The phenomenon surrounds the apparent existence of an Indian female ghost who frequents the Guard Station. She is reportedly of nymphomaniac persuasion and comes to solicit sexual favours from the troops at regular intervals. The story is that she comes on to the troops during their rest period, mostly at nights, and attempts sexual overtures with them. Any resistance from the soldier would result in him being suffocated and strangled by the ghost. It is a frequent occurrence to see soldiers moving their beds out of the rest area to sleep under the stars, preferring to avoid the antagonism of the feisty female.

Though I have never experienced her advances myself, I must admit that I have seen soldiers fighting her off, but one wonders whether it was hallucination or pure conjecture on their part. Maybe, if the incidents were few and far apart it could be easily argued that the affected troops were just having bad dreams. But the frequency of their reports changes all that.

Just where did this story originate? I spoke with a number of old soldiers to get their perspective of the tale. There are many versions detailing her origin and continued existence. One story suggests that she was the fiancee of a soldier who got entangled with Sir Henry Morgan the notorious Buccaneer. The soldier was killed and she was taken as a concubine to Sir Henry. She committed suicide in a bid to escape the dreaded pirate. Now her ghost wanders in search of a soldier to be her companion but it seems none has been brave enough to take on the challenge.

"Sometimes it is like you are dreaming, but you wake up to find it is really true, so you try to escape but can’t move because she is holding you down. You try to shout but the voice doesn’t work. For a woman she is very strong", a corporal explained. He intimated that he would never want to encounter her ever again and he had no desire to perform guard duties at Port Royal again.

One soldier with more than 25 years of service, but who shall remain nameless, became almost hysterical when he was asked about his experience with the Indian. With eyes bulging and in a tone he gave a theatrical rendition of his encounter. "Man, me telling you she sit down on mi and hold mi down. I want to move and couldn’t, ah want to bawl out but no sound wouldn’t come no matter how much mi fight mi just couldn’t get away from her".

He explained that it was one of his fellow soldiers who saw his predicament and came to his assistance. Asked if his friend had seen the ghost, he said "No, but believe me, I see her plain as day. It was a slim dark ‘coolie’ woman’’. He said he spent the rest of the weekend duties outside of the Guardroom and has avoided the building on every subsequent occasion he has done duty there.

Another explanation suggests that she was a frequent visitor to the base at Port Royal where she would parade as a queen pleasuring the pirates, and that it was during one of those escapades that she was trapped and killed by the devastating earthquake which destroyed Port Royal in 1907. It is fabled that her spirit has been roaming the area ever since, trying to find a compassionate soul who would indulge with her and so enable her freedom.

(It is common belief that the ghost of one who dies an untimely and tragic death lingers at the scene of death until it is relieved by another who dies at the identical spot under similar circumstances.)

As stated earlier, the episodes are many and varied, but whatever the truth is, the mystery and phobia of the Indian ghost continues to exist.