Top 5 Hauntings in Louisville

Top 5 Hauntings in Louisville

Admit it. For the past year you’ve nested on your couch, sneaking in as much ghost hunting television as possible without your spouse knowing. We’ve all had the paranormal reality TV bug, and you’re not alone in your guilty pleasure. Halloween is the perfect time of year to live out your wildest Ghost Hunting fantasies right in your own backyard. Well, lucky for you, Louisville is a very haunted city! Below is a list that is guaranteed to give you your spooky fix. Happy hunting… and haunting!

5. The Brown Hotel

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The 16-story Brown Hotel greets its guests with a two-story high lobby. The English Renaissance hotel is half a block from the theater district, putting guests just a short walk away from shows. With a history dating to 1923, many rumors have circulated that ghostly visitors still reside in the hotel. The most reported sighting is that of the ghostly image of the original hotel builder, J. Graham Brown. The owner lived in the hotel’s penthouse until his 1969 death. Reports have placed him standing on the mezzanine observing guests and employees, especially during the hotel’s busiest time: the Kentucky Derby. When visions of Brown appear, he is said to leave behind a cigar smell.

Website: www.brownhotel.com

4. Cave Hill Cemetery 

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Every graveyard has their legends. Local legend proclaims that at night you can see green lights hovering around the head stones that line this sprawling cemetery. People hear the chanting of what sounds like a church hymns during the full moon. Hey, you may just even run into Colonial Sanders, out for an evening stroll. Come for the ghosts,but stay for the tranquil scenery and breathtaking head stones!

Website: http://www.cavehillcemetery.com

3. Pope Lick Goat Man

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Author and historian David Domine says “The goat man arose as a tale of a local farmer back in the day. Tortured a herd of goats for Satan and signed a contract with him and forfeited his soul. In the process he was converted into this terrible creature that was sent to live under the trestle seeking revenge on people!”

Whether it is a farmer who made a deal with the devil or a so-called circus freak seeking revenge, there is one thing everyone agrees on when sharing tales about The Goat Man, and that is what he looks like.

“The legs are muscular and covered with course dark hair. He’s got the same dark hair on the parts of his body. His face is alabaster they say and he has horns as well.” The goat man supposedly is a very sly creature and he does all kinds of things to try and trick you into going up onto the trestle. He’s been known to mimic the voice of children who are calling for help.

The Goat Man is reported to live under the trestle in Pope Lick, REMEMBER the train that travels through is still in use, so make sure you take extreme caution if you decide on visiting this location. STAY SAFE!

2. Bobby Mackey’s Music World  

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Although, this location is 100 miles from Louisville, it deserves a spot on the list. Bobby Mackeys Music World is often considered to be one of the most fiercely haunted locations in America. Today, it’s an old Honky Tonk club that claims to have many malevolent spirits lurking about.  The property which the club is built on has had a very terrifying, bloody past.  The building was originally used as a slaughterhouse which opened in the 1850’s.  In the floor of the slaughterhouse was a well which was intended to catch the draining blood and other fluids from the slaughtered animals.  A duo of devil worshipers were the subjects of one of the most notorious trials of the time. Two men decapitated a pregnant woman as a sacrifice to the devil in Bobby Mackey’s basement, throwing her head into the well. This location has even the most experienced paranormal seekers shaking in their boots. Visitors claim to experience scratches, seeing shadow figures, and even being followed home by spirits!

Website: http://www.bobbymackey.com

1. Waverly Hills Sanitarium

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Waverly Hills Sanitarium may just be the most haunted location in America. Lucky you! If you are looking for that spooky shot of adrenaline, look no further. Waverly Hills Sanitarium was opened in 1910 as a effort to combat Kentucky’s tuberculosis death rate (which was the highest in the country). In 1923, the hospital was expanded into the structure that can be seen today. Waverly has been featured on all the ghost hunting tv shows at one time or another and when brought up in serious paranormal investigation circles, eyes light up like christmas morning. The “body chute” or “death tunnel” where cadavers were removed from the hospital, as to not upset the other patients, even inspired the second season of the hit show “American Horror Story: Asylum“. If you are looking for the ultimate spook, look no further than your own back yard!

Website: http://www.therealwaverlyhills.com

 Author

 J.J. Sicotte is a Paranormal Investigator and Researcher, Audio Engineer, and sometimes writer,  who relocated to Louisville from Southern California. J.J. is a member of American Paranormal Research Association and has been featured on The Unexplained Files (The Science Channel) and Ghost Adventures (Travel Channel). For more information visit www.apraparanormal.com.

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