Hemingway House
The Hemingway Home & Museum located at 907 Whitehead Street is home to Key West’s most famous apparition. The legendary author Ernest Hemingway called Key West his home from 1931 until his suicide in 1961. Now the Hemingway Estate is home to approximately 60 cats, direct descendants of the 16 cats Hemingway had when he lived here. This main house is no longer a home, but a museum dedicated to Hemingway and the way he lived. Everything has been preserved the way that Hemingway and his family had it. So much so that Hemingway may think that he still lives there! His ghost has been spotted all over the grounds, accompanied by the sound of a typewriter when he is inside the main house. The carriage house in the back has been turned into the administrative offices for the museum as well as a bookstore. This is a must see for literary buffs, as well as ghost hunters.
Not only were his children raised here, but many of his most beloved novels were written while Hemingway lived at his home. Hemingway and some of his friends were known as “The Key West Mob.” The group of men which included Joe Russell, who was also known as Sloppy Joe, often went on fishing expeditions together. During this time Hemingway earned the nickname “Papa.”
After the Hemingways divorced in 1939, Ernest went to live in Cuba although he often visited Pauline and his children at the home in Key West. After the prominent author’s suicide in the summer of 1961, his ghost has been seen often at his Key West home and at Sloppy Joe’s Bar in the area which was known to be a favorite “haunt” of Hemingway. Ernest is sometimes noticed exiting Sloppy Joe’s through the front door and occasionally even talks to people inside the establishment.
The author’s home is now a museum dedicated to his life. Visitors to Hemingway Home sometimes see his apparition walking outside on the balcony. Often the sound of a typewriter can be heard coming from Hemingway’s old studio loft on the second floor of the carriage house. Neighbors sometimes see the figure of Mr. Hemingway looking out a second floor window. He often waves a greeting.
Pauline can sometimes be seen at the top of the central staircase. She could keep an eye on her boys playing outside in the pool and also see Ernest writing in the carriage house loft. During the summer of 2001, SEFGR Investigation determined the house to be “truly haunted.”
Another interesting sight at the home is the number of cats with 6 to 7 toes on each paw. These cats are evidently descendants of a polydactyl cat given to Ernest by a ship’s captain.
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