Waverly Hills Sanatorium

eeek_the_kat · Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:22 pm Post subject: Waverly Hills Sanatorium

The trip started in normal Atlanta fashion; I was stuck in traffic for about an hour while trying to leave the city. I then arrived at Chattanooga and was stuck there for about an hour in traffic. Needless to say by the time I had reached Rock City it was closed for the evening. Undeterred I continued on to Nashville and settled in for the evening to get a good night's rest.

I woke early in the morning on Saturday and headed out to the Parthenon. I have seen the actual Parthenon in Greece, but somehow seeing the one in Nashville as a completed building just made it seem more massive. I wandered inside and got my first look at the statue of Athena. It was tall...I mean really tall...42 feet tall. It is a beautiful building. If you ever get the chance to stop by I would highly recommend it. I spent some time talking with the volunteers there before saying my goodbyes and heading out.

The next stop on the road was Dinosaur World. It is a cheap roadside attraction that one has to stop at as part of a road trip (a morale imperative if you will). It was a quick jaunt along the path way to gaze at plastic molded dinosaurs of various shapes and sizes. Each had a plaque describing the animal as well as where in the world you would have likely found them. It was a groovy little deversion, but I think I would have appreciated it more if I were five. A shuffle through the gift shop and it was back to the open road or at least the next stop.

Mammoth Cave was the next link in the chain. I arrived and learned that I had just missed the majority of the tours, but that the next ones would be starting up shortly in two and a half hours. Since I am a patient individual I opted to go on the self guided tour so that I could leave on the tour immediately. I headed down to the starting point and listened to the first guide who warned of the dire consequences of taking rocks out of the cave or carving our names into the stone or just generally being an idiot. While standing there though the cold air coming out of the cave made me wish fall would hurry up and get here.

Down into the bowls of the earth I descended and there was greeted with the site of rock. Since on the self guided tour you can only go so far into the cave it really isn't that impressive. It is basically a big hole in the ground. I walked around and snapped some photos and listened to the tour guide talk about the saltpeter mining operation that was there, but he didn't really go much more into the history of the cave itself. So out of the cave I went, snapping photos the entire time. I left the cool breeze and immediately wished that I could simply live in the cave for the rest of the day.

I once again found myself on the road and heading for my final destination. Getting bored I started randomly shooting photos out the window of my car. Needless to say this led to more than one confused look on the face of passers by. I found the hotel without much issue and ran into a few of the individuals there for the trip. I dropped everything off and headed out to dinner with a few of them. By the time we were finished the old couple at the table next to us was shooting us dirty looks as we were being fairly loud and boisterous. The rest of the group headed out to Waverly for the walking tour, but as I had been up since 5AM I decided to head back to the hotel unpack, get gear ready for the following day, and relax for a while.

I woke up at the crack of dawn on Sunday and started getting ready for the day before I realized that I didn't have anything to really do until 3:30PM. I headed down to the lobby area and joined up with a few individuals heading out to find food and to go to Churchill Downs. The group I was riding with changed our minds and went and wandered around the Kentucky State Fair instead. After looking at the animal and getting way to hot we made our way back to the hotel for the meet and greet.

While there I caught up with some friends that I made at other events and got to talk to the guest lectures. We sat and talked and laughed (Stupid chicken cooker man) afterwards until way too early in the morning before we started peeling off one by one to our respective rooms. I got pretty much no sleep.

Monday morning I headed down and found my way to Waverly. It was a tad bit more difficult to find than I had thought it would be, but I eventually made it. Adam Blai and John Zaffis' talk was enlightening as always, Chad Calek's showing of Episode 1 of TerrorNormal extracted the usual Oooo's and Ahhh's (I've seen it three times now and it still kicks butt), Patrick Burn's discussion on the equipment he uses on the Haunting Evidence show was slightly hampered by the equipment he was using to show us the equipment, and Rosemary Ellen Guiley's talk was very well done. After all of the talks were over we broke for dinner and then came back together in order to do the auction.

The auction went extremely well considering the small size of the group that was attending. There were a number of very cool items that were up for sell, but by far the jewel of the night was a vial that once held the cure for tuberculosis. It was one of the few items that Tina and Charlie Mattingly have ever let off of the property. The auction portion of the night wrapped up with Tina and Charlie given a short presentation on the property and the restoration efforts.

Now on to the fun stuff...

We started the first night of investigating off by splitting into two teams. One went with Tina to the fifth floor and the other with David to the Death Tunnel. I was with the group that started off in the Death Tunnel. I had already explored the tunnel some with Toni and as we had been leaving a growl/bark/yell/something had come out of it. At first I thought I had imagined it until I looked at her and saw the same look of "did you hear that" on her face. She asked me if I had heard it and as I answered yes we heard the noise again. We ran back into the tunnel, but there was no one inside or at the bottom of the tunnel.

We next moved into the building itself and began exploring the first floor. Now this floor is a little creepy as is because it is used as the haunted house section. There are numerous props (skulls, big monster thing, coffin, etc.) all over the place. As we passed the room that had the coffin in it I looked into the next room and saw someone peek around the corner of the door that connects the two rooms. I ran to the door and looked through but the closest person to it was Mark and he was halfway into the room. I asked him if anyone had been near the door and he informed me that no one had. I found out later that the room I had run through was the electro-shock therapy room.

We concluded the tour and were allowed to roam through the building freely afterwards. I ended up on the fourth floor with Chad Calek. We had settled down in one of the halls and started looking for movements in the shadows when about three doors down from us a head and shoulders popped out into the hall looking at us before retreating back into the room. Chad and I started to move towards the door to check it out when I stopped and he about jumped backwards into me. What made both of us pause was a shadow about 9ish feet tall (I went into the room and stretched my arm upwards and couldn't reach the height of the shadow) that showed up in the room to our left. After seeing that we called break time, mainly to find where our hearts had left to in such a hurry.

I headed back down to the safe room afterwards and relaxed and chatted with a few individuals. Since it was 2AM and I had been awake since 5AM I was just a tad bit tired and decided to call it a night. Deb from NAPS was outside and asked if I could give her a lift. I was fine with that as it would give me someone to chat with so I could stay awake on the trip back to the hotel (with a stop at Steak & Shake). After munching food and chilling out for a little while it was time for some much needed sleep.

I finally woke up around 2:00PM on Tuesday and headed back down to Waverly.Chris Fleming's talk was just getting started up by the time I got there. Some of the experiences Chris has had on his investigations are always mind blowing and hearing the how's and why's of his start into the paranormal field were eye opening.

John Zaffis was next up with a discussion of possessed items. I found it interesting in that I had never thought about the fact that an item itself cannot be possessed since it does not have a soul, but instead a spirit can attach itself to the item. Listening to him talk reminded me of when I was younger. My brother Steve was station in Okinawa and had picked up a couple of local dolls and toys to send back to the family. Shortly after receiving the items my mom and dad both started getting ill, and I began to have night terrors (something that continues to this day). My parents being extremely religious at the time went to our pastor and asked him for help. Upon hearing that we had recently gotten the things from Steve he immediately told my parents to get rid of them. Once they did everything returned to normal in the house.

John concluded his talk and we broke for dinner coming back in time for a Q&A session with all of the guest speakers. It was during the panel that I thought I had captured my first photographic evidence of the trip, but I was able to later debunk it as a reflection off of some plastic in the room. As the discussion ended Dave announced that instead of the free-for-all format of the previous night we were going to break up into teams and head to each floor then switch every 45-50 minutes.

During the discussion Chris Fleming mentioned something that really struck a cord with me. The panel was talking about not just demanding the spirits in a place to answer your questions but to introduce yourself and be polite. Now I will admit that I had not thought about this kind of approach before but it is definitely something that I will be doing on future investigations. Chris went on to say that you should search for some kind of connection with the place or people you are investigating. I hadn't thought about it until after he said that, but I have actually gone through treatments for tuberculosis which I contracted when I was in Egypt. I figured that there couldn't be a stronger connection for me to Waverly than that so I kept it in the back of my mind.

I started off on the second floor with Patrick and we headed towards the theater/cafeteria area. We picked up some movements and a temperature drop while there before moving on to one of the end rooms where some interesting photos had been taken once upon a time. Two ladies had a picture taken and when they looked at it later there was a face behind them looking at the camera. We stayed for a little before we noticed another group that had come down to our floor. After speaking with them we started heading back into the room when I heard someone call out Patrick's name to my right from a room that was empty.

We headed up to the third floor with Rosemary and began doing some EVP and K-II work. We were in one particular room that had a somewhat different feel to it than the rest of the building. We were not getting much of a reaction to anything so I decided to try something. I spoke out and thanked the spirits around us for enduring what they had gone through and that it was because of their sacrifice that I was still here and alive. After I got done talking Rosemary's K-II gave a few weak flashes of its lights. I would like to think that they heard me.

Shortly afterwards we moved down the hall to continue our EVP work. We were standing in the middle of the building when I heard something off to my right towards the balcony area. Directly beside me was a busted out window with a door in front of me diagonally right. I turned to go through the door when I saw a shadow figure standing on the other side of the window. It caught me so off guard that I seriously about walked out. I have never on any investigation left for any reason so you can imagine how badly I was shaken by the experience. There was a white spot on the door that the figure completely blocked out and a couple of test shots with cameras and flashlights showed me that it wasn't my shadow or anyone else's shadow. I chalked it up to yet another experience that was not documented.

We moved on to the fourth floor with Chris Fleming. There wasn't nearly the amount of activity that there had been the night before, but we did spend a little bit of time chasing what sounded like someone jingling a set of keys. It was kind of a quiet area All in all though.

I ended my investigating on the fifth floor or roof area with John Zaffis. That area of the building was by far the most peaceful area of all. I really wanted to just set up a hammock and chill out for the rest of the night. This is pretty much what I ended up doing. Back to the safe house I went splashing along the way (it had rained earlier and there still aren't many windows in place yet).

Back in the safe house I sat down and chatted movies and other such stuffs with the M in M.A.R.S. Productions until everyone started heading out of the building. I hung around until pretty much everyone had left and talked with Tina Mattingly for a while then drag my pooped out self back to the hotel. I asked about a late check out and was graciously offered a 2PM check out.

I woke up at 9AM the next morning. Why? I have no idea, but boy was I ticked. I got everything packed up and in the car then checked out and went to see if anyone had gotten any good evidence. There was an impromptu panel discussion with Dave and Patrick about several things, and I exchanged contact information with a lot of different peoples. I decided I needed to get on the road home and said my goodbyes.

Once on the road things became a waking dream of white lines and semi-trucks brought on by a lack of sleep. I decided to hit Rock City on the way home, but once I got there decided that I would rather go to Ruby Falls instead (mainly I just couldn't imagine doing more climbing by that point). Ruby Falls is a 145 feet tall waterfall inside of a mountain. Needless to say it is really cool looking.

I got back in the car and made the last leg of my journey home with out incident. I was so overjoyed to be able to sleep in my own bed. I love to travel but there is something just comforting about getting home. Next up is the Ghost Hounds meeting this Saturday at the Varsity (my arteries weep) and then DragonCon next week. Hooray for being busy!

I will have pictures posted by this weekend. I am still sorting through all of them (almost 800 total).
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denisee · Guest

Sounds like a great time Eeek! I'm glad you had fun and oh so sorry that I missed it!

GaGal · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:30 am Post subject:

Awesome story Darren!!! I am sooo envious. I would love to go back to the Waverly. Hopefully, me and the hubby will go again come April. Tina talked us out of coming in March this year, she said it gets REALLLLY cold up there, so I'm shooting for April again next year.

cbreck · Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:35 am Post subject:

I've been to Waverly twice this year....I also saw and photographed the shadow person you encountered on the fourth floor. The tour guides actually see these shadow people on such a regular basis they have named them. The one you encountered sounds like "linebacker". Waverly is so intense...the shadow beings alone are mind blowing! I"m glad you were fortunate to have had many experiences there too, eeeek.

Carol B.

Melissa · Mist Joined: Oct 15, 2004 Posts: 284 Location: Conyers, Ga

What an experience!
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JustASeck · Orb Joined: May 01, 2007 Posts: 76 Location: Elizabeth, CO

Eeek, my friend, it was great getting to know you, even if you did freak me out with the "spider" in my hair incident! Lol!! I had a great time at Waverly myself and I hope to see you on more investigations!
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eeek_the_kat · Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:07 am Post subject:

It was great getting to know you as well. I think I have almost recovered from the trip (at least I have gotten more sleep).

In other news, I finally have my pictures online.
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zombiedigger · Mist Joined: Jun 09, 2006 Posts: 216 Location: Atlanta, GA

Eeek great write up, havent had a chance to review pic's, sliced open my leg, but dont worry it will not stop me from coming tonight. Yes I used superglue in it so it wont scar Razz

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zombiedigger · Mist Joined: Jun 09, 2006 Posts: 216 Location: Atlanta, GA

Great Pic's Eeek. Cant wait to hear more about your shadow encounter.
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NAPS_Deborah · Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 4:32 pm Post subject:

Awesome pics Darren!!

Deborah
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JustASeck · Orb Joined: May 01, 2007 Posts: 76 Location: Elizabeth, CO

Thanks a lot Eeek, you had to include the spider pics! Was that the one hanging out behind Chris at the hotel? That is one ugly creature!!
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casper_the_cutie · Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 7:27 pm Post subject:

Wow!! What an exciting time you had! BTW the pics were awsome!! Sometimes I hate living in Texas and missing out on all the cool investigations!! Crying or Very sad

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eeek_the_kat · Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:40 pm Post subject:

GaGal · Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 10:28 pm Post subject:

This is Gman on GaGal's computer. Waverly is such an awesome place for phenomenon. But the pitch dark makes it hard to capture things. An IR spotlight might be enough. Laughing

Casperette · Mist Joined: Feb 12, 2006 Posts: 453 Location: Tampa, FL

Thanks for posting this Eeek!!! I still haven't gone thru all the pics but the ones I have seen are awesome!

gman2000 · Orb Joined: Jul 19, 2007 Posts: 38

BTW, did you get a camera and took out the color filter or did you just take a negative shot? Some of those pix look like you took out the red filter.

eeek_the_kat · Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 6:38 am Post subject:

I was using an IR camera (FujiFilm IS-1) with a couple of different white balance settings (trick taught to me by Patrick). For the one shot that is really pink looking I was using a blue white balance setting, the rest I used a green white balance setting.
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Spoofy · Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:31 pm Post subject:

cool pictures eeek.
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IcyShadows · Orb Joined: Jun 30, 2007 Posts: 53

Thanks Darren for a great story. I was hoping to find someone post about their experience and loved reading every minute of it.
The road trip details were great as was the event run down and photos. Very Happy

eeek_the_kat · Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:58 am Post subject:

Okay after watching the Ghost Hunters live event I am feeling much better about my experiences at Waverly. The fourth floor seemed to be the most active for them which matches up to what I had experienced while there. Always good to get confirmation.
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cbreck · Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 7:38 am Post subject:

I must agree, Eeeek, When Rita and I were there in March, the 4th floor was awesome and very active. THis is where Rita had several experiences.

Carol B.

zombiedigger · Mist Joined: Jun 09, 2006 Posts: 216 Location: Atlanta, GA

ok i have many questions/ and obsevations about the ball.

-How scientific was it for them to say "I dont feel any air currents here." A candle flame, ribbon or air current detector would have helped quell this in my mind.

-How level is the hall? This is for some reason reminding me of the place up in North GA where you can park your car and put it in neutral and it rolls backwards up hill.

-What kinda ball where they using? I might have missed them saying that? My kids ball will accumulate static electricity and roll sometimes, much like a ballon.

Ok not about the ball, your right that place is huge but I was remembering what GG was saying is that they would run 3 investigations teams in there at a time, now wouldnt everyone be wanting to get the slot for the 4th floor now.
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eeek_the_kat · Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:15 am Post subject:

zombiedigger · Mist Joined: Jun 09, 2006 Posts: 216 Location: Atlanta, GA

Thank you eek always prompt of full of info.
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mooneybeams · Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:24 pm Post subject:

I completely agree with EEK about the guy being in the stairwell. WTF was up with that? It was obvious Grant & Jason did not know he was there, but it really makes me wonder if Sci Fi is up to something. Disappointing in a big way!
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