How To Take Photos of Robert the Doll Without Being Cursed

Becky loved the ghost tour of Key West, but was too chicken to take photos of Robert the Doll, or touch the cursed silver bar. Would you?

The southernmost city in the United States is known for its party scene, its colorful culture, and, of course, its ghosts. Key West, once named the Bone Cay by the Spaniards, is one of the top four most haunted cities in the U.S., for good reason.

And Nixie, a guide for some of the island’s most ghostly attractions, is about to tell you all about it. Of course, Nixie has had her own encounters with the island’s deceased residents. Because if you die on this island, apparently you stay on the island. Forever. Grab yourself a slice of frozen, chocolate-dipped key lime pie on a stick and get ready to be scared, today, on Homespun Haints.

Listen to this episode right here:

About the Guest: Nixie Buettner, Key West ghost tour guide

Becky met Nixie on the Ghosts and Gravestones tour in Key West, Florida. She originally hails from Austin, TX, where she was constantly spotting orbs. Works at tour, used to work at the Shipwreck Museum. She used to be a skeptic, until she started to work at the Shipwreck Museum, where she caught a spirit called Daddy Long Legs on video.

Becky loved the trolley tour she took with Nixie earlier in 2024. If you’re in Key West looking for a great ghost tour, check out the Ghosts and Gravestones, and ask for her specifically using the stage name “Daphne” . Besides being a ghost tour guide, Nixie is also an artist and entrepreneur who designs fun adult stickers. Check out Nixie’s Etsy store at https://www.etsy.com/shop/sagaofeggs/ or follow her on Instagram @saga_of_eggs.

Nixie Buettner explains how to safely take photos of Robert the Doll on the Ghosts and Gravestones tour in Key West.
Nixie gives a tour in character as “Daphne” on the Ghosts and Gravestones tour in Key West, Florida

Becky and Diana’s Recipe for Lazy Haint Spray

Gaaranteed to at least temporarily remove lazy haints out from under your sofa. Feel free to make your own from the following recipe, so that your home also smells fresh and unhainted!

A lovely brown glass bottle with a pink chrysanthemum sticker, containing a homemade concoction we call Becky and Diana's Lazy Haint Spray, possibly ideal for clearing out ghosts at the Fall Equinox.

Lazy Haint Spritz Spray Recipe:

Add all ingredients to a glass spritz bottle or a very well cleaned out old empty Windex bottle.

Make it a cute label so you don’t get it confused with your Spirit Summoning Spray. That would be a hot mess.

Is the Key West Shipwreck Museum Haunted?

In today’s episode, Nixie tells us her first-hand account of this haunted stop on her Key West ghost tour. Wreckers, or individuals who would dive down to Salvage materials from shipwrecks, were once a major part of the island’s economy.

Interestingly, the basement, now a theater, used to be a morgue. An underground, below sea level morgue. Eew.

The Cursed Silver Bar

Nixie saw the same full-body apparition walk by the silver bar at least twice. They actually caught a spirit called Daddy Long Legs on video.

The bar has a complex and sordid reputation on the island. Becky wouldn’t even touch the silver bar. Nixie HAS TO touch the bar for her job, so she tells herself, “it’s only dangerous when wet.”

The museum credits the bar with being associated with 6 distinct shipwrecks. Causation aside, what are the odds that all 6 ships that attempted to transport this bar of silver over the water ended up at the bottom of the sea? The only way the bar eventually made it safely to shore was to drag it underwater all the way to land.

Where other people die, we profit! -not the island’s official slogan

How to Safely Take Photos of Robert the Doll Without Getting Cursed

Nixie tells us that, if you want to take a photo of Robert the Doll, you must follow three rules, or else be cursed.

Robert’s Rules of Disorder

  • Politely greet Robert the Doll,
  • Respectfully ask permission to take his photo,
  • Politely say goodbye to Robert. A “thank you” wouldn’t hurt, either.

This whole practice might seem like hyped-up superstition, as most tourists blithely ignore all posted signage to do as they please. Surely the hundreds of tourists who visit the museum every year and take photos of Robert the Doll without following all three rules aren’t all cursed, are they?

Well, it would seem that yes, they are. People who don’t follow the rules end up regretting it later, when the bad luck starts. So many people, in fact, that the museum receives over 1000 apology letters annually. A staff member apparently has to read the letter aloud to Robert the Doll to invoke his forgiveness. Then, the staff posts the letters on a wall right next to Robert. We’re not sure if this is primarily for the doll’s ego, or to serve as a warning to tourists of the future.

The Real Life Corpse Bride Who is NOT Resting in Key West Cemetery

In the Early 1900’s, a young woman on the brink of death went for an xray. The xray tech, Carl Tanzler, saw her, and immediately recognized her as the woman he’d been literally dreaming about. For the rest of her short life, he begged for her hand in marriage, even though both of them were already married. Countless times, Elena turned him down….remember that, it’ll be important later.

Because tuberculosis was basically a death sentence at the time, nobody was shocked when the sick young woman passed away…but at least one person was thrilled with the development. Tanzler (the xray tech) had more money than Elena’s family, so he built a mausoleum in Key West Cemetery for her final resting place. Or, semi-final resting place, at least. The “count” visited the mausoleum as often as he could, until one night, he heard her voice, singing a familiar melody. Tanzler saw this as Elena asking him to release her spirit.

Taking the ghostly request way too literally, Tanzler committed what he believed to be the ultimate act of love: graverobbing. Talk about a grand gesture. That’s right—he got over her resisting his advances in life, and decided that he would free her spirit from it’s earthly prison by bringing her corpse home with him to be his bride. Because dead girls can’t say “no”.

There’s much more to this creepy true crime story. Listen to today’s interview with Key West ghost tour guide Nixie for the most sensational details. Or, you can read the official biography of Count von Cosel, for more historical context. For the inner workings of his mind, you can even read Tanzler’s own diary of his misadventures with Elena.

Will you join us for our next book club meetup?

Our next meetup (on Zoom) will be the second Monday in November. All you need to do to be in the Homespun Haints book club is join our Patreon (at any level, including free), read the book of the month, show up at the Zoom from the link on Patreon, and contribute to the conversation without being an asshole. Most of our books are an off-the-beaten-path horror by women or minority authors. Right now we’re all reading Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas. Won’t you join us, for a spooky day?

 

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