Bahia Honda Ghost Story

This beautiful beach get-away has a dark past that still haunts it today. The very first beach you see when entering the park is Loggerhead Beach, it is on this beach that a tragic struggle occured that still haunts one tortured sould to this day.

Backround
Not much is known about the woman or her family; although legend has it that she had a husband and a son. Her husband was apparently kidnapped by pirates, never to be seen again, and her son murdered in front of her, earlier the same day.

The story begins with the family living on Indian Key. The island was known as a wrecking village, living of what they could salvage from wrecked ships. Some versions of the story are that the villagers lured ships to the island at night, to have it run aground on the coral reef just off-shore. The woman and her family lived there for a short prosperous period of time before the Second Seminole War broke out in 1835. During the war all of the citizens of the Florida Keys abandoned the islands except for Key West and Indian Key; most of the inhabitants saw it as good business, seeing as they had no competition for ransacking run-aground ships. The citizens of Indian Key set up several cannons and acquired firearms for themselves, in case of any Seminole attacks.

In the early morning of August 7, 1840, a band of more than 100 Indians attacked the island. Most of the inhabitants managed to escape. However, some were killed in the attack and subsequent looting and burning of the buildings. The woman and her family escaped, luckily, in a small sailboat. they sailed to a beach about ten miles south of Marathon and made camp there. the husband decided to go back to Indian Key to try and recover any of the family’s treasure (which he has hidden in a turtle kraal underneath the house).

His wife waited for him along with his son keeping a weather eye out for his return. They waited there until the next day when they saw his boat returning. They also saw another ship a close distance behind him. His family watched in confusion and eventually dread when they saw the Jolly Roger being raised on the main mast. The woman’s husband must have seen this too when he quickly turned the boat towards shore trying to make it to the beach in hopes of escape. Just before he made it to shore a the pirates caught up to him and withdrew their muskets and swords. They were screaming and hollering and were taking him back the ship when they say his family on the beach. The buccaneers paddled towards shore. They caught the woman and the boy, and tried to get the man to reveal where the rest of his riches were, while torturing the woman and her son.

during their interrogation one of the pirates demanded, “If you like your son in one piece without a hole in him, ye best tell us where the rest of your loot is!”

the man pleaded with them begging to take what was on the boat and leave them alone.

“Where is IT?” he hollered.

The man cried, “It’s all there, just take it.”

The irate pirate was already past impatient and opened his mouth to ask again, then he suddenly calmed down, lowered his gun and softened his face to a faint annoyance. He blinked once then fired the musket at the young boy. He then ordered for the man to be taken to the ship and the woman to be left with her misery.

And that’s exactly what they did. As the story goes she died from heartbreak sometime in the weeks following the incident. She stands watching, waiting for the day that she will finally be reunited with her love.

Sightings
As was said before not many reports have been filed, but the ones that have are consistent. A woman standing starign out at the ocean in a flowing white gown. There are some instances where the whitnesses have reported her to be crying and moaning.

The darker side of this legend is that any man that she sees while on her watch, she will attack; as if avenging her loss, thinking that they may be pirates.

Referances

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See Also

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