THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The Porter Mansion is said to be haunted by Dr. Joseph Yates Porter and other spirits connected with the historic Key West home. Reports include a male apparition in period clothing, unexplained figures, and the peculiar appearance of stacks of dimes said in local legend to be associated with Porter's work treating children during yellow fever outbreaks.
The historic Porter Mansion at 429 Caroline Street is associated with Dr. Joseph Yates Porter, a prominent Key West physician and public-health official whose work was closely connected with the fight against yellow fever. Paranormal tradition holds that Porter remained attached to the house after his death. Reports describe the apparition of a distinguished man in nineteenth-century clothing moving through the mansion or appearing at a window. Other stories associate the property with additional members of the Porter family and possible Civil War-era figures. Southern Most Ghosts also recounts a local legend involving mysterious stacks of dimes appearing around the house, connected in folklore to children Porter was unable to save from yellow fever.