Witch Queen of Death!

This photo was taken by Robert's business partner Pauline at Rose Hall in Montego Bay, the home of Annie Palmer the "White Witch of Jamaica". She was born to white parents in Haiti and after she was orphaned, her Haitian nanny brought her up. Her nanny was a voodoo and witchcraft practitioner and taught Annie all she knew. Annie then moved to Jamaica, marrying a rich white sugar plantation owner. She murdered him and two subsequent husbands. She had a number of lovers after that - all slaves on her plantation.

Eventually she was murdered by one of her lovers. She also had a nasty pastime of hanging slaves who'd displeased her in the back yard - for entertainment. After she died, the slaves burnt all of her things. All that remains of her belongings at Rose Hall are her mirror (in the photo), a bell-pull, a day bed and a chandelier. There is a painting that is said to portray her and some children (shown above). Spookily, her whole head (not just the eyes) seems to move and follow you as you walk through the room!

Apparently Annie's ghost still haunts the mansion. After being told that Annie's face sometimes appears in photos of the mirror Pauline and her husband Jiri both took photos of it. Nothing appeared in Jiri's photo, but the spooky outline of a face appeared in Pauline's. She assures me there was nothing opposite that could have caused the picture. Creepy!