The first St. Paul’s was built in October of 1909.
However, this Key West church seemed pre-destined for destruction.
The Church endured two fires and a violent hurricane, with each event having destroyed a majority of the buildings on the property.
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Updated 2/10/2020 – The third and final St. Paul’s Church opened its doors in 1919.
As if St. Paul’s did not have enough bad luck, Key West residents and tourists alike claim that the cemetery is undeniably haunted.
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Ghost Children Or Something Worse At St. Paul’s Cemetery?
Many have heard the voices of dead children running amongst the headstones.
Tourist Matt K. had heard about the haunting of St. Paul’s by a local and wanted to see it for himself.
But the ghosts of playing children are the least of Matt’s fears.
“I’m the oldest of seven siblings, so I’m used to being around a lot of kids,” Matt smiled.
“I figured hey, maybe these ghosts can sense that and will be willing to interact with me.
“I arrived at the cemetery at dusk—that’s when the children are most active, or so a local restaurant owner told me.
“I began to stroll around the graves, straining my ears for any sounds of giggling.
“I remember thinking that the cemetery was strangely quiet,” said Matt, narrowing his eyes.
“No birds, no other visitors, nothing.
“But I figured the children would be more apt to reveal themselves to me that way.
“I began visiting each headstone, memorizing names and dates.
“One of the last rows is near a very large tree, and I stood under its shade as I waited.
“Suddenly there was a swift tug near the bottom of my pant leg,” Matt gestured.
“I had about two milliseconds to make the assumption that it was a ghost child before I looked to see what it was.
“And this…” Matt trailed off with a shiver.
“This was nothing like a child or anything else I had ever seen.”
The Strangest Entity in Key West
Photo credit: tumblr/nouvo
What was it that you encountered?
“It was hard to tell at first.
“For the first few moments it was just a large narrow hand, clasping onto me from underneath the ground.
“This…thing…pulled itself up from the ground by holding onto me.
“It was so freakishly strong I was immobilized, though all I wanted to do was bolt,” he admitted.
“After a minute more body parts started to emerge—forearms, shoulders, a neck.
“Then his head started to appear and I just about fainted.”
What did he – or it – look like?
“His mouth was clear and looked relatively human, but the rest of him was covered in mud and branches.
“Not like someone had slapped them on him…I saw roots.
“They were growing from this man’s body.
“He smelled so badly of decaying flesh, I retched even as I tried to scream.
“It was almost as if some ancient, evil spirit had used this random man’s body as a vessel, as a means to coming back to life.
“But I wasn’t about to stick around to ask questions,” Matt shivered again.
“I took out a knife I always keep in my back pocket and began hacking away at the entity.
“He snarled in surprise and let go of my pants.
“I don’t care if St. Paul’s is haunted by the ghosts of friendly children.
“I never want to encounter that hideous creature ever again.”
Have you visited the cemetery at St. Paul’s Church in Key West, FL?
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Address
401 Duval Street
Key West, FL
United States
