What's Your Best Nursing Ghost Story?

What Members Are Saying (AI-Generated Summary)

Members are sharing personal experiences and stories related to ghosts, spirits, and paranormal occurrences in healthcare settings. Some members discuss encounters with deceased loved ones or unexplained phenomena, while others share their interest in ghost stories and movies like "Doctor Sleep" and "The Shining." There is a mix of skepticism, curiosity, and belief in the supernatural among the forum participants.

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...

I just love these stories. Keep them coming.

I, too, believe in an afterlife, but don't know what.

Specializes in medical with other stuff chucked in!.
Chad_KY_SRNA said:
The best I have heard is from a nurse who said that one night she was floated to oncology at the hospital she used to work at. She was given a patient who was passing away and had been unconscious for several days. At one point during the night the nurse went into the room and the patient was at the top of the bed and looked at her and said, "don't let them take me!", the nurse was freaked out and asked her who was going to take her and she said that black thing up there and pointed up in the air. This patient died within minutes.

Come on now share your stories, I know you have seen and heard freaky things.

When I worked in a nursing home we had a resident that was unpleasant to say the least. One day I was on bell duty (it was my responsibility to answer all the bells for 2 hours), and the man rang his bell and told me that there was a black dog under his bed. I looked under the bed, but there was nothing there. I thought that he could have possibly seen a dog because it was a hot day, and the front door to the home was open. I told him that the dog must have gone out of the door before I arrived. He rang the bell again a short time later, insisting that he could see a dog under the bed, again I couldn't see anything. This carried on. He became quite hysterical on one occasion shouting that the black dog under his bed was trying to bite him, and that it had red eyes. He looked terrified, and I couldn't calm him down for ages until the dog had disappeared. I handed over what happened to the nurse in charge, and went home as it was the end of my shift. The next day I was on an afternoon shift, and found out that the man had died not long after I had gone home.

It really freaked me out. He was a very unpleasant man, and I often wondered if the dog was there to take him away to you know where. One i'll never forget

Emma

OK, I've been putting off posting this one because I thought someone would laugh at me, but here goes.

I was living by myself in Greenville, NC while I was a student at ECU (this was around 1994). I was sitting on the couch watching TV and thinking about what a horrible week I had had. I had recently broken up with a physically abusive ex-fiance and was going through all the problems that brings. I actually had hit a pretty low point and felt as though the only friend I had in the world was my ferret, Tigger.

Well, I was slunked down on the couch, feeling completely alone, when suddenly I had this feeling I WASN'T alone. At the end of the couch was a recliner and I suddenly was convinced SOMEONE was sitting in the recliner. I sat up on the couch (as you can imagine), and stared at the chair, scared to death. About that time, Tigger ambled out of the bedroom and STOPPED in the middle of the floor. She was staring right at the recliner and would not go any further. In fact, she backed up a couple of steps.

That did it. Very calmly I said out loud that whoever was in the chair was really scaring us and we'd like to not be scared. (I know - WHAT does that mean?) Suddenly I heard myself say, "Grandpa? Is that you?" I wasn't scared anymore, and Tigger actually took a step towards the chair. "I'm OK, Grandpa - I'll be OK," I said, not really aware that I'd intended to say anything. (My grandfather died in 1992.) Tigger walked AROUND the chair, about two feet from it, and did not take her eyes off of it as she walked. No kidding. Just a couple of seconds later I felt alone again - well, alone except for the ferret, who literally gave the chair a wide berth for the rest of the evening. She wouldn't go near the thing.

I have no doubt that animals can see and hear things we can't. I've always believed that.

Since my dad passed away in April, sometimes when I'm alone in the house watching TV I feel like there's someone standing behind me (our couch sits between two entryways into the living room and one goes into the kitchen). Daddy used to lean in the entryway and keep an eye on the TV while he was waiting for my microwave to heat his water for coffee (he drank that instant crap!). And sometimes at Mama's house I'll smell a new pack of cigarettes - you know, that smell when the wrapper first comes off? Daddy smoked for years, although he kicked his two pack a day habit ages ago. (He used to sneak one now and again in the bathroom like a kid, and spray the place with Glade. It was both sad and hilarious.) Mama has never smoked a day in her life.

That's my creepy stuff - so far. Rather tame next to all these great tales!

Specializes in medical with other stuff chucked in!.
ccusherry said:
I work in a 9 bed ccu that we night shift nurses swear is haunted!! I personally have seen figures standing in doorways late at night. Blinds in pt's windows go up by themselves, callbells come on when room is unoccupied. One night, another nurse and myself were giving a bath when the tv starting flipping through all the channels. The remote for the tv was behind her on a stand. Another time she was giving a bath by herself to a t/v, sedated and restrained pt. She was down on her haunches tying his restraint when she felt someone or something run their fingers through her hair. The pt was on 100mcg/kg of diprivan so it was not him and there was not anyone with her in the room. The scariest one is one night we admitted a pt into room 9. After we had gottn her into bed, she looked at the wall in front of her and asked what was on the wall. We looked and here was bright red blood running down the wall. Needless to say we checked ourselves, the pt and the er personnel had not left the floor and no one had a fresh cut or open area on them. Well, the week before a young lady had died in that room. She came in to the hospital c/o abd pain. She ended having a upper endo and perfed something. She had projectile vomited blood all over that wall and floor. It was horrible. the nurses on that night said it looked like a slaughterhouse. I still get chills just thinking about it!!!

OH MY GOD :eek:

Specializes in medical with other stuff chucked in!.
schroeders_piano said:
The rose petals just started floating down from the ceiling. It was like someone was just showering the room with them. This has happened several times over the years.

My creepiest and scariest ghost story for me happened about a year ago. It really was more of a posession than a ghost story. I was helping another nurse with a patient that had lived a very hard life. It had numerous things going on with him from cardiac to renal failure. You name it, he had it going on. This man was very much afraid to die. Every time his heart monitor beeped, he would just go into a rage screaming, "Don't let me die! Don't let me die!" The other nurse and I found out why he didn't want to die. About 0200 his cardiac monitor starts alarming V-Tach. We both rush into the room. I am pulling the crash cart behing me. When I get to the room, the other nurse is completely white. This man was sitting about 2 inches above the bed and was laughing. His whole look completely changed. His eyes just had a look of pure evil on them and he had this evil smile on his face. He laughed at us and said, " You stupid b****es aren't going to let me die will you?" and he laughed again. We were kinda frozen. I did reach up and hit the Code Blue button and when I did the man went into V-fib. He crashed back onto the bed. We started coding him, but after 20 minutes it was called. 5 minutes after the code was called several of the code team is in the room cleaning up when this man sits straight up in the bed and says, " You let him die. Too bad." and then begins laughing. The man collapsed back to the bed. We heard a horrible, agonizing scream ( actually every patient in the unit that night commented on the scream), and then you could hear "don't let me die" being whispered throughout the unit. Everyone of the nurses that night was pale and scared. No body went anywhere by themselves. By morning the whispers of "don't let me die" were gone. The night shift nurses had a prayer service in the break room before we left for home and then we all had nightmares for weeks.

My god, are you joking? That's horrible

Specializes in ER, PACU.
schroeders_piano said:

My creepiest and scariest ghost story for me happened about a year ago. It really was more of a posession than a ghost story. I was helping another nurse with a patient that had lived a very hard life. It had numerous things going on with him from cardiac to renal failure. You name it, he had it going on. This man was very much afraid to die. Every time his heart monitor beeped, he would just go into a rage screaming, "Don't let me die! Don't let me die!" The other nurse and I found out why he didn't want to die. About 0200 his cardiac monitor starts alarming V-Tach. We both rush into the room. I am pulling the crash cart behing me. When I get to the room, the other nurse is completely white. This man was sitting about 2 inches above the bed and was laughing. His whole look completely changed. His eyes just had a look of pure evil on them and he had this evil smile on his face. He laughed at us and said, " You stupid b****es aren't going to let me die will you?" and he laughed again. We were kinda frozen. I did reach up and hit the Code Blue button and when I did the man went into V-fib. He crashed back onto the bed. We started coding him, but after 20 minutes it was called. 5 minutes after the code was called several of the code team is in the room cleaning up when this man sits straight up in the bed and says, " You let him die. Too bad." and then begins laughing. The man collapsed back to the bed. We heard a horrible, agonizing scream ( actually every patient in the unit that night commented on the scream), and then you could hear "don't let me die" being whispered throughout the unit. Everyone of the nurses that night was pale and scared. No body went anywhere by themselves. By morning the whispers of "don't let me die" were gone. The night shift nurses had a prayer service in the break room before we left for home and then we all had nightmares for weeks.[/quote/]

OMG!!!

I would have had nightmares for YEARS after seeing that! It probably would have scared me into going to church every sunday for the rest of my life! This has to be the scariest story I have ever heard in my life!!

Specializes in everywhere.

I'm bumping this thread back to the top. I don't have anything to add, but I'm loving this! Keep the stories coming! Please!

carolinapooh said:
OK, I've been putting off posting this one because I thought someone would laugh at me, but here goes.

I was living by myself in Greenville, NC while I was a student at ECU (this was around 1994). I was sitting on the couch watching TV and thinking about what a horrible week I had had. I had recently broken up with a physically abusive ex-fiance and was going through all the problems that brings. I actually had hit a pretty low point and felt as though the only friend I had in the world was my ferret, Tigger.

Well, I was slunked down on the couch, feeling completely alone, when suddenly I had this feeling I WASN'T alone. At the end of the couch was a recliner and I suddenly was convinced SOMEONE was sitting in the recliner. I sat up on the couch (as you can imagine), and stared at the chair, scared to death. About that time, Tigger ambled out of the bedroom and STOPPED in the middle of the floor. She was staring right at the recliner and would not go any further. In fact, she backed up a couple of steps.

That did it. Very calmly I said out loud that whoever was in the chair was really scaring us and we'd like to not be scared. (I know - WHAT does that mean?) Suddenly I heard myself say, "Grandpa? Is that you?" I wasn't scared anymore, and Tigger actually took a step towards the chair. "I'm OK, Grandpa - I'll be OK," I said, not really aware that I'd intended to say anything. (My grandfather died in 1992.) Tigger walked AROUND the chair, about two feet from it, and did not take her eyes off of it as she walked. No kidding. Just a couple of seconds later I felt alone again - well, alone except for the ferret, who literally gave the chair a wide berth for the rest of the evening. She wouldn't go near the thing.

I have no doubt that animals can see and hear things we can't. I've always believed that.

Since my dad passed away in April, sometimes when I'm alone in the house watching TV I feel like there's someone standing behind me (our couch sits between two entryways into the living room and one goes into the kitchen). Daddy used to lean in the entryway and keep an eye on the TV while he was waiting for my microwave to heat his water for coffee (he drank that instant crap!). And sometimes at Mama's house I'll smell a new pack of cigarettes - you know, that smell when the wrapper first comes off? Daddy smoked for years, although he kicked his two pack a day habit ages ago. (He used to sneak one now and again in the bathroom like a kid, and spray the place with Glade. It was both sad and hilarious.) Mama has never smoked a day in her life.

That's my creepy stuff - so far. Rather tame next to all these great tales!

I'm not laughing -- I think it's really interesting, and I believe what you say really happened.

I started reading this thread days ago. I have enjoyed it so much. I put it in my aol favs file, came back to it today, and 3 more pages of stories were added. Keep them coming ! They are great ! Thanks for the link on Near Death Experiences !

yes, let's have more. never enough!!

Here's another related link about near death experiences. This one includes articles by some of the leading near death researchers, including Melvin Morse, Dr. Ray Moody and the late Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, as well as links to accounts by near death experiencers:

http://www.near-death.com

All right; I can resist no longer. Not a ghost story, but a kind of premonition, perhaps.

My brother, age 20, had been sick for a week with "the flu" when I left for college in 1972 at age 17. Several days later, I hear from my folks that he is in the hospital and has survived a close call with a ruptured appy. (He had been to the doc at least once, if not twice, during this week. But that's another story, as the doc was later disciplined by the state medical society for failure to provide minimal care - not my brother's case.) I was angry with my folks for years for not telling me what was transpiring, but I am mature enough now to realize that they thought they were doing the best thing by not adding to my stress level.

Anyway, the next day, suddenly, without a shadow of a doubt, I KNEW that he had died. I actually hid in a campus building where I knew no one would think to look for me so I could spend a couple hours alone, crying, before I felt ready to face those who would be coming to fetch me and send me home. Which is exactly what happened. My boyfriend-at-the-time had looked for me on another floor of that building, and, unable to find me, was waiting for me at the bike rack outside my dorm when I returned. My brother's death was totally unexpected - pulmonary embolism after ambulating in the hall with his fiance; they were to be married in one month. A tragedy all around.

Another weird thing that I have shared (until now) only with my sister:

About a month after his death, I had a very vivid dream. On a bright, sunny day, with puffy white clouds in an azure sky, I find myself walking down a street. Obviously a new street, as only new construction is visible. Several houses are going up, with many busy workmen about, and I hear the sounds of their talking and hammering as they pound nails in the wall partitions going up. As I pass the first house, my brother jumps down from the open first floor where he is either working or supervising and steps out to greet me. He motions to the house and tells me that he is building this house and that, when it is finished, I will come and live with him there.

That's all I remember, but it is the ONLY dream I've ever had that I can remember for more than a day or two - and this is 33 years later (yep, I'm "mature"). I cannot share this with anyone, for it makes me cry to think of it, which it does now. A few years ago, I finally shared it with my sister, who says she has had the same dream. I am convinced (and comforted by the thought) that when it is my time to pass, my brother will be there to greet me.

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