Capturing the spirit of paradise while unearthing the strange and little-known stories of Key West and beyond.
New Evidence Tying a Key West Baker to the JFK Assassination
How Key West Killed JFK Now Available
-
DLS4 Productions
We’re a Key West-based entertainment company specializing in destination publishing, tour creation, historical research, video production, museum experiences, and themed festivals.
-
Phantom Press
Publishing Key West’s best-selling books since 1998. Scroll down to see our titles or click the link to purchase on Amazon.
-
Haunted Key West
Key West’s free haunted directory! Haunted hotels, haunted bars, haunted museums, hidden cemeteries, the best ghost tours, and more.
-
Sloan's Key West Ghost Tours
Community-driven, authentic ghost tours and paranormal entertainment inside Key West’s most haunted locations.
-
Robert the Doll After Dark
We discovered Robert the Doll’s true origin through decades of extensive research and were able to source legends surrounding the doll back to their original sources. We operate nightly tours at Robert the Doll’s Fort East Martello in partnership with Key West Art & Historical Society.
-
Key West UFO Tour
An out-of-this-world star-watching experience resuming November 1, 2024.
-
America's Most Haunted Firehouse
Cold-case paranormal investigations exploring unsolved murders, mysteries, and disappearances inside Key West’s old Firehouse No. 3.
-
Alex Vega Key West Firehouse Museum
As volunteer board members, we helped reimagine the Historic Firehouse experience as part of the museum’s 10th-anniversary celebration, producing new exhibits, audio tours, kids activities, and branding.
-
Key Lime Pie
We’re experts on the history of Key lime pie and specialize in creating world-record Key lime pies. We also co-founded the Key Lime Festival and discovered the identity of the mysterious Aunt Sally.
-
Where Is Bum Farto?
We spent a decade digging into Key West’s longest-running mystery and finally answered the famous question. The answer and details are scheduled for publication in 2025. Read the initial chapters on the Keys Weekly website.
-
Cow Key Bridge Run 0.0K
Together with Wonderdog Productions, we founded the world’s first zero-k bridge run! The official run was retired in 2021 but triumphantly returned in 2024 under new cow management.
-
Royal Order of the Conch
Drink rum from a conch shell and get inducted. Monthly inductions in season benefit Alex Vega Key West Firehouse Museum. Private inductions are available for $$.
Phantom Press: Key West’s favorite books are here!
-
The New Key West Bucket List
100 Offbeat Adventures in the Southernmost City!
-
The Florida Keys Bucket List
100 Offbeat Adventures in the Florida Keys!
-
Key Lime Pie: An Intriguing History
Love & Limes!
-
The Key West Key Lime Pie Cookbook
150,000 Key Lime Pie Combinations. Classic recipes and history.
-
The Best Key West Trivia Book Ever
Test your knowledge. Packed with interesting Key West facts!
-
Quit Your Job and Move to Key West
Buy the book. Live the dream!
-
Ghosts of Key West
The original book of Key West’s ghosts, legends, and haunted history!
-
Haunted Key West
Key West’s haunted history revealed!
-
The true biography of Key West's haunted doll!
Buy on Amazon
-
The Lost Diary of Count Von Cosel
The bizarre journal of the man who dug up a dead Key West girl and tried to bring her back to life!
-
Tutu the Almost Hemingway Cat
A touching Key West storybook teaching that anything is possible.
-
the Fantabulous Famous Butterflies of Key West
Famous Key West residents turned into butterflies in a rhyming book you can color!
-
Roosters Are Assholes
A stupid Key West book that’s strange and funny even if you just buy it for the title.
-
Iguanas Are Assholes
Another stupid Key West book that is strange and funny, but with iguanas instead of roosters!
-
Bloodline Film Location Guide
From the Netflix hit filmed in the Florida Keys!
-
More Bloodline Film Locations
When one film location guide isn’t enough!
-
It's a Great Fu#king World
The best fu#king kids book ever!
-
The Key West Hangover Survival Guide
An oldie but goodie!
-
Key West 101 - Discovering Paradise
A book that captured yesterday’s Key West.
-
The New Orleans Bucket List
100 Offbeat Adventures in the Crescent City!
-
The Fort Lauderdale Bucket List
100 Offbeat, Can’t Miss, and Classic Adventures!
-
The Pittsburgh Bucket List
100 Offbeat Adventures in the City of Steel!
-
The Civil War Letters of John Peter Shindel Gobin
Civil War Letters from the first David L. Sloan’s Captain. Published for Public Access.
DAVID L SLOAN
ABOUT
David L. Sloan IV is an American author, publisher, artist, and producer based in Key West, Florida. He is best known for his books about the Florida Keys and his work in the paranormal field.
Sloan was born in Philadelphia, PA, and raised in Dallas, TX. He is named after his great-great-great-grandfather, whose Union regiment was in charge of Key West during the Civil War.
Sloan moved to Key West in 1996 and married in 2020. Through his tours and events, Sloan actively raises money for local non-profits. He is the president of DLS4 Productions, Inc. (Photo: Amy Andrade)
Instagram: @davidlsloan
Facebook: @floridakeys
BOOKS
Sloan launched his writing career in 1998. The following year, he founded Phantom Press, Inc. and authored dozens of books about Key West and the Florida Keys, including cookbooks, travel guides, and collections documenting Key West’s haunted history.
Sloan is known for his knowledge of island history and irreverent sense of humor. His columns and articles have been featured locally in The Key West Weekly and Key West Citizen, as well as globally in National Geographic and other publications.
Sloan’s books have sold more than 500,000 copies. His popular titles include The New Key West Bucket List, The Florida Keys Bucket List, Quit Your Job & Move to Key West, The Key West Key Lime Pie Cookbook, and the true paranormal biography of Robert the Doll.
Sloan often works as a consultant for travel shows filming in the Florida Keys. His books are available in stores and shops throughout the Florida Keys and online at Amazon. (Photo: Mike Mongo)
GHOSTS
David Sloan is a pioneer in the paranormal entertainment field. He launched one of the first ghost tours in the United States in Key West, Florida, in 1996 and followed with America’s first commercial ghost hunts a few years later. Sloan helped create ghost tours in Newport, RI; San Juan, PR; Fort Lauderdale, FL; and San Antonio, TX.
During his 25+ years researching the haunted history of the Florida Keys and promoting Key West as a haunted destination, Sloan made groundbreaking discoveries about Robert the Doll, Count von Cosel, and the grave at Captain Tony’s Saloon. His research and writings are used extensively by virtually every ghost tour on the island. Sloan is the author of Ghosts of Key West, Haunted Key West, and Robert the Doll. He is a researcher and panelist on Scared & Alone and has appeared on paranormal programs alongside Jack Osbourne, William Shatner, and Rob Riggle.
Sloan owns and operates Ghost Key West, Inc.. This tour company includes the Robert the Doll Experience, Haunted Firehouse Experience, Key West’s Haunted Jail Experience, and Key West UFO Starwatch. Sloan also curates the haunted online directory for Haunted Key West™️ . (Photo: Brad Bertelli)
KEY LIME PIE
Sloan landed his first job as a baker in Addison, TX when he was 16. He majored in Hospitality Management at Florida International University and apprenticed under Chef Pascal Ouidin at the Colonnade Hotel in Coral Gables, then served as General Manager on Premier Cruise Lines’ Star/Ship Atlantic for several years before moving to Key West.
Sloan started researching the origins of Key lime pie in 1996 and presented a leading theory on the identity of Key lime pie’s mysterious “Aunt Sally.” He co-founded the Key Lime Festival with Marky Pierson in 2014, created world record Key lime pies in Key West, Boston, and Tallahassee, served pie to the governor of Florida, and launched dozens of Key lime pies from the Key West Lighthouse. In 2022, Sloan was an instrumental part of a team that successfully lobbied to make Key lime pie the Official Dessert of Key West and the Florida Keys.
Sloan has appeared as a Key lime pie expert on Gordon Ramsay’s Uncharted, Good Morning America, CBS Sunday Morning, The Profit, and in Southern Living, Garden & Gun Magazine, The Telegraph, and NPR. Sloan competed in the Food Network’s Food Challenge and was a judge and contestant at the National Pie Championships.
Sloan is the author of the popular Key West Key Lime Pie Cookbook and Key Lime Pie: An Intriguing History of Key West’s Native Dessert. He coined the phrase “Love & Limes” and still loves to eat Key lime pie. Photo: Rob O’Neal)
New from DLS4 Productions: The Christmas Curse of Robert the Doll
🎄 A Christmas Tale... With a Curse 👻
From the bestselling author of Robert the Doll comes a chilling holiday adventure destined to become a spooky seasonal favorite.
When the full moon rises in December, something strange stirs in Key West. Robert the Doll—the world’s most haunted toy—has a secret. This Christmas, he’s not alone.
Elves aren't the only ones sneaking into houses…
Inside this delightfully eerie picture book, mischief and mayhem reign as Robert’s little red-suited minions bring haunted holiday havoc to the homes of children who’ve behaved badly. With a stitched smile and a lion in hand, Robert watches from the shadows. Are the kids ready for what’s coming?
Perfect for lovers of Tim Burton, ghost stories, and offbeat holiday traditions, The Christmas Curse of Robert the Doll blends spooky fun with colorful, cinematic illustrations in a tale that’s part nightmare, part North Pole.
🎁 Makes a perfect gift for:
Horror fans and ghost story lovers
Families who like their Christmas a little twisted
Collectors of creepy dolls and Key West lore
Anyone on the naughty list…
One doll. One curse. One unforgettable Christmas.