There is a dark side to Key West that is intertwined with the island’s history, beneath its colorful streets and sunlight beauty. This article will lead you to the most haunted locations where the line separating the living from the dead appears to be getting thinner, from creepy whispers at the old fort to ghostly footsteps in the Hemingway House.
Come us as we unearth the ghost stories embedded in the history of the island, providing a window into the secrets that cling to Key West’s muggy atmosphere.
Get ready to be captivated by the stories of restless spirits that prowl these ancient haunts.
The Porter Mansion
Speaking of ghosts of medical professionals, there’s a stoic Victorian house with architectural motifs from New England, the Caribbean, and France located directly across the street from the Bull & Whistle. Dr. Joseph Yates Porter, the first public health officer in Florida who sought to control yellow fever, lived in this house.
It’s reported that Dr. Porter cherished his house dearly. According to legend, he died in the same chamber that he was born in! Even though he and his spouse passed away at a young age—in their early 30s—Dr. Porter continued to live in his cherished house.
Dr. Porter reportedly enjoys spending time at the bar and even compensates the bartenders with dimes from his collection of coins!
Marrero’s Guest Mansion
Located in the stunning 1890–1891 Victorian estate that was once owned by cigar billionaire Francisco Marrero, Marrero’s Guest estate offers boutique accommodations for guests visiting Key West.
With the added bonus of a lovely spirit guide, it’s a quaint, well decorated lodging. If, that is, she finds you attractive!
The ghost, believed to be Francisco’s wife Enriquetta Marrero, who was tragically forced to leave the house following her husband’s passing, enjoys keeping an eye on visitors.
If the visitors are liked, she will visit them, either by sitting close by as a reassuring presence or by exuding a strong lavender aroma. Enriquetta will fiercely swing the room’s chandelier at a guest whom she doesn’t like!
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The Key West Cemetery
Key West is known as “the island of bones,” and its ghost stories are closely associated with the area’s past as a slave trade, colonization, and maritime mishap.
According to legend, when conquistadors arrived in Key West in the eighteenth century, they discovered human bones all across the island.
Some people speculate that the bones are from intertribal combat among the indigenous inhabitants, while others believe that the same people buried their dead outside their homes, exposed to the elements, on the island. Over 100,000 souls were interred in the island’s cemetery starting in 1847, adding to its eerie past.
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Robert The Doll
This entry is more of a “what” than a “where”. Perhaps a more fair description would be “who,” rather than “whom.” A mysterious “young girl” is said to have donated a life-sized fabric-stuffed doll to four-year-old Robert “Gene” Otto in 1904.
Some local Key Westerners claim the doll was given as “retaliation for wrongdoing,” while others say it was a friendly gesture.
Some claim that the boy’s grandfather gave him the doll. That being said, Gene gave the doll his own name, “Robert,” and stored the toy in a separate room in the attic of the home he was raised in.
For many years, people who visited the house reported hearing laughter like children coming from the doll’s room and hearing erratic footsteps when nobody was upstairs.
Though many people write regretful fan letters to Robert the Doll since they allegedly encounter bad things after seeing him, it’s possible that Robert the Doll is still up to his paranormal antics.
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The Hemingway Home
Ernest Hemingway was a literary prodigy who met a sad death, and his landmark Key West home is a literal living legend.
disastrous incident after disastrous event dogged Ernest Hemingway’s final years (though, to be fair, some of it was his own doing). It is well known that Hemingway loved his home in Key West; yet, during a contentious divorce from Pauline Pfeiffer, his second wife, Hemingway lost access to his cherished southernmost retreat.
Hemingway sadly committed suicide in 1961 after two more marriages, but not before declaring to friends that he meant to make his Key West house his forever home in the hereafter.
In 1951, Pauline experienced an unfortunate event when she developed a brain aneurysm. There are rumors that Pauline and Ernest still haunt their house. Pauline’s ghost likes to sit on the top of the central staircase and watch Ernest write while smoking her favorite brand of cigarettes in the garden.
To Conclude
Therefore, if Key West’s allure draws you in, don’t be shocked if a glimpse into the past sends shivers down your spine.
These haunted places give an insight into the island’s fascinating and occasionally scary past, whether it’s a lighthearted spirit behind a lavender aroma or a restless soul longing for a lost love.
Just keep in mind that you might be enjoying a moment with one of Key West’s numerous lingering residents the next time you hear a disembodied footstep or smell an odd perfume.
