Waverly Hills Sanatorium
April 08, 2009
The massive structure called Waverly Hills stands 5 stories high and has seen up to 63,000 deaths in the 50 years it housed patients and is considered one of the most haunted structures in the world.
During the early twentieth century, Louisville Kentucky had the highest tuberculosis rate in the country, so a hospital was opened. Many of the patients remained here until they died. The dead bodies were pushed down a tunnel to the bottom of the hill. After the vaccine for tuberculosis was discovered, the hospital became a nursing home that is also now closed.
Many people left this earth from Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Death was a common occurrence at Waverly hills and most patients who entered Waverly, exited through what is known as the Body chute. This was a tunnel that led from the hospital to the railroad at the bottom of the hill that Waverly Sanatorium was built on. The bodies of the dead were slid down in an effort to hide the alarming death rate from the other patients. This was done in secret in an effort to keep morale high among the still living patients. There were also reports of "experimental" treatments on the residents of Waverly Hills that were considered by today's standards brutal, to say the least.
Many hauntings and much paranormal activity have been reported by visitors of the Waverly Hills Sanatorium.
At the main entrance it is reported that an ederly woman has been seen running out the front, her bloody wrists and legs in chains. She cries for help before dissipating into thin air.
One man encountered a little girl on the third floor and said she "wasn't normal". She kept saying that she has no eyes. He left the building and refused to re enter it. Some have seen her peeking out of the third story windows to the parking lot below.
Chanting children are heard on the roof of Waverly.
A little boy resides on the third floor. He plays with a leather ball and the sounds of a ball bouncing have been reported in this area of the hospital. Some have seen the ball roll down the hallways as if someone pushed it.
One of the most popular ghost stories at Waverly is room 502. In 1928 the head nurse hung herself from the light fixture in this room. She was 29 and believed to be unmarried and pregnant at the time of her suicide. In 1932, another nurse committed suicide when she jumped from the balcony of this room. A full body apparition of a female nurse in white has been seen near this room. People have also reported of having an unsettling feeling or of great despair in this area of Waverly. Especially pregnant women and some reported feeling sickness in room 502 before they even knew they were pregnant.
There have been reports of hearing voices from the death tunnel or "body chute. It is a 500 foot long tunnel that leads from the hospital to the railroad tracks below.
A man in a white coat and pants has been seen in the cafeteria and kitchen area and the smell of food is sometimes present in this area as well.
The fourth floor has been reported by some to be the most scary and "active" area of the hospital. There have been many reports of shadow like people walking the corridors or darting from one room to the next and doors slam by themselves often in this area.
A guard at Waverly reported seeing a floating head in one of the rooms late one night. He screamed and made it downstairs before he passed out. He never returned to the sanitarium.
Another guard reported seeing the flicker of a television from one of the bedrooms on the third floor. He went to investigate and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium is owned by Charlie and Tina Mattingly, who have done extensive refurbishing inside the hospital. It is rumored to one day be a hotel.
Click the link at top for information on tours and dates. This eerie piece of history is a ghost hunters heaven!
