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...

Specializes in Care Coordination, Care Management.

Years ago I worked in a LTCF. One morning as I was getting ready for work, I had a thought cross my mind out of nowhere: Mr. Smith died. When I got to work that morning, I found out that Mr. Smith had died. Not a ghost story, maybe...but it still gave me a chill.

needlesmcgeeRN said:
Years ago I worked in a LTCF. One morning as I was getting ready for work, I had a thought cross my mind out of nowhere: Mr. Smith died. When I got to work that morning, I found out that Mr. Smith had died. Not a ghost story, maybe...but it still gave me a chill.

I did private duty for a lady who was a hoot. I loved taking care of her! Anyway, after tucking her into bed after our usual night together, I gave her peck on the forehead and said, "Goodbye, Marie". Her daughter gave me an odd look, but gave me a quick hug and I headed home.

That night, I awoke from a sound sleep around 1:00 am and very abruptly thought, "Marie's in a better place now." Then I thought, "That was a weird!" I wondered for a moment, thought, "naaah" and after thinking about Marie for a bit, went back to sleep.

The next day, Marie's daughter called me to tell me Marie had passed away. I was flabbergasted as it was unexpected. I told the daughter how I had woken up, the time and my thought. Yep... she died around 1:00am. We both had chills!

Her daughter then told me, "You realize you said 'goodbye' to Mom instead of 'goodnight' last night". It was true and that's why she gave me that funny look! I had never said "goodbye" before.

The only thing I can honestly figure is that with all my prior experience in taking care of the elderly and dying, somewhere in the dark recesses of my brain, I picked up something very subtle. I think that makes more sense than to think Marie would reach out to me, but who knows?

needlesmcgeeRN said:
Years ago I worked in a LTCF. One morning as I was getting ready for work, I had a thought cross my mind out of nowhere: Mr. Smith died. When I got to work that morning, I found out that Mr. Smith had died. Not a ghost story, maybe...but it still gave me a chill.

Not nursing related, but one day the name of a guy of gone to grade school with randomly popped into my head. I didn't know him well or have any particular connection to him, so it was a little odd to find myself thinking of him.

Found out a while later that he'd died, very suddenly and quite young, of a heart condition, somewhere around the time I'd thought of him. Within a month or so. I have no way of knowing exactly.

Could easily be coincidence, but it was a little odd.

Specializes in OB, critical care, hospice, farm/industr.

I'm working hospice now and I have seen that too! It really shakes you up, doesn't it?

Edit: I replied to the person who described a "glow" on the face of a pt that died; a minister. Sorry for misplacement and formatting. I'm not very techno savvy.

Here's a couple, from my direct experience..

A, As a teenage psych student, working night duty in the big old 100+ year old

main building, & being told by the staff that the large chapel room there was

notorious for being 'haunted' - I figured I'd check it out.

So on my break at ~0200, I entered the darkened chapel & slid under

one of the many big wooden pews & lay quietly on the floor, & tried to

'sense' any etheric contact.. to no avail..

However, getting a bit bored after about 10 minutes,

I heard other staff members walking past the

chapel doors, chatting.. so - I drummed my feet on the bottom of the pew,

which reverberated through the chapel.. A shriek came from the passersby,

& next day, the 'haunting' stories were flying! I dared not confess my doings..

B, Working as night-charge in a private medical hospital which functioned as

a defacto hospice, (due to having a contract with the local base hospital to

accept patients which they did not want to appear on their mortality stats),

Between care rounds, when it was quiet, it was possible to get a few zzzz's

in ( yes, while remaining on call with a vibratory pager) as a 'power-nap'..

While asleep, I had the very odd sensation of being awake, yet paralysed,

& felt what I can only describe as the 'souls of the dead' rushing past, like

standing on the platform of a rail-road station with an express train rushing by.

As someone with zero belief in any superstition/supernatural phenomena, it

did present as a tad freaky.. but I shrugged it off as an artifact of tiredness..

I finally dragged another incident out of my girlfriend's experiences. My girlfriend and her friend are both nurses, so it fits this thread.

She said one of her best friends had a husband who died at home. While he was in bed awaiting the inevitable, they summoned a priest to give the last rites, etc.

Supposedly this happened on a day where there was no wind outside, and all the windows in the patient's bedroom were closed.

My girlfriend said that they were all standing around the person's bed when he expired, just as the priest was administering the last rites. After the person died, they all felt a cold wind whoooooooooosh around the room.

My girlfriend emphasizes that there was no wind at all that day and that all the windows were closed.

They interpreted the "wind" as the person's soul leaving the body.

One of my bosses said she was caring for an atheist once, very late at night. Said that all the sudden, the woman's legs turned fired red and too hot to touch. The family had been doing a death watch for nearly a week because she was grey, cold, and had been essentially comatose that long.

The lady sat straight up in bed, screaming for a priest! Being a very small area, there was no priest available. My boss said she was Catholic and between her and another nurse that backed out of becoming a nun, they listened to her final confession, gave last rites, & last thing lady did was say, "Jesus saved me," & she died with smile on her face.

Mysterious as it showed up, redness left. My boss said they felt a breeze that left the room smelling very sweet.

We had a hospice patient with uncontrollable pain in the nursing home. We had very limited options back then given her allergies, agitation (she pulled out every SQ pump needle). So unfortunately, she moaned almost constantly for about 2 weeks, even comatose.

I was an aide then on nights. I heard her stop moaning & said to the other aides, the nurse must have given her shot already. No, she's still at lunch, but look! A dark small being scurried out of her room at that moment.

None of us would go in there until the nurse returned and, you guessed it, she was dead.

When the dark shadow appeared 2 nights later, we were glad the nurse saw it too! Because the roommate had said she was going home. She hadn't talked in over 5 years due to a stroke

I have had many strange experiences in my life, even before becoming a nurse. My grandma says I'm just gifted (haha) like her. Anyways, when I first started working at a LTC facility, I would feel someone walk behind me in the halls, and my hair would move...no one there. Once I was preparing meds around 12am, and felt someone poke my back, and the hall was empty. I saw a figure in two different places in a residents room out of the corner of my eye. I never once said anything to my resident, but a week later she began having nightmares about a man all in black in those two exact places who was trying to get her. I borrowed some blessed oil from a resident and prayer for Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit to cleanse that room. She did not have anymore nightmares after that. Once, at a different LTC, my CNA went on break, leaving me alone on the assisted living floor. I heard a door slam, and went to investigate only to find nothing disturbed, all residents in their beds, etc. I went back to my desk to finish charting when I heard someone walking down the hallway with their walker towards my station. The very clear distinct sound of them walking continued around the corner, in front of me.....there was not a soul there. I don't spook easy, but that was a little shocking to say the least. I shut the door to the office/station, and turned up the radio in the room, and radioed my CNA asking her how much longer till she would be back XD :saint: sometimes my co-workers tease me that I'm just full of it, then sometimes they'll have something weird happen to THEM and apologize

One more story, for the moment. This isn't a ghost story, but a very touching story.

I had been a nurse about 6 months when I had my first death on my shift. She was a decently confused lady, who sometimes was very friendly, or combative. She always, always, always though maintained her love of God and her Catholic faith, and her love for her departed husband. Anyways, she had gone downhill very quickly when her daughter went out of town for vacation (go figure). She was combative, biting at people, just .... sad. She was having a major bout of SOB, so I administered a PRN breathing treatment, which was a feat in itself at this point. My CNA helped me administer it for the full 15 minutes, and I just had a very strong feeling to pray for my resident. I too was raised Catholic. I told my CNA to go ahead, I'd be out soon. I was already kneeling next to her bed, so I just started praying...I glanced up at this woman, who put her hands up to the crucifix on her wall and her face towards it. Her hands fell from lack of strength most likely, I quickly put my head back down, but could not resist another look. She again stretched her arms towards the crucifix, and I felt this presence come over me. I bowed my head and closed my eyes. I couldn't move, but I could feel this intense and overwhelming sensation through my entire body and in the room around us. It is hard to describe, it was intense, hot but not burning (if that makes sense) and absolutely overwhelming. After what felt like an eternity, but was probably a few seconds, the presence lifted from me, and I looked up at this woman. She was gone. I know for certain it was the Holy Spirit/Jesus/Angel/God coming to collect her and take her somewhere better. I couldn't move for several minutes, I was just completely overwhelmed and somewhat in shock at this experience. Another CNA stopped in to see what was happening, and said, "Oh no, she's gone." I started crying due to the overwhelming experience I had just endured, and it took me several minutes to get myself together. I feel extraordinarily blessed to have been honored with being able to share in that experience on that level. I haven't had that happen again, but I don't know if I need/want to. I know there's an afterlife, and I just pray I get to go where she did.

yes. I heard this in the first few months of nursing and many many times since then. Also, always open a window after they pass to let the spirit out just in case. And, death usually comes in 3's or 7's.

Definitely not a good idea for me to be reading these in the dark about to go to bed! So scary but can't stop reading :wideyed:

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