Close

Member Login

Logging In
Invalid username or password.
Incorrect Login. Please try again.

Not a member? Register Now!

Signing up helps us keep offensive content off of our site. Take a moment to register or click here to learn more about our privacy policy

Ghost Stories: The Haunted Caribbean

In the spirit of the spooky season, check out these three haunted Caribbean island hangouts – if you dare.

by Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
El Convento Puerto Rico
Photo by: Reagan Johnson

Rose Hall Great House | Jamaica
Annie Palmer, murderous mistress of this sprawling estate just outside Montego Bay, earned her title as the White Witch of Rose Hall by dispatching her husbands and the slaves she took as lovers with equal cruelty – and a bit of black magic. But in 1831, when she was slain in her bed by one of her slaves, her reign of terror finally came to an end. Or did it? Legend has it that the slaves failed to complete the special ritual that would ensure her spirit remained forever entombed in her grave, and according to local lore, Annie’s malevolent specter still manifests today. Guests on the hourlong Great House tour report hearing whispers in the dungeon, tapping on the walls, the plaintive cries of the babies she killed and the sound of her footsteps hurrying across the ballroom floor.

Hotel el Convento | Puerto Rico
Inconsolable after the untimely death of her husband, Dona Ana de Lansos y Menendez de Valdez donated her San Juan house and land to the Catholic Church, requesting that a convent be built on the site. And when the Monastery of Our Lady Carmen of San Jose opened in 1651, the still-bereft Dona Ana became its first mother superior, presiding over a flock of Carmelite nuns. Three centuries later, the storied cloister was converted into a 58-room luxury hotel, which has since welcomed the likes of Rita Hayworth, George Hamilton and Jennifer Lopez. But locals report that it still entertains the spirits of Dona Ana and her nuns, who are said to walk the halls in silent prayer, the swishing sounds of their long robes an unmistakable signal of their otherworldly presence.

Eden Browne Estate | Nevis
What should have been a joyous occasion on this 18th-century sugar and cotton plantation just outside Charlestown turned tragic when, following a heated disagreement, the bridegroom and his best man killed each other in a duel the night before the wedding. The distraught bride, Julia Huggins (who was also the best man’s sister), never married and is said to have spent the rest of her life as a recluse on the estate. Centuries later, visitors to the plantation’s ruins report hearing her weeping and wailing amid the crumbling walls.

Your CommentTo comment please Log In or Register
All submitted comments are subject to the license terms set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use