[GETTYSBURG] [MARRERO'S MANSION] [CABRA CASSTLE HOTEL.htm]                   

Marrero's Guest Mansion

 

Key West, Florida

 

    This ornate Victorian mansion was built in 1889 by Francisco Marrero, a wealthy cigar maker, for his wife-to-be, Henrichetta. He hoped with it he would be able to entice her to marry him and move from Europe to Florida.

 

         She agreed to his proposal, married him, and moved into their new home in Key West. They had a happy life together and were blessed with eight children.

 

        The story is told of how Francisco met a mysterious end in his homeland of Cuba and Henrichetta was left a widow. As she tried to cope with her loss, she was shocked to learn that Francisco had a wife in Cuba. This woman traveled to Key West and laid claim to Henrichetta’s home. A court supported her claim and evicted the distraught Henriquetta. She found herself and her children homeless. Before she left her home, however, she promised that the mansion would always be her home and she would never leave it. It seems that she never has.

 

       I had read various accounts about this beautiful B&B and saw it for the first time on a ghost tour. I was intrigued and promised myself that one day, I would stay there.

 

        My opportunity came when I visited my parents in February of 2003. My mother and I decided that the day before I flew out of Key West to return home, we would stay at Marrero’s and spend some time shopping. The innkeeper at that time, Jodi, was very friendly and helpful. She arranged for a masseuse to give us both massages upon our arrival. After that, we relaxed and went down to the front porch to join the other guests for cocktails. A luscious Italian dinner at Opera with a ghost tour afterwards, left us more than ready to turn in for the night.

 

        Our room for this stay was room 18 on the second floor. Earlier, I asked which room had belonged Henriquetta and was told that room 17 was her room. It had a connecting door to what was originally the nursery. The door is now blocked by a large armoire and not used. Right after we checked in, Mom and I stopped briefly in room 17 and I took one digital picture of the armoire. The results, which I didn’t see until I returned home, were unlike anything I have captured before. The entire bottom of the armoire was engulfed in what looked like a dense ectoplasmic mist which, closer to the top, looked more like clumped orbs. The very top of the figuration had a row of more distinct orbs. It appeared to me that the energy was trying to materialize. I did feel the energy in the room when we walked in. I wish now that I had taken a few more pictures.  There is no telling what I might have captured.

 

      Room 17 was occupied that night and it is just as well, because judging from the activity in our room, I can only imagine what our night there would have been like there. As it was, I didn’t sleep well. As soon as I would drift off, I would be disturbed by dreams of walking the halls of the second floor where I found a crying toddler with black curly hair. She was pounding on the door of room 17. I had my recorder running but I didn’t pick up any EVPs. Pictures of the room also failed to show anything. I did, however, get orb shots in other rooms of the mansion. There were 2 moving orbs in the downstairs main parlor.

 

       In spite of the activity, I didn’t feel anything threatening. I believe that Henriquetta is still there and keeping a close watch on her home to this day. I suppose part of me had always empathized with her plight. As a mother, I can’t imagine losing my children and ultimately my own life on the streets of Key West. I just hope she is at peace.

     


 

Marrero's  Mansion Update
 


      Since my first stay at the guest mansion in 2003, I have been fortunate enough to stay there a few more times. The paranormal activity continues in varying degrees according to the innkeeper, John, and the housekeeper. On my last visit she told me that she has encountered Enriquetta on several occasions. One way that she feels Enriquetta makes her presence known to her is by leaving coins in the rooms she has cleaned. I had heard of similar phenomena in other cases and I thought it was particularly interesting that spirits sometimes use coins as a sign of their presence. I was recounting the story to my mother a few weeks ago as we headed down to Key West to spend the night which has become an annual tradition for us. After we dropped our bags off at Marrero’s and before leaving the room (room 17 which was Enriquetta’s room) to do some shopping, my mother whispered “Enriquetta, will you let us know you are here by leaving us some coins?” We locked the room and left. When we returned a couple of hours later, I went to the car to leave some packages and my mother went up to our room to get ready to go out to dinner. I waited for her on the front porch and when she came down she was so excited! She held up a penny and I couldn’t figure out why she was so thrilled to have found one. She said “This was on the floor right inside our room!” Neither of us had seen it before and given my past experiences there, we feel that Enriquetta left it for us. Other than that, the remainder of our evening was pleasant and restful. If any of you get a chance to spend a night in Key West, give Marrero’s a try. For those of us interested in the paranormal, it never fails to disappoint!  Tell John that Kathy sent you!

 
*See Kathy's history of Marrero's Guest Mansion in Jeff Balangers new book -