Kentucky is well known for horse racing, bourbon production and bluegrass music; however it also has many mysterious haunted spots where ghostly spirits from tragedies and disease remain restless.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Kentucky has long been considered a haunted location, with ghostly figures reported making themselves known through cold drafts, orbs and mysterious sounds. This place has also been featured on various paranormal TV programs.
The Old Talbott Tavern
The Old Talbott Tavern was constructed in 1779 and is known to be one of the most haunted hotels in America. Situated in Bardstown, this establishment served as a final stagecoach stop for travelers heading west when Kentucky was part of Virginia – weary travelers could stop for food and refreshments until their journey continued; guests such as Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Boone and French King Louis Philippe have even visited this establishment!
Numerous individuals claim to have witnessed paranormal activity at The Old Talbott Tavern in Kentucky. It has been featured on many popular ghost hunting shows and should be an essential stop-over on any trip to Kentucky. Some eerie reports of activity include a woman who hanged herself, the ghost of a little girl playing with her ball in the dining room, and George Talbott’s wife haunting the halls searching for her children.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium
Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville is one of Kentucky’s most haunted places. Built by Major Thomas Hays for his daughters in 1904, its beautiful facade conceals an unnerving body chute. When opened as a center for tuberculosis patients in 1910, its treatment methods ranged from unobtrusive to barbaric; many patients died here.
The basement of the sanatorium is home to various spirits, with most people reporting sightings of a nurse who hanged herself as the most frequently reported ghost. Also reported has been an appearance by an unseen little girl running through hallways.
Visitors of the sanatorium have often reported hearing children playing and doors slamming, along with orbs and distortions seen in photos and videos taken there. Furthermore, it has been featured on multiple television programs, such as ABC/Fox’s Scariest Places on Earth; Zone Reality’s Creepy; and VH1 Celebrity Paranormal Project.
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave is known for its incredible hikes and record breaking cave system, but also as being one of the most haunted locations in Kentucky. Legend has it that this haunted cave is haunted by Native American spirits who buried their dead within it, with visitors reporting hearing odd noises or footsteps when no one else is around.
People have reported being haunted by the spirit of a man who was hanged for hunting and killing devil worshipers in the area, along with claims that two killers worshiping Satan are haunting Kentucky tunnel. Additionally, others claim a headless woman and two devil-worshiping killers haunt this space as well.
The Kentucky State Penitentiary was constructed in 1886 and is widely considered one of the most haunted places in Kentucky. Reports of ghostly orbs, footsteps when no one is there and disembodied screams have been seen there, in addition to abuse, deaths and prison breaks occurring there in its long history.
Bob Mackey’s Music World
Two nights per week, the atmosphere at the establishment bustles with activity: couples wearing cowboy hats and nice dresses dance on the floor to live country music; kids dressed in University of Kentucky T-shirts guzzle down Bud Lights; while the air becomes thick with smoke from cigarettes as people drink up.
But beneath its cheerful facade lies an unspeakably grim history: this location was once used as a slaughterhouse with its basement filled with wells to hold blood, guts, and waste from animals that had been slaughtered here and packaged as meat products for sale.
Carl Lawson entered a soon-to-open club, then known as Bobby Mackey Tavern, and asked for employment. Bobby eventually hired Carl as building caretaker; though initially reluctant, Lawson eventually proved himself both reliable and an invaluable source of knowledge about its history. Unfortunately he died in 2012 yet his ghost still haunts the tavern today.
