The Original Key West Ghost Hunt

The Original Key West Ghost Hunt has operated in Old Town since 1996, owned and run by the Sharkey family, who make a point of describing the business as owned and operated by real locals rather than an out of state corporation, a distinction that matters in a niche where several of the larger ghost tour brands operating in Key West are actually multi-city franchises headquartered elsewhere. The tour departs from a location on Whitehead Street in the heart of the historic district.

What sets the format apart from a typical narrated walking tour is the hands-on approach to ghost hunting itself. Rather than simply telling stories at haunted locations, guides equip guests with actual ghost hunting tools, including dowsing rods, K-II electromagnetic field meters, spirit boards, and spirit boxes, letting participants conduct something closer to a real paranormal investigation than a scripted performance built around jump scares.

The company emphasizes exclusive access to certain haunted locations that it says are not available to competing tour companies, along with historically accurate storytelling about the specific incidents and legends behind each stop, treating the history as seriously as the paranormal angle. For guests who want to extend the evening, a haunted bar crawl option combines the ghost story format with a tour of some of Old Town’s older bars and their associated legends.

Three decades of continuous local family ownership gives this operation a longer track record in Key West’s ghost tour market than most of its competitors, many of which are newer or tied to larger tour companies with locations in other historic American cities. For visitors specifically interested in the paranormal investigation angle rather than a purely narrative ghost story tour, the equipment-driven format here offers a more participatory experience, letting guests form their own impressions from the readings and responses the tools produce rather than simply listening to a guide’s account of what happened at each stop.

Because much of the tour depends on guests actively using the provided equipment rather than passively listening to a guide, group sizes are typically kept smaller than a standard walking tour to give everyone a real chance to try the dowsing rods and meters at each stop. Tours generally run after dark regardless of season, taking advantage of Old Town’s quieter nighttime streets and the naturally more atmospheric feel of its older buildings once the sun goes down. Guests are usually advised to wear comfortable walking shoes, since the tour moves on foot between several historic sites within the compact downtown core.