Waverly Hills - October 7, 2007
I had the honor of visiting Waverly Hills in October 2007. Our group was escorted by two tour guides, who gave us some history as well as told us about the paranormal happenings as we went along. There is record that some 63,000 people died from Tuberculosis.
Our tour began in the 485’ Death Tunnel. This tunnel had many uses back in it’s day, but it is most known for moving the dead bodies. Since antibiotics were not around at this time, it was believed that fresh air and good morale were crucial in helping patients fight the Tuberculosis. They believed that for the patients to see the hearses pulling up several times a day to pick up the dead bodies would have been too depressing for the patients, and their condition would only worsen. That’s when they came up with the idea to use the tunnel to transport the bodies out. If the deceased were fortunate enough to have families that could afford to have them picked up, they left in caskets filled with wax. For those who were not that lucky, their bodies were dipped in wax - in order to stop the spread of Tuberculosis - then they were put into an unmarked mass grave. Within 100 yards of the entrance of the death tunnel lays the only unmarked mass grave in the state of Kentucky. The number of people who were disposed of here is numbered in the thousands. We then moved into the building.
First, a little history. Unfortunately one of the previous owners tore down most of the buildings. The only part remaining is the main building where they housed 500 patients. The rooms on the 2nd, 3rd and 5th floors in the middle were small and there were 2 people per room. The rooms along the back hallway were reserved for the people who were not expected to live. They were put in these rooms in order to have some comfort their last days. Waverly Hills is thought to be one of the most haunted places in the US. It is known to be the most active place for Shadow People. The front of the building has a Solarium on each level. This goes back to the theory that fresh air was a cure. Patients spent anywhere from 12-13 hours a day there, whether rain or shine or snow. Electric blankets were invented during this time for the patients of Waverly Hills due to the extreme conditions. Every employee of Waverly Hills during this time was at risk for contracting Tuberculosis. Despite this fact, people lined the streets of Dixie Highway waiting for an opening. The pay back then was a little over $1 per day, which is equivalent to $25 per hour today.
There is so much activity that goes on, it is impossible to put it all into this article. I will touch on only the highlights. Since Waverly puts on a haunted house this time of the year, we were not able to investigate the first floor. We began on the 2nd floor, where the cafeteria was located. This area is thought to be extremely active. We then moved up to the third floor. This is the floor where TAPS caught the image on their thermal camera. This is also where the homeless man and his dog were beaten to death and set on fire and thrown down the elevator shaft. No one knows whether he was alive when he was set on fire. He and his dog are both seen on this floor.
On to the 5th floor. The 5th floor is best known for the nurse that reportedly hung herself outside of room 502. Though there is no way to know exactly what happened, they do know that the nurse was a single woman back in the 1930’s who had an affair with a married man. She did in fact get pregnant. Given the time in which this happened, this was not acceptable. She was found hanging outside of room 502. The baby was found about a week later in the sewer system. There is another story of a nurse that jumped to her death thru the window of 502. The 5th floor was also the roof of the hospital. This is where the children were kept and played. They spent most of their day outside playing on the swing set on the rooftop.
We then moved to the 4th floor, where we spent most of our time. This floor was reserved for the wealthy people. This floor is thought to have the most activity for Shadow People. I can say that I did witness several unexplainable moving black figures. Some of them appeared to be peeking around the corners of the rooms. These occurrences are thought to be residual hauntings. A former patient told her story of how they used to peek out the doors into the hallways at night to see if anyone was being taken out. It is thought that these shadows are deceased patients and former nurses who continue to live on in these halls.
Given all the history and death that occurred at Waverly Hills, I can see why this place is so haunted. It is one of the most sought after places to investigate by anyone interested in the paranormal. I have merely scratched the surface, at best, as to the happenings that go on here. I cannot wait to go back to Waverly, along with the rest of my group, for the most ultimate investigation possible.
Article by Tammy