Waverly Hills Sanatorium

**Waverly Hills Sanatorium** is a haunting hospital often and located in Louisville, Kentucky considered one of America's most haunted buildings. Originally opened in 1910 as a small two-story building to house tuberculosis patients, Waverly Hills soon began to grow exponentially after an epidemic ravaged the population.

## History

In 1910 as a small two-story building to house tuberculosis patients, Waverly Hills soon began to grow exponentially after an epidemic ravaged the population. It is estimated that up to 60,000 patients lost their lives battling disease within the walls of the sanatorium. Many bodies were unceremoniously dumped on the infamous 485ft 'death row' which was used to help hospital staff dispose of them more efficiently.

In 1962, the building was turned into a nursing home for the elderly, but ended up closing after two decades following reports of patient neglect. In 1983, there were plans to turn the sanatorium into a prison, but the idea fell through due to complaints from neighboring properties. In recent years, Waverly Hills has found a new calling as a destination for paranormal investigators and enthusiasts who come hoping to encounter something unexplained.

Up to 35,000 people take guided 'ghost' tours of the building each year. "They come from Ireland, China, Australia, Russia," said chief executive Tina Mattingly. “Without them, this building would not be saved". It's the people who save him, who come here to go on tour. And it's the building that draws people here.

In the early part of 1911, the city of Louisville began to make preparations to build a new Louisville City Hospital, and the hospital commissioners decided in their plans that there would be no provision made in the new City Hospital for the admission of pulmonary tuberculosis, and the Board of Tuberculosis Hospital was given $25,000 to erect a hospital for the care of advanced cases of pulmonary tuberculosis.

On August 31, 1912, all tuberculosis patients from the City Hospital were relocated to temporary quarters in tents on the grounds of Waverly Hills pending the completion of a hospital for advanced cases. In December 1912 a hospital for advanced cases opened for the treatment of another 40 patients. In 1914 a children's pavilion added another 50 beds making the known "capacity" around 130 patients. The children's pavilion was not only for sick children but also for the children of tuberculosis patients who could not be cared for properly otherwise. This report also mentions that the goal was to add a new building each year to continually grow so there may have even been more beds available than specifically listed.

Due to constant need for repairs on the wooden structures, need for a more durable structure, as well as need for more beds so that people would not be turned away due to lack of space, construction of a five-story building that could hold more than 400 patients began in March 1924. The new building opened on October 17, 1926, but after the introduction of streptomycin in 1943, the number of tuberculosis cases gradually lowered, until there was no longer need for such a large hospital. The remaining patients were sent to Hazelwood Sanatorium in Louisville. Waverly Hills closed in June 1961.

The building was reopened in 1962 as Woodhaven Geriatric Center, a nursing home primarily treating aging patients with various stages of dementia and mobility limits, as well as the severely mentally handicapped. However, Woodhaven failed greatly because it was severely understaffed and overcrowded. Woodhaven also had reports over patient neglect and was closed by the state of Kentucky in 1982.

Simpsonville developer J. Clifford Todd bought the hospital in 1983 for $3,005,000. He and architect Milton Thompson wanted to convert it into a minimum-security prison for the state, but the developers dropped the plan after neighbors protested. Todd and Thompson then proposed converting the hospital into apartments, but they counted on Jefferson Fiscal Court to buy around 140 acres (57 ha) from them for $400,000, giving them the money to start the project.

In March 1996, Robert Alberhasky bought Waverly Hills and the surrounding area. Alberhasky's Christ the Redeemer Foundation Inc. made plans to construct the world's tallest statue of Jesus on the site, along with an arts and worship center. The statue, which was inspired by the famed Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, would have been designed by local sculptor Ed Hamilton and architect Jasper Ward. The first phase of the development, coming in at a cost of $4 million, would have been a statue of 150 feet (46 m) tall and 150 feet (46 m) wide, situated on the roof of the sanatorium. The second phase would convert the old sanatorium into a chapel, theater, and a gift shop at a cost of $8 million or more.

The plan to construct this religious icon fell through because donations to the project fell well short of expectations. In a period of a year, only $3,000 was raised towards the project despite efforts to pool money from across the nation. The project was canceled in December 1997.

The tunnel served as a passageway to transport bodies and supplies in and out of the sanatorium. It was built on the first floor with the rest of the building. The corridor is 500 feet to the bottom of the hill and has a set of stairs on one side, which were the stairs used for the workers. On the other side, there was a cart that moved up and down the staircase which transported supplies and other necessities.

Since antibiotics did not exist in the time that the sanatorium was active, other forms of aid were used to treat TB patients. For example, heat lamps, fresh air, and positive talk and reassurance helped to keep patients alive, since the death rate of TB patients at the time was one death per day. However, at the peak of the disease, the sight of the dead being carried away in full view of the patients lowered the patient morale. Therefore, the sanatorium tried transporting the dead bodies as secretively as possible to increase the morale and lower the death rates, using the tunnel to that end. The doctors and workers of this time also believed that this would help to lower the disease's spreading rate.

Hence, the tunnel was also known as the "Body Chute" or "Death Tunnel" by the locals and paranormal investigators visiting the sanatorium.

Apart from transporting dead bodies out of the sanatorium, the tunnel also served as a temporary air raid shelter during World War II.

After Alberhasky's efforts failed, Waverly Hills was sold to Tina and Charlie Mattingly in 2001. The Mattinglys hold tours of Waverly Hills and host a haunted house attraction each Halloween, with proceeds going toward restoration of the property. They're also currently restoring all the windows in the decrepit building while restoring the interior of the old sanatorium.

The old sanatorium is currently owned by Charlie and Tina Mattingly. The couple purchased the site for $230,000 in 2001 in hopes of restoring the sanatorium and turning it into a local tourist site. Together with volunteers from Waverly Hills Historical Society, the group now runs regular historical and ghost tours all year round.