Front Steps of Duppy Church, Mile Gully Jamaica. Photo by Adam Cohn on Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

By and large, Jamaicans don’t really “get” Halloween. This seasonal event, popular in the United States and parts of Europe, has its origins in the Celtic tradition, marking the end of their year — the ancient feast of Samhain, which can be traced to the eighth century and even further back to ancient Roman times. Somewhere along the line, the custom merged into Christian beliefs with All Saints Day (November 1, also known as All Hallows’ Day) and All Souls Day (November 2).

Nevertheless, the Jamaican aversion to Halloween seems to be influenced not only by cultural differences — much like Valentine's Day, it is often regarded as yet another imported, commercialised “Americanism” — but by Christian beliefs in particular.

One Jamaican complained:

What does Halloween have to do with Jamaica? Unu foreign minded bad

— Aurelius (@noslickting) October 27, 2024

Fundamentalist church leaders and their followers, in particular, see Halloween as a “satanic” event, whereas priests like Father Sean Major Campbell has another view: “Trying to combat Halloween celebration is tantamount to imposing one’s religious beliefs on others. The Church should spend time advancing equal rights and justice for all.”

Younger Jamaicans have begun to latch on to the occasion as a fun event, however, with themed parties and costumes. Party promoters also see it as a way to make money; a recent event called “Scream” was reportedly a great success:

Anyways…cheers to another successful staging of the Region’s biggest Halloween Festival 🎃…

Vibes was unmatched… majority of the patrons in costumes? 🥹 https://t.co/CFg544zxDY pic.twitter.com/jzVRYmn095

— Jhevvv (@Jhevvvv) October 26, 2024

Be that as it may, Jamaican folklore is replete with stories of “duppies” (ghosts or spirits) and frightening monsters. Many of these have their roots not in the Christian tradition but in African retentions, including Obeah.

One of the most frightening characters is the Rolling Calf, which sometimes manifests as a shapeshifter, the spirit of an especially wicked person such as a murderer, or even a butcher. With flaming red eyes, he rolls (roams) around country roads at night, dragging a rattling chain, and is sometimes depicted as half-human, half-animal — usually a goat or a cow.

Many of these fearful figures in Jamaican legend have been commemorated via the arts and popular music. The Rolling Calf, for instance, is the subject of a poem by Louise Bennett-Coverley (Miss Lou), while other legendary duppies like the Blackheart Man, who travels across the island in search of victims’ hearts and was often used as a warning to children to be careful of strangers, was immortalised in a song by Bunny Wailer. Some suggest this predatory figure is still relevant — and still feared — today.

The storytelling contemporary artist Richard Nattoo, meanwhile, recently depicted the River Mumma character in a series of paintings:

She is a kind of mermaid who haunts a particular area around the Flat Bridge over Jamaica's Rio Cobre, and draws people down into the river's depths. The old bridge, built by enslaved Africans in the 18th century, has curiously been the site of many car crashes. The River Mumma is also the subject of a poem by Lorna Goodison.

One of the island's most well-known legends is that of Annie Palmer, the “White Witch of Rose Hall.” The house in Montego Bay where she allegedly did her wicked deeds has become one of the island’s largest tourist attractions. The story evolved from a popular twentieth-century novel, and the historical facts do not quite bear it out, but the somewhat lurid narrative has become a staple “duppy story,” reenacted almost daily for the tourists:

MORE NIGHTS!!!! Rose Hall Greathouse Haunted Night Tour is now offered 4 nights per week. Learn more about the White Witch of Rose Hall and how she reigned with terror during 18th century Jamaica. #Whitewitchawaits #idareyou #experiencethemagicatrosehall #montegobay #caribbean pic.twitter.com/L1RKdFgLUn

— Rose Hall Jamaica (@rosehalljamaica) April 22, 2022

So, while many reject the Halloween tradition, do Jamaicans still believe in duppies?
Not long ago, a dramatic incident made the local news: residents of Spanish Town were convinced that a duppy — or perhaps some type of poltergeist — was throwing stones at a house, allegedly instigated by the presence of an 11-year-old boy. In the same town, there was another story involving a tailor's shop and more stones being thrown, this time by its angry, deceased owner.

Other supernatural experiences are regularly reported, especially in the popular Jamaica Star tabloid. These often involve tales of shape-shifting, and duppies are even supposedly caught on video.

The story of the Duppy Church also sends chills down Jamaicans’ spines. The ruined St. George's Anglican Church stands in a thickly forested area of Mile Gully in the parish of Manchester; its congregation reportedly abandoned it because of hauntings. Many stories surround the church, and taxi drivers are afraid to stop there, especially at night. It is said that if you pass by the church at night, you can hear the organ playing:

Duppy Church near Mile Gully, Manchester, Jamaica. pic.twitter.com/DTqBQk7rNt

— Photo Jamaica (@PhoJa01) March 28, 2023

Whether Jamaicans believe in ghosts or not, there are more than enough stories to be told at Halloween.