S
SpooperDooper
Guest
Original poster
Waverly Hills Sanatorium was built in the 1920s due to the outbreak of a disease commonly referred to at the time as the 'White Death' or tuberculosis. A highly contagious disease for which there was no cure for at the time, it could easily wipe out entire families, or even towns.
Louisville, Kentucky, had one of the highest death rates in the world from tuberculosis due to being situated on low, swamplike land, Louisville was the perfect breading ground for a disease that spreads via the air.
And thus, to provide a place for those infected with this highly infectious disease, Waverly Hills Sanatorium was built in 1924 and opened in 1926.
At the time, before the cure was discovered, the way to treat tuberculosis was with plenty of fresh air, even in the most frigid of temperatures. However, there were reports of 'experimental' treatments being performed at Waverly Hills, some turning out to be as deadly as the disease itself.
Patients lungs were exposed to ultraviolet light in hopes of stopping the spread of the bacteria. Lungs would surgically be implanted with balloons that would then be inflated with air to expand them, muscle and ribs would be removed to allow the lungs to be able to expand more. Luckily, this bloody procedure was labeled as a last resort as few who underwent the operation survived.
While few patients survived their stay at Waverly, many more died and were wheeled out through a tunnel that is now named the body chute. The body chute was an underground tunnel leading to a railroad that had previously been used to deliver food and other necessities to the inhabitants at Waverly. This moving of the bodies was done in secret to keep from alarming the patients, as doctors believed that their mental health was as important as their physical.
By the 1930s, there was a dramatic decline in tuberculosis as a cure had been discovered and distributed, and by 1961 Waverly was able to close its doors, but not for good. Not even a year later, Waverly opened its doors, renamed as Woodhaven Geriatrics Sanitarium.
During the time that the newly named Woodhaven, rumors had begun floating around that those admitted to Woodhaven were being mistreated and...unusual experiments were being performed. Some had been merely fictional, though, some were true.
It was finally budget cuts from the 60s through the 70s that lead to further mistreatment that made the state finally shut down Waverly, this time, for good.
It is believed that over 10,000 deaths happened in the Sanatorium. Despite this number, Waverly is open to tours, which is where our story truly begins.
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Erin loved the paranormal, was fascinated by it even. And so, when word came round that a group of people he'd gone to college with was going to one of the most haunted places in America, hell, probably even one of the most haunted places in the world, there was no way that he was going to miss out.
Turns out, they needed another person anyway, and he was happy to jump in, after all, it was an overnight tour, and he had the most knowledge of them all of the place AND of the paranormal in general.
As excited as he was to go, he wasn't sure about the group he was going with. Sure, he'd gone to school with them, but he hadn't really ever interacted with them. He didn't know their names, or, at least, not off the top of his head. Erin had only really attended class with a few of them, English class to be exact.
It was almost like the beginning of a really bad horror movie: Shy, nerdy kid gets invited to go on an overnight tour of one of the most haunted places in America. Stay tuned to find out what happens next!
Yeah, right.
Fortunately, he was smarter than the teens in horror movies, he had rules.
1- Don't break away from the group
That was the main one, nothing bad ever happened as long as you stayed with the group. Or even with another person. Pick a buddy, stay with your buddy. Don't loose your buddy.
He just had to find his buddy.
Erin's eyes flicked down to the clock on the dashboard and then back up to the road. He'd been driving now for over three hours, and was finally turning off the exit ramp and into Louisville, finally.
By the time he got there, he should be on time, if not a little bit early. To his knowledge, their tour would be overnight and they'd leave early the next day. Honestly, he didn't think anyone besides himself would be able to stay the whole night and not wuss out. After all, if possible, he'd probably fuck the paranormal.
Actually, no, that was an odd train of thought, even for him.
He turned into the long, gravel road leading up to the massive building that had been the equivalent of a wet dream to him for most of his teen and adult life. He felt that now, after seeing the building in person, he could die happy. He could be ripped limb from limb and smile. Scream? Yes. Smile? Also yes.
Erin parked his car and took a moment to take in what he could see of the massive building from the front window of his little rundown truck before stepping out into the chilly October air and inhaled deeply, even going as far as to stretch his arms and legs out.
He shook his long bangs from his eyes and took a few steps back to better take in the sights of the massive building, his heart skipping a beat. It was truly beautiful, even with its broken out and boarded up windows, vines crawling up the sides of the brick outer exterior and obvious signs of vandals.
It was a struggle for Erin not to take a headstart into the building. It wasn't like he could, not without the person with the keys. The keeper of keys. Well, the single key, he didn't imagine that anymore than the front door would be locked.
And so, he waited, leaning against the slightly rusted and peeling hood of his truck, hands shoved deeply in the lined pockets of his jacket. Not even checking his phone, it was thrown in the passenger seat, battery dead. It wasn't like he'd needed it going from Tennessee to Kentucky. He knew how spotty reception was. Besides, he didn't have anyone to contact. Being gay in the south tended to have that effect.
And so, he waited for the rest of the group to show.
Louisville, Kentucky, had one of the highest death rates in the world from tuberculosis due to being situated on low, swamplike land, Louisville was the perfect breading ground for a disease that spreads via the air.
And thus, to provide a place for those infected with this highly infectious disease, Waverly Hills Sanatorium was built in 1924 and opened in 1926.
At the time, before the cure was discovered, the way to treat tuberculosis was with plenty of fresh air, even in the most frigid of temperatures. However, there were reports of 'experimental' treatments being performed at Waverly Hills, some turning out to be as deadly as the disease itself.
Patients lungs were exposed to ultraviolet light in hopes of stopping the spread of the bacteria. Lungs would surgically be implanted with balloons that would then be inflated with air to expand them, muscle and ribs would be removed to allow the lungs to be able to expand more. Luckily, this bloody procedure was labeled as a last resort as few who underwent the operation survived.
While few patients survived their stay at Waverly, many more died and were wheeled out through a tunnel that is now named the body chute. The body chute was an underground tunnel leading to a railroad that had previously been used to deliver food and other necessities to the inhabitants at Waverly. This moving of the bodies was done in secret to keep from alarming the patients, as doctors believed that their mental health was as important as their physical.
By the 1930s, there was a dramatic decline in tuberculosis as a cure had been discovered and distributed, and by 1961 Waverly was able to close its doors, but not for good. Not even a year later, Waverly opened its doors, renamed as Woodhaven Geriatrics Sanitarium.
During the time that the newly named Woodhaven, rumors had begun floating around that those admitted to Woodhaven were being mistreated and...unusual experiments were being performed. Some had been merely fictional, though, some were true.
It was finally budget cuts from the 60s through the 70s that lead to further mistreatment that made the state finally shut down Waverly, this time, for good.
It is believed that over 10,000 deaths happened in the Sanatorium. Despite this number, Waverly is open to tours, which is where our story truly begins.
------------------------------
Erin loved the paranormal, was fascinated by it even. And so, when word came round that a group of people he'd gone to college with was going to one of the most haunted places in America, hell, probably even one of the most haunted places in the world, there was no way that he was going to miss out.
Turns out, they needed another person anyway, and he was happy to jump in, after all, it was an overnight tour, and he had the most knowledge of them all of the place AND of the paranormal in general.
As excited as he was to go, he wasn't sure about the group he was going with. Sure, he'd gone to school with them, but he hadn't really ever interacted with them. He didn't know their names, or, at least, not off the top of his head. Erin had only really attended class with a few of them, English class to be exact.
It was almost like the beginning of a really bad horror movie: Shy, nerdy kid gets invited to go on an overnight tour of one of the most haunted places in America. Stay tuned to find out what happens next!
Yeah, right.
Fortunately, he was smarter than the teens in horror movies, he had rules.
1- Don't break away from the group
That was the main one, nothing bad ever happened as long as you stayed with the group. Or even with another person. Pick a buddy, stay with your buddy. Don't loose your buddy.
He just had to find his buddy.
Erin's eyes flicked down to the clock on the dashboard and then back up to the road. He'd been driving now for over three hours, and was finally turning off the exit ramp and into Louisville, finally.
By the time he got there, he should be on time, if not a little bit early. To his knowledge, their tour would be overnight and they'd leave early the next day. Honestly, he didn't think anyone besides himself would be able to stay the whole night and not wuss out. After all, if possible, he'd probably fuck the paranormal.
Actually, no, that was an odd train of thought, even for him.
He turned into the long, gravel road leading up to the massive building that had been the equivalent of a wet dream to him for most of his teen and adult life. He felt that now, after seeing the building in person, he could die happy. He could be ripped limb from limb and smile. Scream? Yes. Smile? Also yes.
Erin parked his car and took a moment to take in what he could see of the massive building from the front window of his little rundown truck before stepping out into the chilly October air and inhaled deeply, even going as far as to stretch his arms and legs out.
He shook his long bangs from his eyes and took a few steps back to better take in the sights of the massive building, his heart skipping a beat. It was truly beautiful, even with its broken out and boarded up windows, vines crawling up the sides of the brick outer exterior and obvious signs of vandals.
It was a struggle for Erin not to take a headstart into the building. It wasn't like he could, not without the person with the keys. The keeper of keys. Well, the single key, he didn't imagine that anymore than the front door would be locked.
And so, he waited, leaning against the slightly rusted and peeling hood of his truck, hands shoved deeply in the lined pockets of his jacket. Not even checking his phone, it was thrown in the passenger seat, battery dead. It wasn't like he'd needed it going from Tennessee to Kentucky. He knew how spotty reception was. Besides, he didn't have anyone to contact. Being gay in the south tended to have that effect.
And so, he waited for the rest of the group to show.