The White Witch is a legendary story of a

haunting The list of reportedly haunted locations throughout the world, that are locations said to be haunted by ghosts or other supernatural beings, including demons. Reports of haunted locations are part of ghostlore, which is a form of folklore. Ar ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. According to the

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

, the spirit of "Annie Palmer" haunts the grounds of

Rose Hall, Montego Bay Rose Hall is a Jamaican Georgian plantation house now run as a historic house museum. It is located in Montego Bay, Jamaica with a panoramic view of the coast. Thought to be one of the country's most impressive plantation great houses, it ha ...

Legend

Rose Hall view Jamaica Photo D Ramey Logan

According to the legend, the spirit of "Annie Palmer" haunts the grounds of Rose Hall Plantation near

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...

. The story states that she was born in Haiti to an English mother and Irish father and spent most of her life in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. When her parents died of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

, she was adopted by a nanny who taught her

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

and

voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

. She moved to Jamaica and married John Palmer, owner of Rose Hall Plantation. Annie murdered Palmer along with two subsequent husbands and numerous male plantation slaves, later being murdered herself by a slave named "Takoo". A song about the legend called "The Ballad of Annee Palmer" was recorded by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

. For many years Cash owned the nearby Cinnamon Hill Great House.

Investigations

Geoffrey S. Yates, Assistant Archivist at the Jamaica Archives in about 1965, claimed that the false story started with an account by Rev.

Hope Masterton Waddell Reverend Hope Masterton Waddell (14 November 1804 – 18 April 1895) was an Irish medical missionary in Jamaica and Calabar, Nigeria. The Hope Waddell Training Institution is named after him. Early life and training Waddell was born in Monagh ...

of the strangling of Mrs. Palmer at the adjacent Palmyra Estate in 1830, although the passage in Waddell's memoirs simply includes a footnote claiming: "The estate furnished scenes and characters for Dr. Moore's novel ''

Zeluco ''Zeluco'' is a 1789 novel in Scotland, novel by Scottish author John Moore (Scottish physician), John Moore that centers on the vicious deeds of the eponymous anti-hero, the evil Italian nobleman Zeluco. The novel's full title is ''Zeluco: Various ...

''. The cellars and spikes used by a lady owner there for the necks of her slaves I have seen, and also the bed on which she was found dead ''one morning'', having been strangled." However, Moore's novel has an anti-slavery theme, and the only scenes set in the Caribbean are located in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and feature none of the details claimed by Waddell. Waddell, himself an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, was also writing in the context of the

Baptist War The Baptist War, also known as the Sam Sharp Rebellion, the Christmas Rebellion, the Christmas Uprising and the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt of 1831–32, was an eleven-day rebellion that started on 25 December 1831 and involved up to 60,000 of th ...

, of which he was a first-hand witness. He stated that the Palmyra Estate was set on fire alongside the Kensington Estate, located further inland, as a signal for a general insurrection. The legend was elaborated by the journalist

John Castello John Anderson Castello (1802, British Guiana-1877, Jamaica) was a Guyanese child actor and journalist who established his reputation in Jamaica, whither he moved as a teenager. Following Master Betty, known as "the Young Roscius", Castello was cal ...

in 1868. Castello was the owner of the local ''

Falmouth Post The ''Falmouth Post'' was newspaper established in 1834 Falmouth, Trelawny Parish, Jamaica to promote the full freedom for the enslaved Africans who had been obliged to work unpaid as "Apprentices" by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. It was boug ...

'' when he published a small pamphlet ''Legend of Rose Hall'' and erroneously describes a memorial in St. James Church to "Anne Palmer". An investigation of the legend in 2007 by

Benjamin Radford Benjamin Radford (born October 2, 1970) is an American writer, investigator, and skeptic. He has authored, coauthored or contributed to over twenty books and written over a thousand articles and columns on a wide variety of topics including urba ...

concluded that the story was fictionalized and modelled on the title character in a famous Jamaican novel ''The White Witch of Rosehall'' by Herbert G. de Lisser, published in 1929. An Annie Palmer unrelated to Rose Hall did exist, and by all accounts had no tendencies toward sadism or lechery. ''Rough Guide To Jamaica'' author Polly Thomas writes that the name of Annie Palmer may have become confused with Rosa Palmer, the original mistress of Rose Hall, who did have four husbands but was said to be unwaveringly virtuous. None of Mrs. Rose Palmer's husbands died by murder or in any suspicious circumstances. The real Mrs. Annie Palmer (nee Paterson) was the Jamaican-born wife of the Custos of St. James, and daughter of Dr. Paterson, Custos of Hanover, and his wife. Neither of her two husbands died of murder, and she was not murdered. The Patersons were of Scottish descent, and close relatives of the ancient Paterson of Eccles family of Scotland.

Popular culture

Barry Reckord Barrington John Reckord (19 November 1926 – 20 December 2011), known as Barry Reckord, was a Jamaican playwright, one of the earliest Caribbean writers to make a contribution to theatre in Britain. His brother was the actor and director Lloyd ...

's 1975 play ''White Witch of Rose Hall'' is based on the legend. *The television series ''

Ghost Adventures ''Ghost Adventures'' is an American paranormal and reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2008, on the Travel Channel before moving to Discovery+ in 2021. An independent film of the same name originally aired on the Sci-Fi Chann ...

'' featured an episode at Rose Hall. *The 1993 novel '' Voyager'' by

Diana Gabaldon Diana J. Gabaldon (; born January 11, 1952) is an American author, known for the ''Outlander'' series of novels. Her books merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and science fiction/fantasy. ...

uses Rose Hall as a setting while the main characters are in Jamaica. *American rock band

Coven A coven () is a group or gathering of witches. The word "coven" (from Anglo-Norman ''covent, cuvent'', from Old French ''covent'', from Latin ''conventum'' = convention) remained largely unused in English until 1921 when Margaret Murray promote ...

included the song "The White Witch of Rose Hall" on their first album, ''

Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls ''Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls'' (also known as simply ''Witchcraft'') is the debut studio album by the American rock band Coven. Released in 1969, it was unusual in that it dealt with overtly occult and satanic themes. It was removed ...

'' (1969). *The 19th-season finale of ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

'' staged its final runway show at Rose Hall. *''

Scariest Places on Earth ''Scariest Places on Earth'' is an American paranormal reality television series that originally aired from October 23, 2000, to October 29, 2006, on Fox Family, and later ABC Family. The show was hosted by Linda Blair, with narration by Zelda Ru ...

'' featured Rose Hall in Season 2 Episode 3, "White Witch". *''

Ghost Brothers ''Ghost Brothers'' is an American television series about the paranormal that premiered on April 15, 2016 on Destination America, which is part of Discovery Communications. Produced by Pilgrim Media Group in association with Crybaby Media, the pro ...

'' featured Rose Hall in Season 2 Episode 5, "Rose Hall" *''

Ghost Hunters International ''Ghost Hunters International'' (abbreviated as ''GHI'') is a spin-off series of '' Ghost Hunters'' that aired on Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi). The series premiered on January 9, 2008, and ended on April 4, 2012. Like its parent series, ''GHI'' was ...

'' featured Rose Hall in season 2 episode 13 * ''

The Dead Files ''The Dead Files'' is an American paranormal television series that premiered September 23, 2011, on the Travel Channel. The program features physical medium Amy Allan and former NYPD homicide detective Steve DiSchiavi, who investigate allegedly ...

'' covered the legend in season 4, episode 1. Amy Allan, the show's lead investigator, claimed to encounter at least two female ghosts and identified them as Rosa and Annie Palmer. *The historical drama television series '' Outlander'' featured Rose Hall in Season 3, Episode 13. *

cEvin Key Kevin William Crompton (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as cEvin Key, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, producer, and composer. He is best known as a member of the industrial music group Skinny Puppy, which he co-founded in 1982 ...

Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial music group formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group is among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton ...

released a 2001 solo album entitled '' The Ghost Of Each Room'', which features the famous painting on the cover. *The 1973 album ''

Any Old Wind That Blows ''Any Old Wind That Blows'' is the 44th overall album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1973 (see 1973 in music). The album spawned three hits, most notably "Oney," which hit #2 on the country singles chart. ...

'' by

featured the song "The Ballad of Annie Palmer" which focused on the story of Annie Palmer.

References

External links

Description and photo of the house as a modern tourist site

"Annie Patterson: the 'white witch' of Rose Hall between reality and legend"
Random-Times.com, 5 July 2018.

{{National Heritage Sites in Jamaica Jamaican folklore Saint James Parish, Jamaica