Key West keeps its secrets dressed in sailor’s clothes.Long before the tourists and cruise ships, a little boy named Gene Otto whispered to a doll that seemed to whisper back. The neighbors saw it move. The servants swore it laughed. And when the boy grew into a man, the laughter never stopped.Some stories cling like humidity—they find a corner of your mind and refuse to dry out. Robert isn’t a monster or a myth. He’s something far more ordinary: a memory that learned to defend itself.In this episode, Florida Unearthed visits the East Martello Museum, where Robert still waits behind glass. Cameras fail. Visitors apologize to him before leaving. And somewhere between superstition and static, we find a question that Shirley Jackson would have recognized:What happens when we give our fear a name—and it answers back?🎧 Subscribe on your favorite platform: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube☕ Support the show and get exclusive episodes: Join our PatreonEpisode Credits:Written & Produced by: J.D. PattersonNarration: J.D. Patterson
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Key West keeps its secrets dressed in sailor’s clothes.Long before the tourists and cruise ships, a little boy named Gene Otto whispered to a doll that seemed to whisper back. The neighbors saw it move. The servants swore it laughed. And when the boy grew into a man, the laughter never stopped.Some stories cling like humidity—they find a corner of your mind and refuse to dry out. Robert isn’t a monster or a myth. He’s something far more ordinary: a memory that learned to defend itself.In this ep...