Hauntings of Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Waverly Hills Sanatorium is a sprawling, boomerang-shaped building located in Louisville, Kentucky, along the Ohio River. 

At the turn of the 20th century, the Ohio River Valley was stricken with countless cases of tuberculosis, which was then referred to as “white plague,” “white death,” or “consumption.” 

With the disease spreading rapidly and no cure for it, a small hospital was built atop Waverly Hill to accommodate patients with early-stage tuberculosis. 

Over the years, that small hospital would grow into Waverly Hills Sanatorium. The site of pain, suffering, and death that went on for decades, Waverly Hills is now believed to be one of the most haunted places in the world. 

Why is Waverly Hills Sanatorium Haunted?

Despite all the research that has been done on Waverly Hills Sanatorium, no one is certain how many people died there. Some claim that as many as 68,000 people died on the property, but the real number is believed to be closer to 8,000. 

Still, this is a staggering number of deaths to occur in one place. Added to that is the fact that not all of the deaths were the result of tuberculosis. Two nurses took their own lives at Waverly Hills in the 1920s and 30s. 

A man was murdered inside the building when it was abandoned, and there’s a story of a tragic accident involving the death of a boy who may also have been murdered. Even after Waverly Hills closed as a tuberculosis hospital, it reopened as a nursing home that developed a reputation for inhumane treatment of patients. 

As a result, paranormal investigators have identified several active hauntings within the massive complex. 

Waverly Hills Sanatorium is open to the public throughout the year, and ghost tours are available. Although parts of the building have been renovated, much of the hospital has remained derelict and untouched since it officially closed in the early 1980s. 

Paint peels off doors, debris litters the hallways, and graffiti covers the walls, creating a distinctly unsettling atmosphere. No matter what changes are made to Waverly Hills Sanatorium, it’s clear that the spirits are there to stay.

Table of Contents

1. The Early Years
2. Life & Death at Waverly Hills
3. The Rise and Fall of Waverly Hills
4. Hauntings
5. Ghost Hunting
6. Waverly Hills Today

The Early Years: Waverly Hills as a Tuberculosis Sanatorium

Major Thomas H. Hays originally owned the land on which Waverly Hills sits. In addition to building a house, Hays had a one-room schoolhouse built for his daughters. 

They were taught by a woman named Lizzie Lee Harris, an avid fan of the Waverley novels by Sir Walter Scott. As time went on, the property became known as Waverley Hill. 

It’s unclear when or why the second “e” was dropped, and the two spellings were used interchangeably for quite some time.

Due to its low elevation and proximity to the Ohio River, Louisville became a hotspot for tuberculosis in the early 1900s.

In 1906, the Board of Tuberculosis Hospital was formed to help combat the disease. In 1908, the board devised a plan to build a tuberculosis hospital for patients with early-stage TB. Waverly Hill was chosen due to its higher elevation, scenic views, and remote location. 

On July 26, 1910, Waverly Hills Sanatorium opened its doors to patients in the Louisville area. The original building was a modest, two-story wooden structure with two wings (one for men and one for women) that could accommodate 20 patients each. 

It cost only $25,000 to build. However, the number of patients at Waverly Hills quickly outgrew the space. 

Overcrowding Becomes A Problem

Plans for the new Louisville City Hospital were launched in 1911, but this facility would not have a tuberculosis ward. In 1912, all the patients at the old city hospital were transported to Waverly Hills.

Space became so tight that many of these patients lived in tents outside the sanatorium as additions to the building were quickly constructed. In 1915, a children’s pavilion was added to Waverly Hills with 50 beds available. 

The children’s pavilion was both for children with tuberculosis and for children whose parents were being treated at the sanatorium.

By the 1920s, the time had come for a more modern building. The Board of Tuberculosis Hospital gave Waverly Hills $1.1 million to construct a new building. 

Designed by architect D.X. Murphy, the new building was a five-story structure totaling 180,000 square feet.

The new building allowed every patient to have their own room, telephone, radio, and solarium porch. Construction began in May 1924, and the building opened to patients on October 17, 1926. 

Waverly Hills Sanatorium was a segregated facility, so only white patients were allowed in the new building. Black patients and other people of color received lesser care in an old wooden structure that still stands today.

Life & Death At Waverly Hills

As Waverly Hills grew, it became a self-sustaining property with its own zip code, post office, laundry, butcher, water treatment facility, and acres of farmland.

 As a result, Waverly Hills had limited contact with the outside world to prevent infection. However, this also made life at Waverly Hills isolating. Doctors and nurses could not leave the property and lived full-time at Waverly Hills.

Because tuberculosis was a relatively new disease with no cure, new treatment methods were constantly being explored. The staples for treatment at Waverly Hills were fresh air, a healthy diet, and plenty of rest. 

Fresh air was encouraged so much that photos of patients sitting in lounge chairs covered in snow during the winter exist. Sunlight was also believed to treat tuberculosis, so patients with TB underwent heliotherapy on the roof of the new building, giving them extended exposure to sunlight. 

Drastic Procedures At Waverly Hills

Unfortunately, there were cruder methods for treating the disease. Patients would sometimes undergo artificial pneumothorax procedures that wholly or partially collapse the infected lung, which a balloon would replace.

 Patients could also have lymph nodes removed from the lung during a lobectomy or have portions of the lung removed in a pneumectomy. 

The most extreme treatment was thoracoplasty, which involved removing seven to eight ribs, which was believed to allow greater lung expansion.

For patients whose TB had spread to their brain, doctors administered electroshock therapy to combat the psychological effects of the disease to little avail. 

As you might imagine, death was a near-daily occurrence at Waverly Hills due to the extreme and often ineffective treatment methods. The constant cloud of death over the sanatorium usually resulted in low morale among patients. 

The death rate at Waverly Hills eventually became so high that a secret tunnel was constructed to move bodies out of the sanatorium. The tunnel is commonly referred to today as the “Body Chute.”

The Rise and Fall of Waverly Hills: From Hope to Abandonment

In 1943, an antibiotic called streptomycin was developed to effectively treat TB. After it became widely available, it was administered at Waverly Hills in 1949. 

As a result, the patient population steadily decreased throughout the 1950s, and in 1961, the remaining patients at Waverly were moved to the nearby Hazelwood Sanatorium. 

When Waverly Hills shut its doors, it housed approximately 50,000 patients over 51 years.

A year after its closure, Waverly Hills Sanatorium reopened in 1962 as a nursing home called the Woodhaven Geriatric Center. Woodhaven was meant to treat patients with dementia, mental illness, and physical disabilities. 

Sadly, the center was constantly understaffed, and there were widespread rumors of patient neglect. 

Cockroach infestations, archaic modes of electroshock therapy, and other inhumane living conditions led to the closure of Woodhaven in 1982.

Following Hazelwood’s closure, developer J. Clifford Todd purchased Waverly Hills for $3,000,500.00. Todd initially planned to convert the buildings into a minimum-security prison. 

However, his plans were quickly quashed after locals banded together to protest the opening of a prison. Todd considered turning Waverly Hills into apartments, but this plan also fell through. 

The Property Continues To Change Hands 

Waverly Hills welcomed yet another owner when Robert Alberhasky purchased it in March 1996. Aberhasky’s goal with the property was to construct the largest statue of Jesus in the world. 

He based his plans on the statue of Jesus on Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro. Aberhasky hired Louisville-based sculptor Ed Hamilton and architect Jasper Ward to have a 150-foot-tall Jesus statue placed on the roof of Waverly Hill’s central building. 

Alberhasky wanted to convert the building into a combination chapel, theater, and gift shop. 

Unfortunately, his fundraiser to raise $8 million for this massive project only succeeded in raising $3,000 over the course of a year. Aberhasky subsequently abandoned the project and Waverly Hills.

After being more or less vacant for nearly 20 years, Waverly Hills Sanatorium was purchased by Charlie and Tina Mattingly in 2001. 

They created the Waverly Hills Historical Society two years later to restore the crumbling buildings. 

Hauntings at Waverly Hills

A wide range of hauntings have been reported at Waverly Hills Sanatorium, shocking even the most seasoned paranormal investigators. For example, people have encountered the ghost of a doctor in a white lab coat entering the fourth-floor operating room. 

Witnesses have seen a ghost chef in the abandoned kitchen and smelled baking bread. On the fifth floor, visitors have encountered the full-bodied apparition of a woman running down the corridor with her wrists cut, screaming.

Faces often appear in the windows of empty rooms, and neighbors reported seeing lights on at the sanatorium during the years when there was no electricity.

During the years that Waverly Hills stood abandoned, two men reportedly died on the property. One was said to be murdered by drug dealers, and the other fell down an elevator shaft with his dog. 

Since then, the apparitions of both men and the dog have been seen on the property. Owner Tina Mattingly even reported seeing the ghost man and his dog while locking up after a tour.

More Than Just Ghosts

In addition to these identifiable spirits, countless shadow figures lurk amongst the five floors of Waverly Hills. 

The most disturbing is an entity known as “The Creeper.” The Creeper does not seem to be human, but rather, a large shadow figure that has been spotted climbing the walls and ceiling of the 4th floor. 

Another terrifying entity visitors are rumored to encounter at Waverly Hills is doppelgangers. These entities look precisely like their victim. Imagine seeing someone who looks just like you in the dark, decrepit hallways of Waverly Hills. 

There’s an old superstition that people have been known to die after seeing their doppelganger, which makes witnessing one at the hospital even more traumatic.

Waverly Hills is filled with the sounds of the past. Auditory hauntings include screams, moans, sounds of doctors performing surgery, and relentless coughing. Children’s laughter has also been heard–a chilling reminder of the young patients who perished here. 

Witnesses also felt spirits holding their hands while walking down the hallway. Others have felt body pain as if experiencing the symptoms of TB or the barbaric surgeries once performed here. 

Ghost Hunting at Waverly Hills

In 2010, Zak Bagans and the team from Ghost Adventures were locked inside Waverly Hills for an overnight investigation. During this investigation, the team captured several EVP recordings, including a distinct voice asking, “Remember me?” 

At one point in the investigation, Zak climbed into the morgue cooler, which would have been used to store bodies before being transported off of the property. 

While lying in the now non-functioning cooler, Zak felt extremely lethargic for no reason and ultimately had to leave the area to regain some of his energy.

The show Ghost Hunters aired their first investigation of Waverly Hills in 2007 and returned for a second investigation in 2021. 

In the second episode, lead investigator Grant Wilson referred to Waverly Hills as “kind of like a department store for the paranormal. Each floor is something different.” 

During these investigations, the team captured multiple shadow figures inside the hospital, and banging doors were heard in the Body Chute. 

Perhaps more unsettling was when a prankster ghost locked investigators inside the Body Chute. Owner Tina Mattingly confirmed that multiple people, herself included, had been locked in the Body Chute over the years.

Waverly Hills Experiences Sparked An Idea

Amy Bruni and Adam Berry ventured to Waverly Hills to investigate the paranormal. The duo’s first investigation led to them making contact with the spirits of former nurses trapped at the hospital. 

The experience was so powerful that Amy and Adam started their ghost-hunting show, Kindred Spirits. 

After returning to investigate Waverly Hills for Kindred Spirits, they researched the haunting of a seemingly malevolent entity that lived on the fourth floor. Through their research, Amy and Adam determined that the spirit was a former patient named John Mitchell. 

John’s wife had been murdered by a man she was having an affair with while John was at Waverly Hills. Unable to care for his children, they became wards of the state. As a result of the physical and emotional pain he endured, John’s spirit haunted the fourth-floor decades after his death. 

Amy and Adam captured John’s shape on their SLS camera and communicated with him. Although John’s spirit was initially unhappy with their presence, Amy and Adam seemed to give his spirit some sense of closure. 

The Body Chute

Also known as the “Death Tunnel,” the Body Chute is the route thousands of patients took out of Waverly Hills following their deaths from tuberculosis. Initially, the Body Chute was used to transport supplies during the construction of Waverly Hills.

It is a steep, 525-foot-long tunnel with a railcar system that stretches from the first floor of the main building and down Waverly Hill. Upon reaching the bottom of the hill, bodies would be taken for burial or cremation. 

Today, the Body Chute is considered one of the sanatorium’s most active areas. Covered in graffiti and debris, it immediately gives off an uneasy vibe.

 Ghost hunters have heard doors slamming, knocking, moaning, and strange lights appearing in the tunnel’s blackness. Others have reported a strong feeling of being watched.

Timmy

Perhaps the best-known ghost residing at Waverly Hills is that of a boy named Timmy. Timmy O’Shea lived in the children’s pavilion while his parents were being treated for stage 3 tuberculosis. 

Timmy would often play ball with other children on the roof of the sanatorium. One day, Timmy fell off of the roof and died.

 A police investigation determined that it was an accident, but there were rumors he’d been pushed by a man standing near him at the time of the fall. 

Over the years, people have brought balls for Timmy to play with. In certain instances, these balls appear to move on their own or roll back to the person who threw them, as if Timmy continues to play with guests. 

Room 502

One of the most active rooms for hauntings at Waverly Hills is Room 502, just off the old nurses’ station. In 1928, a nurse named Mary Hillenburg entered Room 502 and hung herself from the ceiling light. 

It’s believed that she took her own life because of a pregnancy from one of the male doctors at Waverly Hills. 

Another version of the story goes that Mary died after the doctor performed a botched abortion on her, and he subsequently staged her death as a suicide. 

Several years later, in 1932, a nurse fell to her death from the window of Room 502. Although some suspected that she had taken her own life, there have been rumors over the years that the nurse was pushed.

Visitors to Waverly Hills are often struck by an overwhelmingly negative feeling upon entering Room 502. Some have even heard a disembodied voice shout, “Get out!” as soon as they enter the room.

Waverly Hills Today: Preservation and Continued Mystery

Waverly Hills Sanatorium remains open to the public and is a popular destination for professional and novice ghost hunters alike. Guests can book daytime tours to learn about the hospital’s history, and more adventurous souls can embark on an overnight investigation. 

You can bring your own investigative equipment, but Ouija boards are prohibited. As if Waverly Hills wasn’t creepy enough, the sanatorium also turns into a haunted house attraction during Halloween.

Despite its many ownership changes and near destruction, Waverly Hills is more popular now than ever. Professional ghost hunters continue investigating it, and tourists flock to the hospital yearly. 

Some might argue that it’s a morbid curiosity that keeps people coming back to Waverly Hills despite it being a site of pain, grief, and death. 

Then again, the emotional energy confined to the hospital walls might be what makes visitors feel so close to the spirits who linger on. 

Whatever the case, there’s no doubt that Waverly Hills will continue to live on to tell its story, as will the ghosts who call it home.

America’s Most Haunted

The United States is full of haunted locations that fascinate and strike fear in our hearts. Many have surface-level stories that are more complex than they appear. Continue reading our series on America’s Most Haunted Places if you enjoyed this in-depth look into the Waverly Hills Sanitorium.

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Sources:

https://thewaverlyhillssanatorium.com/about-us/

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http://www.waverlyseance.com/music-box/

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