Haunted Midwest America

The Midwest is full of haunted places to explore. Some would call the story urban legends...but when so many eye witness accounts line up in one place...that place is then documented as a certified haunting. Although the midwest is full of haunted places, one haunted place in particular has a very tragic past. Waverly Hills Sanitorium is located in Louisville,Kentucky and ghost hunters from all over the world have traveled to experience its spiritual activity for themselves. Waverly Hills Sanitorium is now owned by The Mattingly's. Waverly Hills originally operated as a Tuberculosis hospital in the early 1900's through the 1920's. At the end of the Tuberculosis epedimic it changed over to a geriatric center. During its time as a working Tuberculosis hospital, over 63,000 people died in the hospital. The walls still harbor the wandering spirits, some spirits are harmless and seem to be curious...but there are others who seem to act out violently and do not like visitors in their home. Full body apparitions have been seen walking across the hallways, staff members in full uniform have been seen patroling the building, the infamous body chute has even been seen glowing red at night time. The place is not only haunted with patients who died their, two nurses committed suicide during the Tuberculosis epidemic and their presence has been felt in the building. One hung herself in a broom closet in room number 502. The other jumped from a window near room 503.

Waverly HIlls is listed as the scariest and most actively haunted place in the world. If you live in the midwest...it won't take you long to find your way to the Sanitorium for a ghost hunt. Your only problem is booking a tour date. Tour scheduling begins in early January and for 2007 the weekend tours are already booked. You have the option to take a day time tour with a tour guide helping you along the way. Or, if you are more of a thrill seeker you can book an overnight stay (8 hour) tour, or a half night tour (4 hours). The Waverly Hills Historical society uses the money collected for the tours to benefit restoration and care of the building. So the money is actually going to a good cause.The price for these tours are 100.00 a person for overnight and 50.00 for half night tours. On these tours...there is no tour guide. You are basically on your own. However, they do have security posted at different locations throughout the building. Before beginning a tour you will meet in a designated area and watch an informational video about the history of the building. After that...you are on your own with the ghosts.

The Atlantic Parnormal Society- also known as T.A.P.S. has visited Waverly Hills Sanitorium and featured the building on their show. The group did have several occurrences that they could not explain. One was infrared footage of a person walking accross a halway who appeared to be about 4 foot tall. After presenting the Mattingly's with their findings, confirmation was received that a resident spirit of a little boy had been witnessed in that area of the building by other people on several occasions. Waverly Hills has also been profiled on ABC/FOX Family Channel's Scariest Places On Earth and VH1's Celebrity Paranormal Project.

*I will be taking a group this August to investigate the Waverly Hill Sanitorium. I will report back with
our own personal experiences and findings. We hope to get footage, photographs, or voice recordings to prove that the building is in fact the scariest place on Earth.

The Lincoln Theater in Decatur Illinois is another very haunted location. Its history dates back to 1916 when it was originally built. The theater had a large seating capacity and was the grandest theater the city of Decatur had ever seen. The Lincoln Theater was built on land where a horrible tragedy occured. The theater still stands today on Lincoln street... but the ghosts of its tragic past cannot be forgotten. On April 21st, 1915 a horrible fire broke out in the Arcade Hotel , that stood on the property and quickly enveloped the hotel in flames within a matter of minutes. The fire was supposedly caused by some oily rags that had been left by the boiler. By the time the fire department arrived the windows were billowing smoke and ash was falling from the sky. The fire department could not locate the source of the blaze and the fire eventually consumed the building, eating the walls and roof with flames. The Arcade Hotel collapsed to the ground and many lives were lost in the tragic fire. The Lincoln Theater was built in its place and some say that the spirits of the people who died in the fire still haunt the grounds and can be seen as shadows passing across the theater auditorium.

A ghost named "Red" is the most well known spirit that haunts the Lincoln Theater. He was a former stage hand at the Lincoln Theater. "Red" was working the catwalks one night at 75 feet above the theater and slipped on the metal grid work and fell to his death on the Lincoln Theater stage. His presence is welcomed by most...but according to those who have many encounters with him...he tends to be a bit of a prankster. He makes his presence known through whispers, footsteps, and tinkering with the stage lights. Dozens of people have encountered his presence as he continues to haunt the theater.

Some may pass of their experiences of hauntings in the Lincoln Theater as the sounds of an old building settling, but those who are open minded are willing to accept the presence of a resident spirit named "Red".

If you are interested in visiting the Lincoln Theater for a true paranormal experience, Decatur Illinois is actually hosting a Haunted America Conference in the summer of 2007. Tickets for the event are $50.00. The event will actually be held in the Lincoln Theater. Or...if you simply want to take a haunted tour, these tours can be booked for spring and summer 2007 through the haunted Decatur website.