What's Your Best Nursing Ghost Story?

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...

[Hygiene Queen]

No nursing ghost stories but I do have two myself. When I was a teen I used to share a room with my 12 years younger sister. Sometimes, for reasons unknown, I would wake up in the middle of the night. A couple of times I woke up in the night and just glance over at my sister, I would see this very tall figure around like 6.5ft or so, blonde hair, very broad and Goliath-like. He would be standing over my sister as if protecting her, I thought to myself that I better not look too long because he might sense I was watching and look over to me which I did not want! I would pull the covers over my head until daylight and hope the thing went away which it did.

Then I was overseas once. I was camping, sleeping in a tent pitch black couldn't see the nose on your face. I awoke alone in the tent to sounds of small giggling above me. Well when I looked up I saw two very small figures perched high on one of the tent poles. At first I thought it was people fixing the tent, but then they were really small, and I'm like why would they be perched that way. It didn't make sense. Though pitch black I could see them and they me. They looked like little demons or something. They looked down at me knowing that I had noticed them. I hollered out for Erica, this girl that was supposed to be in there with me, she wasn't. I must've passed out with fright until the next morning. I never told them what happened in that tent that night.

Wow.

Two good little stories.

The "Goliath" man is intriguing and I could feel anxiety and fear with your comment about you not wanting him to look at you.

Whoa!

Your second story reminded me of a story my boyfriend told me about when he was a kid.

He was probably about ten and he had just laid down and turned his light out... he insists he was wide awake. Anyhoo, his eyes were drawn to his bedroom door. He saw his door open and, down low close to the floor, these loooong bony fingers wrapped themselves around the door.

The door slowly opened further and "pop!" a big head popped around the door and peered around.

My boyfriend said it was a wee little guy with long fingers and a big head... and it was smiling at him.

I asked my boyfriend what the heck did he do?!

He said he did the same thing so many others have done (including myself): he squeezed his eyes shut, wished like thunder it would go away and eventually found himself waking up in the morning... and wondering "what the heck!".

[nitronymph]

Got ya'll one!!! We had a pt in ICU that had several cats. When she came to us, she had been found down in the yard. No one knew how long she was down. She was basically out of it the whole time she was with us. I found out she had cats and would talk to her about her cats and my cats. (I am a firm believer in communicating with your patients regardless if they talk back or not.) Needless to say, the poor woman died. Many months later, a male nurse and I were working when we heard a female voice calling, "Here kitty, kitty. Here kitty, kitty." I looked and him...he looked at me. It came from the direction of the room the Cat Lady had been in! That was the first time we heard it. Many months later, October 31st oddly, he and I were working nights again along with a young female nurse. We heard the familiar, "Here kitty, kitty. Here kitty, kitty." The young female nurse had eyes as big as saucers as she came almost running over to me asking what that was. I told her to relax that it was just the Cat Lady calling her kitties. On both occasions, there was no patient in that particular room. No one has heard her but the 3 of us. Maybe she found her kitties!

[Hygiene Queen]

Nitronymph: I'll bet that woman appreciated you talked to her like she was human.

I firmly believe that too.

I once had a patient who, for all appearances was ready to die.

She was a very very demanding type and insisted we brush her long hair before bed.

When she was on her "death bed" and non-responsive, I automatically brushed her hair for her and asked her if that felt better and "goodnight, Gracie, love ya!" Of course, she made no reply.

Lo and behold, she got her second-wind a short while later and the next time I had her for a patient, she told me she remembered me talking to her and brushing her hair.

Wow! It blew me away!

God love her! She could be as mean as cat-**** but I NEVER forgot that and cried like a baby when she finally did die... one of two patients that I ever cried for like that.

Cheers!

I hope your gal finds peace... and her cats!

[vegas2009]

[quote=Hygiene Queen;4312772. The door slowly opened further and "pop!" a big head popped around the door and peered around. My boyfriend said it was a wee little guy with long fingers and a big head... and it was smiling at him.

This little guy with long fingers and a big head sounds like DOBBY from "Harry Potter" or OB One Kenobe's friend, "Return of the Jedi" ---> YODA (I think he's the little dude with the pointy ears! Or maybe Dobby is the one with the pointy ears?) . . . lol, I swear I love sci-fi movies! AND scary flicks! They rock!

[vegas2009]

Well, as for me, I find the 'supernatural' interesting. I haven't seen a ghost yet and I'm not exactly a firm believer. But, I have to admit though, there's a lot of things in this world that can't be explained.

Sometimes, when I hear a ghost story, I tend to be cynical. Yet, I find haunted mansions fascinating? This is probably why places with too much history kinda irks me a bit! But, I sure want to visit the Winchester House in Cali. someday! It's the mansion house that continually grows by itself. Meaning, the total number of rooms change time to time and no one really knows what the final tally of the rooms are. The history of the house is interesting, a lot of people died in it. BOO!. . . but seriously though, the place is freaky scary.

[ShannonRN2010, BSN, RN]

I was worked on a Surgical Observation unit in 2005. We had recently aquired about 10 additional beds to the unit that had been the old chest pain unit. Before that it was the old psych unit. We called it our back unit.

We had 7 pt. back on this unit in private rooms, so an RN and I (an lpn at the time) were working it together. She left and went to the other nurses station to get our paperwork for the night and I stayed in the back unit.

It was about 3am and I stood up and was stretching and walked out of the nurses station and was watching Carol, to my right, talk to the other nurses at the other nurses station in the front unit. I specifically heard my name spoke, as clear as a bell to my left. I only had two pt. to my left, so I went and checked and they were both asleep with their TV's off. I stood in the hallway again, looking down to my right to the other nurses station and I heard it again, softer, almost a whisper in my ear...

I literally RAN down the hall to the other nurses station...it freaked me out.

Another night, I was working the front part of the unit and the back half of the unit was closed because of census. One Pyxis was out of meds for my pt. so I went to the back unit to use that one. I was standing outside the med room door and heard voices coming from in the room...thinking that maybe pharmacy was there to restock, I opened the door and noone was there.

Again...I RAN down the hall!

Lots of ppl saw and heard things on that back unit...it was freaky.

[Aleonard13]

i love your stories!!!

[hecallsmeDuchess]

Hahaha! Ghost stories...

The other night I turned on the lights in the hall just to go see what a patient at the end of the hall wanted. When I returned the other nurses asked why I had turned on the hallway light just to walk down the hall and I told them why.

This is the reason: One night last October, a light had gone on in the last room at the end of that same hallway and I went dutifully down to see what the patient there wanted. I got to the end of the hall and went into the room and the bed was well made but there was no patient in there. And the call light cord was not even plugged into the wall as in there was no call light cord in that room. Of course I didn't wait to logically find out how it was possible that the call light went on in an empty room without a call light cord, I ran down the hallway screaming. The aides on duty that night asked what was wrong since I had come sprinting out of the room without turning the call light off. In between taking deep gulps of air, I told them there was nobody in that room. Two of them went in together and found the call light cord on the floor, replugged it and turned the light off. Later on that night, the call light in that room went off at least twice (guess who wasn't so dutifully answering it!).

[thomas81z]

wow im reading this thread last nite and i got a call at 1030 pm and found out a friend ODed or committed suicide she was only 26 and had a 1 year old really sad . hope she finds peace and doesnt hang around this realm

[CFitzRN, ADN]

Thomas, sorry to hear about that - very tragic.

I am updating with a story that happened with my new job (Clinical Sup at a local home health agency). I had been working in the office for about 3-4 weeks at the time. We have a small internal staff - 5 besides myself. It was getting near the end of the day and our director was out doing some marketing. The rest of us were sitting around our "conference" table - we use it to eat and socialize - my back was to the hallway. At some point during our conversation I heard and felt someone walking up behind me. I totally assumed it was our director having returned from her marketing. When she didn't appear I turned around to look down the dark hallway and there was nothing, and no one, there. I got one of those shuddery-feelings with cold chills and everything - and I am NOT one of those easily-spooked people. I must have turned white because one of my coworkers asked me what was wrong. I explained what had just happened and they all exchanged glances and sort of laughed. I said "WHAT? What are you guys not telling me?". One of the more senior staff members said "oh, you'll see..." After absolutely losing my mind insisting they tell me what they were talking about, they finally explained that the office is haunted and they were always hearing things and seeing things in the corners of their eyes - that sort of thing. I pretty much dismissed their stories and laughed them off. Then we all went back to our respective offices to finish up for the day and my air-freshener (the kind that you can set for 9, 18 or 36 minutes) sprayed as I walked by it. It was off. I double checked and sure enough, it was off. That's when I knew they weren't pulling my leg.

Nothing else happened until Friday, when I decided to stay late getting some paperwork done. I decided to turn most of the office lights off so that no one would think we were open (clients or field staff wanting to drop off time slips). I wasn't afraid at all - I tend not to be afraid of much. As I was filing some papers in charts, I heard rustling in the hallway. It was then I remembered the whole "no one in the hallway" and "phantom air-freshener" things. I decided to ignore it and continue to work but I just kept hearing noises right outside the office I was working in. I periodically went into the dark hall to look around and didn't see anything, but as soon as I would go back to working, the noises would return. I finally said "forget it" and hightailed it out of the office and went home. I am a firm believer in God and I know we have authority over evil in Jesus' name, but I decided I had worked long enough hours, thank you very much.

[vegas2009]

Thomas, sorry to hear about that - very tragic.

As I was filing some papers in charts, I heard rustling in the hallway. It was then I remembered the whole "no one in the hallway" and "phantom air-freshener" things. I decided to ignore it and continue to work but I just kept hearing noises right outside the office I was working in. I periodically went into the dark hall to look around and didn't see anything, but as soon as I would go back to working, the noises would return.

Question: What are "phantom air-freshener" things? Also, could it be possible that the place you were in, was infested with rats? Or maybe, there were nesting birds up in the roof?

[CFitzRN, ADN]

"Then we all went back to our respective offices to finish up for the day and my air-freshener (the kind that you can set for 9, 18 or 36 minutes) sprayed as I walked by it. It was off. I double checked and sure enough, it was off. That's when I knew they weren't pulling my leg."

That's the phantom air-freshener thing.

I suppose it is possible there could be vermin but it's a fairly new office structure in a newish part of town; we've never once caught sight of anything nor have we seen any telltale signs of vermin (droppings, etc). I suppose it's possible there could be birds nests somewhere but again, never seen any sign of that, nor can I think of a place they could have nested.