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OUR GHOST HOSTS |
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Talbott Jehosephat Windsor |
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 Mr. Windsor drove a horse-drawn hearse for a local funeral home during the yellow fever epidemics of the late 1800’s – the clip-clop sound of his horse’s hooves echoing in the night air as he drove the streets of Key West claiming bodies. Following the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana harbor, Talbott Jehosephat Windsor used his vehicle for the honorable transport of the war dead. Not long after his own untimely demise, the hearse was placed on display in the museum at the East Martello fort. Mr. Windsor now haunts the premises in hopes of retrieving his beloved bone cart. |
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Meredith Crowley |
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 The widow of U.S. Army engineer Thomas Crowley, Meredith was making her way from Chicago to Key West to claim her husband’s remains when her ship hit the reef and sank. From her watery grave she remained determined to claim her husband’s body, only to discover that it had been lost when the military cemetery was closed and abandoned. Meredith Crowley continues her search for her dearly departed husband to this day…aimlessly wandering forgotten burial grounds of the Isle of Bones, sharing stories and gossip of the dead with anyone who will listen. |
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“Crazy” Caroline McAllister |
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 Caroline McAllister lived a life filled with tragedy. The mother of seven children, wife to four different husbands – all lost to drowning, disease, and death by misadventure over the course of several decades. Alone, broken-hearted and overwhelmed with grief, Caroline slowly lost her grip on reality…eventually taking her own life in an attempt to join her lost loved ones. On moonlit nights, “Crazy” Caroline drifts around Key West in her nightgown and slippers looking for her children…wondering where she is... and whether she is alive or dead. |
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Captain Augustus G. Loomis |
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 Augustus G. Loomis was a master wrecker – his livelihood came from saving lives and salvaging the cargos of ships that wrecked on reefs in the Florida Straits. On a stormy night in November of 1859, Captain Loomis’ ship, the Gulf Stream Phantom, ran aground near the Dry Tortugas and went down with all hands. After several days in the dark depths of Davy Jones’ Locker, the lifeless body of Augustus G. Loomis washed ashore on the island of Key West. It is said that his ghost haunts the southern shore of the Isle of Bones… scanning the horizon for any sign of his lost ship or missing crew. |
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Raven K. Daver |
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 Bawdy barmaid and erstwhile owner of the Red Rooster Bar on Key West’s rough and rowdy waterfront, Raven K. Daver was known the island over as one tough lady. Raven took the reins at the Red Rooster when its original owner, Isleño, was lynched by a gang of local thugs. The waterfront was rife with violence – murder and mayhem was the currency of choice at local saloons and gambling halls. Raven K. Daver had many friends in the Key West underworld… perhaps one too many. Late one night at closing time, she was shot by the jealous wife of one of her many suitors. |
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Benjamin Jonah |
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 Considered a jinx by fellow seafarers, Benjamin Jonah was an outcast. Unable to find work as a sailor or fisherman, he made his living dragging the corpses of yellow fever victims found floating in the harbor to deeper waters where they were eaten by sharks. Known to the locals as the “Bone Island Body-hooker”, Benjamin Jonah disappeared early one October morning in 1893… leaving only an empty rowboat behind. Some believe he became the breakfast of one of the sharks he regularly fed. He is said to roam the Isle of Bones carrying his hook… looking for bodies. |
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