Abandoned - Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Since the enormous rise of Tuberculosis in America and especially the state of Kentucky, Waverly Hills Sanatorium has stood on the top of a hill near the city of Louisville for decades. It was once a massive hospital which saw thousands of patients, a terrifyingly high portion of which dying within its walls. It was abandoned for the better part of 20 years and miraculously still stands today as the paranormal epicentre. Join me today to find out why!

Other Great Waverly Hills Videos -

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Bright Sun Films 2023

Presented in 4K

[mariebelladonna]

OMG as a Louisvillian, I LOVED this episode!! I grew up just a few miles from Waverly. In fact, in the fall, when the leaves were off the trees on the hills, we could see the tower in the distance, from our back yard! It was the subject of MANY ghost stories told late at night, in our treehouse, lol. As an adult, I visited it a few times, for the haunted house and tours they had there. I never saw anything spooky (other than the whole place itself, lol), but I will say, when we went into the old morgue, there was a place in the room where the air was very cold. Much colder than anywhere else inside, or outside. There could be a perfectly rational, scientific explanation for that. But there was definitely a cold pocket. Waverly is beloved to us locals, even in its decrepit state. So many of us have grown up with it, with the stories, with relatives who worked there or were sick there or even -snuck in after it closed- visited there. (My uncle, back in the day, and my sister's best friend, much later. They didn't vandalize anything, just explored.) It used to be a lot easier to get into. Though one of the stories about the place was that there was a security guard with a guard dog, who lived there, and would sic the dog on you to chase you out, lol. The story I heard about the tunnels, or "body chutes", as everyone I've ever known has always called them, is that the doctors were afraid for the living patients to see just how many people were dying, as it could lower morale, and cause many of them to stop fighting, give up, and die themselves. So the used to chutes to transport the bodies, so that this could be done in stealth. But that's just local lore, who knows for sure if it's really true. I remember the Jesus statue proposal, too, and how it wasn't terribly popular, lol. And one of the stories about the nurse, was that she had an affair with a married doctor and became pregnant, out of wedlock, ofc, back in the days when that was a mortal sin, and the doctor abandoned her, so she hung herself in room 502. Incidentally, 502 is the area code in that area. So I don't know if her suicide being said to take place in that room is true and a cool coincidence, or if that room was picked for that reason, and it became part of the mythos. But still, a fun little fact. Anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH for highlighting a feature of my home city!!! We are so proud of Waverly Hills, for its historical significance, and, yes, for its incredibly haunted reputation, which is a cool thing we can claim as ours. It's a part of us. We love it. Yes, it was a place of suffering and pain (I've heard that the nursing home it housed, in particular, was absolutely DISMAL). But there was also a sense of community there. There were schools and events right on the grounds, because, like you said, they couldn't leave. Even the doctors and nurses. Friendships were formed, relationships began, there were even times of laughter and fun. It wasn't a fun place. ofc. But they made the best of it, in their bad times. And because it's being preserved, those people who suffered and died are being remembered. Not forgotten. And much of the money from the events held there, is what makes that preservation possible. Also, those events that take place bring laughter and fun. If I died somewhere like that, I think I'd like to see that it's now a place of positivity, and that people were learning about it and preserving it, at the same time. Just my opinion. I d want to offer one tiny correction to what you said: Waverly is 20 minutes from Downtown Louisville, but it still IS actually in Louisville. It's in the suburbs, right in between the PRP/Valley Station areas. Other than that, PHENOMINAL video, and SO exciting to see my hometown on your channel!!! Thank you again!!!

[ArrowDynamics]

Interesting fact: My great grandfather was the chief engineer there from around 1950 until it closed in 1961. My father would tell me stories of playing in the body chute as a kid which always weirded me out, lol.

Thanks for the upload! :)

[Wnick]

Finally, something abandoned that fits the Halloween season.

[mikegilbert]

I love that you made this video on Waverly Hills. Other videos go on about how "haunted" it is, but they never go into the depth of its history that you did.
I grew up in Louisville and fondly remember sneaking into Waverly with friends in the 1980's. This was before the scrappers started tearing the place apart. We used to scare the crap out of one another with spooky stories but never saw anything paranormal.

[loopyman]

I'd love to see you do one of these on the Missouri State Penitentiary. It's more preserved history rather than abandoned at this point but still a plethora of content.

[lordpenn]

Finally, something local! A family friend of mine visited Waverly years ago, and this video makes me want to visit it myself! Great video!

[davidalder]

Nashville TN - Tenn State Prison has an incredible amount of history and looks like a castle. This would be a Great episode to film.

[stevenobrien]

What’s up jake, its Steve. Watching this on Amtrak crescent out Of Atlanta. What a cozy surprise to nightcap for the overnight northbound! Thx!!!

[HappyMinds]

This thing was built in 2 years Wish they could throw up solid building like that now.

[farmgirl-nursedoc]

Jake- BSF was the first and only channel on YT I subscribed to for years... it has been awesome to watch your skills grow and flourish in this space! Thank you for holding strong and assembling such interesting videos! WHS is near where I live now and you did it justice with this video!

[cpnquack]

This whole place seriously gives me the creeps. I don't know why, but something about it just gives me the sense that there's something in there. Regardless, this is another incredible video Jake, and I hope to see more infamous haunted abandoned locations in the future!

[bradydacloud]

Only in Kentucky would someone try to build a 100 foot tall Jesus statue on the site of an old sanatorium

[bapplejacks]

I’ve been subscribed since 2015 and your Abandoned series is what got me hooked on your channel! So cool to see how far it’s come

[groofay]

I lived in Louisville for a while, and every time I passed Waverly Hills I would get a little chill. Not from ghosts or anything, just thinking about how much suffering and death happened in that place. Glad to see you cover it for spooky season!

[gotrik.a]

This is so cool how a couple have taken it on and are trying to restore it. It’s nice to see a positive ending. There are a couple of places in the town I live in - where couples have taken on a massive project In order to restore them to the former glory.! People call them crazy - but if we don’t have them our history will be lost!! Another great episode Jake!! 👍🏻😁

[virginiamesko]

Years ago I spent a night in November in Waverly Hills. Some of the folks who stayed, all gathered together on the 4th floor to await paranormal activity. I preferred to go to the 3rd floor by myself and just be peaceful. I must not be attractive to spirits as I had no experiences. All was quiet and peaceful. What an amazing facility for it's time. It had headsets on the screened porches so patients could listen to news and music as they rested and breathed fresh air. Amazing history.

[courtneylynch]

I love hearing out of towners try to pronounce Louisville lol. Thank you for bringing more awareness to our little slice of haunted Kentucky 🖤

[cardinaloflannagancr]

One thing I never understood was debate over what the tunnel was used for. How hard is the concept it was used for multiple things to understand?

[cindymentzer]

Hey Jake. Have you ever thought about doing a video on the "old" Williamsburg Pottery in Williamsburg, VA? A LOT of people have great memories of going there! I would love to see a video on the abandoned grounds and buildings still standing!

[Yawndave]

Suggestion for an episode: Frontier Village in San Jose that first opened in 1961. It was a small park with western themed rides and attractions that would also host corporate events. It provided summer jobs for older teens and college students (I worked in the saloon and my best friend ran the Ferris Wheel and drove the narrow-gauge railroad train) In the mid-70s Fess Parker wanted to develop a bigger park in Santa Clara--that ended up becoming Marriott's Great America. Frontier Village couldn't compete and closed down in 1980.

Love the channel...keep up the good work!