If you’re visiting the Caribbean this fall, you’re not likely to run across any jack-o-lanterns and trick or treating kids, since Halloween isn’t celebrated here. But ghosts, evil spirits and monsters? That’s another (ghost) story.
Unhappily ever after
Many a Caribbean isle is home to restless spirits like that haunting the Eden Brown Estate on the eastern side of Nevis. Don’t bother looking for a tour guide, or even a sign welcoming you to the quiet ruins of the estate, slowly being reclaimed by creeping rainforest vines. Stories tell of a tragic 1822 wedding day when both the groom and his best man were mortally injured—dueling with each other. Some say the best man was having an affair with the bride; others say he was a brother, challenging his sister’s cheating groom. Either way, the bride-to-be, a one Miss Julia Huggins, never recovered from the shock. She became a recluse, haunting the halls of the estate both while she lived and after her death. Is that the wind, or the sound of the forlorn Miss Huggins wailing with grief?
Barbados boasts the terrifying story of the Chase family vault. First built by the Honorable James Elliot, this majestic crypt in Christ Church had walls two-foot thick and a slab of blue marble sealing the entrance. Elliot’s wife became the tomb’s first resident in 1792. But when the vault was opened to inter another body, her coffin was gone. In 1808 and in 1812, the two young daughters of Thomas Chase—the now-owner of the vault—were laid to rest inside. By all accounts, Chase was a cruel man, so it’s likely there were very few tears when his death came (possibly by his own hand) only a month after his second daughter’s. The marble was pried away only to reveal the children’s lead coffins apparently thrown around in disarray. The grisly scene was repeated twice more before the family finally emptied the crypt in 1820.
Jamaican spirits (and we’re not only talking about rum)
Jamaican folklore is filled with tales of restless spirits called duppies. Deceased family or friends may appear in a dream as a benevolent duppy offering advice or information. But malevolent duppies like Rolling Calf and Old Higue are another story altogether. The Rolling Calf is a huge, cow-like creature who chases nighttime travelers with blazing eyes of red fire, while the witchy Old Hige sheds her skin to transform into an owl, occasionally stopping to suck out the breath of her sleeping victims.
Take heart, travelers, as it is easy to scare away a duppy by heading to a crossroads, wearing your clothes inside out, or distracting them by dropping a handful of things for them to count (as many West Indian spirits tend toward OCD). They despise salt, as well as white overproof rum. Jamaicans often sprinkle white overproof rum on the foundation of a new house or a baby’s forehead to protect from evil spirits. But be careful; at 65% alcohol, you’ll be seeing spirits of a different kind after a shot or two.
Biembiens and Chupacabras
And finally, there are monsters. In Dominican Republic’s Bahoruco region, local legends beginning in the 1700s tell of slaves who fled their Spanish masters to hide in the mountains. Isolated from civilization, they became biembiens, terrifying half-human creatures that emerge only night. If you’re staying in Punta Cana, you’re probably safe, as Bahoruco is several hundred miles away.
Lest you think these types of legends went extinct with the dodo and the passenger pigeon, turn your attention across the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico, where the legend of the chupacabra arose only 20 years ago. Livestock and domesticated animals throughout the island were being killed—always at night and always in strange ways—with no explanation. Frightened witnesses who’ve seen these blood-sucking monsters describe three- or four-foot-tall reptile-like beings with sharp spines down their backs, nausea-inducing glowing red eyes and a lingering sulfuric stench.
Assuming we haven’t terrified you into staying home, where are some of your favorite haunted spots to visit?
