www.mirabooks.co.uk

      Also by HEATHER GRAHAM

      THE KILLING EDGE

      NIGHT OF THE WOLVES

      HOME IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS

      UNHALLOWED GROUND

      DUST TO DUST

      NIGHTWALKER

      DEADLY GIFT

      DEADLY HARVEST

      DEADLY NIGHT

      THE DEATH DEALER

      THE LAST NOEL

      THE SÉANCE

      BLOOD RED

      THE DEAD ROOM

      KISS OF DARKNESS

      THE VISION

      THE ISLAND

      GHOST WALK

      KILLING KELLY

      THE PRESENCE

      DEAD ON THE DANCE FLOOR

      PICTURE ME DEAD

      HAUNTED

      HURRICANE BAY

      A SEASON OF MIRACLES

      NIGHT OF THE BLACKBIRD

      NEVER SLEEP WITH STRANGERS

      EYES OF FIRE

      SLOW BURN

      NIGHT HEAT

       The Bone Island Trilogy

      GHOST SHADOW

      GHOST NIGHT

      GHOST MOON

      For Sprout and Scout

      and the Peace River Ghost Trackers

      and a great time at the Spanish Military Hospital

      in St. Augustine,

      and Daena Smoller and Dr. Larry Montz

      with the ISPR, New Orleans, Louisiana,

      and the several great groups

      who do ghost tours in Key West, Florida.

      Key West History Timeline

      1513—Ponce de Leon is thought to be the first European to discover Florida, which he claimed for Spain. His sailors, watching as they pass the southern islands (the Keys), decide that the mangrove roots look like tortured souls and call them Los Martires, or “the Martyrs.”

      Circa 1600—Key West begins to appear on European maps and charts. The first explorers came upon the bones of deceased native tribes, and thus the island was called “the Island of Bones,” or Cayo Hueso.

      The Golden Age of Piracy begins as New World ships carry vast treasures through dangerous waters.

      1763—The Treaty of Paris gives Florida and Key West to the British and Cuba to the Spanish. The Spanish and Native Americans are forced to leave the Keys and move to Havana. The Spanish, however, claim that the Keys are not part of mainland Florida and were really North Havana. The English say no, the Keys are a part of Florida. In reality, this dispute is merely a war of words. Hardy souls of many nationalities fish, cut timber, hunt turtles—and avoid pirates—with little restraint from any government.

      1783—The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolution and returns Florida to Spain.

      1815–Spain deeds the island of Key West to a loyal Spaniard, Juan Pablo Salas of St. Augustine, Florida.

      1819–1822—Florida is ceded to the United States. Salas sells the island to John Simonton for $2,000. Simonton divides the island into four parts, three going to businessmen John Whitehead, John Fleming and Pardon Greene. Cayo Hueso becomes more generally known as Key West.

      1822—Simonton convinces the U.S. Navy to come to Key West—the deep-water harbor, which had kept pirates, wreckers and others busy while the land was scarcely developed, would be an incredible asset to the U.S. Lieutenant Matthew C. Perry arrives to assess the situation. Perry reports favorably on the strategic military importance but warns the government that the area is filled with unsavory characters—such as pirates.

      1823—Captain David Porter is appointed commodore of the West Indies Anti-Pirate Squadron, known as the “Mosquito Fleet.” He takes over ruthlessly, basically putting Key West under martial law. People do not like him. However, starting in 1823, he does begin to put a halt to piracy in the area.

      The United States of America is in full control of Key West, which is part of the U.S. territory of Florida, and colonizing begins in earnest by Americans, though, as always, those Americans come from many places.

      Circa 1828—Wrecking becomes a big business in Key West, and much of the island becomes involved in the activity. It’s such big business that over the next twenty years, the island becomes one of the richest areas per capita in the United States. In the minds of some, a new kind of piracy has replaced the old. Although wrecking and salvage were licensed and legal, many a ship was lured to its doom by less than scrupulous businessmen.

      1845—Florida becomes a state. Construction begins on a fort to protect Key West.

      1846—Construction of Fort Jefferson is begun in the Dry Tortugas.

      1850—The fort on the island of Key West is named after President Zachary Taylor.

      New lighthouses bring about the end of the Golden Age of Wrecking.

      1861—Florida secedes from the Union on January 10. Fort Zachary Taylor is staunchly held in Union hands and helps defeat the Confederate Navy and control the movement of blockade runners during the war. Key West remains a divided city throughout the great conflict.