A Haunting in Key West – Fort East Martello

No trip to Key West, Florida, is complete, without visiting the Fort East Martello Museum. Not only do you get to see a part of history, you also get to visit Robert the Doll.

When you visit Key West, make a point to take the time to visit Robert the Doll, located at the Fort East Martello Museum. The museum is located on South Roosevelt Boulevard. This is a must for those that are supernatural enthusiasts.

If you’re near Duvall Street, in Key West, you will be able to either acquire a cab, or the Old Town Trolley tour to visit Robert. If you take the Old Town Trolley, you’ll get off at stop #8, in front of the Best Western Key Ambassador Hotel. The museum is only a short walk away, and you will be able to observe a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico. It’s normally hot in Key West, and the walk might get exhausting, so make sure you bring a bottle of water. The museum sells bottles of water though. There are pavements on both sides of the main road, nevertheless, once you step off of the trolley, remain on the right side of the street. The museum is open daily, excluding Christmas. It’s open from 9:30am – 4:30pm. Admission charge for adults is $6.00, children and students with school identifications are $3.00. Children under the age of 6 are free. Seniors that are age 62+, AAA Members, and locals with proper i.d. are $5.00 per person.

Robert the Doll is over 100 years old. He once was the doll of Robert Otto, whom resided in Key West. Supposedly, the doll is haunted, and Robert Otto, eventually gave his name to the doll, and he then decided to call himself, Gene. Gene was heard numerous times, talking to the doll, and his parent’s discovered it odd that when Gene answered himself, the voice from upstairs wasn’t Gene’s voice.

When Gene’s parent’s died, Robert the Doll, was then enclosed in the attic, and the home was sold. Later in the years, Gene bought the home after getting married to his wife, and located Robert in the attic, and the doll started conversing with him once again. Eventually when Gene passed away, the house was then sold, and after further bizarre occurrences in the house, the new owners no longer desired the doll on their premises. The doll was then transported to the East Martello Museum, where he now lives within a glass compartment. The saying goes … when you visit Robert you are not allowed to take photos of him, unless you get his permission. Those that do not comply by his wishes, will have misfortune come to them.

The East Martello Museum was constructed as a fort to represent the Martello Watchtowers in Italy. The walls of this fort are 8 foot thick, and built with granite. It was designed back in the Civil War Era. It’s now home to Key West artifacts from past history, and also has military memorabilia. If you get a chance to visit this museum, allow about an hour of your time here to visit it, because there’s many things to see and read about.

My wife actually wanted to go to this museum, just to visit Robert, so I’ll ask her to post her experience of what happened when she did not ask Robert for his permission to take a photo, at a later time.