FOR an unbroken decade, the ‘Haunted Night Tour’ at the storied Rose Hall Great House in St James drew delightful shrieks from visitors and locals alike until the deadly novel coronavirus pandemic crashed the party last year, bringing the curtains down.

Now, however, the popular production, directed by top-notch director Douglas Prout, is about to revive its ghoulish fun that raked in big bucks and brought alive the story of the fabled Annie Palmer, the “White Witch of Rose Hall”.

More importantly, the return of Haunted Night Tour is another clear sign that the tourism industry is reopening after a year and half in the doldrums when the resorts looked like virtual ghost towns.

Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) President Clifton Reader said that, with the reopening of borders and resumption of flights to and from the island by many airlines, a large number of our hotels have reopened and now attractions are following suit.

“We are proceeding cautiously, taking care to observe the health and safety protocols established by the authorities, to help contain and reduce the spread of the virus here,” Reader told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

“We have been encouraged by the success of the resilient corridor and expect that by ensuring everyone — our teams and guests — adhere to health and safety guidelines, including testing negative for COVID-19, the wearing of masks, sanitising, etc, we will move closer to a full reopening of the sector.”

Prout, who is shortly to leave his Canadian haunt to reassemble the cast of 20 actors for the August 12 restart, also believes that the return of the Haunted Night Tour could be interpreted as “reason for cautious optimism that tourism is slowly creeping back after the near decimation occasioned by the [novel coronavirus] pandemic”.

“Other clearer indicators are there. Many of the larger all-inclusives are currently at 70 per cent occupancy, but the off-property excursions and attractions are not yet doing well because of the reluctance of most guests to leave the bubble of their resorts. It’s far from business as usual, but all is not lost,” said the multi-award -winning Prout.

With roots from Montego Bay, Prout emerged from Schools’ Drama Festival of Jamaica with a love for the dramatic arts that would serve him well in the years to come. After a few Shakespearean productions at Cornwall College, he went on to direct his first piece while pursuing tertiary education.

His career took a decisive turn when he met the late theatre guru Paul Methuen, “Mr Shakespeare” himself, who was to become a lifetime friend and mentor, and who first directed Prout as the juvenile lead in Errol Hill’s West Indian classic folk drama Man Better Man in 1976.

Prout, now a seasoned professional, has first-hand experience of most facets of modern theatre, radio and television, and has performed on most Jamaican stages, in Cayman, Canada, in numerous US cities, and in a number of venues across Britain. He has an impressive array of over 50 successful commercial productions under his belt.

Speaking of the haunted tour, he described it as “the only one of its kind in Jamaica! Deep South USA and maybe Cuba may boast haunted houses, but there is none like this that has its own legendary resident witch who actually lived in the house”.

Rose Hall Developments, owners of the Rose Hall Great House, said that on reopening, the tour would initially operate three nights per week, on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays, and only by reservations.

COVID-19 protocols will be adhered to at all times and the great house is fully compliant, the company said, noting that the cost for general admission is US$30 and the cost to registered contracted tour operators is US$20 per adult and US$12 per child.