02/08/2020
This week, we've changed things up a bit. Instead of the usual 2 stories, we bring you one truly spooky story of a famously haunted location, The Waverly Hills Sanatorium.
It began as a hospital to treat tuberculosis patients that quickly became overwhelmed by the number of afflicted flowing through its doors. At one point, there was reported to have been one death every hour, and the most efficient way to move the bodies of the deceased out of the hospital was by sending them down what became known as the "body chute". After the discovery of the streptomycin to treat the disease in the 1940s, the cases gradually declined and the hospital eventually closed in 1961.
The building's next incarnation was as a home for the mentally disabled and the elderly. The patients suffered terribly at the overcrowded and understaffed facility, which operated for 20 years before finally being shut down due to charges of neglect.
After this, the building passed through many hands before the Mattinglys finally acquired it in the early 2000s. Now, what is reported to be one of the most haunted buildings in America offers ghost tours as a way to bring in income for the restorations that are planned. From heart broken nurses to a playful little boy, wailing in the dark and the smells of baking bread, shadow figures and The Crawler, Waverly Hills has many spirits forever making their rounds.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-25-body-chutes-and-bread-at-waverly-hills/id1497468504?i=1000486899898