Waverly Hills Sanatorium

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Waverly Hills Sanatorium main entrance
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Waverly Hills Sanatorium main entrance

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 [1]. Its coordinates are 38°07′48.45″N, 85°50′30.5″W Map.

Contents

[edit] History

Waverly Hills Sanatorium logo
Waverly Hills Sanatorium logo

In the early 20th century, Jefferson County was severely stricken with an outbreak of tuberculosis. There were many tuberculosis cases in Louisville at the time because of all the swampland, which was perfect for the tuberculosis bacteria. To try to contain the disease, a two-story wooden hospital with 40 beds was built. The officials of the town soon realized that the hospital was too small, because they were housing around 130 cases of the disease. Because a larger hospital was needed for the overwhelming number of patients coming in, construction of a five-story building that could hold more than 400 patients began in March 1924. The new building opened on October 17, 1926, and was eventually closed in June 1961. The building was reopened in 1962 as Woodhaven Geriatrics Hospital; Woodhaven was closed in 1981 due to patient abuse.

Estimates vary wildly of how many died at Waverly. Some put the total at 63,000; however, that number is believed to be for statewide deaths. Many pertinent records have been lost or damaged. Evidence that the worst year for death at Waverly involved 152 deaths is found in the autobiography of Assistant Medical Director Dr. J. Frank W. Stewart, who states that the worst time for deaths was at the end of the Second World War when many soldiers were returning from overseas with very advanced cases[citation needed].

[edit] Recent developments

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro
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Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro

In March of 1996, Robert Alberhasky bought Waverly Hills and the surrounding area. Alberhasky's Christ the Redeemer Foundation Inc. had plans to construct the world's tallest statue of Jesus on the Waverly site, along with an arts and worship center. The statue, which was inspired by the famed Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, would have been designed by local sculptor Ed Hamilton and architect Jasper Ward.[1]

The first phase of the development, coming in at a cost of $4,000,000, would have been a statue 150 feet tall and 150 feet wide, situated on the roof of the sanatorium. The second phase would convert the old sanatorium into a chapel, theater, and a gift shop at a cost of $8,000,000 or more.[2]

The plan to construct this religious icon fell through because donations to the project fell well short of expectations. In a period of a year, only $3,000 was raised towards the effort despite efforts to pool money from across the nation. The project was cancelled in December 1997.[2]

As a result, Alberhasky abandoned the Waverly Hills property. In order to recoup some of his costs, Alberhasky attempted to have the property condemned so that it could be torn down and redeveloped. That notion was denied by the county, and Alberhasky then attempted to undermine the structural foundations of the building by bulldozing around the southern perimeter in order to receive insurance money.[1]

After Alberhasky's efforts failed, Waverly Hills was sold to current owners Tina and Charlie Mattingly in 2001. Charlie's father, who died in 2005, worked as an orderly at Waverly Hills for approximately four years. The Mattinglys currently hold tours of Waverly Hills and convert the building into a haunted house attraction each Halloween. Proceeds go toward the renovation of the property.

[edit] Reports of paranormal activity

Waverly Hills is of great interest to paranormal investigators, with some calling it "the most haunted place on Earth." There are unconfirmed reports of more than 60,000 deaths at the site, and the property owners, workers and investigators have claimed that at almost any time you can see strange lights, phantasms and shadows moving around the corridors and rooms of the building. There were soon rumors about satanic rituals taking place inside the walls.[citation needed] In recent years there has been private investigations of the hospital with findings such as apparitions, shadow people, pin lights, cold spots and doors closing.[citation needed]

[edit] Room 502

Located on the fifth floor of Waverly Hills, Room 502 was made infamous by local legends about two suicides that occurred in the room. In 1928, a Waverly Hills nurse, Mary Hillenburg, supposedly hung herself from a fixture in the room after becoming pregnant out of wedlock. Other stories say that she became pregnant by a doctor that was already married and the doctor preformed an abortion that went wrong. When the nurse had died the doctor allegedly had staged her suicide. On VH1's Celebreality show Celebrity Paranormal Project, Hal Sparks, had "contact" with the nurse by putting a pencil in his left hand and allowing her to guide it to communicate. When Hal had stopped it looked like a picture of her hanging with her hand pointing to the word "murder".[citation needed] Four years later, a nurse allegedly jumped from the rooftop after battling long-term depression.[citation needed] While former employees of the facility seem to corroborate the hanging, none substantiate the nurse jumping from the roof. Although there are no documented deaths to these two suicides, as confirmed by the SciFi Channel series Ghost Hunters, it has not stopped those with EMF meters and other "ghost-hunting" equipment from claiming that there are spirits haunting this infamous room.[3] These two suicides have caused many different tales to be circulated throughout the years.

[edit] The "death tunnel"

Entrance to the Waverly Hills "Death Tunnel"
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Entrance to the Waverly Hills "Death Tunnel"

The so-called "death tunnel", made famous by ghostly tales, is an inclined corridor that was first constructed for workers to be able to move supplies in and out of the building, but soon it was used for a different purpose. One side of the tunnel consists of concrete steps while the other is made up of a motorized rail and cable system. Since the deaths were beginning to rise, the staff decided to use the tunnel to place the bodies of the dead which were placed on gurneys and then lowered to the bottom. When they were at the bottom of the tunnel, hearses would soon arrive to pick them up. During this time the hospital had around one death per hour, and around 63,000 people died at the hospital.[citation needed]

[edit] Specific ghosts

Many hospitals and sanatoriums have their own ghostly tales, made only more infamous by shows like Ghost Hunters. Waverly Hills Sanatorium is no exception.

For instance, some ghost hunters have allegedly seen a young child bouncing a ball; they claim that at least one small, old, leather ball was found in the building during an investigation. They found the ball rolling towards them and claimed it was moved by an "unseen force." Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) recordings have supposedly featured a child saying "I'm only three years old," this claim being verified only by paranormal investigation groups that also claim they have captured sightings and audio recordings of many small children using the EVP method and digital video recorders. It has been reported that the employees at Waverly Hills buy a new ball everytime they discover the old one deflated. On the show Celebrity Paranormal on the channel VH1, Hal reported seeing the ball moving with no visible force behind it. His camera caught the movement of the ball. He also claimed to have seen a shadow of a child looking at him.

Another common apparition often cited by some paranormal groups is the sighting of a young girl with no eyes. This girl is often referred to as "Mary", based on a photograph of a young woman found in the building, which was signed, "Love, Mary Lee." The girl in the photograph, however, is said to be older than the ghost's perceived age.

Yet another ghostly sighting is one of a homeless man and his dog. The two are rumored to have been found dead in a non-functioning elevator by police in the mid-1990s, when the complex was abandoned.

Other purported ghostly hauntings include an elderly woman running out of the main entrance, wrists in restraints, bleeding profusely and begging for help.

As of yet, none of these stories have been validated.

[edit] Other apparitions and activity

According to the many ghost hunters and guests that descend upon Waverly Hills, the most common paranormal activity is the phenomenon of shadow people, "moving shadows" that seemingly have substance and are able to "walk" across doorways. They are also supposedly able to block some light when a laser is pointed at them.

Areas of alleged activity include the fifth floor and roof patios, where young children often played atop a rooftop playground.

Many visitors claim to have seen glowing orbs and plasma in their photographs. Others claim that entire rooms at Waverly Hills light up at night for no apparent reason. Other sightings include various "brown imps" on the grounds.

Electronic voice phenomenon recordings have been made on the property by various ghost hunters; many claim that their EVP provides factual proof that ghosts do inhabit the old sanatorium. Recorded phrases have included "Get out" and "What kind of hospital is this?" The makers of the movie Death Tunnel and the documentary Spooked both claim that they recorded many such voices and sounds while filming. Many doubt the credibility of both production crews, however.

On the morning of Halloween 2006, local radio station WXMA 102.3 aired an annual live broadcast from the Waverly site. That year, a listener from Environmental Health Management, a local company, brought in thermal imaging equipment in hopes of capturing anything out of the normal on film. At approximately 8AM EST, two small, child-like figures are caught on film rising from a hallway floor and then disappearing into a wall.[2]

[edit] Waverly Hills in entertainment

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "World tallest Christ statue planned for Waverly Hills." Courier-Journal [Louisville] Mar. 1996: 1.
  2. ^ a b "Jesus statue 'would take a miracle'." Kentucky Post 12 Dec. 1997: 1.
  3. ^ Ghost Hunters episode #214, aired March 29, 2006 - Waverly Hills Investigation
  • Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills Sanatorium, (2006) documentary.

[edit] External links

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