The Mad Doctor
A Series: Jamaican Legends, Superstitions, Myths and Monsters
Lewis Hutchinson is considered Jamaica’s first recorded serial killer. It is said he was quite prolific in his gruesome acts.
Born in Scotland in 1733, he arrived in Jamaica in the 1760’s as an estate manager. So he would have been in his late 20’s / early 30’s. Shortly after, a lot of ‘white’ people started to disappear.
In 1770, he constructed the stone structure now known as Edinbugh Castle on a hill in Pedro District, St. Ann.
It was loosely modeled after a similar structure in Scotland and had two circular towers at opposite corners from which he would shoot passersby and rob them of their valuables. According to an article in the Gleaner, he would invite guests into his house and after enjoying their company, brutally murder and dismember them and drink their blood.
I wonder if there was no record or evidence of these tendencies before he left Scotland for Jamaica?
He would make the enslaved Africans on his plantation discard of the remains by throwing them down one of two sinkholes on the property, known as ‘Hutchinson’s Hole’.
It seemed he didn’t act alone and had accomplices to some of his dreadful deeds.
From Wikipedia
“During the trial, slaves' stories revealed he did not act alone. Planter James Walker and Roger Maddix were sentenced to death for participating in the murder of farmer William Lickley and schoolmaster Timothy Cronin. Maddix's wife, Dorcas, Miss Susanna Cole and Miss Elizabeth Thomas allegedly watched schoolmaster Cronin's death by strangulation while pinioned in stocks. Cronin's watch and seal were found in Thomas' possession. Miss Thomas was found not guilty.”
Eventually he was caught, after shooting an English soldier by the name of Calendar. He attempted to flee to Old Harbour and board a ship, but was caught by the Royal Navy, commanded by Admiral Rodney. Betrayed by his bright red hair as he jumped overboard in a bid to escape.
On March 16, 1773, at the age of 40, he was hanged in Spanish Town Square.
Edinbugh castle is now in ruins, but of course, they say its haunted by the ghosts of all those he murdered so brutally. They say you can hear their screams from deep within the ‘Hutchinson Hole”.
A.I. has come through again, but even though I used the picture of the ruins as a source prompt, A.I. can’t seem to imagine a castle being smaller, so we have a massive rendering of the castle and an imagining of what the Mad Master or the Mad Doctor of Edinbugh Castle might have looked like.
