During the day, many people find Key West warm and vibrant, but at night, Key West ghost tours commence for visitors searching for a flare of a distinct adrenaline rush. When you walk through the Old Town’s winding, gloomy lanes, lined with wooden houses from the 19th century that still conceal the secrets of their past occupants, you will learn about their stories that have been all but forgotten.
You’ll understand why Key West is one of America’s top ten most haunted cities from these tragic and terrifying tales.
What Happens in Key West Ghost Tours?
Are you traveling to Florida and want to experience one of Key West’s top ghost tours? Key West has eerie landmarks and a chilling past that will leave you trembling in your boots. There is a ghost tour for everyone, regardless of whether you want theatrical tours, family-friendly tours, or wish to hop from pub to pub.
- Learn about Robert the Doll, a toy you should avoid playing with. Meanwhile, Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, and many other renowned people frequented Captain Tony’s Saloon, a legendary Key West institution for its spirits in more ways than one.
- Known as the Great Havana Hurricane, it struck in 1846. The hurricane, which had gusts of 200 mph, destroyed many of the island’s residences and businesses, including the lighthouse.
- Learn about the Key West Cemetery, a resting place for the dead. The Key West Cemetery is a cemetery that serves as the final resting place for almost 100,000 people, many of whom met horrible ends.
Several national chains do Key West ghost tours. Even while they may have the best of intentions, they typically misrepresent history, and only a small portion of your ticket money goes to the local economy. So, find local businesses that offer the best Key West ghost tours!
Discover hidden-gem beaches, explore the Florida Keys food scene, find the perfect accommodation, experience the Keys’ stunning waters, and much more.
The Haunted Walking Tours in Key West
In Key West, there are more than a dozen different ghost excursions. Choosing the finest Key West ghost tours can be difficult, so we’ve whittled the options down to the top 8. They are all run and owned by devoted locals.
Key West Ghost & Mysteries Tour
- Location: 429 Caroline St, Key West, FL 33040
- Website: keywestghostandmysteriestour.com
Whether you’re going on a tight budget or with kids, Key West Ghost & Mysteries is the greatest walking ghost tour in Key West. Active military personnel and children aged 6 to 12 receive discounted rates at Key West Ghost & Mysteries. Free for kids under the age of five.
The former residence of Robert the Doll is one of the spooky locations you’ll see on your 90-minute walking tour of Key West. On this tour, you’ll also view Ernest Hemingway’s Villa Antigua.
Each building you explore will reveal its sinister past. Some of the tales are quite terrifying and will give you the chills. The tour is well-planned, and the tour guides are warm and enthusiastic about their stories.
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, explore the realm of spirits on this entertaining Key West ghost tour for all ages as you visit some eerie, haunted locales. If you dare, grab your camera and join!
Ghosts & Gravestones Trolley
Frightseeing With Ghosts & Gravestones by HistoricTours
- Location: 501 Front St, Key West, FL 33040
- Website: ghostsandgravestones.com/key-west
If you don’t want to do much walking and want to get a wide picture of Key West’s haunting past, the ghost trolley is the best ghost tour in the city. The trolley tour is more dramatic than walking ghost tours and has costumed guides. The guides on this family-friendly tour (no children under the age of four) are disguised as grave diggers from the 17th century, and they will keep you interested the entire time.
You may visit some of the most haunted locations in the city on the Ghosts and Gravestones Tour of Key West. What makes this one of Key West’s top ghost tours? The ticket cost includes admission to the Key West Shipwreck Treasure Museum. As you go upstairs, you will find “Daddy Long Legs” and the cursed silver bar from a doomed shipwreck in 1656. You are then left to explore the interior on your own after being given a ghost meter.
Join Historic Tours of America’s Ghosts and Gravestones Tour of Key West and board the Trolley of the Doomed. Given that it lasts about 60 minutes, the trip is a fantastic option if you are pressed for time. See more places like the Hanging Tree and the Marrero Mansion.
Your Ghosts & Gravestones tour has all this and more waiting for you. With tales of tragic endings, unforgiven wrongs, and ghastly characters—some so bizarre it will be difficult to believe they are real—the Ghost Host will lend a dash of humor to Key West’s dark side.
The Original Key West Ghost Hunt
- Location: 301 Whitehead St, Key West, FL 33040
- Website: ghosthuntkeywest.com
The original walking ghost tour is still the finest way to learn about Key West’s eerie past in the Old Town area. The Original Key West Ghost Hunt is a little more expensive than other walking ghost tours, but you get what you pay for. You have exclusive access to the company’s two locations because they are home to a scary attraction.
They keep the groups small to prevent you from feeling like a number. Everyone gets their own ghost-hunting gear to test out as well. As you travel through the ghostly sites you see along the route, the tour brings you to The Studios of Key West and the First Flight restaurant.
Rum & Spirits Haunted Distillery Hunt
- Location: 201 Simonton St. Key West, FL 33040
- Website: papaspilar.com/pages/haunted-ghost-tour
If you prefer to drink and explore historic haunted places, this is your ideal ghost tour. The Rum & Spirits Haunted Distillery Hunt includes paranormal investigation tools, a Premium Tasting with three tastes of the acclaimed Papa’s Pilar Rum, a souvenir tasting glass, and a $5 gift coupon for a bottle purchase.
Learn about the fascinating past of the enormous brick building that operated as a storehouse and auction house for valuables recovered from ships that went down on the reef. You can organize your search for the specters of seafarers, pirates, and Florida’s first billionaire. Employ sophisticated ghost-hunting methods and paranormal detectors to help locate the numerous spirits in the distillery.
One of Key West’s oldest and spookiest buildings, the Hemingway Rum Co. Distillery, is housed here. It’s recommended to plan appropriately because this ghost tour is only available twice a week, and groups are only allowed to contain 10 persons.
Robert the Doll Experience
Robert the Doll – Haunted Doll in Key West by The Curious World
- Location: 3501 S Roosevelt Blvd, Key West, FL 33040
- Website: ghostkeywest.com
Visit the Fort East Martello Museum in the evening to spend time with America’s spooky doll. The museum, regarded as one of America’s most haunted locations, is home to many eerie dolls, including the notoriously haunted Robert the Doll. The tunnel of death, which is inaccessible during a typical museum visit, is also included in the ghost tour.
One of the best ghost tours in Key West is the Robert the Doll Experience VIP Ghost Tour at Fort East Martello because it offers such a singular experience. During the ghost hunt portion of the tour, participants and tour guides can communicate with the ghosts that are said to haunt the museum. Equipment for ghost hunting includes dowsing rods, REM pods, K-2 Meters, and more.
This trip is incredibly spooky and ideal for those who enjoy getting up close and personal with the supernatural. The journey ends with a stop at Robert the Doll, where you can communicate with him in spirit and, if you’re brave enough, even snap a picture with him.
The tour may become intense, making it inappropriate for anyone under 12. The nonprofit Key West Art & History Society benefits from each ticket sold. VIP passes are offered if you wish to explore the eerie fort alone at night.
Ghost City Tours
- Location: Key West, FL
- Website: ghostcitytours.com/key-west
Take Ghost City Tours’ The Dark Side of Key West Ghost Tour if you want to experience one of the top adult-only ghost tours in Key West. The Hemingway House, pirates, and some of Key West’s most sinister historical events are discussed during this trip. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and make the history really entertaining.
Take The Ghosts of Key West Walking Tour if you’re looking for a family-friendly ghost tour.
Whiskey Rick's Twisted Tales
- Location: Key West, FL
- Website: facebook.com/whiskeyrickykeywest
Whiskey Rick’s Twisted Tales is the greatest Key West ghost tour if you want a personalized experience that can be tailored to your group’s preferences. Rick doesn’t use technology or display images. He may keep his stories short and entertaining or pause and go into further detail. Whisky Rick is also the person to go to if you want to sit down in a pub and share some anecdotes while sipping a drink.
Rick will lead you down a route filled with unusual paranormal stories, odd places, and uncharted experiences while teaching you things, making you laugh, and adoring the adventure. He has access to a location only a select few can visit after business hours.
The adventure begins after Rick provides an overview of the trip at a bar with a few ghostly incidents of its own. You can enquire about and delve into the strange and spooky tales in as much detail as you like. You’ll arrive at a pirate hideout where you can stay or leave as quickly as possible, but when you do, you will have my contact information for further expeditions to go deeper and/or share with friends so they can learn/enjoy/experience what you will be telling others about in photographs and other media, with perhaps some orbs or other enigmatic objects in those photographs and memories.
To ensure interaction between the host and participants, this experience’s capacity is strictly controlled.
Island Tales Ghost Tours
- Location: Key West, FL
- Website: keywestislandtales.com
A fantastic range of private excursions is available via Amy Andrade, including a ghost tour that includes free transportation between locations in an eight-person golf cart. This two-hour tour of all the dark and dank history of Key West involves historical photos and visual aides to bring the stories to life as we ride, walk, and explore the underbelly of the 5th most haunted city in the United States.
David Sloan’s Key West Ghost Hunt featured in FloridaKeysTV
Time to Haunt: Key West Ghost Tours
Key West is an island full of history if you look behind the calm waters and white sand beaches. There are many places to see while learning about the island’s history, from renowned author Ernest Hemingway’s house to Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. Key West ghost tours are the most effective way to experience Florida Keys’ more eerie and paranormal side.
Enjoy a spooky gathering with friends and/or family while learning about a little-known paranormal history of Key West!
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The Key West Cemetery is situated in a nineteen-acre park-like setting. At the cemetery’s main entrance, there is a free detailed self-guided tour map that is accessible. When accompanied by a walking tour guide, the Key West Cemetery offers unique insights into Key West and its residents.
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Key West Ghost Tours FAQs
Key West has eerie landmarks and a chilling past that will leave you trembling in your boots. Several national chains do Key West ghost tours. Even while they may have the best of intentions, they typically misrepresent history, and only a small portion of your ticket money goes to the local economy. So, find local businesses that offer the best Key West ghost tours!
Whiskey Rick’s Twisted Tales is the greatest Key West ghost tour if you want a personalized experience that can be tailored to your group’s preferences. To ensure interaction between the host and participants, this experience’s capacity is strictly controlled.
Meanwhile, a fantastic range of private excursions is available via Amy Andrade, including a ghost tour that includes free transportation between locations in an eight-person golf cart.
Most Key West ghost tours last up to two hours. Enjoy a spooky gathering with friends and/or family while learning about a little-known paranormal history of Key West! You’ll understand why Key West is one of America’s top ten most haunted cities from these tragic and terrifying tales.
