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...

Wow! so many , I would also like to share some of mine.

First I will admit that I have encounters not only in hospitals, and had these even when I was younger.

Here are some of mine I have experienced when I was a student.

It was our ( my group) first time for hospital rounds . It was morning shirt 6 am-2 pm . However our group, not wanting to be late, arrived at dawn about an hour and a half before 6. its a government hospital a small one too. As we were climbing up the stairs our group passed by an old man wearing formal attire, I greeted him he didn't replied and maybe because it was too early and he still haven't had coffee. Then after another floor, we were climbing to the next and last (The elevator was not for student o we went up the stairs up to the sixth floor) we passed by the man again going down and I did the same greeting, no reply again but I was wondering how he did it. Then I reminded myself of the elevator, he had used it I guessed. What bothered everyone else ( cause I usually just shrugged it off when these happen to me) was who I was greeting. So they laughed at me upon reaching the sixth floor and putting our things down at the student area. Our preceptor was there and asked why they were laughing. I told them what happened. then they got scared. A male student even grabbed me and said 'but we were the only ones using the stairs, no staff,patient or support system there because they used the elevators. We never passed a man..not a soul, no one" then my preceptor corrected him saying 'Maybe not a man, but a soul'

Same hospital but a year had passed, this time we were on graveyard shift. At the sixth floor ( this was were the student area was for the whole hospital) Our preceptor was giving a light lecture. its about 12 am when he stopped and asked how everyone was doing (it was our last day of rotation) and joked if we studied for his prepared exams. He asked this because our shifts with him had been eventful. We were seated across an old nurses station. When we started laughing the door of the old nurses station opened suddenly like someone dashed out. I didn't see anything this time but I felt the air got heavy. few groupmates ( I had a duty before or personally knows my case) look at me some even whispered 'what is it' I said I didn't know but told them we should not be too noisy. Our preceptor then without looking at it (the door) apologised for disruption. the door then closed very slowly by itself.

one last share ( three is long enough :D )

We were actually at our classroom, we were discussing about REM and NREM sleep, our classroom was a former office of the college of nursing so it still had the old Dean's office which now is a storage room. it was about 7:45 pm and yes we were the last block on the whole floor. We were the only block for that day to have evening classes up to 9 pm. Our professor was discussing a bit and we were enjoying the class so we were a bit noisy due to the interactive discussion. i was seated up front so you could imagine our faces when we heard a loud knock coming from the walls of the old dean's office. About the Dean who occupied that before. She was the first ever Dean of the college since foundation and the only Dean to utilised that room and her time was 45 years ago from our time. Of course we went home, knowing she is strict and doe not like it when classes run late.

have lots more but I hope you like these :)

Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiology..

I blocked ghost/spirits out of my head for years u til I was doing my 8:00pm med pass in the 100's hall. I heard a loud crying of "boo hoo hoo!" Over & over and I stopped, locked the med cart and checks all rooms. The residents were either asleep or saying to me "no honey I'm fine" I dismissed it and moved on!

We got another hospice pt admitted and within a week she went to actively dying and on comfort meds and measures... I loved her. She had three daughters who never left her side. We grew close and in the final days, they said that I was the only one she would call by name. So sweet. She passed on my 8:00pm med pass and 30 minutes post I heard "hey, Sam, it's me" loud like a megaphone was in the hall. It was her voice and I got down onto the floor and a CNA walked down the hall and I told her "I think I am going crazy!"

Things were fine and I was passing the upstairs meds three weeks later.

The charting room is locked per nurse and med aid keys.

First floor cna came to me in a panic asking if I left the chatting room unlocked. My answer was no. And why? She said her and another cna found ALL 90 resident charts on the floor.

They picked them up.

I thought that was super weird. Even more so when one cna told me of a resident who passed away in the room behind the charting room who used to bang on the wall to the charting binders to get attention... HMMM.

Same room where the call light kept going off and the executive directors even walked in with me to turn it off once. The door was locked prior.

:-S

This one is from a friend-- she swears it's true.

Her dad is a hospice nurse. He got a call from the agency that a patient was in the process of dying and was expected to pass very soon. They asked that he attend to the family. Apparently the nurse who was supposed to be there could not make it for some reason. He complained that it was all the way across town, and it was not his usual day to work, but he went anyway. When he was nearly there the agency called him to say the family had reported that the patient had passed but to please go there and help with family support and start postmortum care. When he arrived he introduced himself by saying "Hello I'm Marty, I'm from Hospice." My friend said the family's mouths fell open and the all looked shocked. He apologized that their usual nurse could not make it. They said, "No that's not it. Grandma kept mumbling that Marty was coming. We thought she was just talking nonsense but here you are!"

Chills!!! I love all these stories!

Let's start by saying I don't believe in ghosts, or at least I didn't. I worked in an older hospital and in a totally locked icu unit. I was in the locked Med room getting meds for one of my patients, when I heard my name. Loud enough that I answered it. When I realized what had happened, I rushed out and asked my co worker if he had called me (he was in another pt room) and looked at me crazy.

Another time, I was in an empty or room in the same unit. I had some down time so my tech was showing me a particular braid. We were alone, and suddenly hear three knocks on the wall next to us. The room next door was empty, and the only other pt there was intubated.

Needless to say I'm a bit of believer these days.

We have a very mentally disturved pt that has been there for many years. This pt very so often comes up wt allusinations and things of that matter. Well this pt claims to see some disfigurated mentally disturved kids down the hall, that keep running and making noises down the hall! I always thought Poor pt is all cray and seen things. Well there had been several pt specially the ones that are mentally invalance or the ones that are about to die that claimed to see those difigurated childrens down the hall taking their blankets off, jumping on their beds etc. One pt that did die right in front of me told me to not leave her by herself bc everytime someone leaves the room those kids come back inside and do not let her sleep, i asked the pt what do they look like she said around 7-10 years old boys & girls very dirty looking white clothing , but torned and dirty and they have disfigurated faces and missing limbs and sometimes they peel their face right infront of me. We have heard the story Several times throught the years I honestly do not know what is going on, but mayve prior to the custructions of this facillity there were kids burried under that landfield ? Only God kmows...

Years ago, when in Nursing school, my best friend and I were assigned to patients in adjoining rooms. During the day she came to my room with a worried look on her face. She had been struggling with a complication her patient had and was at a lost as to what to do. I wasn't able to help her but told her I would find the instructor and have him come to her room. We meet up a hour later and I asked if the instructor was able to help her. She said by the time he arrived another nurse had helped her figure out the problem.

She wanted to thank that nurse so we went to the nurses station and inquired who that person was and were we could find her. The charge nurse looked at my friend in a funny way and asked why we wanted to find that nurse. We explained what had happened. The charge nurse said the nurse we were looking for no longer worked there and she had been the previous charge nurse, until she had DIED 3 years earlier. I will never, ever forget this.

When I worked ER I could usually tell when a CODE was going to be successful or not because I could feel the spirit of those that were still there. One time we had a 24 year old man who was in a car wreck brought in. By the time the ambulance reached the ER doors, he was in full arrest. We coded him for quite a while to no avail. Afterward, I was left to tidy up and tag and bag him. I could still feel his spirit. I pulled the curtains around the bed and told him to "go to the light and don't look back." I could literally feel his spirit leave.

So I have this woman on my unit who is well into her 100's, one morning she asked me where the little boy was, I told her that I wasn't sure what she mean. normally this woman is lucid with only some mild confusion, after talking with her some more she stated that there was a little boy that was standing there with her, asking her to go with him and that he had left. I told her I must have missed him, a few moments later she was leaning over her wheelchair talking to herself, when I asked who she was talking to she said the little boy and that he wanted her to go with him. I asked her where, she asked him where, he told her away. I got goosebumps, then asked for an order for a U/A. for the next few days she would talk to this little boy, however her U/A was fine. She hasn't talked to him in a while but I often wonder if he is her angel. :)

Specializes in CEN, CFRN, PHRN, RCIS, EMT-P.

This one time I was walking down a dark alley and felt something warm behind me, I turned around and there was nobody there, I thought it was a ghost until I realized that it was my taco dinner just escaping my body like a smelly ghost.... Really people there are no such things as ghosts, demons, Angels or gods LMAO

Specializes in Cardiac/Neuro.

As a new nurses aide that was barely eighteen I worked at a tiny rural hospital. We had one ICU bed next to the nurses station. It was often used for hospice (anyone really critical we air transported out). We had a sweet little patient I'll call "Rose". I was filling her water pitcher one night and she was lucid which was a rare occasion. She looked right past my left shoulder and said, "Oh you're here to get me." as peaceful as a woman in church.

I stared at her confused and said, "Rose, it's the middle of the night, you don't have any tests. I'm just here to fill your pitcher." She looked at me and smiled, "I'm not talking you, dear." Needless to say the hair stood up on the back of my neck and couldn't bear to turn around to see if anything was behind me.

I left the room quickly and told the nurse. Rose was a DNR died peacefully within minutes. The funny thing is, everytime someone died on the floor at that hospital the outdoor automatic ER doors would open just an inch and then close again. It was a running joke because the ER would always call the floor and ask who died. The ER doors opened that night to let Rose and her visitor out. I swear on my Father's ashes this is true. I've seen to many weird things like this happen in several hospitals not to believe in some kind of soul or afterlife.

I was working as a nurses aid while I was in nursing school, while still in training one of our pa tints paseed away. My preceptor and I had to bring the body down to the morgue. Normally once you get down there you use the phone outside the door to call and have security let you in. When we got there we heard lots of noise on the other side of the door, metal instruments on the mteal table like an autopsy was being done. So we just knocked on the door, after knocking several times with no response, and calling out hello, we finally called security. The noise continued until a few seconds before the security officer arrived. When he opened the door their was no one in there and no sign that anyone had been there! I tried to avoid going to the morgue whenever possible after that.

A lot of the nurses in my unit have talked about how the "back of the SICU" is haunted. I never really thought much about it, being a bit of a skeptic. Now that Halloween is approaching, their stories of witnessing the ghost have been amping up, One night while I was back in the "pit" of the SICU, where the ghost allegedly is, they started up with the stories again. This time I guess I was feeling cheekier than usual and piped up. I said something about how they are just being silly and impressionable and that most of their stories sound like they could easily have explainable causes. They all just shrugged and laughed and warned me that I would learn.

The following night I was in the pit again, this shift I was working with a brand new agency nurse. At one point I was standing in my patients room, preparing to drop an OG tube when I saw the agency nurse walking down the hall toward me. As she approached my room, she stopped abruptly and screamed "get away from her!". Stunned, I realized she was yelling this towards me! I turned to look behind me, and the only person there was my ventilated and sedated patient calmly lying in bed. I looked back at the nurse and she just looked confused. She said "I swear I just saw a man standing right behind you, like an inch behind you, leaning over you like a total creep!". Unsettled I looked around, and decided she must have seen the bair hugger behind me with the blanket draped over it and thought that was a person (granted it was nowhere near me). No sooner had I said that, the lights went off in the room, the patients bed alarm went off, and the tv turned on full volume!!!!! I turned them all off as quickly as possible yelling OK OK YOU'RE REAL I GET IT - I'M SORRY!!! I haven't had a problem in that room since, but it's only been a few weeks...

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