Tourism:The White Witch of Rosehall
Annie Belts

De Lisser's novel, The White Witch of Rosehall, is sold at the tourist gift shop inside the Rosehall estate. The book, about the domineering, voodoo practicing, female owner of the Rosehall estate, is considered to be based on an oral tradition that was begun by slaves. The written transcript of the official guided tour at the Rosehall estate highlights the domineering character of Anee Palmer who is said to have whipped and brutalized her slaves in front of guests. As the guide leads the tourists through the house he/she stops at the rooms in which Anee is rumored to have killed her husbands. The tour ends in the room in which Anee is said to have died. The owner has attempted to refurbish the house exactly as it was in the past colonial days; he even has people dress up in old garments and pose for visitors. Supposedly, the elaborate story of Anee Palmer's life is further enhanced by the eerie discovery of Anee's body during the restoration of the estate. John Rollins, the current owner of Rosehall, claims to both have found Annee's body and believe that her soul is still locked inside the house.

The pamphlets and brochures for the estate advertise physical activities, ripe and plentiful fruits, luxurious accommodations, and "authentic Jamaica". A large view book entitled, Rose Hall, Jamaica Story of a People…a Legend…and a Legacy, illustrates the beauty of the large house as well as the people and land around it. After describing the general hard times of the Jamaican people, the book also describes a couple ways in which owner, John Rollins, helps the less advantaged Jamaicans. He claims that Rosehall is about giving back to the community, but this sentiment seems extremely disingenuous--the brochures for the plantation showcase facilities that no poor person could afford. The title of the book is misleading as well because it does not attempt to tell the real story of the people. The myth of Anee Palmer has transformed an old plantation house into a symbol of Jamaican history--a confusing occurrence as the plantation also symbolizes a more horrific historythat of slavery. The history of slavery on the Rosehall plantation is ignored by the view book, the tour guide, and the brochures. In fact, the view book devotes a large section of its pages to the beauty and styles of plantation houses without ever mentioning the labor that enabled them to be built in the first place. Similarly, the contemporary Rosehall estate continues to run on the labor and historical legend of a people who, still, fail to be adequately compensated.

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