Movie Box Review

This is a documentary of The legend of Waverly Hills. Over 30 Actual Eyewitness accounts. Authentic photos and footage. EVPs and Ghost Photography. Night vision ghost hunt. Ghosts on set.

I would love to know the location, I’m amazed my haunted houses and would to see it!!

Comment by Ariel Brown | 10.2.2005 | 10:57 pm

Can I please have directions to visit?

Comment by quiana floyd | 10.3.2005 | 8:10 am

8101 Dixie Hwy.
Louisville, KY 40258

Comment by Ashley Trader | 10.4.2005 | 12:57 am

WAVERLY HILLS IS ONE PLACE I WANT TO GO TO A CONTEST FOR SOMEONE BRAVE ENOUGH TO STAY THE NIGHT THERE ALONE WOULD BE AWSOME AND I WOULD BE THE FIRST TO JUMP ON IT I THINK I COULD DO IT!!!

Comment by SHERRI | 10.4.2005 | 8:40 am

Could you e-mail me diarections and times when I would be able to visit this haunted house.

Comment by Sonya | 10.4.2005 | 8:46 pm

I’ve been to this place and it’s even had halloween parties there a few years ago. They have since posted a gaurd and have it closed off so you can’t get to it. But one night we went up there and it’s a one lane road and when we tried to make a u turn our car all of a sudden stopped nad we couldn’t get it started again. It a really scary place even in the day time.

Comment by Christy | 10.6.2005 | 8:24 pm

iv been there…its scary. Me and my friend snuck in one time and we walked in a room and heard a loud bang and we turned around and the door was shut and locked…when we finally got out we ran to our car and it would not start and i looked up and swore that i saw a woman on top of the building looking down at us. very scary place

Comment by Joe | 10.7.2005 | 3:46 pm

Waverly Hills is now open on weekends for the month of October for Halloween. Many people have been there and have been scared away from the sounds and sights thats happen there. If you love haunted places it is a must to visit!

Comment by Staci | 10.7.2005 | 8:13 pm

On halloween it’s not really scary. They only let you in one floor. They have it all set up and people are there scaring you. Not really scary.

Comment by Jennifer | 10.9.2005 | 1:27 am

The one floor is used for a haunted house thing they have each year. if you want to take the actual tour, i believe you have to make reservations first. i know they had a tour back in August and it cost $250.00. Hopefully if they have any tours this year it will be cheaper.

Comment by Casey | 10.9.2005 | 8:59 pm

I went there last night. They had a haunted trail type thing. The cost was $20. My friends and I went through it and people jump out at you and scare you. You walk into alot of different rooms. Many of the rooms represent what actually happened there before it closed down. After you get out of the haunted house part, you go through the actual autopsy and morgue place. You don’t see much there, but its realy dark. They have lights on the floor to guide you. It is a very scary place.

Comment by Nicole | 10.9.2005 | 9:29 pm

ok so is this located on dixi hwy or does anyone know for sure? trying to come up one weekend and take a tour

Comment by Erika | 10.10.2005 | 12:54 pm

There will be signs posted for you to get to Waverly Hills Sanitarium. If you pull up there original web site you will get the directions as well as a map of the directions. You will enjoy the trip.

Comment by Lori | 10.10.2005 | 3:52 pm

Very spooky place. We used to sneak up there 10-12 years ago before vandals trashed the place. Never seen any “ghosts”, but this place has a very unique atmosphere. The building itself seems to be watching you before you ever go in. Takes some nerve to explore it which takes 2-3 hours. It is located off Dixie Highway at East Pages. Up the road from Bobby Nichols golf course.

Comment by Kristie | 10.14.2005 | 3:48 pm

anyone who says that they have been to “parties at this place would be lieing to you.I know this because my dad has own this peace of land for going on 10 years now. And we only open it up on halloween! I have been in this place many times and have seen horrible stuff exsecialy in r.217 if you truley know the history of this place then you’ll know why R. 217 is so popular. And you wont want to enter it i learned that the wrong way.

Comment by Chelsea Denay | 10.18.2005 | 3:55 pm

how much does it cost? How What times is it open??????

Comment by Jordan | 10.22.2005 | 11:52 am

How much does this cost? What times is it open?

Comment by Melissa | 10.23.2005 | 3:40 pm

If you go down Dixie towards Fort Knox, you will come up to a street called west pages/east pages. West is on the left and East on the right. Turn right and go down till you come to a golf course ( in the middle of the 3rd turn). Turn there and follow it up till it splits and then go left. that will take you up to the entrance.

Comment by James | 10.25.2005 | 7:24 pm

My grandmother died in that hospital and she is probably the ghost. She had a bad case of VD i mean TB.

Comment by Deidra & Rylee | 10.26.2005 | 1:03 pm

my sister-in-law said there was a virtual i could take on the internet but i have looked everywhere, if you know where it is would you tell me!

Comment by barry drury | 10.26.2005 | 6:12 pm

hey chelsea, could you fill us in a little more on the history you alluded to? and what’s so special about R 217? i thought it was supposed to be R502 that was to be feared? I’m genuinely interested in knowing the whole story, as well as what plans there are for the property!

Comment by David Loyd | 10.26.2005 | 7:52 pm

I saw her too.

Comment by Oh hey | 10.29.2005 | 12:37 am

hey i have done some research and have found absolutly no info on r.217 can someone fill me in?

Comment by Beau | 10.29.2005 | 6:23 am

I work there for 5 years i have seen stuff out the third flor windows but what people dont know is there is a 3 basement ive been there 2 i heard stuff there iqiut and never went back why did they weld the door shut i now where 2 craw in at!!!!

Comment by rick oglesbee | 10.30.2005 | 7:17 pm

I work there for 5 years i have seen stuff out the third flor windows but what people dont know is there is a 3 basement ive been there 2 i heard stuff there i quit my job and never went back why did they weld the door shut i now where 2 craw in at!!!!

Comment by rick oglesbee | 10.30.2005 | 7:19 pm

Some of my freinds went to it this year and they said that it was pretty good…….. were all going up to see it next year like 5 car loads so ya….. did you know that theres been over like 60,000 people die there and quiet a few people have killed thereselfs there to. Alot in room #502 it supost to be the most haunted room in the hole place.

Comment by Josh T | 11.1.2005 | 8:39 pm

i have a 11 page paper i print off of the internet about it and it says that room #502 is the most haunted.

Comment by Josh T | 11.1.2005 | 8:42 pm

there are alot of place where i live that are haunted one is this. The story is in the early 1900’s there was a family that lived back in the counrty here like 30-40 min in the counrty and there was a father, mother, and twin boys. And the fother was in to black magic and one day his wife up and left him and the boys and it made him so angry that he took his two sons lifes…….. he burned them alive in there fire place and before he killed himself he put a spell on his self that he would come back as a bird so that he could watch out for his house forever. And when you went there there was always a bird siting by the door it was always there it never left and if you go there at dark trees glow that are around it and when you would go in you would hear kids lauging and the fire would be going. but some one burned it down it scared them so they burnd it. but they are all beried at there family cemitery right at the end of there driveway.

Comment by Josh T | 11.1.2005 | 8:55 pm

My wife & friends went Oct.22. WOW !!!
We live in Louisville, and this place is very creepy. I shot over 46 pics and on over 15 shots we captured orbs, faces, shadows, and wierd streaking red lights.
The shadow hall was very spooky. We saw neumerous shadows peeking around doors, people walking back-n-fourth at the far end of the hallway.
My throat got really tight and dry when we got to the 5th floor near room 502. Just as my throat was getting tighter the guide told us about a local tv station personality who had to be dragged out of the building because he was choaking, i thought to myself **** !!! We went out on the balcony where i have a perfect pic of a bright blue single orb flying around.
My wife thought she felt something bruch her hair and her friend from the office forwarded a pic she took of my wife and their was a red streak buzzing my wifes hair !!!
THIS IS A MUST SEE DEAL, NO KIDS, NO GOOFY PEOPLE, JUST BE ULTRA QUIET AND TAKE ALOT OF PICS OF BLACK DARK EMPTY ROOMS AND SEE WHAT DEVELOPES !!!

Comment by dan nolastname | 11.2.2005 | 8:11 pm

Can you get in there without paying or do you have to take a tour….i was just wanting to do up there for one night and then drive back…i want to look around and see scary stuff, but i am not interesting in paying to do it….???

Comment by Axul | 11.3.2005 | 10:25 pm

Is everyone sure ’bout this?

Comment by plumbo | 11.7.2005 | 10:22 am

I would like directions tho’

Comment by plumbo | 11.7.2005 | 10:24 am

a group of us at work took this tour last night… its $20.00 a person and they’ll do them thru november until its too cold we were told…

we didnt see much but the history is really awesome, 63,000 people died there, on average 1 per hour… to try and relieve some of the depression they started taking the dead bodies down a chute that had been built to get supplies in and out of the sanitarium, that way they could slide the bodies down and people wouldnt have to watch funeral cars going in and out of the property

lots of grafitti there where people have no respect, sneak in and do damage.. people should be shot, idiots

cool place to visit, they’ll let you spend the night there as well, we were told 50 for a half night, and 100 for a whole night.. they’ll put you on a floor and leave, let you roam around and explore on your own… we’re discussing getting a small group to do just that

Comment by dawn | 11.8.2005 | 2:18 pm

I am going to be going sometime this november, and I have heard so many things about this place. It absolutly has to be haunted. I am so scared to go but on the other hand I just can’t wait.

Comment by Bethany Heathers | 11.8.2005 | 4:59 pm

I Know that you have to make reservations before you go, and this year it only costs $20 for the actual tour.

Comment by Bethany | 11.8.2005 | 5:04 pm

I LIKE BOOBS

Comment by REBA | 11.11.2005 | 3:56 pm

WWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAWAW SASASASASAWEWERWEWEWDEDEDESESESWX23ASASSASSASSASSASS

Comment by ARNOLD | 11.11.2005 | 3:57 pm

IM FAT AND I DONT KNOW ****

Comment by JORDON | 11.11.2005 | 3:58 pm

MAGAMBO

Comment by PLUMBO | 11.11.2005 | 4:00 pm

I CANT READ SO PLEASE WRITE ME A LETTER MR. JUMPING BOX

Comment by AVANA HOMP ALOT | 11.11.2005 | 4:02 pm

why are there no pictures of these places

Comment by freddy | 11.12.2005 | 9:38 pm

I want to come out the closet already who should i do it

Comment by Freddy | 11.15.2005 | 12:55 am

I want to come out the closet already how should i do it.

Comment by Freddy | 11.15.2005 | 12:56 am

i saw a show about this on tv where the owners daughter and her friends went up there and attempted to stay all night but got scared off by the stuff that happend in the morgue

Comment by amber | 11.20.2005 | 3:26 pm

waverly hills has alot of great stories but this on i haven’t heard of my grandparents stayed at waverly and survived.

Comment by rebecca | 11.30.2005 | 4:49 pm

The piece of land along with the building now belong to the national historical society meaning that nobody can tear it down. They have stopped letting people enter freely because nobody had respect for the building. It is very gorgous inside and out. It could stand a little fixing up. My mother and I have been in the building and have seen no signs of paranormal activity although we believe there is somewhere in the building. We are going to stay the night there
sometime soon. If anyone has questions about the history contact me at
waverlyhillsnut@hotmail.com

Comment by Danielle | 12.3.2005 | 10:11 am

I live not 40 minutes from louisville if you go down 31W or aka dixie hwy you’ll see it up on the hill all of that story is very true but it’s wrist not risk lol it’s opened up at halloween because in kentucky we have an obsession with the haunted. anyhow look it up online it’s one of the top ten scariest places on earth.

Comment by Melanie | 12.27.2005 | 11:05 pm

my great grandmother died in that horrible place,… i wouldnt go there for nothing,…. my friends tried to get me to go i, got mad and knock his tooth down his throat..and by the way freddy change your ways,… son.

Comment by metris | 01.1.2006 | 12:10 pm

I WAS GOING TO GO THIS YEAR,BUT I WAS IN A CAR WREAK BEFORE I MAY IT THERE.

Comment by cherry gordon | 01.3.2006 | 3:29 pm

i would really like to go see the new movie about waverly its called spooked it comes out god knows when but they already have a web site thats awsome it has the trailors and SCARY stuff!!! the address is

spooked.org

you should really check it out its better than this web address!!!!!!

Later losers

Comment by shelby | 01.7.2006 | 11:54 pm

MY FRIEND DIED THERE I WOULD NEVER GO NEAR THAT ***** PLACE

Comment by loralie | 01.7.2006 | 11:57 pm

I went to the haunted house they had this year. That was uneventful, but a bunch of us did try sneaking in a few times. There is security and they will see you and make you leave. They are restoring the entire place to one day have tours. The first floor already has a bunch of brand new windows. The only other time I snuck up there with friends and my husband we were chased back down the hill by a shadow figure. It was scary. We also heard a woman screm coming from the hospital. After that we left..lol. This place is 100% absolutely haunted.

Comment by someone | 02.4.2006 | 2:46 pm

If you really want to visit this place, You will have to contact the owner of the building. They have a tour for $ 20.00 a person. I wouldn’t recommend breaking in because they are renovating the place. They are trying to raise money to keep the place open. The city of Louisville has told them if they can’t make it into a type of business that they will have to demolish the place and make it a subdivision. So get your friends and go support the great cause to keep a paranormal building existing.

E-mail me at AmidenaEvils@hotmail.com for the owners information, or how to set up a tour =-D

** They are planning to rennovate it as a Hotel…Wouldnt that be awesome, even more reason to go visit it now.

Comment by Emily Alvarez | 02.6.2006 | 4:26 pm

And the tours are held year round. I would recommend going anytime besides october because thats when they have the fake haunted house that only is held in the first floor. The real tour is all five stories plus the basement

Comment by Emily Alvarez | 02.6.2006 | 4:29 pm

This place is an all time great place and the immature people on here really need to take a history lesson and grow up about this place. I haven’t been able to visit yet but will be going this fall ad can’t wait. I can’t imagine how beautiful it must have looked when they first built this place.

Comment by Delacee | 02.8.2006 | 6:16 pm

On the weekend b4 halloween, my fiancee’ and I went up to the waverly hills sanatorium hospital with a group of friends. And we were gonna go in but there are two lines and the first line (ticket line was a 3 hour wait) and the other was probally (3 or more too) so we didn’t stay but we did see stuff in the windows and heard things. It was really spooky just on the outside. The place is nothing in pictures you see. Seeing the building in real life is SO much different than the pictures. I would never go up there alone by my self, i’d have to be with atleast 2 or 3 people. But my fiancee’s brother went up there and said he seen a little girl’s face appear in one of the windows, when he went over to the window there wasn’t no glass in the frame of the window, and when he turned around it got real cold and he freaked out. It is REAL SCARY but if anyone is not a believe after waverly hills you will be

Comment by Roger*s BabyGirl | 02.11.2006 | 11:59 pm

this stoy is awsom i would love to know were its at and how to get there!!!!!!!

Comment by brittany | 02.15.2006 | 8:48 pm

Stuff is spooky but make it spooker!!!*
I mean just Spook it up^ a bit

Comment by Meg | 02.18.2006 | 5:40 pm

Stuff is spooky but Spook it up^ a bit!!!*

Comment by Meg | 02.18.2006 | 5:41 pm

Spook it up^ a bit!!!*

Comment by Meg | 02.18.2006 | 5:41 pm

I’ve read up a bit about this place it’s very interesting. I don’t think you need to ’spook it up a bit’ its just how the place is.. it’s not meant to be some fake haunted house like you see.. it has history, not some little kid running around in a plastic mask trying to scare you. I wish I lived closer I’d definitely like to see it.

Comment by L | 02.20.2006 | 9:30 pm

I live in Louisville and I can tell you that this is one messed up place. One time my dad took me and a bunch of my friends up there to check it out. It was about 7 at night and it was starting to get dark out. My dad pulled right up to the entrance and as soon as he did the gates started shaking and we started hearing all these wierd noises. Then the car shut off and would not turn back on we had to get out of the car and push it back down the hill. I SWEAR this place is about as haunted as it gets. My mom used to have to go there as a little girl and sing to the people there. She said it was the most horrifying thing she has ever had to do. My grandmother also worked there and my father was tested for TB and it came back positive. He never had to go there but they did have to check in on it. My dad said that if he would have had to go there he probably would have killed himself.

Comment by Courtney | 02.21.2006 | 11:38 am

I want to go there at once, first I didn’t believe in ghosts until I saw this…

Comment by Ryan | 02.22.2006 | 3:40 pm

chelsea, is there anyway your dad would do a contest like have people enter and if they stay the whole night theyd get a prize?

Comment by andrea | 02.24.2006 | 5:28 am

I have been there a great many times. You guys do have one thing wrong in your description. They didn’t push dead bodies down a tunnel. They piled them on this underground “train” that wen to the bottom of the hill so that all the patients didn’t see how many people actually died. It is a very beautiful old building but definitely eery! As soon as you step out of your car you get a whole different feeling that you don’t even think that you have! The new owners are renovating the whole plave and are looking for any volunteers to help. I will actually be one of them. I have had many encounters there!

Comment by Erin | 02.25.2006 | 3:50 pm

Does anyone know when the documentary “Spooked” about Waverly Hills is coming out? I know the movie “Death Tunnel” is scheduled to be released on 2/28/06, but they have not said anything about “Spooked” being released as of yet. If anyone knows, please post it. Thanks….

Comment by Big Dog | 02.26.2006 | 1:30 pm

Chelsea doesn’t know much about Waverly for her father to be the owner. Her father may have owned the place at one time…but not presently. And if I am incorrect in saying this (I thought it had been purchased by the Historical Society), then she knows very little history on the place. I have never heard any story about this room 217…I think she has the room number incorrect, but again I may be mistaken. It was owned for many yrs. by the Mattingly family (as seen on Scariest Places on Earth a few years back). As for there not being any parties there…all one needs to see is the graffiti all over the walls to know better. I believe the first yr. it was actually open to the public as a haunted house (which covered a very small area…), there was a live band, a para-psychologist (who was a flake), and tours offered. It was actually quite fun. As my husband and I were standing in line, a teenager was dragging a keg through the hallway and was himself dragged off by security. I grew up in Valley Station very close to Waverly (Prairie Village) and made many a trip (both legally and illegially). I can’t say I have truly seen any para-normal activitiy, but the place does have an eerie feel to it. The beauty of the place itself is reason enough to want to see it. As for there being 68,000 people to die, this also is not a fact. The death toll was only in the hundreds. There is one very accurate site that reveals the history by an individual named Ron. I will find the site and post it for anyone interested. There is also a site that has some outstanding photographs of the building and old out buildings (some of which have since been torn down). I had three strange things happen while visiting. One time a couple of friends, my son, and myself decided to play hide and seek in the building. My son and I were hiding in a closet on the fourth floor when we heard that we were about to be found. We ran into a room that had a rusted table and a rusted disc shaped light with a cone hanging from the ceiling. Something about that room gave me a bad feeling…but I could never seem to find it on any other visit, nor saw it on any tours. Another time, my husband and I decided walk the path by the apts. off Dixie (not the road by the golf course)…our way is the most scenic trail! I have heard that if you veer off the road (before the gate) and follow the grassy path to the left (at the bottom of the hill), that there is actually some kind of cave or underground entrance…but not the body chute. I don’t know if this is an actual fact. Anyway, as we were walking the path (it was very dark and they had security at this time in trailers), we came to a place where a huge drainage pipe ran beneath the road. On the end of this pipe there sat an individual with their feet dangling over the edge. We got very quiet because we thought we had walked up on a security person…as we quietly approached, they disappeared from sight. Then another time, a friend and I had planned to spend Halloween night on the roof (hallucinating). While sitting at the bottom of the road where the apts. are, we saw person’s in hooded black capes coming from behind a dumpster. Not wanting to become anyone’s sacrifice, we decided to make other plans. I will find those sites and post them so you can get some more accurate info going here…thanks for taking time to read my posting! Gypsyblood

Comment by gypsyblood | 03.12.2006 | 12:55 am

i love waverly hills tuburculosis is still in there and people say the can smell breakfast cooking.

Comment by Ashley | 03.13.2006 | 9:41 am

Hello, My name is Alanna me and a guy i work with are going to Waverly Hills tommorrow night i have been looking forward to this for a while i will let you know how it goes….

Comment by Alanna | 03.24.2006 | 2:00 am

the room # is #502 you F*****G retards they did this one on goust hunters the tv show look get your facts right

Comment by yo momma | 03.31.2006 | 1:48 am

Hey, we wanna go to the hospital sometime but we dont want to take a tour becuz all the majesty of the dank will be ruined by annoying children and ppl trying to be scary. We just wanna go by ourselves….no vandals…just looking….do yall(wanna single?) think thats possible?….bye

Comment by Sara and Kristin | 04.5.2006 | 12:21 pm

I’m from the Indiana Ghost Trackers. In July we have a group of people spending the night at Waverly. I’ve heard alot about this place and have seen the movie “Death Tunnel” which is about Waverly, also filmed there. I’m real excited, but kinda scared at the same time. Has anyone stayed the night there, and how did it go? I’m sure there won’t be any sleeping going on.

Comment by stacy | 04.6.2006 | 10:06 am

This was taken directly from the courier journal(newspaper in Louisville):

But the hospital left a legacy — a quiet, woodsy backdrop for the neighborhood, land for a park and a golf course, and a colorful, if occasionally morbid, history.

When the hospital opened in 1911, it had 8 patients, but it soon reached its capacity of 40. At the time, Jefferson County had one of the country’s highest rates of tuberculosis, a highly contagious, sometimes fatal lung disease characterized by coughing, hemorrhaging, fever and shortness of breath.

And the hospital, which offered plenty of bed rest and fresh air as well as some surgical methods of treating the disease, was thought to be an excellent facility. In 1924, the hospital was expanded to house 400 patients.

Many people died at the hospital, and because hospital officials were concerned that the sight of hearses would be bad for morale the bodies were sent to the bottom of the hill through a steam tunnel.

The steam kept the tunnel warm and was also used by employees who needed to walk up the hill during the winter. Fey remembers that he and other children would go into the tunnel to warm up after sledding. The entrances to the tunnel have been blocked off, but it still exists underground, Severs said.

Comment by CSW | 04.6.2006 | 3:37 pm

Fridays: Paranormal/Historical Tour 8:30pm & 9:30pm

Saturdays: Paranormal/Historical Tour 8:30pm & 9:30pm

Sundays: Historical 2:30pm

Cost is $20.00 donation per person and tour times must be reserved in advance.
Please contact and schedule your tour with:
waverlytours@bellsouth.net
or call
502-417-4526 or 502-933-2142

Comment by CSW | 04.6.2006 | 4:07 pm

MOVIE ONLINE CANADA INTERVIEWS "SPOOKED" DIRECTOR/PRODUCER CHRISTOPHER SAINT

MOC-I just watched the trailer and I must say the documentary looks fantastic.
Did anything unusual happen while you guys were filming?

CS-Many strange things happened; fully charged camera batteries were dead
instantly; doors closed by themselves; we heard voices in the distance
that didn't belong to us, (the sound-man just loved that). Sounds that
were not present in the shoot showed up on the sound masters when we
began to edit the film and they were loud yet showed no presence or
waveform of being there. The Director saw the ghost of a little girl on
the third floor run through the hallway, the Producers saw SHADOW
PEOPLE, ORBS and a terrifying entity in the DEATH TUNNEL, which we were
able to capture with photos. We were constantly walking through strange
cold spots in the rooms. Sometimes we felt a spine tingling breeze but
when would look outside the trees were still. We even had a few people
quit because they were too spooked to continue working in the
Sanitarium.

MOC-I heard that the sanitarium might be torn down. Is it still there?

CS-Yes, though most all of America's Sanitariums have been marked for
demolition or have been demolished. This beautiful one still stands,
though new condo suburbs are being built all around it. Hope they enjoy
their view, "a tomb with a view".

MOC-I've read that during the shooting of this film that actual poltergeist
(EVP's) were recorded as well as shadowy figures and menacing faces of
the past. Can you give us some more detail about what was actually
recorded, as well as the shadowy figures? Also, what was your reaction
when you first discovered this?

CS-Three words, "OH MY GOD!" Our hearts dropped to the floor, did you hear
that, rewinding the tape, and we played them over and over again.
Sounds of screaming, breathing, voices mocking us, almost guiding us to
find some hidden truth. We were obviously there for a reason.

MOC-Will you be posting any of the actual EVP recordings or pictures on the
films official site?

CS-They have been left in the film's final edit and are also in the
opening titles. A lot of them are also posted and documented on many
different paranormal web sites. We have been asked to speak at the
International Ghost Convention in September on the haunted old cruise
ship, the "Queen Mary". That should be interesting.

MOC-SPOOKED is "Based on a true story about the haunting of the
Waverly Hills Sanitarium." For our readers, what is that story?

CS-We can't reveal the whole story because the plot line unveils it within
the movie. But the film is based on the actual tragedies and sightings
of five ghosts within the doomed walls of this diseased sanitarium
built in 1910. An upscale college initiation goes bad and strands five
girls in this haunted hospital. Within the five floors these girls
encounter the five ghosts of it's tortured past. As the girls, one by
one become infected; we soon uncover the shocking link that binds them.
A 500-foot underground body chute, built to remove the dead bodies of
its patients may be the only way out; they call this the Death Tunnel.
Creepy but TRUE!

MOC-The new "preview art" you just sent us looks really great. Can you tell
us a little bit more on what looks to be the main antagonist in this
film?

CS-We spent 18 hours straight in that tunnel, no one could breathe, mutiny was in the air, we lost some of our crew, and they were scared beyond
imagination. It was raining, three feet of mud, madness and mayhem.

MOC-Tell us about "Spooked": The Ghost of Waverly Hill Sanitarium
Documentary DVD?

CS-SPOOKED is a true documentary, a film journal of us, the filmmakers,
making a horror movie in the real haunted sanitarium with real ghosts,
real people and real terror. You can see and hear everything we have
been talking about for yourself. Spooked is in post-production with a
release date of October. You can check it out at: www.spooked.org.

MOC-For your last question, is there anything else you would like to add
about the film or say to the readers of Horror-Movies online?

CS-We would like to dedicate the film to the lost souls of the Waverly
Hills Sanitarium, May you find your way home.

INTERVIEW BY MOVIE'S ON LINE-CANADA EXPLORE THE 5 FLOORS

Spooked Paranormal Audio Report Data

http://www.underworldtales.com/waverly.htm

Bobette Bryan

Case No. 2004-005
Date: 9-25-04
Time: 10:00 pm
Weather:

Sun Data: X-rays – Normal; Geomagnetic Storm – Unsettled
Sunset: 7:34 pm
Sunrise: 7:33 am
Moon Data: Waxing Gibbous, 90% of moon illuminated
Moonrise: 6:29 pm
Weather: High 76º Low 59º
Visual Weather Check: Overcast

Equipment Used:
CellSensor™
Sony CCDTRV108 Hi8 Camcorder
Night Owl™ Explorer Night Vision Scope
Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer
Optimus Micro-35 Microcassette Recorder
Olympus VN-1800 Voice Recorder
Sony ICD-B7 Digital Voice Recorder
Nikon 90S OneTouch QD 35mm Zoom Camera

Paranormal Investigator: Dr. Rebecca Ray

Investigation Case: Waverly Hills Sanatorium - Louisville, Kentucky - September 25, 2004

INVESTIGATION 2004-005 PHOTOS
History of the location:

Louisville, Kentucky began its life as a city in May of 1778. At this time, the land was still part of the colony of Virginia, and it was Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson who signed the first Louisville town charter in 1780. Kentucky achieved statehood in 1792 when it became the first western star on the American Flag. Named for King Louis XVI of France in gratitude for French aid in the Revolution, Louisville grew slowly at first. It wasn't until 1828 when the population reached 10,000 that it got around to its official incorporation as a city. When the twentieth century began, Louisville's population had passed the 200,000 mark, a doubling in a single generation. In 1900, Louisville was still among the nation's twenty largest cities, twice as large as Los Angeles and Atlanta, and four times bigger than Dallas or Houston.

Although the Ohio River that the city sits on was a necessity for the growth of the city, it also was a source of problems. Louisville suffered through floods, malarial-type infections, and the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812. Unfortunately, this also made it ripe for the tuberculosis bacteria. This bacterium can attack any part of the body, but most usually attacks the lungs. During the first part of the Twentieth Century, it was the leading cause of death in the United States, and in 1900 Louisville, Kentucky had the highest death rate from tuberculosis in the country.

It seems that tuberculosis or TB (also known as Consumption) has always been with the human race. Evidence of TB has been found in the spines of Egyptian mummies and it is known that the disease was common in both ancient Greece and Imperial Rome. During some periods of history TB may have lessened its grip but it never entirely let go. For centuries health practitioners were unable to help patients afflicted with tuberculosis. Physicians in Rome recommended bathing in human urine, eating wolf livers, and drinking elephant blood. Many treatment regimens included fresh milk: human, goat, or camel. It was realized as far back as the 16th century that the disease was contagious, but besides blood letting of the patients or seeking an audience with the king to have him lay on healing hands, there was not much hope for sufferers. Over the years the treatments would change and could vary from country to country. Patients were told to rest or to exercise, to eat or to abstain from food, to travel to the mountains or to live underground. During all of this, TB claimed victims by the millions. At the end of the 19th century, Robert Koch found the microorganism Mycobacterium Tuberculosis was responsible for the disease, and this gave him a substantial enemy to fight. However, it would still be several decades before a cure was found.

Construction of what now stands as Waverly Hills Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky began March of 1924. At the time, this was considered to be one of the most modern tuberculosis facilities in existence. In October of 1926 the sanatorium opened for patients featuring four stories of patient rooms, a cafeteria and kitchen, an operating room, and plenty of solarium porch space on each floor for the patients. On the fifth floor was the heliotherapy department where those suffering from tuberculosis of the bone would be treated with sunlight. There was also a roof top swing set for the children, a nurse's station, a kitchenette, and access to the elevator maintenance in what is now known as the “bell tower.”

Due to the continuing efforts of several scientists working around the world, Selman A. Waksman finally found an antibiotic in 1943. Streptomycin purified from Streptomyces griseus was first administered to a human on November 20, 1944 with remarkable results. Not only did the disease immediately stop its progression, but the bacteria also disappeared from the patient's sputum and he recovered fully. Due to this antibiotic, by the mid 1950s tuberculosis had been virtually wiped out from the Louisville area, and in 1961 Waverly Hills Sanatorium closed its doors as a tuberculosis hospital.

The building didn't stay closed long, however, as in 1962, the building was reopened as Woodhaven Geriatric Sanitarium. Finding specific information about Woodhaven has proven difficult, but numerous stories circulate about patient mistreatment including squalid conditions, bedsores, exposure, electroshock therapy and other unusual experiments. Some may be folklore, but some must be true as on July 25, 1980, Woodhaven was court ordered to close do to improper patient care. (Some sources site this date as in 1982)

This time, the building stayed closed. Everything was auctioned off and the doors were locked for good.

Amazingly from this time until the late 1990s, the main building remained virtually as it was, with some minor wear from time. However, in 1996, Waverly and the surrounding property were bought by a local Louisville man who had ideas all his own. In 1998, this owner began plans to demolish the building and erect a 150-foot tall statue of Jesus Christ and an adjoining Christian meditation center. After successfully demolishing all the buildings except the main hospital and the laundry room, he was stopped by an injunction because the building is on the National Historic Register's endangered list. Not one to let a little setback stop him, the owner went to plan B: let the building decay and get it condemned. He opened the building up to vandals; letting them smash out windows, porcelain toilets and sinks, and basically destroy anything they could get their hands on. Walls became covered in graffiti, doors were torn from their hinges, radiators were ripped out, and you name it. Rumor has it that he also fired his employees and refused to pay them, telling them to take what they could from the building for their final pay, forcing them to steal brass and marble. This wasn't enough, though. He next began digging around the foundation of the building to try to make the foundation crack. He dug as deep as 30 feet, but this building is solid concrete and is fire proof, so it isn't going anywhere, fortunately. Evidence of his digging can still be seen today.
HAUNTINGS

It was during this time that accounts of strange activities at Waverly started circulating through the city. Rumors of “satanic rituals” taking place within the walls of the building were whispered, but what I feel was really happening was closer to vagrants moving in and locals visiting for drug deals. But other stories started surfacing as well. Waverly began to get a reputation as actively haunted. Many trespassers shared similar stories of phantom children playing hide and seek, doors slamming, disembodied voices, lights coming on when there was no power to the building, and some even witnessed a hearse drive up and drop off coffins.

Halloween weekend, 1999, the owner held “The Awakening of Waverly Manor.” He reopened the lobby and the first floor east wing for tours, a Halloween party, and a concert with local bands.

Stories of ghosts at Waverly continued to surface, and amazingly, most of them are akin to what others have experienced. Many have seen a little boy playing with his ball on the third floor, many people have witnessed “shadow people,” and there has been a report of a woman running from the building with chains on bleeding from the wrists shrieking, “Help me! Somebody save me!”

By 2001, this owner had given up and decided to sell the 29-acre property to the present owners. Thankfully, these owners are dedicated to restoring Waverly to its splendor, and have already made amazing headway!

In July of 2001, Triage Entertainment, the production company behind Fox television's “Scariest Places on Earth” decides to film an episode at Waverly and the Louisville Ghost Hunters Society was asked to participate as historians and guides. Although some of the moments on the show are “done up” for television, not all of it is, and it is worth watching if you have a chance!

Starting in October of 2001, and every year since, the current owners have had a Haunted Hospital attraction to raise money for the restoration of the building. If you are interested in more information about this, visit here: http://www.iscareu.com/waverly/

There have been a few private investigations at Waverly with comparable findings such as apparitions, pin lights, shadow people, “glittering” lights, cold spots, footsteps, doors closing or the sounds of doors closing, food odors, and electronic voice phenomena including some researchers claiming to have been told to “get out.” Others have reported objects falling on them, or unknown presences touching, pushing, or tripping them.

Room 502 seems to have taken on a life all its own through the years. Depending on whom you get your story from, the legend may vary, so I'll tell you a few, then tell you what my research shows. Room 502 was a nurses station, this we know. Legend has it that it was the scene of two suicides by nurses. One hanged herself in 1928, while the other jumped out of the room's window at an unknown time. During the time of the hanging suicide, it is said that there were mentally ill TB patients staying in the two rooms on the roof. Rooms 502 and 506 were the nurses' stations that oversaw these patients' rooms in 18-hour shifts. These patients had to go to a half door at the nurses' stations to get their food and medicine or to use the restroom that was adjacent to the nurses' station. When the nurse hanged herself, these patients had to continue to walk around her hanging body to use the restroom until the next nurse showed up for duty. Allegedly, the nurse was 29, unmarried, and pregnant. As to why the second nurse killed herself, I've never heard, nor could I find any record of it. However, I did find that the hanging suicide did take place, but not inside room 502, but in the foyer area directly outside of the room. Supposedly the documentary “Spooked” will have more details on this when it comes out.

One of the more odd occurrences at Waverly is the bizarre functioning of equipment, especially electromagnetic meters (EMF meters). Realistically, these meters should not even sound unless something magnetic has been encountered, and since Waverly has had no power to the building since the mid 1980's when the poles were knocked down and the wires removed, these meters should remain quiet while in the main building at Waverly. Paranormal investigators and ghost hunters also use EMF meters as a form of “ghost detector” as it is a widely held theory that ghosts or spirits are a form of energy that disrupts the natural electromagnetic fields when they are present. These meters pick up on this disturbance, and though it is not 100%, it is a good indicator that something may be present.
If I could digress a bit, another group that has been doing some research at Waverly has conducted experiments on the shadow people and have proven that they have mass. These anomalies trigger motion detectors! This is just another step in proving the energy theory since it is known that energy is mass.
Back to the EMF meters and other equipment, these electrical disturbances in Waverly have been reported to drain generators, melt equipment from the inside, and short out mobile phones.

In 2004, the movie “Death Tunnel” was filmed on location at Waverly. It is said it is based on local lore, legends, and history. I have not seen the film, but considering the main characters are five sorority girls, I have a feeling it is going to follow a bit of the typical horror film formula. This film is set for release some time in 2005. At the time of the filming of “Death Tunnel,” the filmmakers also made a documentary about Waverly Hills called, “Spooked.” Information about both of these can be found here: http://www.deathtunnel.com
THE BUILDING

Waverly Hills is private property, and trespassing is against the law. There are security guards on site 24 hours a day, and the owners live on the property as well. Do not trespass, don't even think about it. If you wish to visit Waverly, contact the Louisville Ghost Hunters Society for their next available tour.

To look at the outside of the building, the only damage you can see is the missing windows. Almost every window is missing from the building. Only on the Morgue wing have windows been replaced, this is the area currently being used as the security outpost.

Built in the “boomerang” or “batwing” style to keep the wind moving through the solarium, Waverly is uniquely shaped, with just the morgue wing coming out to what was known as the “body chute.” I'll get into that more in a bit.

Still located on the first floor of the building is the lobby, solarium and patient rooms, offices, medical labs, x-ray and dark room, a nurses station, a salon/barber shop, a dentist office, a library, the breaker and transformer rooms, cold rooms for meat and other food storage, an old electric/stone/water potato peeler (many believe it to be a meat grinder, its not), maintenance offices with a light indication system to let workers know if a cooler or transformer went out and needed repair, the north wing morgue.

On the second floor north wing is the kitchen area. This kitchen had the capacity and equipment to feed 500 people and a ventilation system that could completely change the air temperature every three minutes. Also on this wing were the bakery and the dining rooms. Serving 2,100 meals daily, the main cafeteria had the capacity to seat 328 employees and/or patients at one sitting and could be expanded to seat 448. One minor surgery/treatment room was located on the second floor as were a chapel, solarium and patient rooms, one kitchenette, one dinette, and two nurses stations.

Occupational therapy was held on the third floor, but otherwise it was basically the same as the others with one minor surgery/treatment room, solarium and patient rooms, one kitchenette, one dinette, and two nurses stations.

On the fourth floor, which many report to be the most haunted, were major surgery and the recovery rooms. Also located here was a waiting room, one minor surgery/treatment room, solarium and patient rooms, one kitchenette, one dinette, and two nurses stations.

What is referred to as the fifth floor is really just a few offices and some rooftop space. It was reserved for the heliotherapy department that treated TV of the bone with sunlight. Children with this disease had a swing set to play on while they received treatment. In these offices there was a very small nurses station and a kitchenette.

In the basement of the building there are elevator maintenance, access for the laundry building, crawl spaces for pipe maintenance, and an unidentified room containing a fire door.
THE BODY CHUTE

What is now called the “body chute” is actually a tunnel that leads from the hospital to the railroad tracks at the bottom of the hill. Originally, this was built as nothing more than an underground tunnel to ship coal and food/produce up the hill to the hospital more efficiently. However, as the deaths continued to rise, the staff thought of another use. One side of the tunnel is concrete steps, while the other side consisted of a motorized rail and cable system. Eventually, this is where the bodies of the dead would be placed on gurney tables and lowered to the bottom of the tunnel where hearses would picked them up for funeral arrangements. This tunnel was totally enclosed from the morgue wing of the hospital insuring that the patients would not see how many bodies were leaving the hospital to keep up their morale. Doctors discovered early that mental health in patients is just as important as physical health. At one point in time, Waverly had approximately one death an hour, and it is known that at least 63,000 people died at the hospital.

This tunnel is approximately 500 feet long, and has air vents every few feet to let in light and fresh air. It has been said that the tunnel was large enough to hold all the patients and staff as a bomb shelter during both World Wars if needed.
MY EXPERIENCE

Wow, where to start? I went to the 2004 Mid-South Paranormal Convention with fellow P.A.I. member Kelli Patrick on September 25, 2004 for the overnight investigation at the Waverly Sanatorium.

Our investigation started around 10pm in the cafeteria on the second floor. We'd recently been split into our groups, and were listening to Dale Kaczmarek speak on ghost photography when several of us suddenly felt extremely cold. I commented that my backpack felt like ice, and we all began looking for a source of a breeze, but could find none. The leaves on the trees outside were still. A few minutes later, the same feeling of cold came over us again, and again we were looking about for a source of this chill but found nothing. As we were looking, four of us happened to be looking towards the hallway windows and doors as a blond woman in a gown holding something over her mouth passed in front of one of the windows. She appeared to have a glowing effect to her, but what threw me the most was that she only passed in front of ONE of the windows, not the doors, or any of the other windows. All of us immediately commented, “Did you see that?” and one of our group ran to the hallway to find her, but there was no one there. My adrenaline was up! It was going to be a great night! None of us had our cameras at the ready, it happened so fast, but it was the kind of thing that I don't need to prove to anyone. I know what I saw.

When Dale was finished with his presentation, the official investigation started and our group went to the “body chute” first. It is an interesting place, not at all what I expected from what I'd been told or read. It is almost a peaceful place. While we were in there, we heard what sounded like the gate being slammed behind us several times, but when we'd check on it, the gate was always open just as we'd left it. At one point, we heard several voices talking right outside the gate, but when we went to explore, no one was there.

Next, we went to the Courtyard area. While we were there, this area had been decorated with fake tombstones and a coffin for the annual haunted house, so it seemed kind of silly to me, but I definitely had the feeling someone was watching from the third and fourth floor windows, but I never saw anyone there. Another member of our group took several photos, and a curtain was moved in one of them. We are still waiting to see if this was a person or not.

Then we returned to the second floor. Wow. With all the other people gone, and our lights shut off, the shadow people are clearly visible. I know what you may be thinking… but seriously. It's not like one or two, these “people” are everywhere in this building. They are like shadows that pass up and down the hallways, in and out of doorways, look out of windows, and it is just like someone is there. They actually move and break the moonlight. I'd never seen anything like it. At one point, they were literally all around us. I also witnessed pinpoints of light, and what I'll call “sparklers” for lack of a better term. I'd never seen anything like either of those before either. The “sparklers” were like bursts of glitter being tossed in the air with amazing light on them. I saw things like this on both the third and fourth floors as well. Also on the third and fourth floors we heard footsteps coming towards us when no one was there, and doors slamming.


Courtesy of Dr. Rebecca Ray: Waverly Hills Sanatorium - September 25, 2004

Mary?

Although not taken during our investigation, I am posting this photo here. It was taken by Christopher Saint while on location scouting for the film, Death Tunnel. www.deathtunnel.com This documented ghost photograph will be featured in the documentary, SPOOKED, The ghosts of Waverly Hills. www.spooked.org
"I was starting to head up the death tunnel, when a real bad feeling came over me, it was so heavy, I felt very sick. So I clicked my camera in front of me, and trucked up that tunnel and I swear there was something behind me. It was the most twisted feeling that anyone could have."
When Saint saw his photo, he was shocked to find what looks like little girl from the third floor of the building that some call "Mary." Mary is said to be playful, running up and down the hallways playing hide and seek with trespassers, but Mary's descriptions state that she has no eyes.
As you look at the original photo, it was taken from the bottom of the tunnel shooting up. The anomaly is on the right side, showing her left side profile. You can see her hollow eyes and "pixie" nose.

Mary? Inverted

Another interesting thing about this photo, is that it appears to be two photos. When it is turned upside down, three robed figures appear. Some think these figures look foreboding, but I saw them more as nurses, or nuns.
Both this photo and the original definitely show super-charged paranormal energy of some kind.
Christopher Saint's feelings on taking this photo are, "This photo has changed my life, her haunting image standing in front of me in the Death Tunnel, I will remember forever. The feeling of overwhelming sadness and loss, a bottomless pity reverberates her screams on my EVP recordings."
To see either the original or the inverted photograph in its entirety, click on the enlargement.

Courtesy of Paranormal Activity Investigators Report; Dr. Becky Ray
http://www.ghost-investigators.com/photographs/photographs.php?inv_num=19