#death of Sir Walter Scott

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

Morris: “Please torture me if it means I can stay alive. Just give me breath and do as you please to me! I’ll be in constant pain every day so long as I’m allowed to live—“

Helen: “BASE DOG! Your death shall be quick…”

Morris: “Please, no, Lady, have cruelty!”

Helen: “You may have had privileges in the Lowlands, but you have none here, whatsoever. Just because of your obstinance, your death will be instant… merciful, even. I refuse to spend any more time on you, dog, and son of a dog. You gobble up the scraps of our misfortune that the government throws you, and carry on with your life while we have to suffer for your sake. Fuck off.” [plunges him into the loch with a stone tied around his neck]

…

Meanwhile, in the year of our BB, 1984:

Winston: “I’m so tired…” [sobbing] “When will you shoot me?”

O’Brien: “Hm…” [picks Winston up like a banana, noting his color, smelling and pressing him in the middle to see how ripe he is] “Soon! But not yet.”

Winston: [fully breaks down]

O’Brien: “I’m spending time with you because you’re worth trouble, Winston. Don’t worry; your mind will be cleansed eventually… in about a month… give or take…”

[werewolfetone]

What in the Edgar Allan Poe story

[mbilmey]

trying to persuade an ai that nanty ewarts love's name was mirabel winslow (off the top of my head) This is misinformation that will literally only matter to me because not that many people read waverley and even fewer care about Nanty and even fewer would ask an ai about it but i am expiramenting here bc nanty ewwert is specialized knowdge only true scott fans would understand and I must preseve this knowledge to myslef thank you

[ludcake]

What is the message of sansa’s arc then? that if you dream of falling in love and knights you’re dumb?

What. That's not at all what I said.

Listen, I know this is bait, but let's articulate something here; A Song of Ice and Fire is romantic at its core. Martin wants to articulate romanticism in the same vein as Sir Walter Scott and Dumas the father - and a core thing that he's articulated several times is about *disillusionment*, and that the ending is *bittersweet*.

It's not about someone being dumb; it's about growing up. And whenever you grow up, whether willingly or not, by whatever trial you face, you *change*. You lose something of yourself. You leave a piece of who you used to be behind, and become a new person.

Frankly, I don't think there's a message. I think that Martin is less interested in answering questions than he is in putting the question forward, and examining it. He's not going to end A Song of Ice and Fire with a clear, objective message about the nature of all the themes he's delving into; he's not going to set forth an aside to say, "you can only be redeemed if you do x and y" or "kingship is determined by z".

Sansa's arc is about the chivalric romance, and is directly interrogating the conventions of it; the princely hero, in Joffrey, the distant knight, in Sandor, the interrogation of Heathcliff and paternal authority with Petyr. Sansa's arc is about being a child, and becoming a lady; about how difficult it is. About how everything that you are is ripped away from you in service to that ideal, about becoming a woman, about being alone in a hostile world where you conform or die.

Sansa's arc is about the death of innocence, and of her childhood, and whether she should've held on harder. Same with Arya, for the record! Same with Bran. They're all characters who are transient and specifically deal with the theme of childhood illusion and belief, and they each undergo different journeys that shape them in tragedy, and they lose their innocence in that.

There's no message; just themes that are being played with, and analysed. And in service to that theme, yeah, I think that Sansa won't end the story back at fairy tales or dreaming about finding the "right man" - because I don't think her journey so far is one that's fixed by finding the right person to fall in love with! I don't think her journey so far is fixed by finding a fantasy to live in! She's changed, and she's no longer the same person she was when she watched Loras Tyrell go up against the Mountain in the jousts, and that's part of growing up.

It's not dumb to dream of knights and falling in love. But it is naive, and it doesn't reflect the reality of A Song of Ice and Fire. And it's a belief that harmed Sansa, that hurt her, one that was used against her to hurt her, that was wielded like a blade against her and her family and everyone she loves.

And I don't think that the ultimate conclusion is, "she just had to find the right knight". I don't think the ultimate conclusion is, "she just had to fall in love with the right person". I don't think the conclusion is one that is reaffirming chivalric romance.

The ultimate conclusion, as far as I'm concerned, is one of her coming into her own as a person *independent* of having to fall in love or have a knight or rely on living and flattering men like Joffrey, Petyr or Sandor.

[thosearentcrimes]

Me for the past week: Damn I really need to focus on writing this paper about revolutionary self-perception in 1789-1794 France. No distractions, just relevant stuff, deadline's coming up.

Instead:

Maria Edgeworth's 1817 novel Harrington contains a vivid evocation of the Gordon Riots, with two unsympathetic characters taken for Papists and finding refuge in the home of the rich Spanish Jew, the father of the young Jewish woman at the centre of the love story.

huh never heard of her I wonder what was up with her

She held critical views on estate management, politics and education, and corresponded with some of the leading literary and economic writers, including Sir Walter Scott and David Ricardo.

that David Ricardo? from economics?

After Honora died in 1780 Maria's father married Honora's sister Elizabeth (then socially disapproved and legally forbidden from 1833 until the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907)

wait what

The Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act 1907 (7 Edw. 7. c. 47) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, allowing a man to marry his dead wife's sister, which had previously been forbidden.

ok yeah that's pretty much what it says on the tin

The 1907 Act did exactly what it said and no more. It was amended by the Deceased Brother's Widow's Marriage Act 1921 to allow a widow to marry her deceased husband's brother.[36][37] This was a response to First World War deaths to encourage remarriages, reducing war widows' pensions and increasing the birth rate.[37]

the war really did do a lot for gender equality didn't it

anyway what was up with Maria Edgeworth, let's catch up with her

When passing through the village, one of the party wrote, "We found neither mud hovels nor naked peasantry, but snug cottages and smiles all about".[10] A counter view was provided by another visitor who stated that the residents of Edgeworthstown treated Edgeworth with contempt, refusing even to feign politeness.[11]

Ireland moment

Following an anti-Semitic remark in The Absentee, Edgeworth received a letter from an American Jewish woman named Rachel Mordecai in 1815 complaining about Edgeworth's depiction of Jews.[45] In response, Harrington (1817) was written as an apology to the Jewish community.

imagine if Graham Linehan had responded this way to criticism of his transphobic IT crowd episode :)

Rachel Mordecai married widower Aaron Marks Lazarus in 1821, and moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where she lived for the rest of her life. The Lazaruses had four children together, three daughters and a son, M. E. Lazarus, in a household that also included Mr. Lazarus's seven children from his first marriage.

oh the lady had a son who she named after the author she liked who turned out to be willing to not be anti-semitic, that's nice

Marx Edgeworth Lazarus (February 6, 1822 – 1896) was an American individualist anarchist, Fourierist, and free-thinker.

oh well that sounds nice enough

Lazarus was a practicing doctor of homeopathy

ehhhh

Through his adult life, Lazarus tried to cope with apparent mental and physical disturbances, in particular what seemed to be chronic nocturnal emissions, a condition that at the time was labeled "seminal incontinence" or "spermatorrhea," believed to be detrimental and even fatal to the mind and body. Lazarus sought treatments through homeopathy, hydropathy, and electromagnetic treatments that seemed to bring some temporary relief. He also discussed the condition in his 1852 book Involuntary Seminal Losses: Their Causes, Effects, and Cure," where he suggested that the total sexual abstinence that he had tried to practice might be one of those causes. In 1855, Lazarus shocked some of his fellow Fourierists and free love advocates by marrying a 19 year old woman from Indiana, Mary Laurie (or "Lawrie).[1]

oh... a libertarian...

By the mid-1850s, social movements like Fourierism were in decline, and Lazarus's later life seems to have had less focus. When the Civil War broke out, most members of Lazarus's extended family lived in Southern states and generally supported the Confederate cause. In 1861, Lazarus, was staying with relatives in Columbus, Georgia and joined the local City Light Guard when war broke out, later serving as company physician for the Wilmington, NC Artillery.

on the one hand, obviously very bad to enlist in the Confederate army right, but on the other hand a semen retentionist doing homeopathy to them can't really be classified as "aiding" them can it

After the war, Lazarus continued to practice his areas of medicine and contributed articles and comments to various publications.[5] By his last years, though, he had become a disenchanted recluse known as the "Sand Mountain Hermit" of Jackson County, Alabama.

most normal libertarian

I wonder what those articles and comments are, and what kind of website they're hosted on. Oh.

[e-louise-bates]

Grace (age 15) just finished reading The Lady of the Lake (Sir Walter Scott), and after a bit of a rough start (“Mom, is this even going anywhere?”) ended up really liking it. I loaned her my copy of Ivanhoe to read next, but I’m wondering what other epic poetry anyone might recommend for her. She read Beowulf not too long ago (Seamus Heaney translation) and had to skim some of the more descriptively gory parts but overall enjoyed that as well. She loves Jane Austen, tolerated Jane Eyre, and enjoyed Elizabeth Gaskell aside from the deaths. She also loves Lord of the Rings and Redwall.

[scotianostra]

On August 15th 1840 the foundation stone of Scott Monument laid in Princes Street Gardens.

On the death of Sir Walter Scott in 1832, the great and good of the city came together to agree on a fitting monument to this outstanding Scottish literary figure.

In 1836, an architectural competition was launched, inviting designs for an appropriate memorial. Two years later, the trustees approved the design submitted by George Meikle Kemp, and construction began in 1840.

Sitting proudly at the base of the monument is Sir Walter himself, carved in Carrara marble by Sir John Steell. This monumental statue, fashioned from a single piece of marble weighing 30 tons, took the sculptor six years to complete. It features Scott and his beloved hound Maida.

Sadly the architect of the monument didn’t quite see it completed, George Meikle Kemp tragically drowned, having fallen into the Union Canal in Edinburgh on his way home one foggy nigh on March 6th 1844. Legend has it that he had partaken of too much alcohol after a Lodge meeting.

The monument was inaugurated on 15th August 1846, many citizens of Edinburgh were not impressed with the structure at the time, it shows you how tastes change!

The last old pic is one of the losing designs by the artist David Roberts.

[frangipani-wanderlust]

Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott

Brian du Bois-Guilbert: Have you confessed yourself, brother, and have you heard mass this morning, that you peril your life so frankly? Wilfred of Ivanhoe: I am fitter to meet death than thou art. Bois-Gilbert: Then take your place in the lists and look your last upon the sun, for this night thou shalt sleep in paradise. Ivanhoe: Gramercy for thy courtesy, and to requite it, I advise thee to take a fresh horse and a new lance. For by my honour, you will need both.

[wicked-witch-for-hire]

Literary references in Gale's selection remarks

I. Theatrical plays (Shakespeare & Walter Scott)

- A rough tempest I will raise. - Shakespeare - Tempest, - this is a mash-up of two quotes:

In Act V, Scene 1, Prospero uses the phrasing "when first I raised the Tempest". In the same scene, he recites a soliloquy about the great works of magic he has accomplished, before finally renouncing magic altogether: " ... But this rough magic I here abjure ..."

This is an incredibly apt sentence for Gale - one can interpret this tempest as his magical capabilities or just the calamity of the orb, or even his end game choice. The whole play which begins with a shipwreck might be compared to the plot of BG3.

- What fools these mortals be. - Puck - A Midsummer Night’s Dream

- All the world's my stage and you're just a player in it. Shakespeare, again. As You Like It Link

- Oh, what a tangled Weave we web! - riff on a quote from Sir Walter Scott's play Marmion.

The original quote is "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!"

II. Pop-cult

- Swords, meet sorcery!

This is a reference to the term "Swords & Sorcery" which was coined by F. Leiber (author of the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series) in 1961. Quoting from wiki: Sword and sorcery (S&S) or heroic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters. Sword and Sorcery tales eschew overarching themes of 'good vs evil' in favor of situational conflicts that often pit morally gray characters against one another to enrich themselves, or to defy tyranny.

- Gone with the Weave.

I think this is just a reference to the term "Gone with the wind" but not infamous book, lol.

- No gloom, all doom.

Riff on the popular expression "gloom & doom".

III. Religion

- Seek and you shall find me.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Matthew 7:7–8 "Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.

While I don't think Gale is our Lord and Saviour, this is an interesting line. I would not be surprised if the writers had also remarked on his peculiar resemblance to someone...so I think this is an inside joke.

- Let me recite their demise.

This alludes to the custom of reciting prayers for the dying and the dead (a common practice in Abrahamic religions).

IV. D&D homages & references

- Don't make me go all Edwin Odesseiron on you.

So Edwin was a possible companion in BG1 & 2. A lawful evil red wizard of Thay. If you have seen the new movie I don't need to explain further, but for those who don't: basically Lorroakan as a companion. He greets the protagonist with this: “ Greetings. I am Edwin Odesseiron. You simians may refer to me merely as "sir" if you prefer a less... syllable-intensive workout."

Gale basically threatens to go all power-hungry wizard on us - mind, this is a funny line you can only hear if you select him in combat over and over again (spamming).

- I hope Halaster takes good care of Tara while I'm away.

Halaster Blackcloak was was a notorious, ancient, and utterly insane wizard who resided within his lair, the infamous Undermountain ( located deep beneath the city of Waterdeep) and died in 1375, so circa 120 years before BG3 takes place (late 1492). As part of his many preparations to escape death, Halaster created a number of clone-bodies to receive his consciousness, which he kept locked in protective stasis and located throughout Undermountain and the lower reaches of Waterdeep. When Halaster died prior to the Spellplague, it was possible that one or more of these clones was activated and set free by 1479 DR, although this is not confirmed.

I guess this must be a joke in wizard's circle in Waterdeep :-) This is also a spam line, so one can only hear it if they really like to click on Gale.

- Coliar, Karpri, Anadia... So many worlds still to travel. One day. (looking at the astrolabe)

Coliar, Kapri, Anadia - are all planets in the system (Realmspace). Toril is the third planet, where Faerun is. To reach these places you need to use spelljammers. Gale needs to hitch a hike from Lae'zel I guess.

[random-brushstrokes]

William Frederick Yeames - Amy Robsart (ca. 1877)

Yeames was clearly fascinated by the intrigue surrounding Amy Robsart's death and may have been familiar with Sir Walter Scott's version of the incident, as recounted in Kenilworth (1831). When the picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1877 he included a lengthy explanation of the work's historical background in the catalogue. This took the form of an extract from a History of Berkshire by John Aubrey (1626-97):

"Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, being the great favourite of the Queen Elizabeth, it was thought she would have made him her husband; to this end, to free himself of all obstacles, he had his wife, Amy Robsart, conveyed to the solitary house of Cumnor Hall, in Berkshire, inhabited by Anthony Forster, his servant. This same Forster, in compliance with what he well knew to be the Earl's wishes, came with others in the dead of night to the lady's bedchamber and stifled her in bed, and flung her downstairs, thereby believing the world would have thought it a mischance, and so blinded their villainy; and the morning after, with the purpose that others should know of her end, did Forster, on pretence of carrying out some behest of the Countess, bring a servant to the spot where the poor lady's body lay at the foot of the stairs."

The woman's body lies bathed in light, her cloak romantically arranged across the bottom steps of the staircase. She appears less the bruised and battered victim of a vile murder than a seductive sleeping beauty. The devious Forster leads his manservant down the back stairs from the bedroom above. The latter is clearly horrified by the sight of the dead woman, and Forster pushes him back, for fear that he might discover the actual method of her death. (source)

[jurakan]

One fun fact, please! Dealer's choice!

Have you heard of the Fairy Queen’s Chaplain? No? Well, Today You Learned about Robert Kirk!

Born in Aberfoyle, Scotland in 1644, Robert Kirk was a minister and scholar of Gaelic. He helped work on a printing of the Bible in Scottish Gaelic, which is pretty darn cool! But what he’s most famous for is The Secret Commonwealth, a book about Scottish folklore, and one of the most prominent texts on the subject to this day.

See, in a world that was becoming increasingly secular, atheists, or deist, Robert Kirk thought that belief in the supernatural was a good bridge to believing in Christianity. I don’t know, something like, “Hey, if fairies exist, then it’s not unreasonable to think angels might too?” Or maybe the reverse, “If angels exist, being non-human supernatural beings, why shouldn’t fairies?” 

Whatever. The man went around the Scottish Highlands collecting as many accounts of folklore and fairy stories as he could, and collected it all in a text. This book wasn’t actually published in his lifetime–it was over a hundred years later, by Scottish author Sir Walter Scott (the guy who wrote Ivanhoe, among other things), under the full title The Secret Commonwealth or an Essay on the Nature and Actions of the Subterranean (and for the most part) Invisible People heretofore going under the names of Fauns and Fairies, or the like, among the Low Country Scots as described by those who have second sight, 1691.

What a mouthful.

Andrew Lang, another prominent Scottish author with an interest in fairies,  also published a version of it a few years later.

Now like I said, Kirk died before the book was published. He had a habit of taking a walk in the hills before bed, and one night he dropped dead while he was out there. He was only 47, so it became popular folklore that his death was faked somehow, and that what actually happened was that the Fair Folk were upset that this man was revealing their secrets to humanity, so they took him. Either they killed him or they took him to Fairyland, to be work as the Chaplain to the Fairy Queen and his earthly body replaced by a dead doppelganger thing, so his tomb is now empty.

[His tomb is probably not empty, but people are going to be very upset if you try digging it up to check just in case.]

So now you know! The Queen of Fairies has a chaplain. Apparently.

[inkedwingss]

Your thoughts??

"In our dreams, we have limitless resources and the people yield themselves with perfect docility to our molding hands. The present education conventions fade from their minds, and unhampered by tradition, we work our own good will upon a grateful and responsive rural folk. We shall not try to make these people or any of their children into philosophers or men of learning, or men of science. We have not to raise up from among them authors, editors, poets or men of letters. We shall not search for embryo great artists, painters, musicians nor lawyers, doctors, preachers, politicians, statesmen, of whom we have an ample supply…The task we set before ourselves is very simple as well as a very beautiful one, to train these people as we find them to a perfectly ideal life just where they are. So we will organize our children and teach them to do in a perfect way the things their fathers and mothers are doing in an imperfect way, in the homes, in the shops and on the farm."

General Education Board(Rockefeller philanthropy), Occasional Papers, No. 1

You guys are kicking the doors of my inbox with some hardcore stuff, and I love it.

Short answer: the educational system is a scam. But you can figure that out just by reading the General Education Board.

Long answer? Well, before I start, let me quote this Scottish dude that died in 1832:

"Every man who has become, in any way, valuable, has taken the reins of his own education." ‒ Sir Walter Scott

The "history of education" is an extensive research that, after some point, revealed itself as fruitless to me, as I was busy with other interests. No mainstream media and easy-to-find books will help you on this journey. But it's a good start for anyone who wants to understand more about how this world works. I must say this is not a road for the faint of heart. If you don't have a solid, truthful hope, you might go a bit nuts.

During my bachelor's degree, after dropping 4 half-completed graduations, my keen nose guided me to study about this and one thing led to another. You end up seeing the same family names, their companies, then you check a bit of underground history and politics, artistic movements, ideologies, parties, big tech and pharma development... I mean, none of this is new. It's been happening since forever, so let's get a bit more dystopic and realistic here:

We are under a big system that wants to smash your face into the ground and break your teeth. They will give you the illusion of two polarized sides, and make you fight your brothers and sisters till death, while hiding truth in plain sight and keeping you busy on a 9-5, confused and tired. Always sedated, if possible. Always scared. I was actually working on a poem that goes like this:

"There they teach you to love what's bad Here we teach you to hate what's good They teach you to tell lies We teach you to hide truth"

Don't take me wrong, I'm all in for education. But I only believe in self educating. You will eat as much as you're hungry.

We are intelligent beings for a reason. We were designed to think and understand. But thinking is actually quite hard and not very encouraged anymore, and no one can actually teach you how to think. You have to learn by yourself. You have to want to think.

I mean, most people don't even stop and ask themselves why they are doing things the way they do. It's what my therapist says: stop the autopilot!

As a former teacher, I can tell you there is so much more to developing cognition and process of thought, and creativity, and virtue and social skills, than to sit in a classroom all day, being fed a very filtrated and distorted version of "world history". They teach you to hate true knowledge. And let me tell you this: the Rockefellers, the Rothschilds, and all their little friends, are not only relying on the educational system to remain on power.

And there is so much I could write on this, to be honest, but I don't want to. It's not necessary. I can quote George Orwell instead.

[kemetic-dreams]

In modern times, cross burning or cross lighting is a practice which is associated with the Ku Klux Klan. However, it was practiced long before the Klan's inception. Since the early 20th century, the Klan burned crosses on hillsides as a way to intimidate and threaten African Americans and other marginalized groups.

In the first era, reconstruction Klans did not burn crosses. The belief that reconstruction Klans burned crosses was introduced by Thomas Dixon Jr., in his novel The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan (1905). A cross burning is first described in Book IV Chapter 2 "The Fiery Cross" on pages 324–326 of the 1905 edition. It is introduced by one of the characters as "the old Scottish rite of the burning cross. It will send a thrill of inspiration to every clansmen in the hills." It is further elaborated that

In olden times when the Chieftain of our people summoned the clan on an errand of life and death, the Fiery Cross, extinguished in sacrificial blood, was sent by swift courier from village to village. This call was never made in vain, nor will it be to-night in the new world. Here, on this spot made holy ground by the blood of those we hold dearer than life, I raise the ancient symbol of an unconquered race of men—

This scene is accompanied by an unnumbered plate illustration by Arthur I. Keller, captioned "'The fiery cross of old Scotland's hills'", showing two robed, unmasked Klansmen, one of whom is holding a lighted cross, over a bound, blindfolded and gagged African American, while robed and hooded klansmen look on. The novel ends with a Klansman waiting for election results stating "Look at our lights on the mountains! They are ablaze - range on range our signals gleam until the Fiery Cross is lost among the stars" meaning that he had won and civilization had been saved in the South. The fiery cross is mentioned once again in the final novel of Dixon's Klan trilogy, The Traitor: A Story of the Fall of the Invisible Empire, when a Grand Dragon tosses a burning cross on a heap of discarded Klan robes and regalia in obedience to the order of the Grand Dragon to dissolve the order. This scene is accompanied by an illustration captioned "Some of the men were sobbing" by Charles David Williams featuring a gathering of Klansmen over a burning pile of robes, carrying three burning crosses.

Origins of Burning Crosses goes back to Scottish origins

Scottish origins

A Victorian depiction of the crann tara

In Scotland, the fiery cross, known as the crann-tara, was used as a declaration of war. The sight of it commanded all clan members to rally to the defence of the area. On other occasions, a small burning cross would be carried from town to town. It was used in the War of 1812 between Britain and the U.S. as a means of mobilizing the Scottish Fencibles and militia which were settled in Glengarry County, Ontario against the invaders. In 1820, over 800 fighting men of Clan Grant were gathered, by the passing of the fiery cross, to come to the aid of their Clan Chieftain and his sister in the town of Elgin, Scotland. In Scotland itself, the last significant use of the burning cross was made in 1745, during the Jacobite rising, and it was subsequently described in the novels and poetry of Sir Walter Scott, particularly The Lady of the Lake of 1810

[whencyclopedia]

George III of Great Britain

George III of Great Britain (r. 1760-1820) was the third of the Hanoverian monarchs, and he remains the longest-reigning king in British history. His six decades on the throne saw the creation of the United Kingdom, the loss of the 13 American colonies, but massive expansion of the British Empire elsewhere, and great victories such as Trafalgar against the French.

King George's Britain saw social changes with developments in agriculture and the first inventions of the Industrial Revolution. The arts flourished, too, with the Georgian style of architecture sweeping across cities and the arrival of literary greats like Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott. King George suffered from serious mental illness in the latter part of his life, and his son took over as Prince Regent in 1811 before succeeding him on his death as George IV of Great Britain (r. 1820-1830).

Continue reading...

[myhauntedsalem]

Waverly Hills Sanatorium Louisville, Kentucky

Many paranormal investigators claim that the most haunted hospital worldwide is the Waverly Hills Sanatorium. In the year of 1883, a Major by the name of Thomas H. Hays purchased the land where the haunted hospital now stands in Louisville, Kentucky. Immediately after purchase, he found it a necessity to create a school for his daughter to attend. The school was constructed on what is referred to as “Pages Lane” . It consisted of just one room, which was sufficient for the educational needs of his daughter. In his search for an educator, he hired a female by the name of Lizzie L. Harris. He also allowed her to name the school. Since she was an avid fan of the novels written by Sir Walter Scott known as the “Waverley Novels” , she named the educational facility “Waverley School” . Major Hays took a fondness to this particular name and appropriately named his property “Waverley Hill” . Little did the two realize that this name would eventually spark conversations of spirits, mysteries and paranormal activity.

In the early 1900s, there was a serious tuberculosis outbreak that resulted in the deaths of millions of individuals. Before the introduction of antibiotics in the 1940s, this was considered to be one of the most serious conditions that affected individuals. Those that were diagnosed with this condition were often isolated as far away from society as possible. The locations that they were placed were designed to allow those plagued by the condition to rest peacefully and have access to the freshest air possible. Most of the hospitals used to care for tuberculosis patients were constructed in regions that were considered to be at high altitudes, such as hills. Most locations were surrounded by beautiful landscapes so that the ill patients could recover in a healthy and serene environment. The Waverly Hills Sanatorium was constructed in this manner. Perhaps the individuals who died at this hospital simply did not know their way to the spiritual world. That could be why it is considered to be the most haunted hospital worldwide.

Originally, the haunted hospital only consisted of a frame building that had a total of two stories . The construction efforts started in the year of 1908 and were finalized enough that by the 26th day of July in the year of 1910, the medical facility was opened to patients. This particular establishment was designed to assist up to fifty patients in a comfortable manner suffering from the tuberculosis outbreak. The tuberculosis outbreak became so immense that the small hospital could no longer accommodate all of those that required medical care for their condition. Jefferson County started seeing so many new cases of this particular illness that the City of Louisville started taking measures to create a new medical facility. A total of $25,000.00 was provided to an organization called “Board of Tuberculosis Hospital” so that they may develop an advanced care medical facility. While the plans were being established and put into place on this construction endeavor, several medical tents were placed on Major Hay’s property to treat patients that needed immediate care. Unfortunately, the hospitals in the region were becoming extremely costly and overcrowded. As a result, the construction efforts on the current Waverly Hills Sanatorium started in the month of March in the year of 1924.

The land where the building was constructed was purchased from Major Hays by the organization known at the time as the “Board of Tuberculosis Hospital”. Because of the unique sound of the name that he had tagged on his property, the organization elected to keep the name intact. However, at the time, the name had an additional “e” in the spelling – Waverly. As time progressed, the additional “e” was dropped. Not much is known on the reasoning behind this. However, today, the name stands without the additional “e” – Waverly Hills Sanatorium. This structure was designed to be highly durable, and had the capacity to treat four hundred patients at once. It ended up being five stories in height and functioning at full capacity – sometimes more than full capacity – on the 17th day of October in the year of 1926. In the mid-1940s, the first antibiotic known as “Streptomycin” was introduced. Cases of TB started declining rapidly. As a result, what is now considered to be the most haunted hospital worldwide closed its doors to patients in the year of 1961.

There were many different types of treatments issued to patients that received care at the Waverly Hills Sanatorium during the tuberculosis outbreak. Because of the fact that antibiotics did not exist at the time, many medical professionals and their staff turned to treatments that were considered to be natural. One of the main patient treatments at this medical care facility was placing patients on specially designed porch paths in their beds where they could be exposed to the outside air. It did not matter if it was winter or summer, this particular treatment was used. However, specially designed blankets that provided heat to the patients were provided during extremely cold periods of the year. It was believed that fresh air would enter into the lungs and that the germs that were part of the illness would be effectively carried away from those that were sick.

In addition to the fresh air therapy, many individuals took part in a special type of sunlight treatments. If the weather was favorable, the patient would be placed outside to receive ultraviolet treatment. This form of therapy was referred to as “Heliotherapy” . If the weather was not favorable for a patient to be let outside of the most haunted location, they would receive treatment from sunlamps. It was believed at the time that the sun acted as what many medical professionals call a “Bactericide” , which means that the substances that caused the disease would be killed off. Additionally, the warmth from the sun was believed to be detrimental to the microorganisms that sickened the patient. The patients also received a wide array of fresh meats, produce and vegetation in order to strengthen their immune systems while being cared for at Waverly Hills Sanatorium.

Many paranormal investigators believe that this is the one of the most haunted places in America because of the fact that several patients died while receiving surgical procedures. The procedures issued at the haunted hospital include “Pneumothorax” as well as “Thoracoplasty” . While these procedures were often used only as a last resort, many individuals that received them passed away during or immediately after the operation. One resource states that less than five percent of all individuals that received these surgical procedures lived. On top of all of the deaths that were occurring on a day to day basis because of the tuberculosis outbreak, this meant that a devastating amount of individuals passed away prior to the most haunted hospitals closure in the year of 1961.

When individuals speak of Waverly Hills Sanatorium being one of the most haunted hospitals worldwide, one of the main regions that come up time and time again is the death tunnel. Many refer to this as the “Body Chute” . This five hundred foot structure was designed to transport the deceased from the medical facility to the lower region of the hill where various types of motor vessels awaited. This structure was designed in a period where there was no electricity, so it is exceptionally dark. Furthermore, it was used to avoid lowering morale on those that remained alive in the haunted hospital. Many paranormal investigations have gathered evidence in the death tunnel that seem to indicate that there are many spirits that apparently seem lost in trying to uncover the spiritual world. EVPs, ghost pictures and even videos that contain unexplained phenomenon have been produced in the death tunnels of the most haunted hospital worldwide.

While the Waverly Hills Sanatorium for the tuberculosis patients experienced many deaths, it appears that their intentions were positive for the patients. However, this does not seem to be the case for the next business that operated behind the walls of this grand haunted hospital. In the year of 1962, the facility known as the “Woodhaven Geriatrics Sanitarium” opened for business. Many individuals also referred to this facility as the “WoodHaven Medical Services” unit. Many unfortunate stories of patients being abused and experiencing various degrees of maltreatment occurred when this facility took over. According to historical documents, the facility was closed in the year of 1980 because of the fact that there was some validity to the reports of abuse and mistreatment. Many believe that the building is considered to be the most haunted because of what occurred within its walls during this period of time.

There are many different instances of paranormal activity at this most haunted location. The following outlines some of the most popular stories surrounding the Waverly Hills Sanatorium:

•At the main entrance of the haunted hospital, many have reported seeing the apparition of an elderly female that often resorts to running from the front entrance. It has been said that she is bonded by chains and that the chains appear to have cut into her skin because of the visibility of blood that is witnessed. In addition to this, many stories have the woman yelling for assistance. All stories reflect the fact that she literally disappears into thin air.

•On the third floor of the structure, reports of an apparition of a young female have been reported. In some instances, she talks to the living claiming that she does not possess eyes. In other instances, she is playing with a toy such as a ball. In other reports, the little girl is looking out of the window from the third floor. Many refer to this ghost as “Mary” .

•It is believed that a head nurse in the year of 1928 committed suicide in the room at the most haunted hospital known as “502” . While many speculate that she could have discovered that she was pregnant and was not yet married, the facts surrounding this case are not precise. In another story that occurred in the year of 1932, a female nurse jumped from the window of the room and died. The details of this incident are unknown as well. However, many state that they see the spirits of these nurses – dressed in their work uniform – on a regular basis.

•Many individuals have reported hearing and seeing children ghosts on the roof of the most haunted hospital playing. It is believed that children who were receiving sunlight therapy would be placed on the roof for optimal exposure.

•The fourth floor of the most haunted facility is believed to be one of the most paranormal active in the entire structure. Shadows are often seen, doors are often slammed shut unexpectedly and angry voices and noises are often heard.

•In the kitchen region of the most haunted structure, many claim to smell the aroma of cooking food and to have observed the spirit of a chef lingering in the region. Many speculate that this is the ghost of a food service worker that caught tuberculosis while working at Waverly Hills Sanatorium.

•In addition to the stories highlighted above, many have reported seeing lights and other types of oddities that could be produced by electricity – when electricity was not present in the structure. Furthermore, many have heard disembodied voices, whispers, cries and yells emerging from the corridors of the haunted hospital.

There are several reasons why the Waverly Hills Sanatorium is considered to be the most haunted hospital worldwide. Several patients have been through the doors of the hospital to be treated and never were able to walk out of them because of the fact that they died. Others were severely mistreated while receiving medical care within the walls of the facility. In a location surrounded by sickness, sadness, despair and death, it is no wonder that this hospital is considered to be the most haunted structure worldwide.

[thistle-and-thorn]

119. for the book rec ask game

Hello hi! Welcome to this corner of the Internet! (I don’t think we’ve interacted before sorry if we have and I don’t remember!!)

What is your favorite summer read?

Oh! Great question! This summer has been a very weird reading one for me because I've been quite busy and writing a lot. But a favorite read of this summer, so far, is a non-fiction book called Still Life with Bones which is the memoir of a forensic anthropologist who worked in Guatemala in the wake of the genocide there. @.@ so not exactly a beach read but a really lovely meditation on the science of death and the philosophy of science. @.@

But typically, in the summer, I love reading more traditional high fantasy or adventure novels, especially in a Robin Hood/King Arthur vein because they sort of bring me back to childhood. I love The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley, The Silver Horn of Robin Hood by David E. Cooke, The Once and Future King by T.H. White, and Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott....@oldshrewsburyian has hosted a Robin Hood Summer blog series on their blog for the past couple of years and I always get interesting recommendations from that. A lighter, more YA read is something like A Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue and its sequels.

What about you? What do you like in the summer?