Louisville, Kentucky
Background History
Waverly Hills Sanatorium, located in Louisville, Kentucky, opened in 1910 as a two-story hospital to accommodate 40 to 50 tuberculosis patients. It has been popularized on television as being one of the "most haunted" hospitals in the eastern United States, and was seen on ABC/FOX Family Channel's Scariest Places On Earth as well as VH1's Celebrity Paranormal Project. It was also seen on the Sci Fi Channel's Ghost Hunters.
Unfortunately, the climate and water and land geography qualities of Louisville offered the perfect conditions to grow the TB bacteria, which resulted in whole families coming down with this extremely contagious disease. This disease, named the "white plague" eventually destroyed the lungs, slowly suffocating people who caught the TB bug. TB also sometimes infected bones and larynx.
In 1910, a small 140 bed building called Waverly Hills Sanitarium was opened outside of Louisville on an isolated hilly area, where fresh air blew freely, and a caring staff tried their best to nurse the sick back to health.
However this "white plague" swept over the population, and by the 1920's, TB outbreaks grew, overwhelming this small facility. It is said that more people died from TB than Americans who died in WW1. It was decided that a much larger hospital dedicated to the fighting of this horror should be added to the already existing facility.
So in 1926, a five story, stone, gothic structured, 500 bed, state of the art hospital (for its time) opened, built around the needs of patients and staff in fighting this disease in the search for a cure. The dedicated staff also lived in residence at the hospital, dedicating their careers to the management and defeat of the TB bacteria.
As not to crush the human spirit to fight the disease, the dead were not carried out in front of the other patients who still had their hopes of surviving. A patient's mental state was an important factor in fighting the disease. Another problem concerning the dead; bodies of the dead were thought to be still contagious because of the bacteria-filled bodily fluids. The hospital came up two solutions.
First, the dead bodies were hung up, slit from sternum to groin area and drained of all fluids after the autopsy. The bodies were then sent by cart down an underground tunnel which ran 500 feet underground to the receiving station down the hill. The bodies were taken by the surviving family members or cremated.
Hauntings
Apparitions and shadow people are often seen on various floors, hallways and the cafeteria. A young girl in a blue dress, no eyes who is carrying a round object has been seen as an apparition. Another apparition of a young boy carrying a leather ball has also been seen. Another young boy, known as Timmy has been encountered.
Apparitions have been seen looking out the windows. Many people experience the feeling of being watched as well as being touched or poked. Cold spots are often felt and voices are heard, evps are often recorded. Rubber balls left out in the hallways for children are often seen to move.
Room 502
here is much in the way of speculation about this area but what is known is that mentally insane tuberculosis patients were housed on the fifth floor in rooms 502 and 506. In 1928, the head nurse in room 502 was found dead in this room. She had hanged herself from the light fixture in an apparent fit of depression. According to further research, she was 29 years-old at the time, unmarried and pregnant. It is unknown just how long she may have been left hanging in this room before her body was finally discovered. Her death was ruled a suicide by the county coroner’s office.
In 1932, another nurse who worked in room 502 jumped from the balcony of the roof that leads from the room and was killed when she struck the ground several stories below. We have yet to find any records that indicate why she did this act. There are also no records, despite what the legends say, that anyone other than the above mentioned nurse was ever pushed or jumped from the roof of Waverly Hills. People have seen the full body apparition of a female nurse in white on this
floor. Many people report this room gives them an "unsettling" feeling of great despair. Some have heard a voice say, Get out!
Investigation 08/04/2008 (8pm - 4am Investigators -- #21) -- Evidence --(4) Class A - C evps
Photographs -- 1 of interest (shown below)
Personal Experiences (Investigator physically touched during daytime tour)
Data recorded on investigation -- Audio, Video, Photographs, EMF, Temperature, Personal Experiences
Waverly Hills Sanatorium Photographs
|