Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Louisville, Kentucky

Waverly Hills is one of the scariest and yet saddest places I have ever visited. What was once a tuberculosis hospital sits atop a hill overlooking Dixie Highway in Louisville, Kentucky. Driving up to it is like entering an entirely different world, one where great human suffering and pain still lingers nearly a hundred years later. Yet when you take a historical ghost tour like I did, the tour guides stress that keeping hope alive was of utmost importance to Waverly Hills' staff, hope to find a cure for tuberculosis and hope for patients to overcome their diagnosis.

Melancholy took up residence in my mind while I toured the premises. There were many times during the tour where I felt immense sadness for the patients and staff I was learning about. One patient I distinctly remember is Lois Lindsey Higgs, who is said to be one of Waverly's kindest ghosts. From the solarium, she'd wave to her young son that family members held up "Simba style" in the parking lot. Her story broke my heart! I hope she has found peace in the afterlife.

I did have a couple of paranormal encounters while touring Waverly. Most notably, while we were on the fourth floor, I spotted in my peripheral vision an older, gaunt-faced man wearing a hospital gown glaring at me. I swear I saw him. He stood toward the back of the room, then moved closer toward the open window. Needless to say I scrambled away from there very quickly. Also, if you zoom in on my picture of the body chute, you can see one of the infamous shadow people that haunt Waverly.

Waverly Hills has definitely caught my interest. I can't say I'd be able to spend the night there like many brave ghost hunters do, but I'd love to go back and check out their Halloween haunt they put on every year.

All photos were taken on an iPhone 13 and edited in Adobe Lightroom Mobile.