Photo TR: Waverly Hills Sanatorium Ghost Hunt

[coasterdave]

I cleared this with Robb before anyone asks and yes it is not Amusement Park related but there is one right down the road from Waverly Hills though. Close enough?

 

I went on a ghost hunt at the place that is billed as the most haunted place in the US, The Waverly Hills Sanatorium located in Louisville, Kentucky. I know some of you have saw this place on varies Paranormal Shows such as Ghost Hunters when they did a Halloween Live Telecast afew years back. It is known to be the holy grail to Paranormal Investigators. It is a place that I intend to revisit atleast once more this year.

 

Before I go any farther I want to state now that I do not believe in ghosts for I have never saw one face to face. I am the type of person that is onto the seeing is believing. When I come face to face with one then I will change my mind but will say that some pretty interesting things took place this night that made me say, "Wow that was pretty cool."

 

Those that do not know what Waverly Hills is it was a tuberculosis hospital that served the area. Although it was considered the best site for treating the disease at the time, but some of the procedures were primitive and grisly. The doctors could not treat the disease so they tried their best by removing organs and trying to find a cure in barbaric ways. Tuberculosis ravaged the body along with your mind and has caused some patients to go insane while slowly and painfully dieing.

 

Like other TB sanatoriums it was situated on a hill because it was thought that elevation had drier, purer air and it was thought beneficial to sufferers. Sunlight and fresh air were also provided by exposing patients’ rooms along the outer walls to mother nature. Please remember that the people that came to this hospital early in its operation left through the Body Chute or Death Tunnel. They came here hoping for a cure so they could go home and live the rest of their lives but the early years of operation it was just a place to come to die tile a cure was found. During the height of the TB outbreak there was an average death of one every other day. And why is it I want to pay to stay eight hours in this place?

 

So check in was at 11:45 on the 13th and things got started off abit after midnight with a walk down and up the 500 feet tunnel known as the Body Chute for everyone that died here was removed from the hospital by this tunnel. The bodies where either claimed by the family of where sent to the University of Louisville as cadavers. The bodies where then return back to Waverly to be buried in a one of the graveyards or buried in the largest mass grave that Lucy guards over today. Now pics:

 

Lets began the descent of the Body Chute shall we? A round trip down and back along the stairs and not the ramp.

 

 

Be careful of your step and watch out for objects still hanging from tunnel.

 

 

Everyone that died here was lowered down the ramp you see in this picture hence the name Body Chute.

 

 

Here is the area that leads into the hospital as I am told.

 

 

Just to show you just how dark the area around Hospital is and Cindy is out there waiting!

 

 

Here is the first floor where the Morgue is located! We will get to that soon enough.

 

 

Welcome to the Morgue and lets rest abit in here shall we?

 

 

This is the inside of what a Cadaver Drawer is like. All of us while end up in one of these at one time but why would you want to lay in one alive? I spent 30 minutes here and nothing happened to me.

 

 

Parts of the first floor is used as a Haunted House in October.

 

 

This is where patients where rolled out 10 hours each day in sun, rain, snow, heat, and cold. Fresh air was thought to cure TB but I am sure this help spread it to the doctors and nurses that worked there. ALot of the workers became patients over time.

 

 

These are rooms where shared by two people. Please note that even when the place was running there was no glass in the windows to help fresh air flowing in. Bet it was really cold in the winter.

 

 

Each floor had places that visitors come visit patients and here is one of them. You vist here and you might end up in one of thier rooms to share it with someone.

 

 

This is the room that a person was put into when there was nothing else that could be done to help them. This is the room in which you where put to wait to die in. It did have a door that would be closed and a window. It reminded me of a prison cell or maybe in this case it was Death Row. You end up in here then it was a one way ticket to the Morgue. Each double room had one of these rooms located across the hall.

 

 

This would be your view if you where in a bed on one of the rooms.

 

 

One of the death rooms seem to absorb the flash of my camera. It was noticeable colder upon entering this room along with a feeling of dread.

 

 

Nikki is someone who's name is everywhere in the building. She must have really got around or something.

 

 

This at one time was a doctor's office at one time.

 

 

Welcome to the Operating Room or the room that most of the deaths took place in. This is where you might have a liver removed or maybe a lung to help stop the TB from ravishing your body. Alot of the folks did not survive the operations that took place in here.

 

 

Atleast they did have something to sterilize the instruments, if they used it that is.

 

 

This is right outside the operating room on the fourth floor.

 

 

This is a part of the fourth floor that was pretty active the night I was there. I was asked to walk down the hall and stop. I was told that there was a shadow that seem to lurk behind me and even blocked me from the groups view. Was cool but I did not see it and noone was smart enough to take a pic of it.

 

 

This is the fifth floor of Waverly. This is an area that people have heard kids playing. Sorry I heard nothing.

 

 

This was a tower on the top floor and had no idea how to get there since our guide said enjoy the place and went to smoke.

 

 

This is Room 502. this is a room where two nurses killed themselves. One hung herself for some unknown reason and the second nurse took a leap off the top of the building. It is known to be active but only hung out there for afew minutes.

 

 

Nothing really left of the room. Just a shell with the johnny flusher.

 

 

There are balls all over the hospital. People bring these so they can play with Timmy. Just call his name and speak with him for afew minutes. Roll the ball and wait afew minutes for the ball might roll back to you. It did take place twice and I could not find a way to debunk it.

 

 

Shot on the way out of building and the darkness seems to be eating the flash.

 

 

Behind this door a homeless man was killed along with his dog. Some have caught a dog barking on EVPs and I caught one barking in this area. There was no dog around that night.

 

 

Just think that this was your view if you where in the hospital for TB. This was the only sight that you saw till they found a cure, you where operated on, or you where pulled back to the death rooms to die in the darkness all alone.

 

 

This was the Electroshock room used to try to cure TB. Imagine coughing up blood each time the switch was flipped.

 

 

This greats people that come to tour the place.

 

 

Center of building

 

 

Overview as I was leaving of building.

 

I am still going through my EVPs but have four that rang from a laugh to a dog barking. I still have more to go through and hope to be finished by the weekend and will post them in this thread if you folks want to hear them. I plan to return here in oct to enjoy the place in a more controlled environment with a smaller group. Maybe I can get grabbed again like I did during my stay.

 

Rest of Pics are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/coasterdave/sets/72157623621781842/

 

Next stop will be the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Westin, WV on April 10th.

Edited March 31, 2010 by jedimaster1227

[Looty]

Holy crap!...those are some freaky photos. Thanks for posting this...very interesting place indeed!

[DBru]

I am amazed by this place. I see it up on the hill nearly every weekend during the wintertime while riding along Dixie Highway. It's huge.

 

I've toured the sanitarium twice. First, a guided tour with a small group of people, and the other for the Halloween attraction they set up. While it sure is perplexing, it has caused me to wet myself a couple times too many, so I don't have much desire to visit again anytime soon. (Just kidding. Kinda. )

 

Thanks for sharing!

[kennywood_racer]

Thanks for sharing.

 

I have been a big Ghost Hunters fan for a while now, and that is my favorite episode.

 

It's nice to know that TRP has its own ghost hunter.

[kidcoaster 2]

Thanks for the report!

 

My second hobby after coasters is Paranormal Research so this was great to read! I did see you caught a few orbs in some of your pictures and the picture where you says it absorbed your flash they say spirts do this to collect the energy before they manifest....

 

Looking forward to the day I make it out there.

[coasterdave]

It was misting rain about all night the night I was there. As a matter afact it rain from the time I left the house in NC for the drive up and rained all the way back. The reflection off of the water vapors when the camera flashed is the result of the 'orbs' in some of the pictures. I will say that I do not really vest alot of faith in 'orbs'.

 

Orbs alot of times are just the reflection of the flash off of rain or dust in the air. The Waverly is a pretty dusty place and when you have about 40 people walking around it stirs up the dust. But they do make some pretty cool pictures but I do not think these orbs on still photography are Paranormal at all.

[kidcoaster 2]

Yes it is is sometimes hard to determine Dust / rain from Orbs but with a careful eye you can spot the differences. Luckily I have had some training in telling them apart.

 

Dust or Rain are always transparent and light almost always passes right through. Here is a few examples of dust.

 

Just above the group is dust

 

 

All the the spots in this photo are dust

 

 

Now for rain because of how quickly rain falls when you take a picture with flash normally only a small bit of light is caught such as the photo below (The back two spots are rain but the bright one on top is not)

 

 

Orbs are always solid and you normally cannot see through it such as the photo above on top of the photo.

 

Also here is another orb in the top right of the photo

 

 

But sometimes partial orbs like to show up and that is because the spirit is "weak" and has not collected alot of energy, here is a few examples.

 

The one over the bricks and in the door on the left are partial orbs while the rest is just dust.

 

 

Also the one on the left below is a partial orb

 

 

Of course everyone has their own beliefs but that is why this kind of stuff is so interesting....

[Pufferfish]

^ Even if some of what is pictured there are real orbs, orbs are only collections of energy. Balls of energy or orbs can collect anywhere electricity or just a lot of activity is, there isn't anything paranormal about them themselves. The paranormal side of things comes in because it is believed that for ghosts to manifest, they absorb this energy.

 

Anyways, who thinks we should start up a separate thread in the random forums dedicated just to the paranormal? We should also do meet ups for ghost tours and stuff.

[DOCTOR DOOM!!!]

When I drive on Dixie and see this place, it always makes my heart drop! I've heard plenty scary @$$ of stories from people that sneak in, people that went on those tours, and individuals that work security!

 

However the haunted house they set up during October SUX!!! it takes away the TRUE spookiness from Waverly! To experience something truly scary at that place legally, one MUST take a tour or work there!