As we approach our one-year anniversary Squaring the Strange, the podcast I co-host with Pascual Romero and Celestia Ward, I wanted to review early episodes you may have missed!

Episode 4: The White Witch of Rose Hall

Listener question: poltergeists! This week, as the first part in a two-part series on Jamaican folklore, Ben and Pascual (mostly Ben) discuss the white witch of Rose Hall. Reputed to be one of the most haunted locations in the Caribbean, this mansion nestled high on a hill outside Montego Bay was once home to a white woman named Annie Palmer. Legends of her misdeeds range from husband-killing to demonic orgies to slave torture and curses. Ben traces the story backward, through local legends, a gothic bodice-ripping horror novel “based on true events,” and decades-old newspaper reports. We learn about the guiding principles and stumbling blocks involved in investigating a mystery like this “on location.” Ben weighs evidence (as well as nonevidence such as photo artifacts and testimonials from tourists, ghost hunters, and psychics), and we see how abolitionism helped amplify the story. Ben and Pascual mention the Patreon and tease next week’s episode, as well as the promise of some Jamaican goodies for a patron giveaway!

You can find more on me and my work with a search for “Benjamin Radford” (not “Ben Radford”) on Vimeo, and please check out my podcast Squaring the Strange!