Movie Box Review

Spooked at the Waverly Hills Sanatorium.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium, located in Louisville, Kentucky, was first constructed in 1908 and opened in 1910 as a two-story hospital to accommodate 40 to 50 tuberculosis patients. It has since come to be considered as one of the most haunted buildings in the Eastern United States.

In the early 20th century, Jefferson County was severely struck with an outbreak of tuberculosis. The original Waverly Hills building was soon home to over 140 patients. Needing a larger hospital for the overwhelming amount of patients coming in, construction on a new five-story building, that could hold 400+ patients, began in March 1924. The new building opened on October 17, 1926. It was eventually closed in June 1961.

One of the most famous legends of Waverly Hills is the story of Room 502. Folklore says that a nurse committed suicide in this room by hanging herself. Also of note is the "death tunnel," which was constructed to allow the staff to move dead bodies to the bottom of the hill on which the sanatorium was built. The staff believed this would help keep the morale of the patients up by not allowing them to see the hearses picking up the deceased, since at its height there was as many as seven to ten people dying each day.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium Main Entrance

In 1996, Bob Alberhasky bought Waverly Hills and the surrounding area. After considering demolition, the new owner reopened Waverly Hills for tours in late October 1999. In 2001, Charles and Tina Mattingly bought Waverly Hills from Bob Alberhasky. On July 19, 2001, Fox's Scariest Places on Earth was filmed at Waverly Hills by Triage Entertainment. Waverly Hills is now open again for Halloween tours, along with a haunted house, with proceeds going towards the renovation of the building.

In 2004, two movies, Death Tunnel and Spooked, were filmed at Waverly Hills.

• Personal Accounts of Visting Waverly Hills (including Jay Gravatte's story of hosting "Fox's Scariest Places on Earth"
• Official Waverly Hills Sanatorium/ Woodhaven Geriatric Center Memorial & Historical Resource
• Ron's Official Waverly Hills Website
• "Death Tunnel" Movie Website
• "Spooked" Movie Website