball. The 18th century ghosts seem to have developed
an affinity for electricity, delighting in turning lights on and off at random
times.
The Great Hall fell into ruin over the course
of 200 years, until it was purchased by a developer who built the Ritz-Carlton
hotel on the grounds, and devoted considerable personal expense in renovating
the old plantation house. Despite being abandoned all those years, the house
was virtually untouched by vandals. Tales of disappearances connected to the
old mansion, along with the strong belief in Voodoo and ghosts kept most would-be
troublemakers away... just like in the days when Annie Palmer ruled the estate.
As usual, with renovations comes ghostly
phenomena. Workmen reported tools being moved or hidden, only to reappear exactly
where they were originally left... or more mysteriously, deposited in a place
normally inaccessible. Some reported answering to someone calling their name,
only to find that they were alone or out of earshot of anyone else. Newly refinished
floors would become marred overnight, with what looked like old blood stains.
Soon, most of the workforce were from off-island.
Eventually, the place was completed and
furnished. Few of the items from the original house were recoverable, although
there were several miraculous exceptions, including a few paintings and one
old mirror. The mirror has come to play an important role in the Hauntings at
Rose Hall. (See below)
The Rose Hall Great House is now a museum.
Since it's opening, a large number of people who have photographed the rooms
and features of the old place have reported strange phenomena and images. Many
have written back to the museum and enclosed photos to prove what their cameras
recorded. A disproportionately large number of these photos include the mirror
shown above. The most common phenomena is the appearance of someone in the mirror...
someone not in the room when the photo was taken.
There are an equally large number of bogus
or easily debunked images that I can easily tell are reflections and other tricks
of the light. But the mirror issue is hard to explain. The images are displayed
there at the museum, right next to the the ones we can easily discount, yet
the mirror stands out as being truly eerie.
There is one more image that is even more
disturbing... a photo I personally took of the bedroom where Annie killed her
first husband. Follow the link to My Visit to
see the image of what I believe may be that of a malevolent spirit.
content from Scary Place
Annie Palmer was not what you would call a sweet person,
even though she owned a vast sugar plantation in Jamaica.
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.
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 balcony
shown in the picture below, and issuing the orders of the day to the assembled
slaves in the yard. (This is the rear of the building.) 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...
Voodoo.
Many of the slaves were practitioners of the art, and
in order to curry favor 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 practicing 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. (See the photo
in My Visit).
THE HAUNTINGS
The spirit of Annie Palmer, the White Witch of Jamaica,
still haunts Rose Hall, along with a host of other spirits... presumably those
of her victims.
According to local legend, the White Witch still haunts
the house, and would seize any intruders. Furthermore, according to the whispered
stories, she could still be seen at night riding on Rose Hall and Ironshore
estates, wearing a green velvet dress, seated on a large black horse, and flaying
with her whip anyone who got in her way. Annie is also said to manifest most
frequently as a series of hurried foots steps heard walking through the main
hall to the back entrance of the Great House.
There are also stories of whispered voices
in the dungeon, invisible footsteps on the stairs, and tapping on the walls.
Some also claim to hear the cries of the babies she murdered, as well as old,
old music as if from a long ago ball. The 18th century ghosts seem to have developed
an affinity for electricity, delighting in turning lights on and off at random
times.
The Great Hall fell into ruin over the course
of 200 years, until it was purchased by a developer who built the Ritz-Carlton
hotel on the grounds, and devoted considerable personal expense in renovating
the old plantation house. Despite being abandoned all those years, the house
was virtually untouched by vandals. Tales of disappearances connected to the
old mansion, along with the strong belief in Voodoo and ghosts kept most would-be
troublemakers away... just like in the days when Annie Palmer ruled the estate.
As usual, with renovations comes ghostly
phenomena. Workmen reported tools being moved or hidden, only to reappear exactly
where they were originally left... or more mysteriously, deposited in a place
normally inaccessible. Some reported answering to someone calling their name,
only to find that they were alone or out of earshot of anyone else. Newly refinished
floors would become marred overnight, with what looked like old blood stains.
Soon, most of the workforce were from off-island.
Eventually, the place was completed and
furnished. Few of the items from the original house were recoverable, although
there were several miraculous exceptions, including a few paintings and one
old mirror. The mirror has come to play an important role in the Hauntings at
Rose Hall. (See below)
The Rose Hall Great House is now a museum.
Since it's opening, a large number of people who have photographed the rooms
and features of the old place have reported strange phenomena and images. Many
have written back to the museum and enclosed photos to prove what their cameras
recorded. A disproportionately large number of these photos include the mirror
shown above. The most common phenomena is the appearance of someone in the mirror...
someone not in the room when the photo was taken.
There are an equally large number of bogus
or easily debunked images that I can easily tell are reflections and other tricks
of the light. But the mirror issue is hard to explain. The images are displayed
there at the museum, right next to the the ones we can easily discount, yet
the mirror stands out as being truly eerie.
There is one more image that is even more
disturbing... a photo I personally took of the bedroom where Annie killed her
first husband. Follow the link to My Visit to
see the image of what I believe may be that of a malevolent spirit.
content from Scary Place
tabooXchanz- Administrator
- Number of posts : 1063
Age : 36
Location : Saint Andrew (Jamaica)
Job : Student
Hobbies : singing, listening to music, computers, tech toys, AFI
Registration date : 2007-01-31 -
Re: Rose Hall Great House (Jamaica) & The white witch
by GEOvanne Thu 31 Jan 2008, 6:41 pm
cool, would make a really great movie
GEOvanne- Dragon
- Number of posts : 251
Age : 35
Location : my lair
Job : Burninator
Hobbies : burninating
Registration date : 2007-12-01
Re: Rose Hall Great House (Jamaica) & The white witch
by tabooXchanz Thu 31 Jan 2008, 6:57 pm
for real it would, but atleast it came number 2 on the world's most scariest places
tabooXchanz- Administrator
- Number of posts : 1063
Age : 36
Location : Saint Andrew (Jamaica)
Job : Student
Hobbies : singing, listening to music, computers, tech toys, AFI
Registration date : 2007-01-31 -
Re: Rose Hall Great House (Jamaica) & The white witch
by niqui Thu 31 Jan 2008, 7:25 pm
true that geo, maybe an ang-lee production....i'd definitely pay to see that...
niqui- Moderator
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Registration date : 2007-04-15
Re: Rose Hall Great House (Jamaica) & The white witch
by tabooXchanz Thu 31 Jan 2008, 7:33 pm
fo real or tim burton 
he is a real good director too
he is a real good director too
tabooXchanz- Administrator
- Number of posts : 1063
Age : 36
Location : Saint Andrew (Jamaica)
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Hobbies : singing, listening to music, computers, tech toys, AFI
Registration date : 2007-01-31 -
Re: Rose Hall Great House (Jamaica) & The white witch
by GEOvanne Tue 05 Feb 2008, 8:40 pm
and mabey they could put me as the witch doctor that killed her (and i summon a dragon to step on her)
GEOvanne- Dragon
- Number of posts : 251
Age : 35
Location : my lair
Job : Burninator
Hobbies : burninating
Registration date : 2007-12-01
Re: Rose Hall Great House (Jamaica) & The white witch
by tabooXchanz Fri 08 Feb 2008, 3:48 am
i swear they had a missing persons bulletin out that said Beware of Geovanne, bellvue escapee, has an obsession with all things dragon related,please be on the look out, may threaten to step on you
tabooXchanz- Administrator
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Age : 36
Location : Saint Andrew (Jamaica)
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Registration date : 2007-01-31 -
Re: Rose Hall Great House (Jamaica) & The white witch
by GEOvanne Fri 08 Feb 2008, 4:14 pm
oh, you saw that notice? i thought my dragon burned all of them
GEOvanne- Dragon
- Number of posts : 251
Age : 35
Location : my lair
Job : Burninator
Hobbies : burninating
Registration date : 2007-12-01
Re: Rose Hall Great House (Jamaica) & The white witch
by tabooXchanz Fri 08 Feb 2008, 10:29 pm
all i can do is laugh
tabooXchanz- Administrator
- Number of posts : 1063
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Registration date : 2007-01-31 -
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