Haunted Key West, Florida

Key West Florida

A Haunted Paradise

     I guess if I were  wealthy person who was looking for the ultimate retirement spot to move to, Key West, Florida would be the spot. For those of you not familiar with this paradise, Key West is a city and it’s the County seat of Monroe County. The city encompasses the island of Key West. It is the southern most city in the continental United States and just a short 90 miles from mainland Cuba.  There would be lots to do of course, maybe not as fast paced as most would like it, as those who call Key West home will tell you, they’ve got a slower and more special way of doing things there. And yes, it has had it’s share of hurricanes, but it’s survived  and so has the paranormal events which seem to exist everywhere on the Island!

     Located at 907 Whitehead Lane is the home of Ernest Hemingway - Now a museum, it’s believed that he still haunts this house among other locations. Visitors to the house have often claimed to have seen the great writer standing on the upper balcony as have neighbors who claim to see him wave at them from various windows of the house. Hemingway’s second wife is also said to haunt the house, her apparition being seen for a fleeting moment at the top of the staircase looking down. Visitors to the museum have also reported the sound of an old typewriter clicking away, the ghost of Hemingway working away on his new book perhaps?

     Another most notable of haunted locations in Key West is at 430 Duval Street. The historic Crowne Plaza La Concha Hotel is said to be haunted by a number of spirits, perhaps due to the high number of suicides and unfortunate accidents which have plagued the hotel. One of the suicides to occur at the hotel was that of an attorney who jumped from the top floor of the hotel in 1992. His ghost is regularly seen pacing back and forth on the top deck. Another ghost which has been reported is that of a young man who met his end tragically one New Year’s Eve. Working on the fifth floor of the hotel, he pushed the call button for the elevator. When the door opened he stepped backwards into the elevator with his cart filled with dishes. Unfortunately the elevator had stopped on the sixth floor and the young man fell to his death  There has been a number of guests who have reported hearing a horrific scream followed by a loud crash.

     In 2006, another suicide took place at the hotel in which a man downed a glass of chardonnay and then jumped to his death from the seventh floor. Since that time, guests have reported on a number of occasions, having their glass of wine ripped from their hands by the ghost. Other paranormal events have been reported within the hotel including guests being tapped on the shoulder while they’re shopping in the gift shop.

     Located on Eaton Street, across from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, stands Club Chameleon. And on the site where it stands a very horrible tragedy took place way back in 1832. Back then the site was occupied by a Baptist Church and one night the jealous minister of the Church caught his wife in the arms of the Churches Deacon. Filled with unbridled anger, he nailed shut the doors to the Church  and then set fire to it. Unknown to him at the time, the building was also occupied by 14 children  who were there practicing choir. All endured a horrible burning death.
     From that day forward, every seven years any new structure built on the proerty burns to the ground. There has been sightings of orbs throughout the property. Also there are reports that when the club is closed, if you walk by and tap on the window glass, you’ll be answered back by a ghostly tapping in return. Others have claimed that when they’ve held their hands against the window glass, they begin rather quickly to feel the glass getting hot! Still others have said that they’ve smelled burnt flesh when walking past or in the club.
   
     There are a number of other notably haunted locations in Key West, such as Key West Cemetary where it’s been reported by visitors of apparitions approaching them, especially the ghost of a woman from the Bahamas who materializes to the visitors who refuse to show respect towards the dead or who misbehaves within the cemetary gates. And then there’s Fort Zacary Taylor where there has been many reports of sitings such as soldiers lining up in formation, the sounds of gunfire and a number of cold spots have been said to exist in the downstairs area of the fort.
     But the number one spot to visit if you’re in Key West and looking for a good ghost story or three from it’s clients and employees both, would be Captain Tony’s Saloon at 428 Greene Street. This is the original location of Sloppy Joe’s bar. Founded on December 5, 1933, Sloppy Joe’s Bar was a favorite hangout for Hemingway and the notorious Habana Joe who was a rum runner in the days of prohibition. If any building needs to be haunted, then this place is it with a history of once serving as the city morgue and the multiple bodied grave that was discovered under the floor. Even more unusual is the hanging tree, which grows through the roof of the building and from which 75 people, some being pirates, here hung by their necks until dead.

     I would so like to retire down there with my kitties!
     Well, that’s it for today --- Thank’s for dropping by and checking us out. If you like what you see here, please follow us and you can subscribe as well...And as always, your comments are most welcome!
     Have a fantastic Sunday everyone!