On the roof, where the children were given their sun-therapy, the creepy song “Ring around the Rosy” is heard. Other spirits of Waverly Hills Aaron Vowels via flickr CC BY-2.0 Often the words “Get Out!” are heard here when people want to step inside. Years later, a homeless man was murdered in this room by a drug gang. In 1932 another nurse jumped to her death from the same room’s window. She presumably took her own life because of this. They weren’t married and she feared the contamination of tuberculosis. People think she did so because she carried the child of a doctor. Nurse Mary Hillenburg committed suicide here in 1928. The most notorious room in the building is room 502. Room 502 Aaron Vowels via flickr CC BY-2.0 There are many people that have seen, felt or heard something. And in spite of the fact the original energy has changed because of this, a lot of paranormal activity occurs. In the Fall it does even be turned into a haunted house. Since Charlie and Tina bought the sanatorium, it is being used for ghost-tours. Ghost tours Aaron Vowels via flickr CC BY-2.0 They saved the building from demolishment. Fortunately, it fell in the hands of Charlie and Tina Mattingly. The result was a vandalized and trashed location. Many broke into the place in search of paranormal evidence. Because of the history of Waverly Hills, people believed it was haunted. Ever since the place was vacant, it turned into a magnet for teenagers looking for a thrill and homeless people looking for shelter. The sanatorium was almost demolished in 2001 because it was turned into a ruin. Woodhaven was closed already in 1982 because of neglect of the patients. It became a place for demented elderly and severely disabled people. This didn’t last long, because it was re-opened again in 1962 as the Woodhaven Geriatric Center. In 1961 the sanatorium was even shut down. When finally antibiotics were invented, tuberculosis was suppressed and the number of patients gradually lessened. Nursing home Solarium – Aaron Vowels via flickr CC BY-2.0 The tunnel was then transformed as a body shute. They didn’t want to upset the other patients. When the illness, and thus the number of deaths, was at its peak, the staff used this tunnel to carry the bodies outside. And that’s still a lot! Beneath Waverly Hills is a 500 ft ( 150 meter ) long tunnel that the staff used for entering and exiting the building and to help bring up materials. According to the legends a total of 63.000 people died here, but the more exact numbers say that 8.212 people lost their lives at the sanatorium. The Tunnel of Death Body shute – Aaron Vowels via flickr CC BY-2.0Ī lot of people lost their lives at Waverly Hills. Just a few patients lived to tell about it. The last straw was the lobectomy, where an entire lobe of the lung was removed. Sometimes they deliberately caused a collapsed lung to give the lung some rest. Ribs and muscles were removed to give the lungs more space. One of these treatments was to place little balloons inside the ill lungs to stretch them. There are pictures that show patients who are literally covered in snow while they are “recovering” in the yard.īut it gets worse! Because there was no medical treatment, they started experimental treatments. So the patients were put outside along with their beds to absorb as much fresh air and sunlight as they could. Sunlight, fresh air and a lot of bed rest were the best they could do. The staff tried to do what was best for the patients. No medicine Aaron Vowels Flickr CC-BYĭuring the big outbreak there were no medicines against tuberculosis yet. It even had its own zip-code and post office. There were vegetable- and fruit gardens, a water treatment plant and there were animals that they kept for milk, eggs and meat. Healthy children of the patients were housed in a separate wing of the sanatorium. So not only patients, but also doctors, nurses and other members of the staff, had to say goodbye to their families. Because this illness was so extremely contagious, it was impossible to leave the sanatorium. After the renovation 400 more patients could be looked after. Tuberculosis is often referred to as the “White Plague”. In 1924 three more floors were built on top of the first two of the Waverly Hills Sanatorium because Jefferson County was facing a major tuberculosis outbreak. You’ll never go home Aaron Vowels via flickr CC BY-2.0 There’s no place in the world where there is more paranormal activity then here. Even though Waverly Hills has been shut down since 1982, it’s still the talk of the day. This sanatorium was founded in 1910 as a two-storey infirmary to house 40 to 50 patients who suffered from the lung illness tuberculosis. In the southwest of Louisville, Kentucky, lies the Waverly Hills Sanatorium.
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