Shipwreck Museum and Key West Cemetery
Ghosts of the Deep and the Restless: A Farewell to Haunted Key West
We’ve wandered through haunted saloons, shadowy lighthouses, and historic homes filled with more than just memories. And for our final stop in this Key West series, we’re heading straight into the heart of the island’s maritime past, and its most famous resting place for the dead.
The Shipwreck Museum: History with a Haunting
On the site of Asa Tift’s 19th‑century wrecking empire stands today’s Shipwreck Museum, a 65‑foot tower overlooking the Gulf. In the late 1800s, wreckers kept watch here for doomed ships caught on coral reefs, salvaging what they could and becoming legends (and millionaires) in the process. Treasures from wrecks as far back as the 1600s fill the museum, most notably artifacts from the Isaac Allerton, the richest shipwreck in Key West history.
But along with gold and silver came something else…ghost stories. Staff and visitors report shadows flitting between exhibits, phantom footsteps on the second floor, and cold chills in empty rooms. The museum is said to host at least 13 spirits, none more unsettling than a figure nicknamed Daddy Long Legs: a thin, skittering shadow seen crawling walls and ceilings in the basement, once used to store supplies… and bodies.
And the activity isn’t just old lore. On July 1, 2008, tragedy struck when a man ended his life atop the tower. Since then, every July 1, alarms inexplicably go off, officers have seen apparitions, and strange noises echo through the empty halls. On the 10th anniversary, lightning struck the tower itself. Some things here simply refuse to rest.
If you visit, you’ll also see a 64‑pound silver bar from the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas, a shipwreck tied to curses and countless lost lives. Guides warn: if you’re heading out on the water soon, maybe don’t touch it.
The Key West Cemetery: Bone Island’s Final Secrets
Just a short walk away lies Key West Cemetery, 19 acres of history where an estimated 100,000 souls rest—more than four times the island’s living population. Born out of tragedy after an 1846 hurricane swept away the original graveyard, the cemetery is a patchwork of ornate mausoleums, weatherworn markers, and unforgettable epitaphs (“I told you I was sick,” reads one).
Here you’ll find names tied to many stories we’ve explored: Walter C. Maloney, Joe Russell of Sloppy Joe’s, lighthouse keeper Barbara Mabrity, the Otto family of Robert the Doll, and even the unmarked grave of Elena Hoyos. It’s beautiful, eclectic… and haunted.
Visitors report a little girl’s voice inviting them to play, leading them to her grave. Others have encountered the stern spirit of a Bahamian woman, said to appear when people disrespect the grounds—perhaps a protector of the dead.
Key West’s Haunted Farewell
As we close this chapter of our Key West series, these two places feel like fitting bookends: the Shipwreck Museum, filled with stories of daring, disaster, and restless spirits from the sea… and the Key West Cemetery, where those who built this island’s story lie side by side, some still watching.
So, what do you think?
Will you climb the tower and risk a run‑in with Daddy Long Legs? Will you wander the rows of Bone Island and listen for voices on the breeze?
Whatever you choose, remember: in Key West, history is never just history. Sometimes, it walks beside you.
As for what’s next for us and our podcast? We are heading to our home states of Texas and Pennsylvania to see what ghostly tales we can dig up! Stay tuned!
