Movie Monday: A Look at “Haunted History: Caribbean”

A few weeks back, either Bio or the History Channel (I forget which now) reran Haunted History: Caribbean. I DVRed it because I was curious if they would mention any haunts on Nassau, one of the ports of call on the Haunt Jaunts Halloween in the Bermuda Triangle Cruise.

Nope.

I had seen this documentary before. I knew they covered what’s become Jamaica’s favorite haunted mansion and ghost story: The White Witch of Rose Hall. However, it had been a while. I’d forgotten the two most haunted Caribbean islands they focused on were Jamaica and Puerto Rico.

I also hadn’t realized how many neat ghost stories they shared, such as:

1. The Devil’s Turret at Castillo de San Cristobal.This watchtower at a fort in Puerto Rico is where it is rumored guards on night duty disappeared and were never seen again once the sun rose. That’s why it got the reputation as being a portal to Hell.

   

2. Mermaids. Some Jamaicans believe mermaids reside in some of the waterfalls on their island. Not quite a ghost story, but an unusual one. It piqued my interest.
3. The Haunted Firefly Estate. Some have reported close encounters with pirate ghosts who haunt the Firefly Estate, what was Noel Coward’s mountaintop home in Jamaica. (Some will tell you he now haunts the place too.)
4. Lewis Hutchinson, the Jamaican Serial Killer. In the 1700s, Lewis Hutchinson, of Scottish descent, immigrated to Jamaica. He built Edinburgh Castle near St. Ann, Jamaica. This was the only inhabited spot for travelers to rest at on the way to and from St. Ann’s Bay. When people started disappearing along this route, it was eventually discovered that Hutchinson took great pleasure in shooting people just for fun. The castle is but ruins now, however, it is said his victims restless spirits still roam the land.

Even though Haunted History: Caribbean didn’t talk about Nassau at all, it was interesting to hear some of the other ghost stories from the region. I also discovered that there is a program devoted just to the Bermuda Triangle that I have not seen, but which I will have to check out: Decoding the Past – Mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle (History Channel).

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.