Waverly Hills Sanitarium:

Louisville, KY

        As we pulled up the large hill to Waverly Hills Sanitarium, I couldn’t help but take in its vast size and large balconies. The building had five floors, a body shoot and its own zip code, as well as an interesting history.

          As I was about to start our tour of the huge sanitarium with my good friend, Misty, the guide informed us “that even though the building is known to be haunted, more people lived here than died.”

          The property was originally owned by Major Thomas who had two daughters, so he built a little schoolhouse for them and hired a teacher named Lizzie Lee Harris. She then named the school Waverly School after the series of novels (that started with Waverly) written by Sir Walter Scott.  Thomas decided he liked the name so he named the land Waverly Hills.  Years later, when the land was purchased and the infamous hospital was built, they decided they liked the name, too, so they choose to call the hospital Waverly Hills Sanitarium.

          The hospital opened July 26, 1910; however, the building was designed to only accommodate 40 to 50 tuberculosis patients, but TB became a huge epidemic overtaking the hospital’s capacity. Soon there were 140 patients.

        Why was the hospital built on top of a hill? So the hospital’s many patients would have plenty of air. At the time, they didn’t know that tuberculosis was an airborne disease, so they thought lots of air was a cure to the disease and the patients were encouraged to sit on the large balcony daily for sunshine and fresh air.

          In 1961, an antibiotic and treatment was discovered and cured TB. The hospital was no longer needed and closed in 1962. I was told during our tour that later the building reopened as Woodhaven Medical Services, a nursing home. However, due to abuse it was closed by the state in 1981.

          On our 9 p.m. tour, Misty and I followed our guide with our group to the basement. Not knowing where she was leading us, we followed the dark cement walls feeling our way down a long hall and stopped where the guide told us. We were told we were not allowed to use our phones or flashlights so we couldn’t see a thing. As we were stopped, the guide began to tell us about the history of the building. That’s when Misty and I noticed something odd. In the dark we saw a glimmering blue object that would light up, then fade away into the darkness. The object did this several times. It was strange. I asked Misty if she was seeing what I saw and she replied she did. All of a sudden the guide flipped on the lights revealing the hospital’s body-shoot directly in front of us. Where we had seen the blue light was actually the side of a tunnel that sloped downward. We looked at each other with our mouths open in surprise. We surely didn’t expect that, and no one else in the group noticed the blue light.

        Later we walked to the second floor to what is referred to as the terrace. Misty and I stopped right in front of an old window that had recently been replaced. We were looking at Misty’s ovilus, and it gave the word “Wailing.” That’s when the guide told us we were standing in front of a hot spot for paranormal activity. Then the guide showed us a picture of two women with a ghostly-looking young woman between them photo totally photo bombing their photo! In it was the same window that was behind us. We were standing in the exact same spot the photo was taken and told by the guide that the young woman in the photo was a spirit.

        When we reached the fourth floor, we were told that this was where most of the paranormal activity took place. As we walked down the hall and into the heart of the building, the guide told us several stories. When we stopped, we were in total darkness. “This floor is the most haunted and is referred to as the shadow play floor because a lot of shadow people are seen here,” the guide said.

          The guide asked for volunteers to walk down the hall and tell the rest of us what they saw while they stood alone in the darkness. While one woman did this, I thought I saw a 9-foot-tall shadow person peek its head as well as the side of its body around the corner and look down the hall at our group. I told the guide but it faded away into the darkness before she could see it.

                         Here are my thoughts on Waverly Hills Sanitarium:

          I had a lot of fun but didn’t feel much spiritual activity besides the two small experiences I’ve already mentioned. I talked to other paranormal-loving friends of mine who had been there before and ghost hunted all night, and they said the same thing.      

          Therefore, my opinion is…

Go so you can say you have gone and to experience the building that is a part of our American History. The property is amazing! The thing that I didn’t like for sure was that the guide didn’t let anyone use their phone or flashlight so you felt like you couldn’t take a picture or you would be scolded like a child, which she did do many times to teens on the tour. Misty and I weren’t able to get pictures either because of it. In addition, I also was worried the whole time I would trip and that made me feel uncomfortable. I can’t see well in the dark. I wish I would have known this all beforehand but go and have a good time.

          

©Rosella C. Rowe

 

For more information:

https://www.therealwaverlyhills.com/