First Encounter with a Duppy is the first in a series of children's books titled Memories of Poppy's Childhood in Rural Jamaica. It is the real story, as Vincent remembers it, of the occasion when he and his older sister encountered a duppy when they were sent on an errand by their mother. Vincent was 8 years old at the time and his sister was 12. Duppy is the Jamaican Patois word for ghost or spirit. It is of African origin and common in folklore throughout the Caribbean. Duppies are generally malicious and said to haunt people, mostly at dusk or nighttime, and many people attest to having seen them. A duppy can appear as a human form or an animal form. If it takes on a human form, it is usually of someone who is deceased.
