Whispering trees of Skull Point

We both stood there staring at the giant tree, waiting for something to happen. Neither of us knew exactly what we expected to happen, but with the haunting silence and subtle, chilly wind, it seemed that if something was going to happen, it was not going to be good.

I was standing on a mound of dirt in a place known as Skull Point in Mile Gully, Manchester with Shaky, the goat farmer. Shaky was watching over his herd of plump, white and brown goats nearby when he saw me looking at the trees. That's when he came over.

"Everyting alright son?" he asked with a pleasant smile. Shaky was a thick fellow with short, greying hair and chubby cheeks. He was wearing a brown T-shirt and faded red trousers. I told him I was doing well and explained what I was doing in Skull Point.

You see, hours earlier I was finishing a drink of water inside a small, musty bar in Christiana when a conversation started up between a male customer and the female cashier.

"Dem bwoy deh seh when dem family come from farin dem ah go carry dem go ah Point go look pon di tree dem," the man said. The cashier's eyes widened. "Den dem nah go fraid?" she asked.

My ears perked up.

"Well, dem must know," was the man's only reply.

Later, I asked the cashier what trees the man was referring to and why she seemed so concerned that someone was planning to go look at them. Her eyes widened again.

"Yuh know Skull Point?" she asked. Indeed I did know the area. There's an old, abandoned church in Skull Point that is widely believed to be haunted. I went there myself a couple of years ago and found the place, not just the church but the entire area, as spooky as I had heard.

The cashier seemed pleased when I told her I knew the stories of the church.

"Well, di same way dem seh di church have duppy into it, is di same way dem seh di tree dem stay. Old time people used to seh duppy live ah tree bottom. Well, dem tree bottom deh have di wickidest duppy," she said.

I asked her if she had ever seen one herself. "Tree? Or duppy?" she asked. "Either," I replied.

"Well mi see di tree dem when di taxi ah drive dat way. Fi tell yuh di truth though, mi start lock mi eye anytime mi passing," she said.

"Dem seh yuh can hear di duppy ah whisper to dem one anedda ah nightime but mi couldn't tell yuh if dat is true, for mi nuh fool enough fi find myself near deh so when night draw," she said.

Shaky speaks

So it was that conversation inside that Christiana bar that led me to be standing next to Shaky, looking up at a tall, oddly shaped tree in an area mostly covered in bushes.

Shaky looked at me. "So is what dem really tell yuh about dis place?" he asked. I related the tale I heard in the bar and asked if he had ever heard it himself.

"No sah!" he answered sharply. "Den if mi did hear dat yuh tink mi woulda deh on yah?"

Many of the trees in Skull Point are in fact oddly shaped. I mean, I'm no tree expert, but they certainly don't look like most I've seen in Kingston. Shaky and I agreed to remain silent for a few seconds to check if we could hear anything sounding like a whisper. The trouble was, Shaky had the hiccups, so after every few seconds of silence he would interject.

"Hiccup! Sarry," he would say.

I suggested he hold his breath for a while to see if that would help cure his hiccups. He tried, I'll give him credit for that, but it only amounted to hiccups with a more muffled sound.

"Huccup! Saurry."

After a few minutes, though, Shaky managed to get himself together and we paused in silence for a moment to see if we would hear anything. All I heard, though, was the sound of the wind rustling some of the leaves. I turned to Shaky. "Maybe that's what people hear at night and think it's the duppies," I said.

Shaky looked concerned.

"Mi nuh know bra! But mi sarry yuh tell me bout dis now, for now mi haffi go carry di goat dem someweh else," he said.

I asked him why he would do that even after we conducted such in-depth investigations.

"Yuh can tan deh! Yuh ongle come yah fi a short while and den yuh gone. Yuh think mi ah go come down yah everyday and meck tree trunk duppy teck mi weh? Mi old, but mi nuh fool fool!"

Where should Robert go next? Let him know at robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com

Feedback

The following are some feedback letters received to last week's edition of Roving with Lalah.

Dear Robert,

I wouldn't trade Christiana for any other part of Jamaica.

- SWEETWHINE

Dear Robert,

I'm from Christiana and I have to say I enjoyed the post very much. Keep it up.

- Keston

Dear Robert,

I
now reside in the US but I am originally from Christiana. Oh how I love
and miss that place. Even when I moved to Kingston to attend high
school, all my holidays were spent in Christiana. Grand Market nights
are the best in Christiana. This story just brought me back right to my
yard in Christiana. Love it. Keep on writing great articles.

- Denden

Dear Robert,

I
always look forward to your stories. They usually bring back memories
of my experiences growing up in rural Jamaica in the late '60s and early
'70s. Keep up the very good work.

- MKENew Paltz, New York

Dear Robert,

Always a pleasure roving with Lalah. Been reading for years. Keep doing your thing.

- D. RobinsonUnited Kingdom

Dear Robert,

Love you and Jamaica! This story had me cracking up. God is so good and laughter is good for the soul.

- Judy

Dear Robert,

Living
here in the US, I am always looking for things to read or see on my
beautiful island. Roving with Lalah is a must for me to read.

I must commend you on your travels and PLEASE continue to write and give me the real deal.

- Devon

Dear Robert,

Jamaicans are the best. I love to read your articles. They always make me laugh. Keep up the good job and God bless you.

- Deltona

Florida

Dear Robert,

Very good job. I felt like you were in a battlefield between all that noise and indifference.

- Suechel30

Dear Robert,

The patois is so refreshing!

- Kennyp