“I do believe in the paranormal, there are things our brains just can’t understand.”
– Art Bell, Creator and Host of Coast to Coast AM

Background:

Many of us have seen all the ghost hunting shows on cable television and elsewhere, but are those accurate representations of what goes on during a paranormal investigation? After all, TV shows, have to deliver as many instances of spooky "evidence" as possible, because we, the viewing audience, demand it. In reality, like any hunting or fishing expedition, the experience is usually long stretches of waiting patiently and hopefully for brief moments of high excitement. Well, tonight we're going to find out in detail what it's like to actually go on a ghost hunt as we welcome back the previous episode's guest, author and paranormal investigator James A. Willis. We'll also be joined by our good friends Jill and Roger Pingleton, who are seasoned paranormal investigators themselves. On July 22, 2019, during a "lockdown" from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. we had the privilege of following along with them as they investigated one of the most notoriously haunted buildings in the United States, if not the world, the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, KY. From 1910 to 1961, this massive and formerly abandoned medical facility saw more than its share of misery and death as it served as a treatment hospital for those suffering from the scourge of tuberculosis as it plagued the Louisville and Jefferson County area. The building then witnessed another era of dwindling and death from 1962 to 1982 when it served as Woodhaven Medical Services, a nursing home for the elderly and those with severe mental disabilities. Fortunately, however, this historic edifice has been undergoing restoration since 2001 when it was taken over by caring and dedicated new owners. It's currently open for tours, investigations, and events. Regardless of Waverly Hills' past, the future looks bright for this special place, a special place that's also especially haunted.

Check back later for more photos, captions, and videos!

The back of Waverly Hills Sanatorium, positioned so that patients’ beds could be wheeled onto the balconies where they could catch the fresh breeze from the south/southwest.

The front side of Waverly Hills showing the central entrance, right before sunset.

A muscular and menacing gargoyle fellow, either trying and failing to keep dark spirits away or maybe keeping them in.

The front gate on the road, with Charlie Mattingly waiting for the last of our tour group to arrive.

Another angle on the front side of Waverly.

The backside of the administrative wing of the hospital.

The front entrance where patients and visitors would be received.

Halfway down the “Death Tunnel” where something is strangely illuminated where no light should be.

One of the many wall decorations left over from the very popular Annual Haunted House Fundraiser.

Room 502, the location where a nurse supposedly hanged herself either in the room (which is was a bathroom) or just outside the door. One of the many ghost stories at Waverly. The spot where the door numbers were is illuminated with UV light.

The door numbers were supposedly pried off by a member of the band Incursion 502, who then experienced bad luck once he brought them home. He then gave them to another band member who affixed them to his amplifier.

A section of the roof just outside the solarium, right after sundown.

Tour guide Ernie telling the tale of the boys who came to Waverly to vandalize, but were trapped in this room where the door has no lock.

You can still see the ax marks from the boys’ attempts to open the door after they said shadows had closed in around them and prevented them from leaving.

James A. Willis at the spot where he first encountered “The Creeper” on a previous investigation and his team saw his doppelganger. Here he was trying to recreate the experience on our visit.

The autopsy and morgue room.

The morgue freezer with the roll-out tray visible.

The meeting room which serves as an orientation center, breakroom, prep room for investigators, gift shop and security station. The long, black rectangle is a bank of security monitors, so don’t go trespassing!

The ruins of the outside end of the “Death Tunnel” at the bottom of the hill, where supplies went up and deceased patients reportedly came down.

The “bunkhouse” where overnight investigators can catch a few hours of sleep the next day. Part of this building used to be the original water pumphouse for Waverly.

An overgrown path near the bunkhouse.

The original water pumps for the facility’s large cisterns left in place in the entrance to the bunkhouse.

Waverly’s former water cisterns, which were two massive concrete cubes storing water for the building have been converted into comfy sleeping quarters by Charles Mattingly.

The road that led us to, and away from, a fascinating paranormal investigation. Now onto other ghost adventures!

The Waverly Hills Sanatorium

On the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

Blueprint of the 4th Floor layout at Waverly Hills Sanatorium. The red circle is where James Willis was standing for our “Creeper” re-creation experiment. The green circles represent the two possible doorways where the other tour participant popped … — Blueprint of the 4th Floor layout at Waverly Hills Sanatorium. The red circle is where James Willis was standing for our “Creeper” re-creation experiment. The green circles represent the two possible doorways where the other tour participant popped out. Roger Pingleton had just came out of the same doorway a moment before the other participant and after speaking with him, leading the team to believe there was no way the participant could have made the groaning noise heard so close to James’ audio recorder.

Audio clips from the investigation:

The following audio file is the “groan” that was heard by James and Steph Willis and Roger and Jill Pingleton on the fourth floor of Waverly. The voices that can be heard speaking are first Roger, then Jill, then the groan, then James. It was recorded with the Olympus voice recorder James was wearing on his vest.

Below is the audio clip of what sounds like possible laughter heard by Roger Pingleton:

Below audio clip of Roger seeing an anomaly in his laser light grid near the ceiling, at the spot where “The Creeper” shadow being is supposed to appear:

Reference Links:

Related Books:

Books, Events and more by Troy Taylor and other authors at the American Hauntings Ink Online Store

https://squareup.com/store/american-hauntings-ink

Suggested Apps:

Spirit Story Box and Paranormal Elements apps by Roger and Jill Pingleton and Streamside Software in the Apple App Store

Suggested Listening:

The American Hauntings podcast with Troy Taylor

Suggested Viewing:

Spooked the Ghosts of Waverly Hills Sanatorium

Spooked Productions

Buy on Amazon

Special Offers from our Special Sponsors:

FIND OTHER GREAT DEALS FROM OUR SHOW’S SPONSORS BY CLICKING HERE!

HARRY’S – HARRY’S delivers a close, comfortable shave at a fair price, with a razor that combines simple, clean design with high-quality, German-engineered, durable blades for as low as $2 each – that’s half the price of the Gillette Fusion ProShield. In fact, their blades are so good they’ve received over 20,000 five-star reviews on Trustpilot and Google. It’s also a razor that comes with a 100% Quality Guarantee – if you or the person you’re getting it for doesn’t love it, let them know and they’ll give you a quick and hassle-free full refund. You can also make it special with a personal engraving option and in your or their favorite colors. And now HARRY’S has a line of men’s grooming products as high quality as their razors! Still not convinced? Find out for yourself how smooth and inexpensive shaving SHOULD be, by going to Harrys.com/LEGENDS to get a HARRY’S Trial Shaving Set – a $13 Value! Each Trial Set comes with a weighted, ergonomic handle; German-engineered 5-blade cartridges, rich lathering shave gel; and a travel cover to protect your blades. Go to Harrys.com/LEGENDS and enter Promo Code LEGENDS at checkout to get your Trial Set and support the show today!
Best Fiends – If you’re looking for a fun way to pass the time while engaging your brain and enjoying breathtaking visuals and a gripping story, your answer is Best Fiends! Best Fiends is a casual, matching puzzle game that the whole family can play, but really made for adults, and you don’t need to be a gamer to be great at it! You can also play it the way YOU want to, wherever you want, and as much or as little as you want! Collect cute and funny cryptid-like insect creatures while battling silly slugs as you advance through stages in the Best Fiends world. Connect with friends and family through Social Media and challenge them to beat your levels or help them along. This unique puzzle game doesn’t require the internet, so it’s great to play while it while traveling or commuting, and Best Fiends updates the game monthly, so you’ll never run out of new levels, goals and events – it never gets old! Go check out the 5-start rated mobile game that already has 100 million downloads globally and engage your brain with fun puzzles and collect tons of cute characters! Download for free on the Apple App Store or Google Play. That’s FRIENDS without the “R,” Best Fiends!
The Great Courses Plus – Learn about virtually anything, now with over 10,000 lectures on almost any subject you can think of – from history and science to learning a new language, how to play an instrument or explore topics like food, the arts, travel, business, and self-improvement! And now their app lets you download and listen to only the audio from the courses or watch the videos, just like a podcast! Switch between all your devices and pick up right where you left off. Available for iOS and Android. And right now, they’re giving our listeners a special, limited-time offer: a FULL MONTH of unlimited access to their entire library FOR FREE! But to get this offer you need to sign up now through our special URL: Just go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/LEGENDS to get started!
Peloton Tread – There’s no time like the present to set bigger health and fitness goals and feel more accomplished with the Peloton Tread. This is not just another treadmill and no treadmill you’re used to at the gym or have ever seen. The New York Times says the Peloton Tread is, “Like having a personal trainer come to your house whenever you’d like.” And from Runner's World, a “gorgeous, hip NYC gym in the comfort of your own home,” and a “go-to training tool.” Add miles and build strength all without the commute to and from the gym, or even having to go outside! Here are some of the reasons the Peloton Tread is one of the most state-of-the-art, well-built, and complete fitness systems ever offered: The innovative Tread is not the old-fashioned loop belt, but comprised of interlocked, shock-absorbing slats, controlled by ergonomic and responsive speed and incline knobs so you can up your pace or elevation without breaking your stride. A 32” HD touchscreen and powerful built-in soundbar creates the most immersive and captivating workout experience available on your own. The touchscreen also provides live performance metrics like speed, incline, and mileage. Push yourself even further with real-time encouragement from your instructors and other members in the class. You can also see your progress in one, comprehensive place. From calories burned to total output, distance and heart rate, you’ll be able to push yourself to new personal bests you never thought possible – no matter where you’re starting from. You can also earn badges and save tracks you loved from your workout. With the size of the screen, it feels like world-class instructors are running, walking, stretching, or lifting right by your side, so the motivation is real-time and really effective. There’s also tremendous variety in the classes – never repeat the same workout – unless you want to! The depth and breadth of class offerings allow you to explore different types of runs, Bootcamps, and strength workouts on and off the Tread. Peloton knows you’re busy, so classes range anywhere from 10 to 60 minutes long, so you can fit in a workout on YOUR schedule. Discover the immersive and challenging total body training you can get from Peloton Tread and the recommended accessories. Peloton is offering listeners a limited-time offer: Go to onepeloton.com, then use the Offer Code LEGENDS, to get $100 off accessories with the purchase of a Tread!

CREDITS:

Episode 154: Lockdown at Waverly Sanatorium. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel; Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2019 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Ep 154: Lockdown at the Waverly Hills Sanatorium