What's Your Best Nursing Ghost Story?

Nurses General Nursing Nursing Q/A

Nursing is a profession that often involves long lonely night shifts in eerie hospital wards. It's a perfect breeding ground for ghost stories. These stories often involve sightings of apparitions, strange noises, and unexplained events that are said to have taken place in hospitals, hospices, and other healthcare settings. Some of these stories are believed to be based on true events, while others are purely fictional. Regardless, they continue to captivate and intrigue both nurses and non-nurses alike - providing a spooky glimpse into the world of healthcare after dark.

I know you have seen and heard freaky things. Share your nursing ghost stories...

Specializes in Med/Surg, Hospice.

Okay, I have one too. But it's not really a ghost story. It's more of a God story.

When my younger sister's marriage ended, she and her pre-school age son moved back home to live with our mom and dad. It was a difficult time. Jane was angry that life had not turned out as she had hoped, and she was under a great deal of stress being a single working mom. Adam was deeply affected by this change in his life. There was so much sadness and confusion in his young heart. We all feared that he was depressed. He was afraid to sleep alone, and my dad often lay in bed with him until he fell asleep. Both Jane and Adam started seeing a family therapist to help them deal with their pain.

One day, Jane was in the shower while Adam played in the house. Mom (Adam's grandma) was in the garage doing laundry. While in the shower, Jane heard a distinct voice urgently tell her to scream her son's name. She immediately did. She screamed out "Adam" at the top of her lungs. My mother heard the scream from the garage (it was attached to the house), and ran into the house to find Adam hanging by his neck from the stair rail. He had tied the sash of his little bathrobe around his neck, tied the other end to the bannister, and had climbed over the railing.

Mom got him down, removed the sash, and found that he was still breathing. His neck had burn marks from the sash, a visual reminder to us of how close we had come to losing our precious boy.

Jane says she knows that God warned her that day and saved her son's life. On at least two occasions following this incident she saw what she believed to be an angel in the house and when Adam told her that he had seen something in the house that frightened him, he gave the exact same description.

Jane is remarried now to a wonderful man. Adam is all grown up and learning how to drive. We believe that God sent extra protection to that little family during a time when they needed it most.

I have a few of them. Some types we all experience like how healthy old people can tell you the day and almost the time they will die. Had a few of those. But the one that hit home the most for me requires a bit of background.

I was not happy with a guy I had working (LTC) on my midnight shift and I was too afraid to have him work another night. So, I went down to the facility and fired him, then I took his shift. Turns out, I was right to do that, in retaliation for his being fired he set one of our buildings on fire. A building my old people were sleeping in!

You have to experience it to understand but when you are in a burning building and you are pretty sure you aren't getting out and you about to prove to the non physical people that you were right about religion all along (LOL) you quickly form a bond with all the others that aren't going to get out of the building alive either.

We did manage to get out and everyone was safe except one person who did die a few days later.

After that day I was terrified of working the midnight shift. Some of our staff lived on the property such as the groundskeeper. I was forever waking the poor guy up throughout the night swearing I could smell smoke, or I heard crinkling of something burning. I would sit at the nurses station and just shake and cry. (A little PTSD? :rolleyes: )

G was a lady that has a history of a stroke. She didn't have poor short term memory, she had NO short term memory. After 7 years she still couldn't remember who I was or what she was doing in this building.

From the time of her stroke to the time she died G ALWAYS had her days and nights mixed up. She was quite content to walk the halls and quietly hum, sit with me at the nurses station, whatever she wanted. She actually had the entire A building to herself. (We had buildings A-E)

I would bribe G with candy to sit at the nurses station with me while I worked. I never had to say anything, I'd just pull the candy dish out and G would happily munch candy, we'd talk, and I'd do my work. I just needed a human to sit with me. This was our little secret. Actually, it was my little secret! LOL G wouldn't remember by the time she stood up that she even ate any candy.

Shortly after the fire it happens to be that G died and I was all alone again on the few nights I did pull an 11/7.

One night after G's death I was sitting there trembling in fear, tears streaming down my face, ready to have the best ever panic attack SWEARING I could see, hear, and smell fire/smoke again and out walks K. K was a cool old lady, she really was. She was from Germany and she was one of the people trapped in the burning building with us.

I composed myself and asked what I could do for her. She sat down and said she thought it would be nice to chat. LOVING the company and thinking she was probably unable to sleep I said sure, what would you like to chat about? She thought for a moment and finally said that G had just come to wake her up. I realized she had been dreaming. I reminded her that G passed away recently. K said she was aware of that but G woke K and explained that when I work nights I become afraid and needed someone to sit with me so I could do my work. G told K I was having a rough night and it might make me feel better if K came out and spent a little time with me.

I just sat there not knowing what to say, I mean... that was MY secret. I never told anyone about G, the candy, or our talks at night. K stood up, walked behind the nurses station, sat down and pulled out the hidden dish of candy. Then she proceeded to tell me what life was like for her when she was my age living in Germany.

K died about two years later but to this day I dearly love that woman. What a gem. Same with G.

I don't expect anyone to believe it but it's true.

I believe you Bipley... what a horrible experience to go through, being trapped in a burning building and responsible for saving the residents... I cannot even begin to imagine. Sounds like G recruited someone else to be your comfort. What a special lady she must have been.

I totally believe you. You had a special angel looking after you. The spirits will always protect you when you have protected them.

Love

Rosie

I have a few of them. Some types we all experience like how healthy old people can tell you the day and almost the time they will die. Had a few of those. But the one that hit home the most for me requires a bit of background.

I was not happy with a guy I had working (LTC) on my midnight shift and I was too afraid to have him work another night. So, I went down to the facility and fired him, then I took his shift. Turns out, I was right to do that, in retaliation for his being fired he set one of our buildings on fire. A building my old people were sleeping in!

You have to experience it to understand but when you are in a burning building and you are pretty sure you aren't getting out and you about to prove to the non physical people that you were right about religion all along (LOL) you quickly form a bond with all the others that aren't going to get out of the building alive either.

We did manage to get out and everyone was safe except one person who did die a few days later.

After that day I was terrified of working the midnight shift. Some of our staff lived on the property such as the groundskeeper. I was forever waking the poor guy up throughout the night swearing I could smell smoke, or I heard crinkling of something burning. I would sit at the nurses station and just shake and cry. (A little PTSD? :rolleyes: )

G was a lady that has a history of a stroke. She didn't have poor short term memory, she had NO short term memory. After 7 years she still couldn't remember who I was or what she was doing in this building.

From the time of her stroke to the time she died G ALWAYS had her days and nights mixed up. She was quite content to walk the halls and quietly hum, sit with me at the nurses station, whatever she wanted. She actually had the entire A building to herself. (We had buildings A-E)

I would bribe G with candy to sit at the nurses station with me while I worked. I never had to say anything, I'd just pull the candy dish out and G would happily munch candy, we'd talk, and I'd do my work. I just needed a human to sit with me. This was our little secret. Actually, it was my little secret! LOL G wouldn't remember by the time she stood up that she even ate any candy.

Shortly after the fire it happens to be that G died and I was all alone again on the few nights I did pull an 11/7.

One night after G's death I was sitting there trembling in fear, tears streaming down my face, ready to have the best ever panic attack SWEARING I could see, hear, and smell fire/smoke again and out walks K. K was a cool old lady, she really was. She was from Germany and she was one of the people trapped in the burning building with us.

I composed myself and asked what I could do for her. She sat down and said she thought it would be nice to chat. LOVING the company and thinking she was probably unable to sleep I said sure, what would you like to chat about? She thought for a moment and finally said that G had just come to wake her up. I realized she had been dreaming. I reminded her that G passed away recently. K said she was aware of that but G woke K and explained that when I work nights I become afraid and needed someone to sit with me so I could do my work. G told K I was having a rough night and it might make me feel better if K came out and spent a little time with me.

I just sat there not knowing what to say, I mean... that was MY secret. I never told anyone about G, the candy, or our talks at night. K stood up, walked behind the nurses station, sat down and pulled out the hidden dish of candy. Then she proceeded to tell me what life was like for her when she was my age living in Germany.

K died about two years later but to this day I dearly love that woman. What a gem. Same with G.

I don't expect anyone to believe it but it's true.

Bipley-

I too, totally believe you. My mouth is still hanging open. Thank you for sharing.

Karen

Florida RN

Specializes in MDS/PPS.

Oooh! I just rememebered another one, not really a ghost story, but otherworldly anyways..

I live in West Volusia County, Fl, which is next to famed Cassadaga, FL ( a spiritualist camp from the 1800s)

We had an old lady of 107 in our SNF who had lived in Cassadaga all her life, and who had gone septic due to a cut on her toe, which was completely necrotic.

Near the end she would have converstaions with people who were not there. She would "pick us flowers" out of the air to cover the smell of her toe.:chair:

Also, I was caring for an elderly lady who was near the end. Her husband checked himself into the home to be near her-he was totally independant, but could not bear being with out her.

One evening, as I was in with her, she passed.

I called in the aides to help me clean her up, and as we were about to pull the curtain around her, and walk out, the husband popped up out of a sound sleep and started to weep. He knew she was gone. It was so sad.:sniff:

On Halloween this year, we were all sitting in the nurses station talking when a bedside table that was sitting all by itself in the adjacent tv room fell over on it's own.

In 1999 I started working at a rural hospital housed in an old, creaky building. The nurses station for the ER was out in the hallway. There was a video camera so that we could see the ambulance doors from the desk. One night I looked up and there was the figure of an old woman dressed in black walking in front of the doors. I didn't pay much attention since the woman didn't stop at the door. Later that same night I looked at the monitor again and there was the woman standing in front of the door. I got up and went to the door to let her in but there was no one there. Looked up at the monitor, there she was. Looked at the doors, no one there. I got freaked and mentioned it to my tech, and she said it was the Ghost. Haven't seen her since we moved to the new building.

In the last place I worked the ICU had a death during the night and the RN called for the transporters to take the body down to the morgue. A little later one transporter brought the gurney back and parked it behind the nurses station, saying the morgue was full and the body would have to wait there for the mortuary in the morning. RN said okay. A while later she heard something and looked up, and in the glass of the room in front of her she saw the reflection of the body behind her, sitting up veeeeeeerrrry sloooooowwwlllly. Screamed bloody murder and ran out of the ICU before finding out it was the second transporter....they had decided to scare her!

Specializes in Ambulatory Care/Telephone Triage.

I have a personal one that just happened recently. The story starts 25 years ago when my grandmother died. To make a long story short, my parents and I had gone to pick her up for Christmas and found her dead in her apartment. My mom and I were talking on the way home and both shared that we had had dreams the night before in which grandma had said goodbye. (Incidentally, her best friend, who was in the hospital at the time, died within an hour of when Grandma died.)

Fast forward to December of 2005. I had a dream on December 15th in which my grandma appeared and said hello to me. In my dream she gave me a hug and said she was proud of me. I mentioned this to my mom the next day and she told me that it was the 25th anniversary of my grandma's death. My husband says I must have known, but I had no idea of the date of my Grandmother's death.

My other grandma visits me, too, but that's another story...

Specializes in Corrections, Cardiac, Hospice.
The "Black" nurses aide?:confused: :confused:

I am not sure, but I think she was pointing out a culture difference between herself and and African American aide. If you see, she has found that to be an important enough thing to do that she does it now whenever anyone dies.

I'd have to say nurse managers. I've heard they exist, but I very rarely see one.

:rotfl: :chuckle :rotfl:

:roll

During one night shift an elderly man died on our unit. He was in a four-bed ward so we transfered him to a private room so that his family could come in to see him. While we were transferring him, another nurse answered one of her call bells. There was a young female pt, extremely upset, who said that a man had just awakened her and asked her to go with him. The nurse assured her that there were no "wanderers" on the unit but that she'd go for a walk to be sure. Before this nurse could finish her "search", the same young women rang again. She said, "He was just here again!!" There was no-one.

Anyway, this patient was so upset, we had to set her up in a recliner in the nurse's station for the rest of the night. We never found this "man". Weird.:uhoh21:

PS: There was no way that this women could have known that someone just passed away because we didn't call a code. (DNR order)

As an undergrad I worked as a CNA on nights.

One night I was floated to the trauma/surgical unit and assigned to be a "sitter" for a patient experiencing alcohol withdrawal after an MVA.

At one point I nodded off, and when I opened my eyes I very briefly glimpsed an older African-American woman standing at the foot of the patient's bed. She looked so real I can still remember exactly what she was wearing (dark maroon skirt, navy sweater, white patterned button-up blouse).

I turned to the patient and saw that his eyes were open. I asked: "When did your mother pass?" He said it had been several years. Then I said: "She was just here and she was watching over you. She wants you to stop doing what you're doing and take care of yourself." I could not believe what had just come out of my mouth!!! Before and since I have never had conversation like that with anyone.

After I said my bit about his mother, the patient nodded, relaxed, and laid his head down to sleep.

I have no idea how he did after that night, he may have told the next shift about the crazy aide in his room... But that night made a big impression on me about the possibility of someone "watching over" each of us.

I worked in hospice for about two years as an R.N.. Hospice is a very spiritual experience. On at least two occassions I saw the ghost of the patient leave the body ascending towards the heavens a relatively short time before physical death. The same, on both occassions, terrified me. Howeve, it imbued in me that transitory of life on earth and the eternal life that was to come.:)

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