Writing — Travel & Photography Challenge
A Dispirited Visit to the Lopinot Plantation Featured on Ghost Hunters
Feeling emotional walking the grounds of one the most haunted places in Trinidad & Tobago
Please read with caution, as this story involves talk of the paranormal and true crime.
Before visiting the village of Lopinot and the Lopinot plantation, I did not know it had been featured on Ghost Hunters International — only found this out later after doing some nosing around on the internet.
I do wish I would have watched the show before going though… then again, maybe I’m glad I didn’t. The place was spooky enough. Have to say… one of the most haunted places I’ve ever been — which was verified by the Ghost Hunters themselves. Watching other episodes, I observed that they do not always find enough evidence to officially declare a place haunted, but in the case of Lopinot, they found plenty.
The horrifying story behind the haunting
Charles Joseph Count de Loppinot, aka The Count, was a French knight who founded a cocoa plantation high up in the northern mountains of Trinidad in 1804. The Count was admired for his military skills and served as a Brigadier-General in the Trinidad Militia under The British.
By all accounts, he was also a brutal and heartless slave master. Revealed in the show, when a slave was particularly troublesome, reportedly he would hang them from a cashew tree located nearby. He also fashioned his own prison onsite, not far from the main house.
Terrible what humans can do to other humans, with the justification that one race is superior to another. Truly despicable!
Hearing this reminded me of a story we’d heard months ago about runaway slaves: “The Statue of The Runaway Slave and a Rainforest Spring”. Was happy to hear that some managed to get away and hopefully live in peace!
Our visit
What seems most pronounced about visiting the Lopinot plantation is the sharp contrast between beauty and the unsettling spookiness that lingers in the air. The grounds are lovely, lush and green with large shady trees, colorful flowers and a picturesque creek that runs out back. But there is something else about the place that’s just downright… evil.
Remember, even though I’d read some things about Lopinot being haunted, I hadn’t really read up on it too much or seen the show yet, so all of this is experienced as is. All I really knew was this was listed as a historically significant place, and it wasn’t that long of a drive for us.
The drive itself was typical though of any trip up into the mountains. Winding, crowded and narrow. Watch the attached Ghost Hunters’ episode, which I’ve linked to below, for great details of just what the roads are like.
Even though my husband Andy is a rather large fellow, there’s one thing that frightens him beyond anything else… talk of ghosts and spirits. Can’t blame him. As a child in Trinidad, he’d heard plenty of stories of evil spirits, like the Soucouyant and Ladjablès.
Both of these spirits are well known in Caribbean folklore for their evil trickery… and both are female… what’s up with that?
We walked down a beautiful staircase lined with foliage and crossed an old wooden bridge over a small creek. And that’s when the adventure really began.
The house and the cemetery
When I walked near the cemetery… and near the house… Andy said he kept hearing voices. I wanted to explore the cemetery more, but he was so frightened I backed off and took photos from a distance. Same with the house.
The big structure in the back in the photos above is the tomb of Lopinot, and the rest are of his family members and friends. I don’t guess that any of the slaves were buried here. Sad thing to think about!
The attic of the house is said to be haunted by the ghost of Lopinot himself. Not sure why he hides out in the attic, but perhaps it has to do with angry slaves coming back for revenge.
Can’t hardly blame them. Talk about bad karma. And though I would never advocate for violence, he would certainly deserve it!
The prison
The first two photos below are of one of the buildings used in cocoa production, but the second two photos are of course the prison.
Notice how little ventilation there is. No windows at all in the front and only smallish windows in the back and side. Can’t exactly tell from the photos, but there are bars on the back windows. Considering the sweltering heat in Trinidad, it must have been like an oven in there.
How bleak it must have been to be locked inside!
The haunted cave
There’s also a cave further up in the mountains nearby that is said to be extremely haunted. They visit the cave in the Ghost Hunters show and there’s also an episode of We Outside, a local vlog: “Inside Lopinot Cave | Trinidad and Tobago”.
They actually go inside the cave and encounter bats and giant cockroaches! Brave!
Bamboo, the river and the importance of purging bad spirits
The entire time we explored the plantation and the town, we kept hearing all kinds of strange sounds. Not typical sounds at all. Growling and howling sounds and strange rustling in the trees that wasn’t just the wind.
We stopped by one of the little stores across the street for snacks and asked the lady working there what all those strange sounds were. She kinda shrugged.
Dogs maybe? She said this in the most unconvincing way possible.
Andy and I mentioned that we’d never heard any dogs that ever sounded like that, and the lady readily agreed!
There was also a wailing woman in a house nearby the store. I mean literally the whole time we were there she was preaching and yelling, but oddly enough she didn’t exactly seem threatening. The target of her aggression, rather, seemed to be the trees and plants in her own yard! It was just downright eerie.
As previously mentioned, Andy felt the presence of ghosts and evil spirits all around. I did too, but it wasn’t as strong. However, when I got home and was looking through the photos, a very strange thing happened. I kept thinking I saw the shadows of figures in the pictures. I would turn and look again only to see that nothing was there.
Andy kept mentioning the bamboo in a strange way while we were there, but it was only when we got home that he told me why. Evil spirits, like the afore mentioned Soucouyant, which has been seen around this very plantation, are said to capture men and keep them prisoner inside the bamboo.
Yikes!
After experiencing such things, it’s always wise to purge the bad spirits. People come to the Lopinot River to do just that — wash away evil spirits and cleanse the soul, according to my Trini husband. The river runs alongside the back of the plantation.
In the far background you can see people bathing. Others seem to be merely cooling themselves. Looking closely, you can see a blue bar of soap sitting on one of the rocks on the far left.
My husband frequently burns special incense designed to ward the house of bad spirits. We definitely had to burn one when getting home from our visit to Lopinot.
Here is the aforementioned video of the Ghost Hunters episode featuring Lopinot: “Ghost Hunters International S03E01 Rising From The Grave Trinidad — YouTube”.
Have to say, watching the show and actually having visited the location is a trip!
What are the most haunted places you’ve ever been?
Additional sources:
- Lopinot: Destination Trinidad and Tobago | Tours, Holidays, Vacations and Travel Guide (destinationtnt.com)
- The cottage industry: How Lopinot is turning culture to cash (newsday.co.tt)
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