Rose Hall, Montego Bay
Encyclopedia
Rose Hall is a Georgian mansion in Montego Bay
, Jamaica
. The most famous occupant of the house was Annie Palmer, the White Witch
.
with a stone base and a plastered upper storey, high on the hillside, with a panorama view over the coast. Built in the 1770s, Rose Hall was restored in the 1960s to its former splendor, with mahogany floors, interior windows and doorways, paneling and wooden ceilings. It is decorated with silk wallpaper printed with palms and birds, ornamented with chandeliers and furnished with mostly European antiques. There is a bar downstairs and a restaurant. Now, Rose Hall has been used as a museum for tourists who wish to see where Annie Palmer ate, slept and also areas of the house where she is said to haunt. Possibly areas where the murders took place e.g. in her bedroom, where she suffocated one of her lovers with a pillow.
Rose Hall is also known for holding séances to try and conjure her spirit and gain answers about the mysterious deaths of her husbands and fanciful legends of underground tunnels, bloodstains and hauntings that surround it. There is little evidence to support the legend other than a version of which was written by H. G. de Lisser in his 1928 novel The White Witch of Rose Hall.
Michele Rollins
and her entrepreneur husband John Rollins
. They refurbished Rose Hall at great personal expense and conceptualized a tour that showcase Rose Hall's slave history, antique splendor and original fittings.
The White Witch, Annie Palmer, was born in Haiti. She was adopted by her Haitian Nanny, who was known to practice voodoo, after her parents died of the yellow fever.
According to legend, she was a beautiful but spoiled young white woman who arrived on the island as the wife of the owner of Rose Hall Plantation, east of Montego Bay
in 1820. Annie's husband, and several husbands afterwards, all died suspiciously. Annie became known as a mistress of voodoo, using it to terrorize her slaves, and taking male slaves into her bed at night all of whom she subsequently murdered. It is also rumored that there was a love triangle between herself, her husband John and a slave named Millie.
She is also supposed to have dispatched three husbands allegedly because she was bored of them. Assuming this is true it would make Annie an extreme example of a clinical psychopath although the stories are speculation at best. The legend has her murdered in her bed during the slave uprisings of the 1830s
. It is also rumored that her last husband did out live her, possibly being the one that killed her, rather than her killing him.
Montego Bay
Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the fourth by population .It is a tourist destination with duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the beaches...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. The most famous occupant of the house was Annie Palmer, the White Witch
White Witch (of Rose Hall)
The White Witch is the story of a haunting in Jamaica.-History:The story states that the White Witch was Annie Palmer, who was born in Haiti. She later moved to Jamaica, where she was married to John Palmer in 1820. As an adult, she reportedly stood 4'11"....
.
Description
Rose Hall is widely regarded to be a visually impressive house and the most famous in Jamaica. It is a mansion in Jamaican Georgian styleJamaican Georgian architecture
Jamaican Georgian architecture is an architectural style that was popular in Jamaica between c1750 and c1850. It married the elegance of Georgian styling with functional features designed to weather Jamaica's tropical climate...
with a stone base and a plastered upper storey, high on the hillside, with a panorama view over the coast. Built in the 1770s, Rose Hall was restored in the 1960s to its former splendor, with mahogany floors, interior windows and doorways, paneling and wooden ceilings. It is decorated with silk wallpaper printed with palms and birds, ornamented with chandeliers and furnished with mostly European antiques. There is a bar downstairs and a restaurant. Now, Rose Hall has been used as a museum for tourists who wish to see where Annie Palmer ate, slept and also areas of the house where she is said to haunt. Possibly areas where the murders took place e.g. in her bedroom, where she suffocated one of her lovers with a pillow.
Rose Hall is also known for holding séances to try and conjure her spirit and gain answers about the mysterious deaths of her husbands and fanciful legends of underground tunnels, bloodstains and hauntings that surround it. There is little evidence to support the legend other than a version of which was written by H. G. de Lisser in his 1928 novel The White Witch of Rose Hall.
Refurbishment
Rose Hall was bought in 1965 by former Miss USAMiss USA
The Miss USA beauty contest has been held annually since 1952 to select the United States entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operates both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA...
Michele Rollins
Michele Rollins
Michele Rollins was a candidate for the Republican Party nomination for the United States House of Representatives election in 2010, in Delaware's At-large congressional district, a race she narrowly lost to Glen Urquhart...
and her entrepreneur husband John Rollins
John W. Rollins
John W. Rollins was an American businessman and politician from Greenville in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Republican Party, and served as the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware....
. They refurbished Rose Hall at great personal expense and conceptualized a tour that showcase Rose Hall's slave history, antique splendor and original fittings.
Annie Palmer, the White Witch
According to legend, she was a beautiful but spoiled young white woman who arrived on the island as the wife of the owner of Rose Hall Plantation, east of Montego Bay
Montego Bay
Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the fourth by population .It is a tourist destination with duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the beaches...
in 1820. Annie's husband, and several husbands afterwards, all died suspiciously. Annie became known as a mistress of voodoo, using it to terrorize her slaves, and taking male slaves into her bed at night all of whom she subsequently murdered. It is also rumored that there was a love triangle between herself, her husband John and a slave named Millie.
She is also supposed to have dispatched three husbands allegedly because she was bored of them. Assuming this is true it would make Annie an extreme example of a clinical psychopath although the stories are speculation at best. The legend has her murdered in her bed during the slave uprisings of the 1830s
Baptist War
The Baptist War, also known as the Christmas Uprising and the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt of 1831–32, was a 10-day rebellion that mobilized as many as 60,000 of Jamaica's 300,000 slave population...
. It is also rumored that her last husband did out live her, possibly being the one that killed her, rather than her killing him.