*This post is not sponsored by any of the locations or businesses there in*
I have eclectic tastes. I enjoy a lot of different things that don’t always seem to go together, or would be found in one person. But here I am rocking my hobbies and enjoying it all. Today I would like to talk about ghost hunting. Now I want to point out that I have yet to be able to go on a ghost hunt myself, but it’s really at the top of my list to do. Anyone who regularly does this, please let me know where and when you will be going and if there is room for one more.
One of the places I would love to go to is Waverly Hills. Located just outside of Louisville, KY. The history and activity at this location are heavily documented. I’ll touch on a little of what you can expect at this location, however if you have first hand knowledge please feel free to comment more.
Check out the official website, therealwaverlyhills.com
Waverly Hills Sanitorium began construction in 1908 and was open for business in July of 1910. The building was designed to hold up to 50 tuberculosis patients. At the time, this was a very serious disease. As tuberculosis became more of an epidemic, the clinic was holding more than 140 patients. A much larger hospital was needed to treat the patients afflicted. In 1924 the current Waverly Hills structure that still stands was underway and opened to accommodate at least 400 patients in 1926. The hospital was closed down in 1961. The site was also home to the Woodhaven Geriatrics Sanitarium until closed by the state in 1981.
Waverly Hills wouldn’t be showcased here if it was simply a hospital to care for patients. Oh no, no, there is of course that dark side as well. Treatments at the hospital ranged from rest, fresh air, and sun rooms, to balloons implanted in the lungs to increase oxygen levels or ribs and muscles removed to allow more lung expansion. Those who survived the disease and treatments, left through the front doors, those who did not left through the body chute.
It is estimated that approximately 6000 people died in Waverly Hills from 1911 – 1961.
In 1961 the facility was opened as a Geriatrics Sanitarium, and here is where the stories become even more disturbing. During it’s 20 years of use, patients were mistreated and subjected to unusual experiments.
Some of the stories about the hospital’s hauntings vary by source, however here a few things you may experience:
- A little girl running up and down the third floor solarium
- A little boy with a leather ball
- A woman with bleeding wrists crying for help
- Footsteps in the cafeteria/kitchen areas
- Doors closing on their own
- The smell of cooking/baking
- The fifth floor – Room 502 – Shapes moving, disembodied voices and a compulsion to jump to your death. A nurse was found to have committed suicide in this room by hanging herself from a light fixture.
- Let’s not forget the body chute and what it was used for as well.
The owners of Waverly Hill allow tours, private and group throughout the year. Please check their website for dates, times, and requirements.
I hope this tempts you into checking out Waverly Hills and the reputed history they have. If you have your own experiences please let me know, if there other places you may want me to showcase please mention it as well!
Be strong, be beautiful, be you!
Amateur Connoisseur 