Meet David L. Sloan: Key West’s Original Ghost Historian

In 1996, David L. Sloan launched Key West’s very first ghost tour.

It wasn't just a first for the island; it was one of the first organized ghost tours in the United States.

While others have since followed in his footsteps, David remains the pioneer who first introduced authentic ghost-hunting equipment to public tours, transforming simple storytelling into immersive Paranormal Investigations.

David is more than a tour operator; he is a dedicated historian and the leading authority on the Florida Keys' supernatural legacy.

With over 25 published books, he has documented the island's darkest secrets and most famous legends. His essential bibliography includes:

• Ghosts of Key West: The definitive guide to the island's spirits.

• Robert the Doll: The true biography of the world's most haunted object.

• Haunted Key West: A deep dive into the island's strange and unusual past.

• The Lost Diary of Count von Cosel: The chilling true story of Key West’s most famous necrophiliac.

We believe that real ghost hunting doesn't happen from the seat of a trolley.

David’s work with local non-profits has secured exclusive interior access to the island’s most active paranormal hotspots—locations no other tour can enter:

• Robert the Doll After Dark: An intimate investigation inside the Fort East Martello Museum, home to the world’s most haunted doll.

• America’s Most Haunted Firehouse: A VIP experience inside the Alex Vega Key West Firehouse Museum, where the spirits of fallen firefighters still answer the call.

• Key West UFO Tour: David’s newest venture, exploring the mysterious night skies and the rumored underwater alien base off the coast of the Keys.

David and his family are longtime Key West locals.

We don't use jump-scares, we don't hire actors in costumes, and we aren't operated by an out-of-state corporation.

When you join a Sloan-affiliated tour, you are engaging with nearly 30 years of research, authentic equipment, and the man who literally wrote the books on Key West’s ghosts.