Because it’s Halloween week, we have the perfect excuse to share our top three picks for Louisville’s most haunted landmarks.
If you ever visit us for product testing or to see our machines run in person, consider adding these landmarks – most open year-round to the public – to your itinerary.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium
Louisville, Ky.
therealwaverlyhills.com
Waverly Hills served as a hospital to treat Tuberculosis (TB) patients from 1926 to 1961. 63,000 people died at the hospital, according to the current owners. After a cure for TB was discovered, the hospital closed and the building served as a mental institution until 1981.
When someone died, staff pushed the body down a 500-ft. long “body chute,” which led to a set of rail tracks where ambulances would haul away the deceased. This practice was thought to keep morale high since patients wouldn’t see bodies picked up in front of the building. People have heard voices and seen full-body apparitions coming from the chute.
During the worst years of the disease, one nurse committed suicide in Room 502. Some people claim to have seen a figure of a female nurse in white near the room. Others have heard a voice say, “Get out!”
Another common observation – the smell of food in the kitchen still floats in the air, even though no meals have been served since the 1980s.
Guided tours are offered year-round. But if you’re in town during Halloween season, Waverly Hills’ haunted house is open every Friday and Saturday night from September 26 to November 1.
The Seelbach Hilton
Louisville, Ky.
Seelbachhilton.com
Built in 1905, this extravagant European-style hotel has hosted famous guests, including Al Capone, nine U.S. presidents and F. Scott Fitzgerald, who used the hotel as a setting in The Great Gatsby.
In 1936, Patricia Wilson was found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft in the hotel. Many believe she committed suicide after learning the news that her husband was killed in a car accident. Some guests have reported smelling her perfume and seeing her wandering around the hotel in a blue dress.
A cook preparing brunch reported a woman in a long, blue chiffon dress with dark hair walk into an elevator and disappear. “The amazing thing was the doors were closed at the time,” a lobby concierge told the Courier-Journal.
A few years later, the same concierge reported that a guest felt someone rubbing against her legs when she pulled the covers up and turned the lights out.
While the Seelbach doesn’t offer its own ghost tour, Mr. Ghost Walker offers year-round tours that include the hotel on its routes. Go to louisvilleghostwalks.com for more information. Or you could just book a room at the Seelbach and look for the Lady in Blue yourself.
Buffalo Trace Distillery
Frankfort, Ky. (45-minute drive from Lantech)
Buffalotracedistillery.com
Buffalo Trace is the oldest continually operating bourbon distillery in the country. It even remained opening during Prohibition.
The distillery’s most famous ghost is Col. Albert Blanton, who served as the company’s president until his death in 1959. Blanton lived in Stony Point Mansion, which is located on the distillery’s grounds. Employees have reported seeing Blanton’s figure in the mansion’s sun room and claim to have heard his former housekeeper singing.
Other unusual activity has happened at the distillery. Years ago, in one of the barrel warehouses, an unidentified voice told workers to leave the building immediately before a wall collapsed. Employees and tourists have also spotted orbs throughout the property.
Buffalo Trace ghost tours are free every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. The tours come with a free bourbon tasting.
While these places may be scary, stretch wrapping doesn’t have to frighten you. Follow our guidelines in Lantech’s 10 Step Process to Reduce Damage Through More Effective Stretch Wrapping.
For more information, you can contact us on our website or call us at (502) 815-9109.
Source list:
Photos credit of http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/ and southernspiritguide.blogspot.com
Unerworldtales.com/waverly
therealwaverlyhills.com
buffalotracedistillery.com
http://www.wave3.com/story/1268043/the-secret-life-of-the-seelbach-hotel
This post was published on October 28, 2014 and updated on February 14, 2019.
October 28, 2014
