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Looking for a good scare?
Tonight, I plan to take in another mass-produced, poorly-lit, plastic-monster-haunted house at a price too pretty for my college income. I will be scared by monsters and fake blood and will inevitably pay $10-$15 to bury my head in the back of my fiancé's shirt, which is what WILL happen. I am a chicken. I love the idea of haunted houses, but in reality, I don't even know if I've ever seen one. And the chainsaws. The chainsaws make me piss-pants myself on the spot, but for those of you who are perhaps more daring than I, if you want something truly scary this Halloween, I suggest you visit the Waverly Hills Sanatorium.
From what I hear, the haunted house isn't that great, but just being on the premises for mere minutes was enough to make me never want to return. In fact, the last time I was there was probably two years ago, and despite the fact that I live all of five minutes from Waverly, I don't plan on going back anytime soon. For any students who are perhaps new to the Louisville area and like losing control of all bodily functions out of pure fear, Waverly is the place to be. It's not some faux haunt created by money and black lights. People actually died there, and for many, that's something you can tell as soon as you step onto the grounds. The hospital is surrounded by stories and myths of what transpires behind the graffiti-covered walls, even today. Truth is very hard to come by when it comes to Waverly Hills, and the following popular "facts" are to be taken with a grain of salt, as I couldn't possibly begin to locate all the "truths" surrounding Waverly.
Waverly Hills opened in 1911 as a tuberculosis hospital to offer a breath of fresh country air to those suffering from the "white plague." Jefferson County was one of the top hot spots for TB at the time. It opened with just forty patients; less than a decade later, it had to expand massively to house all those suffering with TB, as well as the doctors and nurses who attended them. One simply can't overlook Waverly's morbid past. A steam tunnel (commonly referred to as the Body Chute) was built into Waverly, which sits high on a hill off Dixie Highway. This was designed so when TB was at its height, bodies could be sent down to the bottom of Dixie Highway without being seen by the other patients. It was apparently felt that hearses would lower the morale of those still alive. While most records have been lost, it is estimated that tens of thousands of people died at Waverly, which at one point was averaged to be a patient an hour. It is also rumored that heinous operations were performed to remove people's rib cages in hopes of recovery.
The operating room is rumored to have more supernatural occurrences than many of the others. There are tales of doors shutting and not reopening for minutes at a time, and camera and cell phone batteries being drained completely. Other strange phenomena reported at Waverly are strange balls of light, footsteps (and more recently, footprints following you), and in Room 502, another popular spot where it is rumored that a nurse committed suicide because she couldn't handle so much death and disease, it has been said that electromagnetic readers (think Ghostbusters) have been fried to the point of melting.
Waverly Hills Hospital was closed in 1961 by the state and reopened in 1963 as a nursing home. It was again closed in 1980 for poor patient treatment. Since then, there have been many plans for the property, including turning it into a prison and building the world's largest statue of Jesus (which died out due to lack of funds). Waverly, which was featured on FOX's World's Scariest Places, is currently owned by Charles Mattingly and his family. Mattingly plans to restore the hospital, which, despite its frightening past, is almost a relief to residents of southwestern Jefferson County. I grew up on stories of Waverly, hearing that it was an insane asylum and that people were murdered there. It's morbid and scary, but it's a part of our history. Since there are not many records of what actually happened at Waverly (about the deaths and mad-scientist surgeries), we will be forced to hear tales from our parents and our parents' parents about Waverly. It's almost a part of heritage. I look forward to scaring my kids with tales of Mary, the girl who is rumored to be seen in the window of the third floor. A close friend, whose grandfather (yeah, he was the one who wanted to build the giant Jesus) used to own Waverly Hills, remembers going up there with her extended family on sunny afternoons and four-wheeling and riding down the body chute. Sure, Waverly is scary, but it would be a shame not to have something scary around once in a while, especially during Halloween. So, in the event that you find yourself with $15 and underwear that need to be soiled, why not visit Waverly Hills Sanatorium's Haunted House and see if you hear footprints beside you or see Mary? She could probably use some company.
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