♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ HELLO AND WELCOME "INSIDE LOUISVILLE" WHERE WE INTRODUCE YOU TO THE PEOPLE PLACES AND THINGS THAT MAKE UP LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY'S LARGEST CITY AND I'M KELSEY STARKS.

WE TAKE TO YOU LOUISVILLE.

WE ARE SURE TO HAVE A FEW GHOSTS LURKING AROUND.

SOME FAVORITE STORIES COME FROM OLD LOUISVILLE, A PRESERVATION HISTORIC DISTRICT THAT HAS BEEN CALLED AMERICA'S MOST HAUNTED NEIGHBORHOOD.

WE TAKE A STROLL THROUGH THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD IN DAYLIGHT, OF COURSE.

AND PAY A VISIT TO THE CURSED WITCHES TREE.

ACROSS TOWN, THE WAVERLY HILLS SAN TOREIUM HAS ITS OWN HAUNTED HISTORY.

THE FORMER TUBERCULOSIS SAN TOREIUM IS ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES AND ATTRACTS VISITORS YEAR ROUND TO EXPERIENCE ITS PARANORMAL PAST.

BUT WE START IN OLD LOUISVILLE WITH LOCAL AUTHOR DAVID DOMINE WHOSE TRUE CRIME BEST SELL EAR "A DARK ROOM IN GLITTER BULL CITY" HAS SPARKED RENEWED INTEREST IN THIS 34EUS TEAROUS NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE CREATOR OF LOUISVILLE HISTORIC TOURS THAT TAKE GUESTS ON VARIOUS WALKING TOURS THROUGH OLD LOUISVILLE.

WE MET HIM AT THE HISTORIC AND REPORTEDLY HAUNTED CONRAD CALLED CALDWELL MANSION.

DAVID DOMINE IS A LOCAL AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN AND CREATOR OF LOUISVILLE HISTORIC TOURS, BUT YOU, YOURSELF SAY YOU ARE A BIT OF A SCEPTIC WHEN IT COMES TO GHOSTS.

>> I LOVE GHOST STORIES BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN A GHOST MYSELF, SO I'M KIND OF A SCEPTIC.

I'M WAITING FOR THE DAY THAT I DO KEY A GHOST.

IN THE MEANTIME, I'LL ENJOY THE GHOST STORIES I WRITE AND HEAR ABOUT.

>> YOU DO AN EXCELLENT JOB DOING THESE TOURS AND WRITING STORIES WHAT GOT YOU INTO THIS GENRE, LIVING IN YOUR OWN HAUNTED HOUSE, RIGHT?

>> YEAH, I ALWAYS LOVED GHOST STORIES, FASCINATED BY THE PARANORMAL GROWING UP BUT I WAS A SCEPTIC.

BUT THEN IN 1999, I BOUGHT A HOUSE IN OLD LOUISVILLE ON THIRD STREET, THE OLD MILLIONAIRE'S ROW AND I LIVED THERE FOR EIGHT YEARS RIGHT BEFORE I MOVED IN THE PREVIOUS OWNER JUST CASUALLY MENTIONED WE WOULD BE GET CAN A GHOST THAT CAME WITH THE PROPERTY, A POALTERGEIST NAMED LUCY.

I SHRUGGED IT OFF.

BOUGHT THE HOUSE AND MOVED IN AND LO AND BEHOLD, ALL THESE CRAZY THINGS BEGAN TO HAPPEN, JUST LIKE THE PREVIOUS OWNER TOLD ME, FOOTSTEPS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WHEN NO ONE WAS THERE.

OUR GATZ-- CATS AND DOGS WOULD ACT VERY STRANGELY LIKE THEY WERE CHASING THINGS OR SEEING THINGS WE COULD NOT SEE.

THE PREVIOUS OWNER, THE LAST THING SHE SAID BEFORE WE MOVED IN IS, I KNOW YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A GHOST HERE.

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T HANG A PICTURE ON THE WALL IN THE BUTLER'S PANTRY, IF YOU DO, LUCY WILL KNOCK THE PICTURE OFF THE WALL.

OF COURSE I MOVED IN AND HUNG THE PICTURE WHERE SHE TOLD ME NOT TO AND BY THE END OF THE VERY SAME DAY, THE PICTURE WAS FACE DOWN ON THE TILE FLOOR.

THE GLASS WAS BROKEN OUT AND WE NEVER COULD HAVE A PICTURE ON THAT WALL.

I TRIED SEVEN MORE TIMES AND FINALLY GAVE UP TRYING TO HANG PICTURES THERE.

BUT IT WAS DURING THAT FIRST YEAR LIVING IN THE HOUSE THAT I MET MY NEIGHBORS IN OLD LOUISVILLE AND FELLOW HOMEOWNERS AND LIKE I WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, THE AVERAGE HOUSE DOWN HERE IS 1345 YEARS OLD,-- 135 YEARS OLD AND THEY ALL HAVE STORIES AND PEOPLE BEGAN SHARING THEIR STORIES ABOUT FAMILY SCANDALS THEY UNCOVERED OR SOME KNEW ABOUT MURDERS OR TERRIBLE DEATHS ON THE PREMISES.

SOME HAD SCANDALS TO REPORT, THAT THEY HAD READ ABOUT IN THE NEWSPAPERS.

SO I STARTED COLLECTING THESE STORIES AND USING THEM AS A VEHICLE TO TALK ABOUT THE HAUNTINGS AND THE FOLKLORE AND THE LEGENDS DOWN HERE AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT GOT ME INTO ALL OF THIS.

>> I WOULD IMAGINE YOU ARE A BELIEVER NOW?

>> NOPE.

I'M STILL WAITING TO SEE A GHOST.

WHEN A GHOST WALKS UP AND SHAKES MY HAND, THAT'S WHEN I WILL START BELIEVING IN THEM BUT I'M A FIRM BELIEVER IN THE PARANORMAL, WHATEVER THAT IS.

THERE ARE THINGS OUT THERE THAT WE DON'T UNDERSTAND, SO MY MIND IS OPEN AND I'M WAITING TO SEE THAT ELUSIVE GHOST ONE OF THESE DAYS, BUT IN THE MEANTIME I'LL CONTENT MYSELF WITH KNOWING THAT THERE IS SOMETHING OUTSIDE THE NORMAL THAT WE DON'T HAVE EXPLANATIONS FOR AND THAT'S ALWAYS THE GOOD BASIS FOR A GOOD GHOST STORY.

THE HOUSE WE ARE IN RIGHT NOW, CONRAD'S CASTLE AS IT WAS KNOWN AT ONE TIME OR THE CALDWELL CONRAD'S HOUSE, IT IS ONE OF THE GRANDEST IN THE CITY.

A HISTORIC HOME MUSEUM THAT IS OPEN FOR REGULAR TOURS.

AND SO WE TRIED TO RECOMMEND THIS AS A STOP FOR PEOPLE COMING TO CHECK OUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

AND NOT ONLY DOES IT HAVE ITS WONDERFUL HISTORY, IT HAS A NUMBER OF GHOSTS AS WELL.

LAST I HEARD, THERE WERE SIX DIFFERENT ENTITIES THAT HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED ON THE PREMISES OF THIS, THE CONRAD CALDWELL HOUSE.

>> TELL BUS THOSE.

I TELL US ABOUT THOSE.

I THINK WE SAW THE LIGHTS FLICKER HERE A LITTLE BIT.

>> THE STAIRCASE, THAT'S WHERE THINGS HAVE BEEN REPORTED.

SUPPOSEDLY THE GHOST OF A FORMER MAID, A HOUSEKEEPER WHO IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE HOUSE AND MAINTAINING IT'S GOOD IT'S GOOD CONDITION, SHE LIKES TO MANIFEST HERSELF OR CALL OUT WARNINGS WHEN THINGS ARE ABOUT TO HAPPEN LIKE IF SOMEONE LEAVES A WINDOW OPEN AND THE RAIN STORM IS COMING, SHE HAS BEEN KNOWN TO TELL PEOPLE TO SHUT THE WINDOW.

SHE IS A PROTECTIVE SPIRIT.

THE GHOST OF Mr. CONRAD, THE MAN WHO BUILT THE HOUSE AND LIVED HERE FOR THE FIRST 10 YEARS, HE HAS BEEN SPOTTED.

OFTEN PEOPLE WHO COME HERE AND TAKE TOURS AND ARE KIND OF LIKE ME, NOSEY, AND THEY WANDER OFF FROM THE GROUP AND TRY TO SEE WHAT IS IN SHUT OFF ROOMS AND COVERED DOORS, THEY ARE SNOOPING AROUND AND SHOULDN'T BE SOMEPLACE THEY FIND THEMSELVES AND THE GHOST OF Mr. CONRAD IN A BROWN TWEED SUIT, A GOATEE AND BOWLER HAT APPEARS OUT OF NOWHERE AND SCOLDS THEM.

HE NEVER SAYS ANYTHING BUT FIXES THEM WITH A STERN GLARE AND HE DOES THIS LIKE YOU SHOULDN'T BE DOING THAT AND HE DISAPPEARED INTO THIN AIR.

A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE TOLD ME ABOUT THAT GHOST.

THE GHOST OF Mr. CALDWELL, THE SECOND OWNER AND REALLY THE HOUSE HAS ONLY HAD TWO FAMILIES OCCUPY IT.

HE HAS BEEN SEEN UP ON THE THIRD FLOOR IN THE SMOKING BALCONY, WHICH IS WHERE HE WAS RELEGATED TO MOST EVENINGS BECAUSE HIS WIFE DIDN'T APPROVE OF CIGAR SMOKE.

AND PEOPLE OFTEN SMELL CIGAR SMOKE UP THERE.

GRACE CALDWELL, THE DAUGHTER OF THE FAMILY WHOSE OIL PORTRAIT HANGS IN THE LADY'S PARLOR IN THE FRONT, SHE HAS BEEN REPORTED AS WELL AND A COUPLE OTHERS.

>> WOW.

SO THIS PLACE ITSELF, IS HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT AS IS THIS AREA BUT THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THESE MANSIONS WERE GOING INTO DISREPAIR.

AND TALK ABOUT THAT TIME IN OUR CITY'S HISTORY AND THEN HOW THEY BECAME WHAT THEY ARE TODAY.

>> YEAH, SO AFTER WORLD WAR II, YOU KNOW, AMERICANS BEGAN MOVING TO THE SUBURBS.

THEY DIDN'T WANT TO LIVE IN DOWNTOWN AREAS.

SO ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THERE WAS THIS EXODUS FROM THE DOWNTOWN AREAS AND MANY CITIES, MANY TOWNS, THEIR HISTORIC AREAS FELL INTO DISREPAIR AND THAT WAS TRUE HERE IN LOUISVILLE.

IN OLD LOUISVILLE, IN THE 60s AND 70s, THINGS WERE IN PRETTY BAD SHAPE DOWN HERE.

PROBABLY 90% OF THE MANSIONS AND HOUSES HAD BEEN CHOPPED UP INTO ROOMING HOUSES AND APARTMENTS, FLOP HOUSES.

BUT IN OLD LOUISVILLE, PEOPLE LOVED THEIR OLD HOUSES AND THEY FOUGHT TO SAVE THEM.

AND IN THE 18970s-- 1970s, THAT'S WHEN THE PRESERVATION EXPANDED TOGETHER AND BY 1975, THIS WAS RECOGNIZED BY THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES.

AND FROM THAT POINT FORWARD, YOU COULDN'T TEAR THINGS DOWN ANYMORE.

SO THE DESTRUCTION STOPPED, AND THAT STARTED A SLOW PROCESS OF REVITALIZATION.

PEOPLE BEGAN COMING BACK DOWN HERE, BUYING THESE PLACES, FIXING THEM UP AND TODAY IT'S STILL GOING ON.

THERE ARE POCKET PLACES AROUND THE EDGES OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT STILL USE SOME WORK, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, THE CORE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, ST. JAMES COURT, FOR EXAMPLE, A LOT OF THESE HOUSES HAVE BEEN LOVINGLY RESTORED.

THE WORD IS GETTING OUT.

THEY SAY THIS IS GOING TO BE THE NEW SAVANNAH AND CHARLESTON.

PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM FAR AND WIDE, BUYING THE HOUSES AND FIXING THEM UP.

>> YOU SAY A LOT OF THEM ARE FROM OUT OF TOWN AND COMING HERE AND REVITALIZING THIS AREA FROM OUT OF TOWN.

>> YEAH, THE WORD IS GETTING OUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

HOLLYWOOD HAS BEEN FINDING OUT, A LOT OF MOVIES HAVE BEEN FILMING HERE BECAUSE SUCH A PICTURESQUE AREA WITH THE OLD MANSIONS AND THE GAS LAMPS.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, LOUISVILLE ITSELF IS AN AFFORDABLE CITY WITHIN THE CITY ITSELF, THIS IS AN AFFORDABLE NEIGHBORHOOD.

SO A LOT OF WEEKS I'M MEETING A COUPLE OR FAMILY WHO MOVED HERE FROM SOMEPLACE MORE EXPENSIVE, NEW YORK CITY, CHICAGO, L.A., DALLAS.

WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS SELLING THEIR SMALL HOUSES BACK HOME, COMING HERE, USING A FRACTION OF THAT TO BUY A BIG BEAUTIFUL VICTORIAN HOUSE.

>> PART OF THAT, TOO, I THINK HAS TO DO WITH YOUR BOOK, "A DARK ROOM IN GLITTER BALL CITY."

>> I LIKE TO THINK THAT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT, YEAH JUST A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, MY 13th BOOK CAME OUT AND IT'S-- IT WAS A LABOR OF LOVE IT TOOK ME OVER 10 YEARS TO WRITE.

AND IT CENTERS ON A TERRIBLE MURDER THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

>> TRUE STORY.

>> A TRUE STORY, JUST NOT EVEN TWO BLOCKS FROM WHERE WE ARE SITTING RIGHT NOW.

AND IT WAS IN A HOUSE THAT I ALMOST BOUGHT.

AND SO I KIND OF HAD THIS PERM PERSONAL CONNECTION.

I SAT THROUGH BOTH OF THE TRIALS AND TRIED TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT THAT JAMIE CARROLL WAS MURDERED IN THE FOURTH STREET MANSION ON THE 1400 BLOCK.

AND IT WAS A BIZARRE STORY BECAUSE THE HOUSE WHERE THE TERRIBLE MURDER TOOK PLACE HAD BEEN A SAN TOREIUM AT ONE TIME IN THE PAST AND AND THERE WAS AN S & M CLUB IN THE BASEMENT AT ONE TIME, THE GUYS WHO WERE LIVING THERE HAD BEEN ARRESTED COUNTERFEITING MONEY AND A CULT IN THE BASEMENT.

THE BOOK HAS BEEN DOING REALLY WELL AND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN READING IT OUTSIDE OF KENTUCKY, THEY HAVE BEEN INSPIRED TO COME AND VISIT LOUISVILLE AND SO WE ARE GETTING A GOOD NUMBER OF PEOPLE VISITING THE NEIGHBORHOOD BECAUSE THEY WANT TO SEE THE PLACES MENTIONED IN "A DARK ROOM IN GLITTER BALL CITY."

>> AND WORD IS THAT YOUR STORY MAY BE GOING TO HOLLYWOOD.

>> IT GENERATED A LOT OF INTEREST AND A LOT OF PRODUCTION COMPANIES HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH.

THE GHOST STORIES ESPECIALLY REALLY INTRIGUES THEM.

SO WHO KNOWS.

IF WE ARE LUCKY, WE MIGHT SEE SOMETHING ON THE BIG SCREEN ABOUT OLD LOUISVILLE SOME DAY.

>> THAT'S REALLY EXCITING.

SO, WHAT IS THE BEST GHOST STORY YOU'VE HEARD?

>> THAT'S KIND OF LIKE ASKING WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE CHILD, YOU KNOW, BUT THERE IS ONE I'M PARTICULAR TO.

THERE IS A BEAUTIFUL CHURCH AT THE CORNER OF THIRD AND ORMSBY, THE OLD CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST AND IT HAS A MASSIVE COLUMN PORTICO, NEO-CLASSICAL DESIGN AND WHERE THEY REPORT SIGHTINGS OF A GHOST THEY CALL THE LADY OF THE STAIRS.

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL FORLORN MAYBE 18, 19-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WHO APPEARS IN THE EVENING AFTER IT'S DARK, WHEN IT'S COLD OUT, SHE PACES BACK AND FORTH IN FRONT OF THE COLUMNS.

OFTEN YOU HEAR HER SOBS ECHOING DOWN THE SIDEWALKS AND THE STORY IS NAH THE SHE WAS SET TO MEET HER WOULD BE FIANCEE THERE ONE NIGHT.

THEY WERE GOING TO RUN AWAY AND ELOPE BECAUSE HER FAMILY DIDN'T APPROVE OF THE YOUNG SOLDIER SHE HAD FALLEN IN LOVE WITH.

AND HE NEVER SHOWED UP THAT NIGHT AND SHE PACED ALL NIGHT BACK AND FORTH.

SHE FINALLY GAVE UP AND WENT HOME TO HER AUNT AND YOU CAN WILL'S THE NEXT-- HER AUNT AND UNCLES THE NEXT MORNING.

THE SOLDIER NEVER MADE IT BECAUSE THIS WAS IN 1918-1919, THE YEARS OF THE SPANISH INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC AND HE WAS ONE OF MANY SOLDIERS WHO DIED AT NEARBY CAMP ZACHARY TAYLOR.

SO HE WAS SICK ON HIS COT, QUARANTINED IN A BARRACKS ON THE BASE.

THE WORD UNFORTUNATELY NEVER GOT TO HER IN TIME SO SHE PACED ALL NIGHT LONG.

THE SAD THING IS, SHE WENT HOME THE NEXT MORNING TO HER AUNT AND UNCLE, SHE CONTRACTED THE FLU AS WELL.

TWO DAYS LATER, SHE WAS DEAD AND THEY BOTH WENT TO THEIR GRAVES NEVER FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER.

SO HER SAD GHOST STILL HAUNTS THE STEPS OF THE CHURCH TODAY.

>> WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER MOST HAUNTED PLACES OF THIS THAISH?

>>-- OF THIS NEIGHBORHOOD?

>> WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE 45 SQUARE BLOCKS HERE AND IT'S A BURCH OF DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS.

RIGHT NOW WE ARE ON ST. JAMES COURT.

THIS IS THE MAIN RESIDENTIAL ENCLAVE, YOU COULD SAY.

THESE ROUGHLY FIVE SQUARE BLOCKS, FOUR AND A HALF SQUARE BLOCKS OCCUPY THE SITE OF THE OLD SOUTHERN EXPOSITION.

A KIND OF EARLY WORLD'S FAIR THAT TOOK PLACE OUT HERE IN THE 1880S BACK WHEN THIS WAS OUT IN THE COUNTRY.

THIS WASN'T PART OF LOUISVILLE OFFICIALLY BACK THEN.

AND AFTER THEY TOOK APART THE MASSIVE EXHIBIT HALL AND CARRIED THE PIECES AWAY, A DEVELOPER DECIDED TO PUT A PLANNED COMMUNITY HERE, MODELED AFTER THE MOST COMPLUF NEIGHBORHOODS IN LONDON AND BECAME KNOWN AS ST. JAMES COURT.

THERE IS A LOT OF ENGLISH INFLUENCE HERE.

THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS WANTED TO LIVE.

FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, ST. JAMES COURT WAS THE NUMBER ONE ADDRESS IN THE CITY.

OUR FAMOUS FOUNTAIN IS KIND OF THE SIM SYMBOL OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD INSTALLED IN THE 1890s, STATUE OF VENUS RISING FROM THE SEA AND HAS A GHOST STORY ASSOCIATED WITH IT.

THE ICE BOY IS A GHOSTLY RAG AMUFFIN THAT APPEARS AFTER THE FIRST GOOD NOAFL SNOWFALL OF EVERY YEAR AND LOOKS LIKE HE IS 6, 7 OR 8 YEARS OF AGE, TATTERED CLOTHING, HAS SOOT AND ASH ON HIS FACE.

LOOKS KIND OF DIRTY AND SUPPOSEDLY, IT'S THE GHOST OF A YOUNG GROCERY DELIVERY BOY WHO WAS KILLED IN 1912.

THEY FOUND HIS BODY THE NEXT DAY.

AND ORIGINALLY, THE ST. JAMES COURT FLATTS WAS TWICE AS TALL AS WE SEE IT TODAY.

BUT HE WAS UP ON THE VERY TOP FLOOR, HE DROPPED OFF A BOX OF GROCERIES AND HE WAS TRAPPED UP THERE WHEN THE FIRE BROKE OUT.

THE FIREFIGHTERS WERE NEVER ABLE TO GET TO HIM AND THEY FOUND HIS BODY THE NEXT DAY WHEN THEY WERE ABLE TO GET INSIDE.

BUT HE WASN'T FROM ONE OF THE WEALTHY FAMILIES HERE ON ST. JAMES COURT.

HE WAS FROM ONE OF THE POOR TENEMENT FARMING FAMILIES OVER A COUPLE BLOCKS SO THEY NEVER REALLY ACKNOWLEDGED HIS DEATH LIKE THEY WOULD HAVE WITH A CHILD OF A WEALTHY FAMILY.

AND THEN THE NEXT WINTER, WHEN THE FIRST SNOW CAME, THAT'S WHEN THEY SAW HIS GHOST FORLORNLY RUNNING AROUND THE FOUNTAIN IN THE LOBBY OF THE BUILDING AND EVER SINCE EVERY YEAR HE APPEARS WHEN THE COLD WEATHER HITS LOUISVILLE.

>> SO THE PINK PALACE IS CONSISTENTY QUINTESSENTIAL ST. JAMES COURT BUT IT WASN'T ALWAYS THIS WAY, RIGHT?

>> YEAH SO THE PINK PALACE IS ANOTHER ONE OF OUR FAMOUS LANDMARKS BUILT AROUND 1890, A RED BRICK BUILDING ORIGINALLY BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE, IT GOT A COLORFUL MAKEOVER AND THAT IS SUPPOSEDLY WHEN THE WCTU HAD ITS HEADQUARTERS HERE.

>> WHAT IS THAT?

>> THE WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION.

THEY WERE THE LADIES BEHIND PROHIBITION IN THIS COUNTRY.

THEY'RE THE ONES WHO WERE AGAINST DRINKING.

THEY WEREN'T JUST AGAINST DRINKING.

THEY WERE AGAINST SMOKING, GAMBLING, PROSTITUTION AS WELL AND THEY FOUND OUT THERE WAS A RUMOR THIS HAD BEEN USED AS A BROTHEL AT ONE TIME; A PLACE WHERE DRINKING, SMOKING, GAMBLING AND PROSTITUTION TOOK PLACE SO THEY SUPPOSEDLY PAINTED IT PINK AS A WAY OF WIPING THE SLATE CLEAN, GIVING THE BUILDING A NEW LEASE ON LIFE.

LIKE A LOT OF PLACES DOWN HERE, THAT WAS A SINGLE-FAMILY MANSION EARLY ON BUT THEN BY THE 60s AND 70s, THEY HAD CONVERTED IT INTO APARTMENTS AND THAT'S WHEN IT ACQUIRED A REPUTATION FOR BEING A HAUNTED PLACE.

SOMEONE LIVING IN A BASEMENT APARTMENT HERE REPORTED AN ENCOUNTER WITH AN UNSETTLING SPIRIT WHO WAS A TALL MAN IN A WHITE DUCK SUIT, DRESSED LIKE COLONEL SANDERS DID, AND HE APPEARED RIGHT BEFORE SHE DISCOVERED SOMEBURGLERS WERE TRYING TO BREAK INTO THE HOUSE.

SHE FOUND OUT, OR AT LEAST HE TOLD HER HIS NAME WAS AVERY.

AND FROM THAT NIGHT ON, HE STARTED APPEARING LIKE IN A HELPFUL CAPACITY TO WARN PEOPLE THAT DANGER WAS AT HAND.

AND OVER THE YEARS, A NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAVE HAD ENCOUNTERS WITH THIS COAST NAMED AVERY.

AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A SITUATION WHERE HE HAS APPEARED AT THE RIGHT TIME AND WAS ABLE TO HELP PEOPLE.

AFTER DOING A LITTLE RESEARCH, WE FOUND OUT IN FACT THERE WAS A MAN NAMED AVERY WHO LIVED HERE, THE FIRST FAMILY, THE FAMILY OF BENJAMIN AVERY AND THEY'RE STILL IN TOWN TODAY.

AND THEY TOOK TOURS WITH US AND HEARD ABOUT THEIR FAMOUS AN SEAS-- ANCESTOR.

THEY TOLD US ABOUT HIM.

HE WAS A PILLAR OF THE COMMUNITY, HE AND HIS WIFE ENJOYED STROLLING THE COURT EVERY NIGHT AFTER DINNER, THEIR EVENING RITUAL.

AVERY MOST OF THE TIME IN HIS WHITE DUCK SUIT BECAUSE HE WORE THE WHITE DUCK SUIT NINE MONTHS OUT OF EVERY YEAR.

>> I'M CURIOUS HOW THE PIECES OF THE STORY COME TOGETHER.

YOU HEAR FROM SOMEBODY WHO SAW A GHOST WITH SOMEBODY IN A WHITE SUIT AND THEN YOU REALIZE THERE ACTUALLY WAS SOMEBODY BY THAT NAME.

IS THAT THE RESEARCH YOU DO OR HOW DO YOU PIECE ALL OF THIS TOGETHER?

>> IT'S KIND OF INTERESTING.

VERY OFTEN MY STORIES WILL START WITH PEOPLE TELLING ME ABOUT AN EXPERIENCE THEY HAD OR SOMETHING THEY HEARD IN THEIR HOUSE AND THEN I'LL DO A LITTLE RESEARCH AND VERY OFTEN I'LL FIND SOMETHING IN THE PAST THAT KIND OF CROB CORROBORATES WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING OR I'LL HEAR IT FROM A DIFFERENT PARTY, A FAMILY THAT LIVED IN THE HOUSE IN QUESTION 30 OR 40 YEARS LATER AND THEY HAD SOMETHING SIMILAR HAPPEN.

SO WHEN I HAVE THESE KIND OF TWO CONVERGENCES, THAT'S WHEN I GET ON THE TRAIL AND START SNOOPING AROUND, TRYING TO FIND OUT WHO LIVED HERE, WHO BUILT THE HOUSE, YOU KNOW.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE HOUSE'S PAST AND VERY OFTEN THAT'S WHEN I FIND THE INTERESTING THINGS THAT HELP ME COBBLE TOGETHER A GOOD GHOST STORY.

>> SO ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES IN OLD LOUISVILLE IS THE STORY OF THE WITCHES TREE.

TELL US ABOUT THAT.

>> YEAH, THIS IS A VERY POPULAR DESTINATION IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

AS YOU CAN SEE, PEOPLE COME AND LEAVE THINGS ON THE TREE, LITTLE HEARTS AND TREENG TRINKETS.

THEY SAY IF YOU LEAVE SOMETHING HORSE RELATED FOR THE WITCHES BEFORE YOU BET ON THE PONIES AT CHURCHILL DOWNS, THEY'LL HELP YOU PICK A WINNER.

A WAY TO MAKE AMENDS TO THE WITCHES WHO USED TO GATHER HERE.

BACK IN THE STAY THERE WAS A TALL MAPLE TREE THAT STOOD HERE AT THE CORNER OF 6th AND PARK IN OLD LOUISVILLE, AND EVERY NIGHT THIS COULD HAVE COULD HAVE COVEN OF WINS WOULD CAST THEIR SPELLS, AND DO THE THINGS THAT WITCHES DO AND WENT ON FOR MANY YEARS BUT IN 1889, THINGS WERE INTERRUPTED.

THAT YEAR THE CITY AUNITED STATES NOD ITS PLAN TO CHOP DOWN THE LOVELY MAPLE TREE THAT STOOD HERE BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO USE IT FOR THE UPCOMING MAY DAY CELEBRATIONS, THEY WANTED IT FOR A MAY POLE.

THE WITCHES WERE NOT KEEN ON THIS IDEA AND WARNED THE SFI CITY NOT TO STEAL THEIR TREE.

NOBODY TOOK THEM SERIOUSLY.

A WOODSMAN CAME WITH SAWS AND AXES.

CHOPPED THE TREE DOWN AND THE WITCHES SHRIEKED OFF TO THE WEST END WHERE THERE WERE FORESTS AND THEY WENT IN SEARCH OF A NEW MAPLE WHERE THEY COULD HIDE OUT AND CONTINUE THEIR RITUALS.

THE HEAD WITCH TURNED AROUND AND CURSED THE CITY.

HER FINAL WORDS WERE BEWARE LOUISVILLE, BEWARE 11TH MONTH.

MAY 1 CAME, THEY DANCED AROUND THE MAY POLE, CELEBRATED AND DANCED AND SANG AND EVERYBODY PROMPTLY FORGOT ABOUT THE WITCHES AND THEIR WARNING UNTIL 11 MONTHS LATER THAT IS, MARCH 27, 1890, A HUGE TORNADO CAME BARRELING INTO DOWNTOWN LOUISVILLE AND WITHIN FOUR MINUTES, DECIMATED THE CITY THAT HAD STOLEN THE WITCH'S TREE AGAINST THEIR WARNING.

AND AFTER DESTROYING TONS OF HOMES AND MANSIONS IN THIS AREA, AND LEAVING 120 SOME PEOPLE DEAD ON THE STREETS OF WHICH A GOOD NUMBER BELONGED TO SOMETHING KNOWN AS THE MAYDAY CELEBRATION COMMITTEE, THE PEOPLE WHO CHOPPED THE TREE DOWN, THE STORM DEMON AS THE TORNADO WAS KNOWN, CAME JUMPING AND ZIG ZAGGING OUT OF LOUISVILLE TO THE SOUTH.

WHEN IT CAME TO THIS AREA, AS IT APPROACHED THE CORNER WHERE WE ARE TODAY, A BOLT OF LIGHT LIGHTNING SHOT OUT AS IF HURLED BY THE STORM STEAM DEMON, A TREMENDOUS EXPLOSION AND THIS TREE SPRANG UP FROM THE EARTH IN A SHOWER OF SPARKS AND FLAME AND SMOKE TO REPLACE THE TREE STOLEN FROM THE WITCHES.

IT GREW BACK NARLED AND TWISTED SO THEY WOULD NEVER BE TEMPTED TO CHOP IT DOWN AND USE IT AS A MAY POLE AGAIN AND GUESS WHAT, SINCE THEY HAVE THE TREE BACK, THE WITCHES HAVE RETURNED AND MANY NIGHTS WILL YOU FIND THEM ON THIS CORNER UNDER THE BRANCHES WHERE THEY CAST THEIR SPELLS AND THEY BREW THEIR POSSESSIONS AND DO THE THINGS-- THEIR POTIONS AND DO THE THINGS THAT WITCHES DO.

>> WHAT ARE THEY HOPING TO GET WITH THE TRINKETS?

>> TO MAKE AAMENDS TO THE WITCHES.

TO SYMBOLIZE THEY WON'T CHOP THE TREE DOWN AGAIN AND TO CURRY FAVOR FROM THE WITCHES.

THEY MIGHT HAVE PETITIONS OR WISHES THEY'RE HOPING THE WITCHES HELP THEM FULFILL.

IN ANY CASE, IF YOU LEAVE SOMETHING HORSE RELATED, A HORSESHOE OR LITTLE HORSE SHAPED OBJECT, HERE ON THE TREE BEFORE YOU GO BET ON THE PONIES AT CHURCHILL DOWNS, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BRING YOU GOOD LUCK ON THE PONIES, THAT THE WITCHES WILL HELP YOU PICK A WINNER.

>> ABOUT 13 MILES ABOVE OLD LOUISVILLE SITS THE HISTORIC WAVERLY HILLS SANATORIUM.

PART OF WAVERLY'S HISTORY IS THAT IT IS HAUNTED, AND IT'S NOT JUST THE HISTORY.

IT'S THE PRESENT.

I'M SURE IT WILL BE THE FUTURE.

I'VE SEEN AND HEARD AND FELT A LOT OF THINGS IN THIS BUILDING.

>> ITS PAST TELLS THE STORY OF THE TUBERCULOSIS PANDEMIC RAGING IN THE EARLY 1900s.

IT OPENED IN 1926 AS A HOSPITAL TO HOUSE AND QUARANTINE PATIENTS AS WELL AS THE DOCTORS AND NURSES WHO WORKED THERE.

>> IT'S 187,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING.

IT'S PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, YOU GOT OVER 500 ROOMS IN IT.

THE FIRST FLOOR WAS LIKE THE MORGUE AND OFFICES ADMINISTRATION.

AND THEN YOU KNOW, THE SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH FLOORS WERE FOR PATIENTS AND THE FIFTH FLOOR HAD LIKE A WARD ON EACH SIDE.

IT WAS TOTALLY SELF CONTAINED.

THEY RAISED THEIR OWN CROPS.

THEY HAD THEIR OWN LIVESTOCK.

THEY HAD THEIR OWN POSTAL CODE.

IT WAS CALLED WAVERLY HILLS, KENTUCKY.

>> AFTER TUBERCULOSIS TREATMENTS ADVANCED IN THE 1960s, THE FACILITY CLOSED AND REOPENED AS A NURSING HOME UNTIL 1981.

AFTER 20 YEARS VACANT, THE CURRENT OWNERS BOUGHT IT AND BROUGHT IT BACK TO LIFE AS A NATIONAL HISTORIC LOCATION.

BUT THEY SAY THEY CAN'T ESCAPE THE PROPERTY'S PARANORMAL PAST.

>> IT WILL CHANGE SOMETHING IN YOU WHERE YOU GO, YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT GHOSTS, YOU ARE NUTS.

THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS GHOSTS AND THEN YOU HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN UP HERE AND THEN YOU START TO FEEL A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.

AND LIKE MAYBE THERE IS.

>> I DO BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE STILL SOME SPIRITS HERE.

I'VE SEEN THEM.

I'VE HEARD THEM.

AND THEY WILL TOUCH YOU, TOO.

>> THE GHOST STORIES HERE GO BACK DECADES AND HAVE BEEN FEATURED ON SHOWS LIKE GHOST HUNTERS, GHOST ADVENTURES AND MORE.

TELLING STORIES LIKE MAINTENANCE MAN RALPH WHOSE KEYS CAN STILL BE HEARD UP AND DOWN THE HALLWAYS.

OR THE NURSE WHO HUNG HERSELF IN ROOM 502 NOW SUPPOSEDLY THE MOST HAUNTED ROOM IN THE HOSPITAL.

AND, OF COURSE, MYSTERIOUS THINGS HAPPENING INSIDE THE DEATH CHUTE WHERE DEAD BODIES USED TO BE TRANSPORTED DOWN TO THE MORGUE.

>> IT COULD HAPPEN ANYWHERE IN HERE.

THE HOT SPOT FOR ME IS ELECTROSHOCK THERAPY ROOM.

WE HAD A LIGHT BULB, ONE OF THE OLD TIME LIGHT BULBS, A CLEAR ONE, HANGING FROM THE CEILING BUT AT THAT TIME THERE WAS NO ELECTRICITY UP HERE AT ALL.

AND WHILE WE WERE IN THERE WORKING, THAT BULB STARTED TO GLOW A LITTLE BIT AND I HAD TWO GUYS WITH ME HELPING TO SHOVEL IN A LOT OF THE SEAL FELL DOWN AND WE WERE SHOVELING THAT ALL OUT AND THEY GOT ALL SPOOKED AND THREW DOWN THEIR SHOVELS AND RAN OUT OF THE BUILDING.

>> CURIOSITY KEEPS THE LIGHTS ON, THOSE PARANORMAL TOURS AND ANNUAL HAUPTED HOUSES HELP PAY THE BILLS.

FOR THE MATTINGLY'S THEIR FOCUS REMAINS IN RENOVATING AND RESTORING THE PROPERTY AND ONE DAY THEY HOPE TO TURN IT INTO A HOTEL.

WOULD YOU SPEND THE NIGHT?

WELL, DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE GHOST STORY IN LOUISVILLE?

SHARE IT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

YOU CAN FIND US ON INSTAGRAM AT KET-IN-LOU AND LINKED UP EXTRA GHOST STORIES FROM PAST EPISODES OF KENTUCKY LIFE AND MORE.

YOU CAN FIND THOSE ONLINE AT KET ket.org, INSIDE LOUISVILLE.

THANKS FOR SPENDING TIME GETTING TO KNOW LOUISVILLE THIS WEEK.

HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT TIME ON "INSIDE LOUISVILLE" UNTIL THEN, MAKE IT A GREAT WEEK.

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