Rose Hall Great House

Rose Hall Great House near Montego Bay is said to be haunted by Annie Palmer, the infamous White Witch of Rose Hall. According to legend, this diminutive woman murdered three husbands and practiced voodoo before meeting her own violent end. Her ghost is said to roam the property still.

The Legend

Annie Palmer arrived in Jamaica in the early 1800s and became mistress of Rose Hall through marriage. She allegedly murdered three husbands, using poison and magic. She took enslaved men as lovers, then killed them when she tired of them. She was said to practice the dark arts learned in Haiti.

Her Death

According to legend, Annie was strangled in her bed by an enslaved man whose lover she had killed. Her spirit refused to leave Rose Hall, and she was buried in a strange tomb designed to trap her spirit within.

The Haunting

Visitors report seeing a woman in a white riding habit walking the grounds. Screams are heard from the upper floors. Objects move without explanation. Visitors have been touched, pushed, and followed by an unseen presence.

The Tomb

Annie’s tomb is said to be situated in such a way as to prevent her spirit from escaping. Visitors who have disturbed the tomb or shown disrespect report particularly intense experiences.

Assessment

Rose Hall combines Caribbean plantation history with the powerful legend of the White Witch. Whether Annie Palmer was a real person or a composite of colonial fears, something at Rose Hall generates experiences that visitors find genuinely unsettling.