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...

[CFitzRN, ADN]

Okay, literally seconds after typing my post above, I received the following email (mass email for Lent from Fr. Richard Heilman):

"THIS DAY WE FIGHT

Spiritually speaking, the devil is doing all that he can to catch us isolated and unarmed on the battlefield - no spiritual armor, no spiritual weapons, and no comrades in the heavenly realm to fight alongside of us. In other words, the reason evil is promoted so effectively today is because we're ignoring God's offer of supernatural strength and power and ignoring the mightiest of all allied forces: the Communion of Saints.

C.S. Lewis wrote, "Enemy-occupied territory - that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage."11 The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us: "This dramatic situation of 'the whole world, which is in the power of the evil one,' (1 Jn 5:19; cf. 1 Pt 5:8) makes man's life a battle: 'the whole of man's history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield, man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God's grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity' (Gaudium et Spes, 37:2)" (CCC 409).

Are you ready to do battle? In the movie, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Aragorn calls his men to throw down the gauntlet against the forces of evil. Let this call be ours:

'My brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight!' "

Just found that pretty coincidental and thought I would share.

[Toastedpeanut]

Wow, this is quite an awesome coincidence! The only psuedo-explanation I have is that "the forces are at work." I'm not an eccentric by any means, but I've experienced just a few things in life that will forever make me wonder. My first time around the academic bend, I went to the school right next to Tulane. I used to eat lunch on Tulane's campus, right under the centuries-old Live Oaks. In fact, a lot of the trees in the pictures I posted are still there on the garrison today. For me, these old trees are a perfect place to connect with the past. When I was a child I'd go to City Park often, & spend the whole day under those trees. I could see & smell the past: The roads before they were paved, the smell of dust as a carriage would go by... thick black smoke from the smoke stacks of ships before emissions were regulated... the odd sensation that the scent of a magnolia stirs. This brings up my question of seeing the past through the eyes or our ancestors. Mine have lived here hundreds of years, & if you think about it, our cells were existent in those people back then. I guess this is what it means when you're grieving, & somebody says "She'll continue to live within you." I used to get frustrated when I heard this, but it's true. Their DNA, their cells are still alive, but within us only,& no longer the aggrieved. Maybe this is the cause of the odd memories, who knows?

It was a pleasure to share!

[nursejoy1, ASN, RN]

We have a nursing skills fair every year and a couple of years ago, our respiratory therapist was set up at a table beside mine to check our nurses off on trach care and suctioning. One nurse came from the floor and had her O2 sat monitor in her pocket. While she was demonstrating trach care, she placed the monitor on the mannequin's finger. I heard the RT gasp and say "This dummy has a pulse and a sat" I laughed and she said "No, really." I went over and looked and there really were numbers on the display. I removed the monitor and replaced it on the mannequin's finger again, and again, there were numbers on the readout. It was very weird.

[Hygiene Queen]

nursejoy1 said:

While she was demonstrating trach care, she placed the monitor on the mannequin's finger. I heard the RT gasp and say "This dummy has a pulse and a sat" I laughed and she said "No, really." I went over and looked and there really were numbers on the display. I removed the monitor and replaced it on the mannequin's finger again, and again, there were numbers on the readout. It was very weird.

That freaks me out. I hate mannequins! Thank you, Twilight Zone:

"Marcia!"

"Maaarcia!"

"Maaaaaaaaarciaaaaaaaaa....."

(Okay, that clip has a little bonus at the very end, which I could have done without, but there ya go )

[Angelicpurl]

I worked in a small rural hospital many years ago. The aide laid the telemetry monitor on the bed in preparation for an ER admission.

We were SO small that it wasn't uncommon for a floor nurse to have to help the ER at night. I went after the patient. Charge nurse entered info into monitor on her desk. As we came around the desk, the charge nurse grabbed my arm & hissed, whose rhythm is that???

We had no one else on monitor....needless to say, we got patient in another bed with another monitor.

[DocWorkaday]

nursejoy1 said:

We have a nursing skills fair every year and a couple of years ago, our respiratory therapist was set up at a table beside mine to check our nurses off on trach care and suctioning. One nurse came from the floor and had her O2 sat monitor in her pocket. While she was demonstrating trach care, she placed the monitor on the mannequin's finger. I heard the RT gasp and say "This dummy has a pulse and a sat" I laughed and she said "No, really." I went over and looked and there really were numbers on the display. I removed the monitor and replaced it on the mannequin's finger again, and again, there were numbers on the readout. It was very weird.

I'm willing to believe a good ghost story as much as the next person, but couldn't that have just been malfunctioning equipment?

[needlesmcgeeRN, ASN, RN]

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.

[Hygiene Queen]

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?

[benegesserit]

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.

[TDub, MSN, EdD]

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.

[James W.]

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..

[DocWorkaday]

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.