Louisville's Haunted Sanitarium

Sit back, relax, and I will tell you a true story, a story of intrigue, of death.

Okay, intrigue and death may be pushing it a little, but it is most definitely a story of my visit to a haunted sanitarium in the most unlikely place in the world: Louisville, Kentucky.

Louisville has lots to offer in the way of attractions and entertainment. There’s the zoo, museums, historical homes to tour, Churchill Downs, of course, and plenty of shopping arenas. But, Waverly Hills Sanitarium is a must-see for anyone visiting the area who is interested in medical history, local history, architecture, locations where movies have been filmed, locations where television shows have visited, ghost stories, and even official ghost hunting. In other words, Waverly Hills has something for just about everyone.

Hidden behind security gates and a golf course is a huge gothic-looking building, complete with gargoyles, that towers over the parking lot like a fortress one dare not try to penetrate. Although the building may not seem as threatening in the daylight, at night it appears like a king reigning over its kingdom, and none too happy with intruders. Yet, myself and many others braved the concrete beast and took a 10 p.m. tour. It was more than worth the time and ticket price.

Led by a knowledgeable guide through a labyrinth of hallways and staircases, usually only with a single flashlight and, at other times, only in the darkness of the corridors, we were educated on the history of Waverly Hills and informed of the many ghosts that have been encountered. Sitting on the edge of medical advances, Waverly Hills housed and treated tuberculosis patients during an epidemic of the disease in this country. Yet, because of medical knowledge that was not learned until much later, many of the patients at Waverly Hills died, and many of their spirits are said to remain there, including a nurse who hung herself in the hospital.

So that everyone enjoys their visit and has the opportunity to capture potential apparitions, photography is limited at times so that (living) people taking tours are not disturbed. With this in mind, I decided to leave the good camera in the car and just enjoy the tour. In one particular location, however, the guide informed the group that we would be allowed to take photographs with flashes for a brief time. Since my phone has never taken good pictures, I removed my tablet and, after several moments of trying, discovered that no part of the tablet, including the camera, would work. “Apps are down,” the error read. Odd, I thought, since it had worked perfectly the day before. Frustrated, I turned it off as the tour continued on.
At a later part of the tour, the guide explained an experiment conducted for a few minutes during each tour so that visitors have the opportunity to possibly view or hear or have some experience with the apparitions so often caught by ghost hunters who frequent Waverly Hills. Although not in the locations the guide suggested may be hot spots, I did see something move in the darkness and sensed a strange presence nearing me from a former patient room. Repeated glances to the side, however, and a thorough look about the room revealed no physical presence. I blew it off as eerie imagination and continued on the tour.

Around midnight, when the tour ended, I took the good camera out of the car to take some flash-less photographs of the outside of the building which is relatively well-lit with white and red lights. Focusing on the tower and the fourth and fifth floors, I repeatedly tried to take a picture. The camera wouldn’t work. Then, with my finger off the shutter release, the camera took a photo on its own. Thinking it suddenly worked again, I focused again on the tower and the fourth and fifth floors, and again the camera would not work. I released my finger from the shutter release, and after a brief pause that was just long enough for me to think it wouldn’t work, the camera again took a photo on its own. Several times this occurred, and in each photograph there was nothing in the image but what looked like electrical currents of white with patches of red. I called it a night and left. About thirty minutes later, curious as to what was wrong with the camera and the tablet, I tried them both again, and both worked perfectly, properly.

The next day I reviewed the handful of photos from Waverly Hills, zooming in, zooming out, and looking for some resemblance of the gargoyles or the tower. In the midst of some of the red lights, I thought I saw four faces, one of which had something around her throat, but they seemed more like blurs when transferred and reviewed on the computer.

Is Waverly Hills haunted? I can’t say with certainty. I believe it to be haunted. It feels haunted. With certainty, however, I can say that it is a fascinating tour and I hope to return again someday to take another.