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...

[ShannonRN2010, BSN, RN]

One time when I was working in the nursing home, I was watching a monitor at the nurses station. I could veiw the back hallway, rec. area, smoking area and the lobby. I was looking at the monitor and there was a black mass moving across the hall, back and forth, between two rooms. I walked into the lobby and looked down the hall and of course nothing was there.

One time my BFF saw a black mass in the shape of a man with a hat on at like 3am in the rec. area.

Then there was the time that this obese woman (would could not sit up on her own) sat up in the bed, got the single evilest look on her face and looks at my two nurse aids and says "They are coming for you...they are gonna get'cha!" FREAKED me out.

Then two days later, my aides had me come in the same room, cause her room mate was literally being thrown in the chair, I mean literally being picked up and thown back in the chair. THAT was scary.

Her doctor had me send her to a mental rehab center and said she needed an exercism! LoL

[vegas2009]

[quote=CFitzRN;4338068 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

lol, I guess saying.... "phantom air-freshner" sounds better, since it sounds mysterious. As oppose to saying, "automatic air-freshners." It's a good thing that you didn't see an apparition. What would you do, if you did see one? Would you try to talk to it? RUN? Freeze like a guinea pig and pretend it doesn't see you, OR try to shoo it away? --->> I don't even think that's possible, but with ghosts -- anything is possible!

[vegas2009]

One time my BFF saw a black mass in the shape of a man with a hat on at like 3am in the rec. area.

I've heard of 'black masses floating around' from various people who claimed they've seen those. I was told that if you see one, get away from it. The floating black masses are actually bad restless souls, who may or may not know they're not in our plain anymore. I don't know if that's true, since I haven't seen one.

Several people have also said that restless souls are actually clear white.

[iNurseUK, RN]

'Twas a dark and stormy night on the Plastics ward I worked for at the time. Well actually it was about 8.30 pm and I was working the Late shift. But it was winter and it was dark.

Manifesting suddenly in a puff of hellish smoke...AHEM....a patient came on the ward unannounced with a post-op problem with a tendon repair we had carried out some weeks previously. Taking the hellish history we gained the arcane lore that he had attended the outpatients clinic two days previously. From this we deduced that his medical notes would be there.

A strange and foreboding coincidence lay therein...for who should hold the keys to Plastics Outpatients after hours but us?

So it was that I was despatched to unlock the dread portal to seek the precious medical notes. All lay in darkness yet upon entering into that little-known realm not all was still.

Fell voices were upon the air, low they were yet menacing. No sense could I make of the words yet the voices were there in the darkness of the locked, still outpatients.

Gathering my courage I hastened to Reception and the basket contained therein of patients seen within the last two days. Still the voices murmured and I grew afraid but locating my prize i hastened forth from Reception. It was then I saw it.

"Twas a red light glowing with malice in the gloom. I drew breath recognising the malign light of an LED. It was true then. A radio had been left on in Outpatients.

[VioletKaliLPN, LPN]

i have a couple of stories that i would love to share. i worked as a care aide in an alf for about 3 years, that was before it became mainstream to use cna's in alf here in nc, and i had some interesting things happen.

it was alf, so many of our patients were ambulatory, alert and oriented, and spunky. anyone with dementia and ambulation issues recieved services on a special hall with extra staff.

**the alf had a care aide who passed away before i was hired, but the residents still talked about her. she was well loved. one night, one of our healthiest and most independent residents got up to use the restroom, but she tripped on something and fell. she broke her hip. she was nowhere near the call button, and she could not get herself up. all of a sudden we heard a muffled "help!" and then saw her call light button light up and ring. we always check on even the most independent residents, you never know when someone will need you.

when we ran into her room she was well away from her call light, so we asked her if she fell while pulling the string, because we could not figure out what happened at first. she stated that 'the aide' who was deceased pulled the string for her so she could get help.

there were other stories about this aide, and "helpful" things happening, but this one was really special.

i guess she cared so much for the residents that her 'spirit' never left...

[StacyMae]

I am so glad that I found these posts, I was just doing an internet search to help rationalize my very recent "experience". I have always heard stories from other nurses, but with the exception of a few unexplainable call lights, and monitors turning themself on and off I never had much to contribute. I have have worked in trauma and burn critical care for the past decade and needless to say, I am around death a lot. Many patients will describe having loved ones present at time of death; but being a creature of science I put it in the category of "hallucinating patient" and never thought much else of it. That all changed 2 days ago. I was working in the trauma/surgical ICU and was caring for a patient with end stage renal disease and sepsis due to an old infected dialysis cath. She was a DNR/DNI. She was blind from cataracts and diabetes (the blindness is important later in the story) I was in the process of starting her on CVVHD when she started conversing with her "spiritual guides" as she called them. I immediately did a neuro exam, and found she was completely intact. I then checked her blood sugar and her vitals, all were WNL. So I decided to let her talk about what she was seeing. She explained to me that there were multiple people around her bed, and became very discriptive with what they looked like and what they were telling her. They were giving her future predictions to tell me. Some were family members who had passed, and others she did not know. They were all different ages, the youngest being a 3 year old girl. (In all reality I was the only person in her room besides her) I talked with her awhile as I started up her dialysis. She explained that her time was almost up, that she wasn't scared. The spirits told her her body is too sick to go on, but her own spirit was not quite ready to leave this world yet. The spirits were going to be with her and wait for her spirit to be ready to leave. After letting her talk about how she felt about dying, I turned the lights down and closed the blinds so she could rest for awhile. I stepped outside of her room to chart. I was sitting down facing the room charting on the computer when I saw a very dark shadow move through the room. I jumped up and went in the room (I thought housekeeping or someone went into the room, and I was going to kick them out so she could rest) I walked into the room, and know one was there except for my patient. All of a sudden at the head of her bed on the opposite side of the room from me was a very large dark moving shadow. My blind patient looked me straight in the eyes and then at the shadow(with her completly clouded over eyes) and said "you see it too!". She stopped breathing minutes later.

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

I am so glad that I found these posts, I was just doing an internet search to help rationalize my very recent "experience". I have always heard stories from other nurses, but with the exception of a few unexplainable call lights, and monitors turning themself on and off I never had much to contribute. I have have worked in trauma and burn critical care for the past decade and needless to say, I am around death a lot. Many patients will describe having loved ones present at time of death; but being a creature of science I put it in the category of "hallucinating patient" and never thought much else of it. That all changed 2 days ago. I was working in the trauma/surgical ICU and was caring for a patient with end stage renal disease and sepsis due to an old infected dialysis cath. She was a DNR/DNI. She was blind from cataracts and diabetes (the blindness is important later in the story) I was in the process of starting her on CVVHD when she started conversing with her "spiritual guides" as she called them. I immediately did a neuro exam, and found she was completely intact. I then checked her blood sugar and her vitals, all were WNL. So I decided to let her talk about what she was seeing. She explained to me that there were multiple people around her bed, and became very discriptive with what they looked like and what they were telling her. They were giving her future predictions to tell me. Some were family members who had passed, and others she did not know. They were all different ages, the youngest being a 3 year old girl. (In all reality I was the only person in her room besides her) I talked with her awhile as I started up her dialysis. She explained that her time was almost up, that she wasn't scared. The spirits told her her body is too sick to go on, but her own spirit was not quite ready to leave this world yet. The spirits were going to be with her and wait for her spirit to be ready to leave. After letting her talk about how she felt about dying, I turned the lights down and closed the blinds so she could rest for awhile. I stepped outside of her room to chart. I was sitting down facing the room charting on the computer when I saw a very dark shadow move through the room. I jumped up and went in the room (I thought housekeeping or someone went into the room, and I was going to kick them out so she could rest) I walked into the room, and know one was there except for my patient. All of a sudden at the head of her bed on the opposite side of the room from me was a very large dark moving shadow. My blind patient looked me straight in the eyes and then at the shadow(with her completly clouded over eyes) and said "you see it too!". She stopped breathing minutes later.

Cool!!!!

[SMM8282]

Well, I've been reading these stories for two days now, and since they seem to be in such high demand... I joined to add mine to the mix. I am not a religious or spiritual person, nor am I one to really buy into things that might be considered supernatural. However I can appreciate the entertainment value of the unexplained. I certainly enjoy things that make the mind go "hmm??"

A couple of years ago I was working as a hospice aide, doing in home respite care. I was assigned to gentleman, who I will call "Mr B", with ALS. He was one of those remarkable people that had a positive effect on everyone that met him, myself included. He lived with his wife, who had recently brought her mother to stay with them as she was beginning to struggle living on her own. Originally I was not assigned to care for the mother in law, who I will call "Mrs M". Ultimately her health began to decline, and became bedbound and I was assigned to her care, as well. At this point they were both full assists, hoyer, w/c, the works. After about a year of working with them daily, "Mr B" seemed to be having an exceptionally good day. (Though, honestly, most days were good. He was remarkably positive and just had a great lightness about his personality.) This day was exceptional. The wife/daughter was home that day - but she was doing work out in the yard. Mrs M was napping in her bedroom, Mr B was in his w/c watching TV in their living room. Everything was really quiet and calm when the phone rang for the wife, so I ran to the door and opened it and called for her. She didn't reply, so I took another peek in to make sure everything was okay, and ran the phone out to her. Must have been 30 seconds, max. When I came back in the door, there was Mrs M standing in the kitchen. She was standing up tall and had her hand propped up against the wall very casually. Mind you, this woman hadn't done more than turn onto a commode in probably six months, any weight bearing had probably been equally as long. She had gotten herself out of bed, walked down the hallway, into the kitchen, and was standing there plain as day in the 30 seconds it took me to run the phone out to the yard. I ran over to her, I was petrified! She just had this very bizarre look on her face, much like people describe as "the lights are on, but no one's home", but she had a huge smile on her face. I asked her how she had gotten out of bed, and she told me "well, I walked, of course! I really missed Mr B, and I wanted to come out here to visit him before he leaves. I love him so very much, I want him to know."

Lo and behold, the next day Mr B went from a long plateau to rapid decline. He passed later that week.

As I said, I'm not one to believe in the supernatural, but Mrs M never walked another day in her life. This story is 100% true and I do not have an explanation for what happened in that house that day... but I suspect it will stay with me for the rest of my life.

[lucylu 777]

A pt told me she knew that her baby would not live even though she had an emergency c/s for distress. I asked her how she knew. She had seen a family member in the hallway going to the OR that had recently died and they told her

they would take of the baby, not to worry.

wow, when I was in 4 day coma or comming out of coma or whatnot - the first thing that I remember and that stuck in my memorry right after I heard the nurse screaming my name was my dad holding a hand of a child I have never seen before and have not meeat yet. Now, my dad died a month before my ordeal, I was 15 at the time. When I was 36 I had a rough time during a pregnancy and eventually lost the baby.Today I'm certain that my dad was standing there holding the hand of a child we lost - he's taking care of the baby.:)

[vegas2009]

Hey Lucylu,

Did ya remember anything from your coma? I mean like, bright lights? Floating things? Maybe YOU were floating yourself?

Anything to that effect? What about sounds? Feelings? Is it like a dream, when you're under like that? What does it feel like? Obviously, you were probably loaded with meds. Anything else you wanna share?

Have you ever thought back and try to recall? Aside from what you just stated?

[lucylu 777]

ha, ha, I have been asked this questions a milion times first by the nurses in that took care of me, by the doc's and a priest.Yes I have been loaded with meds at that point so some speculate that the chemical changes that are going on with the brain may bring on the illusion of seeing things from the past. I don't talk about it often because that is not much to say - no I did not float to the light I did not see the tunnel, heared voices and all the things that others report - but what I did see and remember with out a doubt and I can see it clearly like it happend yesterday was my dad and the child. My dad past away from pancriatic cancer he was in great pain before he died and they were pomping fluids in him, so after he died his body swelled up and his face had to be rapped in gause for the funeral service, I was the only one who saw him that way in the cascet because they closed it for the funeral and I put some money in his pocked for the "driver" lol. When I saw him he was standing next to my bed ( I supose I was in the bed because I looked at him like you look at people standing above you) he wore the gause bandaid around his face but it did not covered the whole face like in the cascet, so I know it was after he died, he held a hand of the maybe 2 y/o child I don't if it was a girl or a boy, anyway they were just there standing looking at me, no talking at all but there was a mutual understanding between us without the words spoken, my dad was there healthy,beautiful with out a trace of pain on his face, such peace radiating from his face and the child was just there looking careless and happy, I remembe them just like that, beautiful.I only told my mom and grandma about it because I did not wanted people to think I was a psycho - you know how teenagers can be, but my family was all happy to hear the news. So, no I can't tell you how it is out there, maybe because it was not my time..., today I think they were there to make sure I'm not scarred or something... maybe it was all a dream, I would like to believe not. Another think I noticed that started happening to me was the feeling of picefulness and calm, my life has it challenges but I love the place I'm in and feel that there is still something for me to do here... .I also feel the presence of whatever there is, and when I worked the med/oncology unit ( we had celestial discharegs every other day) I would always "talked to the dead people"lol, while doing the post mortem, the thech's and nurses constantly told me it was akward that I talked to them like that. Like I said maybe it was my brain playing tricks on me.

[carolmaccas66, BSN, RN]

When I was a nursing student I did a clinical placement at Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) located in Adelaide, Southern Australia; the largest and oldest teaching hospital in the state. The hospital dates from about 1840 or 1850 I think. Anyway we had handover one evening to the nightshift, and one of the male nurses who had been on a few nights ago told us a story that creeped me out. An elderly man had died not long before night shift was ending, (can't remember the diagnosis), and the doctor came and pronounced him dead. This nurse had been hurrying to get him washed, do the paperwork, etc so the morning staff would not have to do it. Well he did what he could, and was sitting in the nurses' station, head bent down finishing his work, when he felt a sudden presence and cold air. He looked up to the door of the nursing station, and there was this patient, less than a foot away from him, standing there fully dressed, smiling broadly and waving to him. This nurse kind of blinked (he was very tired and trying to stay awake), and the patient was suddenly gone. Of course, he rushed into the room the patient was in and there was the dead man, still laid out and very much dead. When he told us all, everyone was silent and I said it sounded like the patient came in to say goodbye and thank you for the care he had been given. The nurse said the dead man just looked happy and like he was ready to go when he was waving goodbye. So it's kind of a nice story, I like to think, instead of a ghost story.

The next story happened during the day at RAH. I used to work with the head Burns Surgeon there. Well I was all alone in my office (no-one else was in the department), and I heard the door open. I could not see the departmental door from my office door, so had to actually pull the chair over to see who would be walking by. It was the head of the burns unit, and I needed to ask him something fairly urgently re the OR/theatre list. I asked if he was free and he was always willing to talk, and joke around. Well today he just walked on by and kind of grunted, so I decided to leave it till later when he had finished in the OR (I knew that day he was in the OR all day). I thought he had finished or was on a break as he had on casual clothes. These clothes consisted of faded blue jeans, and a yellow/orange/red tie-dye t-shirt. Anyway he went into the back room & I continued working in my office. A bit later, I went in there cos I really had to get this OR/theatre list sent off for the next week. I said I really need to talk to you but he kind of just grunted again, working on the computer so I said will you come see me later and he said 'yeah'. I remember thinking he must be really busy today.

Well, a bit later I went back into the room and he was gone. This puzzled me because to get out the main door, he needed to go by me, but there was an emergency kind of 'old' door at the back of the department which was rarely used, and it didn't lead down to the OR. But I was so busy I didn't dwell on it.

Later in the afternoon, the burns surgeon came in in his green scrubs, obviously from the OR. I said did you go back down to the OR. He was puzzled and said what are you talking about? I relayed how I had seen him in the department, in casual clothes (described them), and had seen him in the other office on the computer. He looked at me strangely and replied: 'Carol, I have not been out of the OR since early this morning'. He was a real joker and I said stop mucking about etc, but he was serious. Later, one of the registrars, who had been with him in the OR, told me he was telling the truth. The burns surgeon could not explain the clothes either; he didn't own a t-shirt like that at all. And he had been so close to me in the other office, I could have touched him; he had looked as real as my own hand.

Explain that one! My gf said it maybe was an out of body experience??

At Royal Perth Hospital (in WA), my very first job there was in the old, original building. Firstly, it was ALWAYS cold in that building. We used to complain about it constantly. Heaters didn't ever seem to banish that cold - it would get into your bones. Everything seemed to be icy to the touch (even on a 40oC+ day, I remember getting chills). I wasn't working as a nurse then, but I did stay back sometimes to finish work so I wouldn't have to do it the next day. It was always SO dark in those rooms and going to the old loos at the back of the building used to creep me out. There used to be creeks out in the hallways, and when I went out to check, no-one was ever there (everyone else would have gone home). I stopped staying back after a while, & ensured I wasn't ever the last one out of the building.

I was also told that some of the old nurses (who trained there and became nurse managers), talked of an old fashioned, grey figured nurse (with the cap, apron & billowing gown) that used to be seen doing the rounds of the wards in the hospital - she was seen during the day and at night. Someone did a bit of digging into the hospital history, and there was a long-dead matron who used to do the rounds of every ward before she started work, and when she finished. What a dedicated nurse she must have been!