Halloween Experts

In 1883, Major Thomas Hays had a one room school house built for his daughters’ education, in the rolling hills of Kentucky, near Louisville. The teacher he hired, loved the peaceful setting so much, she named it Waverly School, after her favorite novel by Sir Walter Scott. Major Hays approved, and named his entire property Waverly Hill. In 1908, when the property was purchased by the Board of Tuberculosis Hospital, they kept the name.

Tuberculosis is a very serious disease, and, before the discovery of antibiotics, a very contagious one. The treatment included seclusion from the rest of the population, rest and fresh air. Many Sanatoriums, as tuberculosis hospitals were called, were built on hills in rural, wooded settings, believing that the peaceful surroundings would be beneficial to the patients. Waverly Hills Sanatorium opened in 1910, and was built on top of a hill, to safely accommodate 40-50 patients. In the years following it’s opening, tuberculosis reached epidemic proportions in the area, and in 1926, a new, larger structure was opened, that could house 400 patients. It served as a tuberculosis hospital until 1961, when it was closed, renovated and reopened in 1962 as a geriatric care facility called Woodhaven Medical Services. This facility was closed by the state in 1981.

Waverly Hills has been called one of the most haunted places in the world, one of the top ten most haunted places in America, and the world’s most haunted hospital. Over it’s long history, Waverly Hills treated thousands of patients. Most did not survive the “White Plague”, as tuberculosis was called, prior to the use of antibiotic treatments. It is estimated that, in its 50 year history as a tuberculosis hospital, somewhere between 6,000 and 8,000 deaths occurred there. In addition to the spirits of the many patients that are said to haunt the site, Room 502 has it’s own ghost. Legend has it that a nurse on the hospital staff learned that she had contracted the disease. Knowing the lengthy, futile battle she was facing, she chose instead to hang herself in room 502.

At the height of the epidemic, many patients died every day. To keep patient morale up, the hospital administration needed a discreet way to remove the dead. A tunnel, used also to receive deliveries of supplies and as a walkway for employees coming up or going down the hills to work in the winter months, was used to transport bodies from the hospital to hearses and trains waiting below the hill. The tunnel, called the Body Chute, or Death Tunnel was built before electricity was available, so, after descending about 30 feet, there is total darkness, except for whatever sunlight filters through the small circular vents that are spaced every 100 feet. Despite popular legend, bodies were not “dumped” into the Body Chute and allowed to bounce and roll down the hill to be disposed of at the bottom. Gurneys on rails were used to lower the bodies down the 500 foot tunnel. Paranormal investigators claim to have encountered many spirits on the long, dark walk.

The hospital has been featured on SyFy channel’s “Ghost Hunters” during their regular season, and they returned to Waverly for their Halloween live special in 2007. The movies “Death Tunnel” and “Spooked” were both filmed there. The French comic book series “Pandemonium” is based on the paranormal legends of Waverly Hills. Both French and British television Halloween specials have featured the Sanatorium and its history.

Waverly Hills is now privately owned, and public tours, both historical and paranormal, are offered daily. Arrangements can even be made for amateur ghost hunting nights. Special events are held at Halloween. Proceeds from the tours and other donations are used in the ongoing restoration of this historic site.