White Witch of Rose Hall Hoax

Now I love a good Ghost or Paranormal story as much as the rest. If not, this field would not have held me captive for over twenty years. What bothers me is when I find out that legend's are being reported as fact and seems to be indeed popular in today's world. That being said, lets talk a look at the White Witch of Rose Hall. The story of how a beautiful young girl became the most feared and ruthless women in the Caribbean all started with a novel! That's correct a book! The White Witch of Rose Hall, was written by Herbert G. De Lisser and was published in 1929. His story begins in 1831 as a bookkeeper named Robert Rutherford was in the Caribbean to lean the sugar trade. He arrived at Rose Hall shortly after John Palmer's passing, and was greeted by the lovely and now owner, Annie Palmer. Attraction sparks flew from both and soon he was both lover and was hired to help administer the plantation. Thereafter, he learned that Annie had moved with her Parent's to Haiti as a young girl and was taught the black arts. Her parents then died and she moved to Jamaica where she met and married John Palmer who passed mysteriously as Annie's two former husbands. Although Rutherford was enchanted with Annie, he also had an eye for his young housekeeper named, Millicent the daughter of Takoo the most feared voodoo priest on the island. Said Millicent warned Robert of Annie's mean streak and dreaded powers. He passed it off as no more than idle chat. Annie was soon to find out about the affair and places a curse on Millicent and she becomes deathly ill. Takoo and some slaves, fueled by fear and hate take their revenge and kill Annie in her bedroom, ridding the place of the evil one.

   Lets move on now to the legend of Rose Hall. It began as a sugar plantation by the name True Friendship by a man named, Henry Fanning. Fanning soon met and married Rosa Kelly, a local Pastor's daughter. Fanning passes six months later and Rosa marries twice more before her final marriage to John Palmer in 1767. John and Rosa built the hall between 1170 and 1780. John's grandnephew John Rose Palmer inherited the plantation and in 1820 met and married Annie May Patterson-later to become the White Witch of Rose Hall. When John passed, Annie was said to have left his body in the bed and even took other lovers to take her as she lay beside his dead body. Annie was said to leave both a trail of bodies and a legacy of perversion, and was feared by all. It was claimed that she loved to beat the help and even watched from her balcony as they were whipped without mercy. It's even said that when one displeased her, she chopped of the head and had it placed in a pole in the tropical heat as a reminder to the rest. It is told that the evil was so great that it "marked" the property with both sightings and cries for help. Keep in mind that Rose Hall is a Tourist spot on the island.

      What is the real story? Glad you asked! In a 1965 report by Geoffrey Yates, who was an Assistant Archivist at the Jamaica Archives, found his report published in the Sunday Gleaner, under the tittle, "Rose Hall, Death of A Legend" Annie Mary Patterson was born in 1802 in England and traveled to the Caribbean as a child. Here's where it gets good. Instead of learning the black arts in Haiti,  her childhood was normal ! Now it is true that she married John Palmer at the age of 18 but they were far from rich. By the time they married there was a great deal of debt and not opulence. John died seven-years later, several thousand pounds in debt and left Annie little or nothing. Now the rich plantation full of slaves as repeated today. She soon moved to another part of the island, never to marry again and passing in 1846 herself. Records show that when John passed he was buried as shown in the Saint James Parish Register, leaving the story of sex by his body a lie. There is not one single thread of evidence of her cruelty, her being murdered, or entombed on the property. The Daily Gleaner notes that, "Practically every statement made about the leading characters of Rose Hall is contrary to the evidence contained in the records at this time."(Gleaner 1966)

  While I am sure that much money has been made by the story, the evidence proves it just a story and nothing more. Perhaps it is something that parents told their children to keep them in line as the boogieman was told when I grew up. The thing that bothers me is it is still  being past on by some paranormal TV shows as the real deal! As of this post, I've never been to the island nor do I have any contacts there. This was done by record search and the desire to know the truth. The question we may never have the answer to is, was this the work of lazy research, or did someone get a free island Holiday in exchange for free promotion? I have no giant budget or staff behind me and I found this out?? It is time we get the facts straight or seek employment elsewhere. All this does is give the paranormal field a black eye to match the one it already has. Now I could have just swept it under the rug and let people go on believing it is haunted by the White Witch and many would, and will, believe talking heads on TV over the fact. The matter is I have to live with me, and I simply wish no part in a lie....High Strangeness indeed.....