Rose Hall: Great House Of Horrors
As we turn off the main A1 and climb the driveway towards the grand house, we only have a small inkling of the lessons in history we are about to receive. But before we start on the startling and dramatic story of Rose Hall, a brief partial history of Jamaica is necessary.
The earliest known inhabitants of this island were the Taino from South America who arrived on these shores in the 8th century. By the time Columbus arrived, first in 1494 and more significantly in 1502, it is estimated that the Taino population had reached around 100,000.
It was the Spanish who first started importing African slaves, yet they never completely exploited Jamaica as there was a greater attraction in the riches of South America. In came the British, first ousting the Spanish by allying with lawless pirates to ensure victory – the Spanish finally fled via what is still called Runaway Bay – and later by realising the value of sugar plantations.
With the Taino population having dwindled under Spanish rule, labour was needed, so in were brought an estimated 600,000 African slaves, most of whom were “bought” by trading manufactured goods from Britain. Something like 1 in 5 died on the way here, the rest subjected to inhumane, brutal treatment on the plantations, where they were “owned” by plantation bosses.
Slaves were traded like commodities, their lives were expendable, their welfare irrelevant. The brutality and oppression suffered by the slaves is unimaginable, as is the callous manner in which it was dished out by those in power, seeking riches. No wonder Jamaica celebrates its heroes. People blessed with the courage to fight and overturn such outrages are heroes in every sense of the word.
Even the identity of slaves was stolen as they were forced to abandon their original African names and adopt the name of their “owner” – one reason why so many Caribbeans have English surnames to this day. Samuel Sharpe himself, martyred rebellion leader on the road to emancipation, bore the name of his “owner”, a different – white – Samuel Sharpe.
Sugar brought great riches to the planters and grand homes began to appear as a mark of power and authority on each plantation. It didn’t take long for the British to realise that construction of castles was inappropriate in the Caribbean climate, and so Jamaica began to sprout the “great houses”, the ostentatious homes of the wealthy plantation owners.
All of this brings us to Rose Hall, one of the few remaining, though heavily restored, great houses. Begun in 1750 by one George Ash and named after his wife Rose, construction was finally completed by Rose’s fourth husband, John Palmer, in 1780, as a so-called calendar house….365 windows, 52 doors and 12 bedrooms. After John and Rose’s death, ownership of the estate passed to a nephew’s wife, Annie Palmer.
Annie was allegedly an evil white witch possessing extreme powers of voodoo. At Rose Hall, she brutally murdered three husbands, each one after a shorter marriage than the previous, as well as slaying an unspecified number of lovers. With an insatiable thirst for violence and brutality, Annie herself then fell victim to one of those lovers in a murderous rage.
This woman’s propensity to evil did not begin or end with murder by her own hand. She would order the execution, by beheading, of slaves, purely for her own entertainment – she would gleefully watch their execution from her balcony. Any slave guilty of “transgression”, for instance being a few minutes late in emptying her commode, would be punished either by beheading or by being dropped into the dungeon and left to die by starvation. Apparently she liked to hear their screams of despair from beneath the house. Nice lady huh.
Annie imported bear traps to Jamaica, not to catch wild beasts but to ensnare any of the 2,000 slaves on the estate should they make a run for freedom. She finally met a gruesome end herself, murdered and buried in the grounds by her long time lover and murderous accomplice. What stories the walls of this grand house could tell.
There are several postscripts to this sinister history. Firstly, when the uprising came, nearly all of the great houses of the plantation owners across Jamaica were razed to the ground, but such was the fear of the ghost of Annie Palmer, nobody had the courage to light the flame under Rose Hall, which instead fell slowly into disrepair until a wealthy American, John Rollins, set about restoring the place in the 1960s and making it the great house it now is once again.
Secondly, when the builders moved in during renovation, they found that the stains on the bedroom wall were splashes of blood. Such was the brutality of one husband’s murder that the evidence was still there over a century later.
After Annie’s death, the next owners witnessed their maid plunge to her death from Annie’s balcony, seemingly pushed from behind by some unseen force. They sold up and moved out.
And last but not least, now that the sumptuous house is open to visitors, there have been numerous examples of a mysterious female figure appearing in photographs – a white apparition reflected in a mirror, a face at a window, a dark image on a stairway. Visitors have felt a presence when alone in a room, workers have heard cries from behind locked doors.
In recent times, skeletal remains positively identified as those of Annie Palmer have been exhumed and re-buried just outside the house in an attempt to reconcile Annie’s remains with her soul. But maybe the restless soul still walks this sinister property.
Modern day research into this tale of horror has established that Annie was an orphan brought up in a witchcraft influenced environment, but by the same token has established that Annie spent a lifetime eating her meals off lead plates. Was lead poisoning in some way responsible for her state of mind?
Last word, perhaps, goes to, of all people, Johnny Cash. Cash lived for many years in Cinnamon Hill, a house just above Rose Hall on adjoining land, and became close friends with the Rollins family during restoration. In true Johnny Cash style, he penned “The Ballad Of Annie Palmer”, telling just a little of this terrible sordid tale.
We’ve studied our photographs carefully. Not a ghostly figure anywhere. But that’s not to say that Annie isn’t there, lurking in the shadows, just waiting for her next deadly opportunity…
36 Comments
MrsWayfarer
If the walls could talk indeed! Thank you for sharing the history of this house. I imagine I’d be scared to check it out.
Heyjude
I think this house should definitely been razed to the ground.
Phil & Michaela
Yes indeed – although it has been restored beautifully despite its history
Monkey's Tale
Great ghost story, I should have read this one at night!! I wouldn’t often say this but sounds like she got what she deserved in the end. What an evil woman. Maggie
Phil & Michaela
She did indeed, what a witch!
Mike and Kellye Hefner
How horrifyingly interesting! I don’t know why I haven’t heard of Rose Hall before now, but I’m so glad you guys posted about its history. The photos show it to be a beautiful home, but the stories really bring it to life.
Phil & Michaela
Gruesome history!
mochatruffalo
I’d like to think that there’s always a medical explanation behind human behavior in sensational stories.
Andrew Petcher
As a historian, I wonder when we stop worrying about the past. Much made right now about 18th century slavery but no one has anything much to say these days about the Roman Empire (for example) built on slavery. Just saying.
Phil & Michaela
Well…as a travel blogger, I’m far more likely to write about the country I’m in than a difference piece of history from a difference era! I get your point though and yes there is a current narrative which is very one dimensional. In this post though I felt it was important to give historical context to the story, particularly as it seems to me that the trigger for Annie Palmer’s behaviour to move to the extreme, was the acquisition of wealth and power, set against a background where certain extreme behaviours had been normalised.
saraelena
Chills! I’ve been to places that have a similarly sordid past and I find that you can sometimes feel the thickness in the air. It’s uncanny actually. You don’t always have to see the ghost to know…
Phil & Michaela
Beautiful house, terrible history!
Andrew Petcher
Mine was just a general observation. We are in danger of radicalising the past.
grandmisadventures
oh spooky! Annie seems like pure evil that if after death people are still too afraid to set fire to the house of horrors. I’ll admit that I’m a wimp about supernatural things so this is somewhere that I would probably avoid. I don’t think I would sleep for months if I saw an apparition of such a wretched person as Annie.
Phil & Michaela
What a history that house has. But rest assured we were spook free on our visit!
Toonsarah
I’m no advocate for capital punishment but it’s hard to be sorry that Annie Palmer herself met a gruesome end. If any house is truly haunted this one must be for sure. A shame your photos didn’t provide any evidence. Did you feel the oppression of the past while visiting?
Phil & Michaela
I’d love to be able to say “yes”, but the truth is “no”. But I think we’re both probably a bit too matter-of-fact for it….neither of us would consider ourselves to be spiritual so we’re probably not going to be recipients of messages from beyond the grave!
Steven M Berger
Gosh I hope we can visit Jamaica sometime! It looks so fascinating in your posts.
Phil & Michaela
Know what, Steven…it’s not the most spectacular country ever, nor the most different…yet there’s a growing fascination here, which is mostly brought on by the passion and friendliness of the people. In summary we would say…..definitely worth a visit for seasoned travellers, but equally it wouldn’t suit everyone . Hope Annie is doing OK, so sorry to hear of her misfortune.
Toonsarah
Hello Steven – seeing your comment I realised I hadn’t seen any posts from you two for ages, and then seeing Phil’s reply i discovered Annie has suffered some sort of misfortune which I’d completely missed hearing about. I do hope she’s OK?
Phil & Michaela
Hi Sarah. Go back to our post headed “To The North Coast: Lime Tree to Port Antonio” and scroll down to Annie’s comments to find the unfortunate story…
Toonsarah
Will do – thanks
WanderingCanadians
It sounds like Annie got what she deserves, but even after death she still can’t seem to give it up. Talk about a place with a dark history.
Phil & Michaela
Yes, not half!
Alison
Wow what an entertaining story Phil, there is the making of a book right there. I wonder she hasn’t been written about before. What a glorious house though, although I would have felt chills walking through it.
Phil & Michaela
Thanks Ali, always love your comments xx
Alison
You’re welcome 😁
Lookoom
Great bedtime story!
leightontravels
I think one of your captions says its best: “Majestic building, terrible history”. Is it possible to visit the Cash house? Or is it privately owned?
Phil & Michaela
In private ownership I think
wetanddustyroads
Annie – such a pretty name … but oh my, she was one evil woman! I almost want to say, she got what she deserved …
Phil & Michaela
She certainly did
Dave Ply
Sex and violence. I’m surprised Hollywood hasn’t run with that story.
Phil & Michaela
Ha well we spotted several books but yes it’s the stuff if blockbusters!
Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers
The horror. Would make a good movie.
Phil & Michaela
It certainly would!