Kentucky Ghosts & Monsters
This was originally conceived as a display at the Shawnee Library in Louisville, KY. Below is a photo of the original display.
I created a google map to go along with it, you can view it here.
Every state has its purportedly haunted places, and Kentucky is no different. What follows is a featurette of spooky locations across the state.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium
Perhaps the most famous haunted place in Kentucky, Waverly Hills Sanatorium was the premier tuberculosis hospital in the early 1900s. Tuberculosis was not a curable disease in 1911 when Waverly Hills opened, and unfortunately a lot of the experimental treatments that doctors tried on the patients only sped them to their demises. Waverly Hills saw so many deaths that they installed a body chute to cart deceased patients to the bottom of the hill to meet their hearse without the live patients seeing them.
Waverly Hills is purportedly filled with spirits, both from its time as a tuberculosis hospital and later when it was Woodhaven Geriatrics Sanitarium, a facility that was closed due to patient neglect.
Hopkinsville Goblins
Hopkinsville was thrust into the limelight summer 2017 with its perfect positioning for viewing the eclipse, and with that notoriety, its goblin story was repeated quite a bit.
In 1955 a family reported to police that they had been shooting at 12–15 short, dark figures that were looking in their windows and through doors. Alien enthusiasts call this one of the most well-documented cases of alien encounters, while skeptics tend to point to misidentified owls. Every August the town of Kelly, five miles north of Hopkinsville, has the “Little Green Men” Days Festival to celebrate the encounter.
Lake Herrington Monster
Lake Herrington is Kentucky’s deepest man-made lake, and many claim that in its depths lie creatures yet unknown to science. The Lake Herrington Monster is described as fifteen feet long, with a pig-like snout and a curling tail.
Louisville Palace Theatre
Many ghosts have been reported at the Louisville Palace, including a faceless woman on the stairs and the ghost of a worker who suffered a massive heart attack while on shift.
Gates of Hell (Grandview Cemetery)
This 300-year-old cemetery in Elizabethtown cemetery is called the Gates of Hell by locals. Common stories about the hauntings at this graveyard include car troubles, cell phones malfunctioning, and shadowy figures among the graves.
Bobby Mackey’s
A former slaughterhouse, Bobby Mackey’s is now a bar with a fascinating reputation. Murders and violence are commonplace in the history of Bobby Mackey’s, and now some even claim that there is a portal to hell in the basement.
Sleepy Hollow Road and Cry Baby Bridge
With a name like that, Sleepy Hollow road was perhaps destined to be haunted. Claims about this creepy road abound, with stories of a black hearse that will run you off the road, and a time warp that can have you driving on the road for what seems like only a few minutes but will be hours to the outside world. Cry Baby Bridge is along this road. The story goes that unwanted babies were tossed from this bridge into the ravine below, and on clear nights with a full moon you can hear their cries.
Mammoth Cave
People have been coming to Mammoth Cave for 12,000 years. It has been used for many different things in those many years, including burial grounds, a tuberculosis hospital, and a saltpeter mine. Now that it is primarily a tourist destination, many people have reported strange noises and feelings, and some have even seen apparitions in the cave.
The Seelbach Hilton Louisville
The Seelbach is reportedly home to quite a few ghosts, including The Lady in Blue, the ghost of a woman who fell — or jumped — down a service elevator shaft.
Pikeville Cemetery (Grave of Octavia Hatcher)
Legend goes that Octavia Hatcher was accidentally buried alive, comatose. Her husband suspected something horrible had happened when other people in town fell ill and recovered, and had her coffin dug up. The lining of the coffin had been torn, her fingers were bloodied and she had an expression of pure terror on her face.
The statue of her is said to turn its back on the city of Pikeville for burying her alive, and many claim to have seen the ghost of Octavia Hatcher in the cemetery.
Federal Hill Cemetery (Restless Grave of John Rowan)
Federal Hill, also known as My Old Kentucky Home, was built by John Rowan. He thought that it was enough of a monument to himself and in his will asked that no grave marker be put over his grave. His wishes were not adhered to, and friends and family erected a towering obelisk over his grave when he passed. The obelisk is known to tip over, some say by John Rowan’s beleaguered spirit, annoyed that his wishes were not fulfilled.
Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site
The site of the worst Civil War battle in the state, Perryville is said to be haunted by the restless spirits of slain soldiers.
Sand Mountain Ghost Lights
For a long time people have reported seeing floating lights on Sand Mountain, even before the widespread use of automobiles.
Old Talbott Tavern
Built in 1779, the Old Talbott Tavern is said to be home to at least two ghosts, one of which is Jesse James himself.
Jailer’s Inn Bed & Breakfast
Jailer’s Inn is as it sounds: from 1797 to 1987, a jail operated on this property. The building that currently stands at Jailer’s Inn was built in 1819. Visitors have reported multiple apparitions, and with a courtyard that was used to hang those sentenced to death, it’s no wonder.
Pope Lick Monster
The Pope Lick Monster is said to be a man-goat hybrid that lures people to their deaths atop the Pope Lick Trestle Bridge.
Whether the monster or the legend lures people to the top of the old bridge, the deaths at the trestle are very real reminders that just because a bridge looks old doesn’t mean it isn’t operational.
Want to read more about Haunted Kentucky? Check out these books! (I absolutely love cheesy souvenir-style ghost books — I even collect them and try to buy one for each vacation I go on — and a lot of these definitely fall into that category. I hope the sometimes over-the-top covers don’t put you off!)
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