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Part 1
The road to Waverly Hills Sanatorium is straight out of a
horror movie. Winding our way through the tree-canopied darkness, our anticipation grew. We crested the hill,
& there it was!
I am a local. I am from here, & I am of here. I have seen
this place many times. From a distance. Although "investigating" Waverly has been (as long as I can remember)
a reckless-teenager thing to do, my adventures took me elsewhere & I hadn't been this close before.
But, as far as creepy old buildings go, it doesn't get much better than Waverly
Hills!
And then I saw the crowd. It didn't register in my brain at first.
I assumed the many cars in the parking lot merely belonged to the final day-tourist group, & they'd be leaving soon.
Wrong! The majority of those people were there to investigate also.
The old saying, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression" is very
true. My first impression of how the night was going to go, was not a favorable one. OK, that's putting it mildly.
Actually, I was massively PISSED! I suspected we had been scammed. My mood did not improve at the orientation
session. Orientation was held in a smaller building, seperate from the main hospital. It began with a cheezy film
(which I expected) and an episode of Ghost Hunters (which I did not expect). I was NOT pleased. I was plenty
steamed & beginning to simmer.
I was annoyed by the statistical inaccuracies cited - such as the "official" death
toll. But I expected that. It was beginning to look like we were going to get the generic, tourist crowd,
ghost story, walk-through. CRAP!
Then everything changed!
The 40-or-so people at the orientation session were to be divided into 2 groups,
with those groups further divided between several floors of the hospital.
That would work! Waverly Hills is a HUGE freakin' place! We would
be able to investigate after all, with only a few people on each floor! YAY! My foul mood elevated immediately.
The ParaReality Radio Investigation Team would begin on the 3rd floor. I
didn't know it yet, but that was absolutely PERFECT! The 3rd floor was VERY active that night!
Before I go any further, there's something I have to explain:
I have a chronic illness. You probably haven't heard of it, and I'm not going
to bore you with an "organ recital". The short version is this: When my illness is in relapse, I get VERY
sick. I get so sick, I have to use a wheelchair. When it's in remission, you probably wouldn't even know I'm sick.
I'm currently recovering from a relapse phase. I was supposed to be better by now, but a complication delayed my recovery.
Waverly Hills is not handicapped accessible. There is no electricity, and
I have no idea if the ancient elevators would be functional even with the power on. At this point in my recovery, I
can use my crutches a little bit (and I do mean a LITTLE bit!). I have the kind of crutches that look like canes,
wrapped around my forearms, and I intended to go as far as possible with them. We had to take my old manual
wheelchair with us, but the truth is that right now, I'm not even strong enough to go very far in it without help, especially
when I have already pushed the limits of my physical endurance.
Sandman had already planned for this. Being a medical professional, as well
as a paranormal investigator, he knew exactly what we were up against. For the first time in a long time, I didn't get
left out, left behind, & forgotten...
When one visits Waverly Hills, it's important to have a Louisville native
in the group. This is because of the animosity patients & staff had toward "outsiders" during Waverly's days as
TB hospital.
Waverly was funded with local taxes & bonds, & was intended to serve the
people of Louisville & Jefferson County. But before long, sick people were coming from all over to rent a room (thereby
claiming "resident" status) for the sole purpose of being admitted to the hospital. The waiting list grew, and many
local people weren't able to get treatment. The authorities had to conduct extensive background checks to determine
a persons' true status, and many people were put out of the hospital & removed from the waiting list. Natives &
lifelong residents were again given top priority.
(I also know what it's like to be in the hospital for a very long time.
I understand them (the patients) & Sandman understands the staff...)
And so the investigation began.......
Part 2
The first thing I had to do, was get up to the 3rd floor. The
stairs weren't too much of a problem at first. We let the larger part of the group go up first, just so I wouldn't slow
them down. I grabbed the handrail to pull myself up with one hand (because it's solid & doesn't wiggle) and with
the other hand, I pushed myself up with the crutch (which does wiggle, & requires more balance). I made it!
A minute or two after reaching the 3rd floor, our guide, Mike called
us together. He pointed down the long, dark hallway (some ambient light - just a little - was coming in through the
missing doors). I looked as he began to speak, & saw something. I saw something moving! In
fact, I saw lots of somethings moving! They were walking back & forth, past the doorways!
That's what Mike was showing us - the Shadow People. He said it
was an unusually active night. I asked him why he thought that was so, & he replied that the approaching thunderstorm
might have something to do with it.
We all saw them. I later discovered that some of us saw lots of
shadow people, & others just saw a few of them. But all of us - Sandman, Donna, Nicole, & I all saw them.
Is it possible to feel exhilirated & peaceful at the same time?
Because, that's what I felt like. I stood there, leaning against a doorjamb, mesmerized, watching... There
were SO many of them! Walking - back & forth - back & forth - crisscrossing the doorways... So many of
them!
Could it have been some kind of optical illusion? I honestly don't
know..
I watched them for awhile in calm amazement, then went exploring.
At one point, I saw Sandman down the hallway looking at something & went to investigate. The hallway turned to the
left there. I looked down that section of hallway & saw a light. It moved around a bit - just kind of in circles
near the ceiling. The I saw another shadow thing. I'm not calling that one a shadow person, because it
didn't look like a person. It was just friggin' BIG! It blocked the entire hallway!
I exclaimed, "Dude! That thing just blocked the whole fuckin hallway!"
That was what Sandman had been looking at. He had seen the same thing. We continued watching, & I saw it dissipate
(and I could see the moving light again) & slide back into the hallway, filling it, blocking it, & blocking the light.
This happened several times.
The investigation continued. I spent some time out on the open-air
porch, which ran the entire length of the building. I didn't experience anything out of the ordinary on the porch.
During the entire investigation, whenever I needed a sensory break, I went to the porches.
When it was nearly time to move up to the 4th floor (our next designated
area) I went into the central hallway. Walking toward the stairwell, I suddenly felt sharp, stabbing pain in both of
my hands. The pain extended about 4 inches up both wrists.
Remember - I was walking with crutches! I stopped & leaned
against the wall, balling both hands in pain. MAN, was it intense!!! I couldn't stop myslef from saying, "OW!
OW!". I have a very high pain tolerance, and I can usually refrain from verbalizing my discomfort.
I couldn't hold onto my crutches. Suddenly, Sandman was on my
left, holding my arm to help me walk. Either Donna or Nicole (I was in too much pain to discern who it was) had my right
arm. I heard Donna calmly instructing me to walk out of that spot. (I still didn't know if she was nearby, or
if she was the person on my right.) As the team got me away from that spot, my hands went numb. I mean, completely
numb! I couldn't feel a thing (which was nicer than having pain, but useless for crutching). Donna then told
me Nicole had some sort of pain or sickness attack in the exact same spot earlier. Within about 5 - 7 minutes, I had completely recovered.
Sandman wanted the digital voice recorder & I leaned against the
wall & fished it out of the backpack he was wearing. The batteries were dead. I had put brand new batteries
in it myself earlier, but they were dead as doornails. He changed them with fresh batteries, & those worked.
It was time to move up to the 4th floor...
Part 3
Going up the stairs was getting tougher. I wrapped my arm around
the handrail so I could hang on & pull myself up. The team was a great help, steadying me & keeping me from
wobbling over. We made it to the 4th floor.
I needed to rest, so I went out onto the porch. I planned to sit
there for awhile, resting & watching for anything unusual. The rest of the team went investigating.
It got very quiet. After several minutes, I got up & went
into the central hallway to look for more shadow people. I positioned myself in a doorjamb, as I had done on the 3rd
floor, and watched.
At first, I didn't see anything at all. Then I saw one - then
two - but no more. I was curious as to why this was so, after all the activity I'd seen downstairs. I was leaning
there thinking, watching the two shadow people (almost absentmindedly), distracted by pain & increasing weakness, &
wondering how much farther I'd be able to push myself.
I suddenly realized that one of the shadow people had slowly moved closer,
& was only 2 doors away from me.
Then it rushed at me! In half-a-second, it was right there,
& zoomed right up into my face!!! I took in a sharp breath of surprise. I hesitated. I felt odd.
I still saw the shadow-ness of it, right up against me. It was taller than I am (which isn't hard since I'm only
5' 2 1/2"). I turned my head in the direction I thought the team had gone & called for Sandman. No answer...
No sound of voices, either. I didn't know how far away they might be. The building is big but completely empty
& sounds carry quite a distance. It wasn't until later that I realized I hadn't heard my own voice bouncing off
the nearby wall. It was as if my voice was being blocked - Like speaking while standing in a small box,
& expecting to be heard from a distance.
I considered going to look for the team. But I honestly wasn't
sure where they were - or how far away. And I was beginning to not feel very well.
I decided the best course of action would be to stay where I was &
wait for the team to come & find me. I slid down the wall, drew my knees up to my chest, wrapped my arms around
myself, & waited..........
I don't know how long I sat there, curled up, waiting. But finally,
I heard voices, then saw the beam of flashlights bouncing around as the team approached. Relief!
They knew as soon as they saw me that something had happened.
When they asked if I was okay, I don't remember if I shook my head yes or no... They said they wouldn't leave me alone
again. I was glad of that...
Part 4
5th floor. The childrens' rooftop play area & the infamous
Room 502.
Mike, our guide, told us the tale of 502 - the alleged suicide of the
nurse. My research indicated that the suicide story hasn't been verified, but Mike insists it's true.
He told us he gets a lot of really good EVP's in 503, though.
So we went in 503 to check it out. I only stayed in 503 for a few seconds, though because it felt uncomfortable - kind
of like claustrophobia, but not exactly. It's hard to explain. So I went out onto the rooftop area.
I liked it out there. I liked it a lot! It was peaceful,
calm, pleasant. It was just a nice place to be.
There was a small ledge between roof levels & I sat there to rest. I
leaned on the low wall, pulled myself up for just a second to look over the edge (I love being in high places!), then sat
back down. I rested my chin atop the low wall & watched the moon. It looked strange - a very bright neon red.
Lightning was flashing in the distance, slowly approaching.
Most of the structures on the rooftop were glass enclosed - like a solarium,
and I could see the rest of the team walking around.
(This is the place where the guy on the tv show, Ghost Hunters, allegedly
saw legs walking around.)
Mike and another guide were on the rooftop, too, and I told them I was
done in. I had realized, during the difficult climb to the 5th floor, that I might have enough strength to get
downstairs (maybe) but that was all I had left... I told them my team mates would get my wheelchair. That had
been the plan all along. When I reached my physical limit, Sandman would get the chair & push me the rest of the
way. Hopefully, after resting in the chair, I'd be able to manage the stairs, & Sandman would take the empty chair
up & down the stairs. I could continue investigating that way.
We talked for a bit, & the other guide noticed that the moon had
changed. It was its normal, silver-white color again...
When Sandman came over to check on me, I told him I was at my limit
& needed the wheelchair. We conferred with Mike & the other guide & decided the team would go downstairs
with me as far as I could go, then we'd wait while Sandman & the other guide went to get the chariot & bring it back.
We had left the chair by the room where we had all met initially for the orientation, & that was pretty far away.
We got to our designated waiting place. I was in the midst of
an olympic caliber physical struggle, and was glad to see an old rocking chair there. Donna & Nicole sat side-by-side
on the steps, & Mike was standing in a doorway. Donna & Nicole were facing straicht into a large, open room
behind Mike. They both saw something moving around in there. I didn't see anything, but I was facing a slightly
different direction - to their right & at an angle.
Mike was great! He told us more about Waverly's history &
things that have happened - things that he has experienced since working there. In almost no time, I heard Sandman's
voice & the sound of my raggedy old wheelchair approaching. YAY!
Part 5
And so, the investigation continued...
Getting around was much less of a struggle for me, with Sandman piloting
the chariot. And I soon discovered that the adventure was not yet over!
We enetered a room that Mike said was used for electroshock treatments.
I wondered about this, but didn't say anything. Contrary to popular belief, Waverly Hills was never an insane asylum.
The storm had arrived, & rain was hammering loudly just outside,
& lightning flashed through the smashed windows. Some people would be spooked by that, but I love thunderstorms.
I find them to be very soothing. (In fact, watching storms approach from my window on the 15th floor of a downtown highrise,
is one of my favorite things.)
But I didn't feel at ease at that moment. Something felt wrong.
The lightning suddenly stopped, but the sound of the rain continued. All of the flashlights were turned off, & the
room was dark, when Mike asked if someone had just walked in front of him. Say what??? I couldn't
understand how he had seen any movement. The blackness had become complete, & I couldn't see my hand in front of
my face!
I like to visit Mammoth Cave. At one point during the cave tour,
they turn off all the lights so we can see what real darkness looks like. The darkness I was experiencing in that room
at Waverly Hills, was that dark!
Then I heard Sandman speaking. He said he was in the doorway,
and was describing something he was seeing out in the hallway. HUH???
How the heck could he see the doorway, much less see well enough to walk toward it??? I was getting a tad confused!
Could the rest of the team see???
I was completely enveloped in the blackness. I felt a physical
sensation, like when I'm standing in a seriously thick fog (we get that a lot, here on the river).
I also felt like I had been cut off from everyone else. I had
to restrain myself from asking someone to come & hold my hand, just so I'd know where someone was - just so I'd have contact
with someone. I couldn't see them, but could they see me? I had to know.
"Can y'all SEE each other???" I asked.
Three times, I asked the question - out loud! But nobody responded. Judging from the conversations around me,
they could see each other. What I really wanted to know, was if they could see me. That would have been my
next question. I felt like shouting, "HEY! PEOPLE! This is IMPORTANT! Somebody ANSWER me!!!!"
Someone turned on a light and everything was normal again. What
the frikkin heck had just happened??? I didn't say anything about it because something else was happening.
Sandman was seeing something down the hallway. I went through
the door, looked down the hallway, & saw it too. It was like the shadow people, but with legs! The others
were just shapes - no distinct limbs, but that dude had legs! Cool!
We still had more work to do. Including a trip to the morgue.
It is rumored that if someone lays on one of the body trays & is slid into the body-storage unit, they will hear the voices
of the dead.
Sandman laid down on the body tray & Donna slid him in. The
body tray made a loud, spooky, screeching sound. Although he stayed in there for quite awhile, I don't think any dead
people addressed him...
Part 6
It was almost 4:00 am, & time to start winding down the investigation.
I still had to get out of there - which meant more stairs.
I honestly don't remember if I went down 1 or 2 more flights.
I think it was 2. It took a very long time, and it was very difficult. I was hanging onto the handrails for dear
life, steadying myself as much as possible with the crutch, and still I nearly fell several times. My feet
wouldn't go where I tried to put them, & didn't stay put when I got them there.
The team held me up & prevented me from falling. I don't recall
who was where, doing what exactly, because I was completely focused on making my body work. They had ahold of me &
I knew they wouldn't let me fall.
When we finally got to the bottom of the last stairway, I collapsed
into the wheelchair, too exhausted to even sit up straight. Not even close. I slumped over to one side, with my
head laying on my arm, as Sandman pushed the chair......
When I raised my head, we were back in the place we started - in the
room where the orientation had taken place. I got my medicine out of the backpack & somebody gave me a bottle of
water.
I had done it! No - WE had done it!!!!!!!!
But wait. There's more!
After talking with our guide, Mike about Sandman's show, & thanking
him for all of his help & for being so accomodating for me - we still had to get UP one last
stairway...
One final stairway left, to get up to ground level & the driveway
leading to the parking lot.
I couldn't do it. I couldn't have taken a single step if
a big ol' spookie jumped up & sat in my lap!
I figured I was pretty much screwed at that point. Heck, I didn't
know what I was going to do. But Sandman had everything under control. Donna lifted me up onto my feet in
a bear hug, & Sandman took the wheelchair up the stairs. While he was doing that, I kinda gasped. Donna asked
if I was okay, & I laughed as I told her I had simply forgotten to breathe. (I was really
concentrating on trying to help hold myself upright.) Then Sandman was back. He picked me up & carried me
up the stairs. I was concerned that he might hurt his back or something. Heck, I weigh almost 120 pounds!!!
But I was darn glad he was able to carry me!!!!!!!!!!!!
He put me back in the wheelchair, and once we were at the car he had
to help me get in. I couldn't even hold myself up with my arms by then, because all of that hauling myself up &
down the stairways had taken all of my arm strength.
A few minutes later, driving down the spooky road, somebody asked me
if I was okay. Okay? I was absolutely wonderful!!!!!!!!!
Part 7
As I said at the beginning of this narrative, this was my experience,
from my perspective. And this was just an overview. If you have any questions, or want me to elaborate on
something, feel free to contact me. I'll be glad to answer any of your questions.
I can't explain everything that happened to me. But I am considering
all possibilities, including nonparanormal possibilities.
I didn't expect anything to happen at Waverly. Having any experiences
at all was a cool surprise.
Others in the group had amazing experinces too, & I can't wait for
you to hear their stories!
We only get one chance to make a first impression. That's true.
But the people at Waverly Hills overcame that negative first impression - and how.
If you ever get a chance to investigate Waverly Hills, DO
IT!!!!
And be sure to tune in to ParaReality Radio when Sandman broadcasts
the show about the investigation!!! You do not want to miss this one!!!
Peace, Y'all.
Kris
Hugs to
the whole
GhostTRAX
team!
Thanks for
everything!
There is a big difference between a handicap & a
disability. Having trouble walking - that's a handicap. Having a hard heart, a numb conscience, or a narrow mind
- that's a major disabilty!
(NOTE: In my own defense: I thought
some of Sandman's comments on the first Waverly Hills show, made me sound like a big ol' chicken. I know I can
be hypersensetive at times. But in my own defense, and for the record: I was NOT freaked
out by the shadow person who rushed up in my face. I was surprised & excited - NOT freaked out! And
I most definitely WOULD have gotten into the corpse-cabinet in the morgue, if I wasn't stuck in that damn wheelchair
by that point!!!!!! I WANTED to get in there SO bad! I was SO massively pissed off about being
sick. But I wasn't gonna be a whiner about it...)
Your Correspondent,
Hard at Work...
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