Along the shores of Key West Island, you’ll find Fort East Martello, a civil war era fort that now serves as a local museum and home to a haunted doll by the name of Robert.
Date: June 16, 2022
Location: Key West, Florida
Investigators: Chris, Matt
Location History
Construction of the fort began in 1862 amidst the Civil War but due to outbreaks of yellow fever as well as hurricanes impeding progress, the fort construction was eventually abandoned leaving the fort in a partially built state.
Today, the fort is open for visitors to explore the grounds or spend time investigating paranormal activity. The locals have stated that the fort is home to a documented 42 spirits as well as a famously haunted doll.
Robert the Doll was hand stitched in the early 1900s by a servant of a family, for Gene, the little boy of the family. Gene and his doll Robert were fast friends and it is rumored that the doll responded to Gene, changed facial expressions, and even got into mischief such as overturning furniture in the boy’s room. When Gene moved back into his family home as an adult, his wife was creeped out by the doll and asked him to move it to the attic.
Robert the Doll apparently did not approve and it is said he made noise from the attic and watched neighbor children from the windows. It is believed by some that Robert was actually cursed by the servant who made him.
Our Experience
While on vacation in Key West, we purchased VIP tickets for a ghost tour of the fort followed by a short private paranormal investigation. Upon arrival at the fort, we found a sign at the door that warned of Robert the Doll’s rather evil nature and that engagement with Robert was at our own risk.
The tour started as a group and the guide took us through a few haunted hot spots in the fort. One room was completely filled with dolls with emf readers stationed near each one to prove that the dolls gave off random bouts of energy. Visitors were given dowsing rods to use to try to engage the spirits.
But in a room of his own, we found Robert the Doll. Robert sits behind glass walls and is surrounded by chairs for visitors to view the famous doll. The guide was explicit in the warnings about Robert and ensured to tell the visitors of the doll’s propensity to cause bad luck to those that disrespected him.
We were told to be kind to the doll and ensure we informed Robert when we wanted to take photos. Apparently other guests who didn’t follow the guidance went home to find a series of bad luck events plaguing them. Robert is said to have a power beyond explanation.
When the main group tour was done, we spent time wandering the fort and looking for evidence of the paranormal. We took photos into a mirror that was said to sometimes show a visitor standing behind you. We ran some EVP sessions with the dolls to try to get responses. And we engaged (politely) with Robert the Doll to see if he had anything to say. While we didn’t experience anything paranormal, we did enjoy our visit and the fun tales surrounding Robert the Doll.
Did we capture Paranormal Evidence?
No
