The Waverly Hills Sanatorium is located in Louisville in the Jefferson County, Kentucky. The sanatorium officially opened in 1910 and was built especially for tuberculosis patients. The hospital was built shortly after the massive outbreak of tuberculosis that hit the Jefferson County. The hospital ceased its activities back in 1962.
The newly-discovered drugs, Streptomycin lead to the closure the sanatorium in 1962 but reopened and became a nursing home until 1980. The second closure of the building, ordered by the state is said to have been due to patient neglect.
The construction on the current building started in 1924, and was completed in 1926. The building is of gothic influence, and following many expansions and developments, the building was eventually able to accommodate around 400 patients. At the time, Waverly Hills Sanatorium was considered as one of the most modern hospital in the country.
Today, Waverly Hills Sanatorium is most famous for its numerous ghost and apparitions and haunting. It is considered one of the “the most haunted place in the world…”
Satanic rituals are said to have taken place in the building, probably later once the building closed. Amongst the most famous apparitions, we note the figure of a little girl, called “Mary” by some.
The little girl apparently roams the rooms in the upper part of the building and plays “hide and seek” with visitors. Trespassers at the time the building was nearly abandoned have also confirmed the sightings.
Those who sighted her also reported that the little Mary did not appear to be “normal”. She has been heard talking, claiming that she has no eye. Other people report having seen another child peering through one of the window. The child has not been identified so far.
Aside from the little girl, a boy playing with a leather ball has also been reported. It is unclear who this boy might be. He is said to appear frequently in any part of the building.
Coffins, slamming doors and more paranormal activities…
One of the scariest haunting is without a doubt the sighting of a hearse driving into the porch and dropping off coffins. Records have shown that coffins used to arrive on a daily basis and were dropped off on the very sport in the midst of the tuberculosis outbreak.
Like in every haunted house, noises are part of the paranormal activities but in Waverly Hills, they are probably scarier than anywhere else considering the grim history of the building.
Aside from slamming doors, the disembodied voice of a woman has been heard screaming “help me, somebody save me!» The ghost of this woman has also been sighted on numerous occasions by different people including squatters and trespassers. They claim to have seen the woman running down a flight of stairs with her wrist open and bleeding profusely.
Many rooms in the building light on even though there has been no power in the building for years.
The halls are one of the most haunted areas of the building and this is where you may be able to witness orbs and ectoplasm figures or clouds. Shadowy figures are often spotted wandering around, looking confused and desperate. The halls are said to be colder than any other rooms of the sanatorium.
Room 502
Finally, Room 502 is described by some as the most haunted spot of Waverly Hills Sanatorium. In 1928, the head nurse was found hanging from the main light fixture. Despite the long investigation, the reason why she took her own life was never established. The authorities recorded the death as suicide.
Then a few years later, in 1932, another nurse working in room 502 also committed suicide. She threw herself from the balcony. The reasons behind her death were never clarified and again, the coroner stated that she had committed suicide.
Ever since these two suicides, visitors claim to have seen a nurse dressed in white roaming the room and the hallway. The atmosphere of the room itself is said to be very gloomy with a deep feeling of despair.
TV Shows
Waverly Hills has become very popular due to numerous paranormal TV shows visiting the place. The sanatorium is now said to be one of the most haunted place in the Eastern United States.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium has appeared on ABC/FOX for Scariest Places on Earth. It has also featured on VH1’s Celebrity Paranormal Project as well as Syfy’s Ghost Hunters amongst the most famous TV shows.
Tours
Guided tours are organized throughout the year. Besides the normal day tours, you can choose to spend half or a full night in the building and take part in paranormal investigations.
