Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills Sanatorium

OK so its a documentary about an old hospital that was used to treat TB and then was an old folks home. My first complaint is that I couldn't figure out why the director had the need to constantly plug his movie 'death Tunnel' whenever he could get a chance (it looks like a terrible movie). I also found some of the 'eyewitness'' accounts are no very convincing. However I did find some of the cinematography to be good and some of the stories (they more than likely made up) where entertaining. The saving grace for me was the actual location. If you google it and do a little research of your own you might enjoy this doc more. The history of this place is very interesting and tragic and while the movie has moments were it portrays this well it just cant keep it up. Good attempt but lack credibility.

Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills Sanatorium (2006)

*** (out of 4)

Effective documentary talking about the history of the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, KY, which for years was used as a TB hospital where legend has it over 63,000 people died. All five floors of the building have had strange things over the years including various ghostly sightings and especially in a notorious Room 502 where legend has it a pregnant nurse hung herself and of course "The Death Tunnel," which was a 500-foot tunnel used to send the dead down. Being from Louisville I've always been interested in the history of this place and it appears that just about every show that deals with ghosts have visited and all came away saying there's some pretty strange stuff going on. This documentary is far from perfect but in the end I think it did it's job and that was to make a creepy picture. I'll start off with the negative stuff and that's all the "added" stuff that never really should have been here. This includes a few re-enactments, really fast editing that does nothing and a few moments where some heavy metal music was used. All the added effects really kill the atmosphere of the hospital itself. With that said, I found the rest of the picture to be entertaining for a number of reason. Most shows dealing with this place have shown ghostly images and other strange effects and that stuff is on display here. What really separates this documentary is that they interview several people who worked at the hospital as well as a couple who were patients there. The staff members are also interviewed and share their stories about the place. The documentary does a nice job talking about the history of the place and I think most should come away satisfied.

I thought it was awesome, though the commercials drove me crazy.The old people made me cry and in general the show was entertaining. I understand it was a different approach to Taps, but I liked both shows. I did not side by side put them in competition with each other. All that matters is Taps found paranormal activities and so did Spooked.

Granted that TAPS are Ghost Hunters and they are damn good ones at that, Spooked was filmmakers sharing their story. I do live in Louisville and know a few of the people that was in this doc, and they told it like they told me.

LGHS has a lot of passion as well as the owners and the locals of Waverly, it was a very personal touch.

As far as the death footage, I had never seen that so it made me think now both on TB as well as the NATURE OF WAR. It opened my eyes to help find a cure to TB, War and the ghosts trapped in dimensions.

I have to say I enjoyed my evening watching Sci Fi.

How is this a documentary? Much more like a walking ghost tour one might take in any given Southern city. Quotes were generously dropped throughout without the first effort at identifying the source. George Orwell was the most identified quoter.

Documents were referred to without ever being produced in any form. Flat out fraudulent shots depicting period film stock were spliced aside historical film reels with no separation from reality and self-promotion. Film reels which were entirely unrealistic and improbable for the time at hand were dropped in, as if trying to ape Blair Witch, hoping to drum up a spook house on what would otherwise simply be dead real estate.

Is this not in some way a great disrespect to actual victims of TB, a dance on their collective graves for the sake of commercialism? The line between actual footage and manufactured self-service is so thin; the drippings of doubt so insignificantly played down; the scientific boundaries so blatantly ignored... how could this possibly be listed in my TiVo as documentary?

It's a vacation promo, and at that it fully succeeds.

Hell, I'd visit the joint if I could locate it on Google Earth. Not scary said a previous poster. Not too serious either, says I. Fascinating story. Flimsy film-making.

I am very into Waverly Hills and first watched Death Tunnel The Movie.Couldn't have been much worse. Then I heard that the documentary was coming out and got excited thinking that since it was a documentary it would be more serious and not have the horrible special effects.Wrong the same guys did the documentary and ruined it with effects instead of producing it raw the way a documentary should be.Waverly Hills doesn't need help with goofy effects its fine just the way it is. Tours are $20.00 per person and $100.00 for 8 hour overnight investigation per person minimal group of 10 for overnight investigation.Tours must be set up ahead of time. Awesome place for the Ghost Hunter!