Waverly Hills Sanatorium | Historic Tour
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- During the 1800s and early 1900s, America was ravaged by a deadly disease known by many as the “white death” --- tuberculosis. This terrifying and very contagious plague, for which no cure existed, claimed entire families and sometimes entire towns. In 1900, Louisville, Kentucky had the highest tuberculosis death rate in America. A hospital was constructed on a windswept hill in southern Jefferson County that had been designed to combat the horrific disease.
The new structure, known as Waverly Hills, opened two years later in 1926. It was considered the most advanced tuberculosis sanatorium in the country but even then, most of the patients succumbed to the disease. There was no medicine available at that time to treat the disease and so many patients were offered rest, fresh air and lots of nutritious high protein food.
Treatments for tuberculosis were sometimes as bad as the disease itself. Some of the experiments that were conducted in search of a cure seem barbaric by today’s standards.
While the patients who survived both the disease and the treatments left Waverly Hills through the front door, many others left through what came to be known as the “body chute”. This enclosed tunnel for the dead led from the hospital to the railroad tracks at the bottom of the hill. Using a motorized rail and cable system, the bodies were lowered in secret to the waiting trains. This was done so that patients would not see how many were leaving the hospital as corpses. Their mental health, the doctors believed, was just as important as their physical health.
By the late 1930s, tuberculosis had begun to decline around the world and by 1943, new medicines had largely eradicated in the United States.
In 1961, Waverly Hills was closed down but was re-opened a year later as Woodhaven Geriatrics Sanitarium. There have been many rumors and stories told about patient mistreatment and unusual experiments during the years that the building was used an old age home. Some of them have been proven to be false but others have unfortunately turned out to be true. Electroshock therapy, which was considered to be highly effective in those days, was widely used for a variety of ailments.
Is any wonder, after all of the death, pain and agony within these walls, that Waverly Hills is considered to be one of the most haunted places in the country?
In March 1996, Waverly Hills and the surrounding land was bought by Robert Alberhasky, who ran Christ the Redeemer Foundation Inc. He had plans to construct the world's tallest statue of Jesus on the Waverly site, along with an art and worship center. This did not happen due to lack of money.
By 2001, the once stately building had been nearly destroyed by time, Waverly Hills had become the local “haunted house” and it became a magnet for the homeless, looking for shelter. The hospital soon gained a reputation for being haunted and stories began to circulate of resident ghosts. Visitors told of slamming doors, lights in the windows as if power was still running through the building, strange sounds and eerie footsteps in empty rooms.
Perhaps the greatest - and most controversial - legend of Waverly Hills was connected to the fifth floor of the building. This floor of the old hospital consisted of two nurses’ stations, a pantry, a linen room, medicine room and two medium-sized rooms on both sides of the two nurses’ stations. One of these, Room 502, is the subject of many rumors and legends and just about every curiosity-seeker that had broken into Waverly Hills over the years wanted to see it. This is where, according to the stories, people have seen shapes moving in the windows, have heard disembodied voices and, if the legends are to be believed, have even jumped to their deaths.
According to the stories, a nurse was found dead in Room 502 in 1928. She had committed suicide by hanging herself from the light fixture. She was twenty-nine years-old at the time of her death, unmarried and pregnant. Her depression over the situation led her to take her own life. It’s unknown how long she may have been hanging in this room before her body was discovered. And this would not be the only tragedy to occur with a connection to Room 502.
In 1932, another nurse who worked in the same room jumped from the roof patio and plunged several stories to her death. No one seems to know why she would have done this but many have speculated that she may have actually have been pushed over the edge. There are no records to indicate this but rumors continue to persist.
If you enjoy our content & would like to support our channel click the link below & buy us a coffee:
buymeacoffee.c...
Keith & Terri
I have always heard of that place. Thank you for yet another interesting and informative video.
Glad you enjoyed it! It was such an interesting place!
That's good video and Nice content ❤❤
Thanks! 😊
Very interesting! 👍🏼
It was amazing to learn about! 😊
With your eerie music and the way you spoke throughout the video narrating I was getting the unsolved mysteries vibe. Great video and tons of info packed into it
It is a pretty eerie place 😲 such interesting history
We appreciate you watching 👍
Great video! I kept expecting one of you to jump scare us!
It was such an interesting place! We should have 😂🤣😂
This is awsome, new subscriber excited to support you ❤❤
We truly appreciate your support! Thank you for your kind words 😊
@@RetiredLovingIt ❤️
@ourlittlegingerbreadhouse6000 we subscribed to you as well!
Very cool old building. It must have been a sad existence for so many who lived there. We don’t believe in hauntings. But if it were possible, I think places like this are probably where you would find it. A body chute… that is rough. I am glad we live in a time of much better medical procedures, compared to the old days. Thanks for sharing some tour highlights!
It’s crazy how medical practices have changed so much in a relatively short amount of time.
Interesting 🤔 but creepy 😱
It definitely was creepy 😬
That place is huge and very interesting. In the UK workhouses families were separated too, but not able to eat together.
It’s crazy how far medical treatment has come in such a short time period. We found this so interesting
Knew a guy at work that went there at night. He was skeptical before, but is a believer now!
We would definitely NOT want to be there after dark! It’s creepy enough in the daylight!
That place looks so interesting. Yes I saw the white image go across the screen 😱
We loved the tour!
I seen you all at a park open
Awesome! Glad you found our channel! 😃
Probably built and begun with the best intentions, but as is often the case, things go awry so quickly. I'd have a hard time visiting here.
It’s crazy how medical practices have changed so much in a relatively short time.
A true house of horrors
Definitely a creepy place. We love old buildings & history so we found it fascinating 😊
Let us know if you’ve been to Waverly Hills.
looks kinda scary in a way
Many people are terrified of this place mostly because of the paranormal stories they have heard and all the deaths that occurred there. It is known as one of the most haunted places to visit. Ghost hunters and paranormal investigators go there and spend the night. We’re not into that kind of stuff. We just love the old architecture and history of the place.
❤😊
Thanks Miss Brittany 😊
👍👍
Thanks for watching 😊