Of all the Caribbean folklore that exist, the ‘Jumbie’ must be dubbed the most notorious of them all.

While others may only exist on certain islands, there are those iconic legends that exist on every island.

The ‘Jumbie’ is just such a legend.

If you want to grab the attention of any Caribbean native, just utter the word ‘Jumbie’ in the same sentence with the word ‘see’ or ‘saw’ and watch the most uninterested Caribbean bystander pay keen attention to every word that is coming out of your mouth.

The ‘Jumbie’ is not one specific character; but rather, the ‘Jumbie is a word that describes a category of characters, a genre of Caribbean horror!

One of the first characteristics that stands out about the Caribbean’s history, legacies, legends, myths, customs or anything Caribbean-related, for that matter, is that our genetic fingerprints can be found in just about every corner of the globe. Prove me wrong!

As a result of our very traumatic past and present history, African descendants of the Caribbean region have had no choice but to find a way to adapt and survive the suppression, oppression, and persecution they were faced with on a constant daily basis.

So, instead of writing, which would be proof of being able to read, the African inhabitants of this region wrote nothing and spoke everything.

Every generation ensured to pass on, by word of mouth to the next generation, the intricate details of its lineage, heritage, inheritance, morals, values, customs, norms, suspicions, believes, and fears.

Another common trait found in the Caribbean region is the constant changing in the way one word may be spelled.

For example, the word ‘Jumbie’ is also spelled as ‘Jumbee’ or ‘Mendo’. Believe same category of terror, just spelt differently.

Essentially, a ‘Jumbie’ is a dead person who is not resting in their expensive coffin six feet under, a malevolent spirit.

Did you know that the word ‘Jumbie’ has connections with China, among many others? Well it does! In fact, on a more specific note, the word ‘Jumbie’ is connected to mythology from a complicated history and even more complicated ethnic background that includes African, Amerindian, East Indian, Dutch, English, and even Chinese mythology.

If we do take a moment to consider the painful history of African descendants globally, it is not that far-fetched to understand why there are so many ‘Jumbies’ roaming the Caribbean region, from island to island. There has been a ridiculous amount of bloodshed that did not just include murder, but also suicide; desperate acts of survival.

Caribbean folklore, just like every other aspect of this most endearing region, showcases a dynamic raw oral history.

‘Jumbie’ are known to be capable of just about everything: murder, possession, deformities, mental illness, physical abuse, and the list goes on and on.

Believe me, in the Caribbean, the list of ‘Jumbie’ stories is factually infinite.

Here’s the thing. I gather that when it comes to dead people, evil, murder, curses, possessions, and the like, one can’t help but conjure images of grotesquely disfigured, partly transparent, ghoulish, entities. Yep, we got those too!

However, in the Caribbean, we have a lot of drop-dead, gorgeous, endearing, seductress type of ‘Jumbies’. In fact, if you are naturally evil enough, we might just send you straight to the ‘Jumbie’ category, even though you have yet to actually die. Truly!

I remember listening to an elder Rastaman recall a memory of his childhood. In this memory, he would often disobey his mother’s set curfew; and was, once again, lingering by the riverside. This river’s banks were fringed, very closely, by a sugar cane field.

He recalled trying to catch as much ‘River fish’ as he could. ‘River Fish’ in Montserrat are gargantuous, my word, to what we know the average shrimp to be. This species looks like the cross between a lobster and a shrimp, with the softer exterior of the shrimp.

While busying himself rounding up the ‘River Fish’, he heard a very strange sound coming towards him from within the sugar cane field.

The way the sugar cane plant grows in a field is very compact. There is very little space or give to maneuver between the plants in a sugar cane field, much less without making a sound.

What was strange to him was the how fast, whatever it was, was actually moving towards him thought the congestion of the sugar cane plants in the field.

The sound of it approaching was not that of a crashing, thundering, violent sound of destruction, but more like a scurry; yet, the sugar cane plants seemed to be forced out of the way of a massive structure that appeared to be approaching him, yet completely invisible to the naked eye.

Understandably, his heart was raising in his chest; threatening, with no uncertainty, to burst directly through his chest plate.

He stood there, frozen by the banks of the river. Rivitted to that spot, he could only stare at the cane field in front of him. He had stopped what he was doing and turned to face his doom.

The sugar cane in the field were tall and with thick stalks of raw natural cane juice.

He could clearly see that something was making its way towards him in a hurry. The way the sugar cane trees buckled, then spread, making a gateway, it was clear something was causing this and coming directly his way!

Because of the almost not there scarring that accompanied this massive movement through the cane field, he glued his eyes to the lower quarter of the cane field, closest to the ground. This matched the sound he heard.

There he was, just one breath away from drawing his final breath. He knew it. He could see it and hear it; as confused as he may have been about what it was.

Then finally, there it was; right in front of him. The last row of sugar cane spread open, making way. There it was with bleeding molten lava from what may have been eye sockets. He just couldn’t tell.

The molten eyes appeared to be attached to nothing. They were just there!

He reminded me that he was not sure what it was exactly that he saw. But he does know what he saw.

He went on to inform me that there were many children during his childhood that went missing outright. He had valid reasons to believe he was about to die.

Anyhoo, keep your eyes on ‘The Lure’. There will be many spine-cramping characters in the ‘Jumbie’ category showcased right here.

You will not be disappointed!