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...

[Selina Pait]

On 8/5/2011 at 12:25 AM, leodoula said:

The first time I went to Waverly Hills was a fluke. My SIL knew some people that had payed for an 8 hour private investagation. Over half of the people that wanted to go bailed on them pretty unexpectedly. These tours are not cheap. They are $1000 minium and you can take 10 people in for that. SIL knew I was into "that sort of thing" and told DH about it. He reserved us 2 places with them and gave it to me as a christmas gift. I had to wait until late April to go though.

The day finally came and we arrived at Waverly. It's a very impressive building to see and you can tell that it was once very beautiful (still is). The tour guide lead us into what was once the laundry room for the hospital. It's now an office, gift shop, and meeting area for guests. It was quickly determined that there were only 5 of us that had ever been on an investigation before. The other 4 formed their own group and went off by themselves leaving me in charge of all the noobs. I really wasn't there to "investigate" as much as I was there just to experience the place.

The tour guide takes us outside and lets us take some pics of the outside of the building and then gives us a quick tour of the inside. He fills us in on the ghost stories and "hot" spots as we go. The hospital isn't a small building so you can imagine. We then split into groups and went our separate ways. The first group started out in the tunnel and we started on the 1st floor of the hospital. We worked our way up to the second floor which features the cafeteria, the bakery, the dining rooms and a pt wing. As we were walking down to the cafeteria everyone started to smell bacon. As we got closer to the dining rooms and the cafeteria it got stronger just like someone was cooking bacon. It was almost overwhelming by the time we got there. All 6 of us smelled it. We examined the room carefully and knew that no one had brought any bacon with them.We never found any source for the smell.

We continued on back to the pt wing. Each wing is made up of 2 hallways. The outside hallway is made up of the open breezeway (which the hospital was famous for)with a row od pt rooms behind. The inside hallway is where the closed rooms are. These were the rooms used for dying pts. When you were moved to a closed room you knew you didn't have much longer left. We started walking up the outside hallway, everyone was taking there time, chatting since it wasn't dark yet. I crossed over to the inside hallway and was taking pics of some of the rooms. The group continued forward on the other side. DH came to see what I was doing and he took a few pics as well.We started to walk forward and were going to cross back over at the end of the hall and re-join the group. We were walking when we heard shuffling foot steps behind us. We both turned to look at the exact same time and there was nothing there. We continued down the hall like this. Every few steps we'd stop and it would stop. We were taking pics and giggling about it when the rest of the group caught up with us. After they came it stopped though.

We continued on though out the hospital for a few hours with nothing happening. It got dark and we were on the 3rd floor. We were on the outside breezeway and one of the guys with us told everyone to stop. We all froze in place and he told everyone to look at the end of the hallway. My BIL chimed up and said it looked like there was a person standing there. We all saw a dark shadowy out line of a person. I thought it was an acctual person it was so solid looking and immeadately started running to it.There was no way I was going to let someone that wasn't supposed to be there ruin my evening. DH and BIL took off after me. I got there first and followed it into one of the open rooms and though to the inside hallway. There was nothing there. We split up and looked for a person and came up empty handed.

We took a break after that and had lunch. Afterward we went to the tunnel. We tried doing EVP on the way down and using a K2 meter. We had a few spikes on the k2 but we didn't get any EVPs. We found that the end of the tunnel was open so we went out of it and took pictures of the places where supplies were picked up and bodies were taken away so many years ago. We also found a building and took pics of it. (on a side note the owners and guide both claim that this building is not there even though I've touched it and given them pics of it. Research has lead me to believe it was a power house or water treatment.)

We trekked back up and 2 members of our party was over all the fun of the evening but they kept going. We went up to the 4th floor where we started hearing voices and footsteps all over the place. One of our group members had had enough at the point and broke down so we took her out. After seeing that she was ok and comfortable we went back in and did a EVP session in the children's cafeteria During that time it felt like there were children tugging at the hem of my hoodie and one of the guys we were with kept feeling like he was being touched. We were able to document a cold spot right next to both of us his was 20 degrees colder than the rest of the room and mine was 30.

We then hit the OR on the 4th floor and tried to do another EVP session. We were getting lots of responses on our k2 though. DH was sitting in a metal folding chair holding it. We were getting answers to our questions when all of a sudden the chair felt and sounded like it was kicked hard. We got a few more questions after that and then it stopped. Pretty much everyone was done at that point so we walked out and rested for a moment. DH and I went back in on our own and did another run though of the whole hospital. We found the other group and ended up spending the last hour or so with them. Nothing else really happened that night but it was awesome.

I booked my next trip before we left!

Here are some pics of that night.I did my best to add as much info as possible to them. NOTE: there is some graphic graffiti in the pics if you are easily offended please do not click the links!!! Also these pics are NOT up for debate. They are what they are and have not been altered in any way. They are there to show people what Waverly is like and not to prove or disprove ghosts.

Wow thank you. Loved the picture. Some amazing art work/graffiti.

[Kathy in Wonderland]

On 6/13/2005 at 8:48 PM, ZASHAGALKA said:

Not a spooky story but a lonely ghost.

One of the rooms, if it was being used regularly, fine. no problems. But, since it was a room at the end of the hall, it was used for 'storage' lots of times.

If a couple of weeks went by and there were no patients/activity in the room, the call light would start going off, 4-5 times a shift. But. If you went into the room and turned on the TV, the call light wouldn't go off anymore.

So, needless to say, when the room was being used for storage, the tv was always on w/ the volume down low.

~faith,

Timothy.

Another good one lol!

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Holy crap! A twenty year old thread. I wonder if that's a record? Maybe an admin [hint, hint] could easily check this out? Because now inquiring minds, well at least mine, wonder what the longest running topic on AN is!

[Papelazo]

Hey guys, not remotely a nurse story but I've been reading this thread for about a year now because someone recommended it to me and I finally reached it's last post haha. I'm sorry I made an acc without being anywhere close to being a nurse/doctor but I see how you enjoy pretty much any ghost story so here it goes:

When I was 16yo or 17yo I was at my PC late at night doing random stuff. I had my electric guitar next to me on its stand, when it started to fall to the side very very slowly, I didn't straighten it up right away I don't really know why, I think the thought "let's see what happens" crossed my mind, when all of a sudden it straightened itself back. I didn't and I don't know for sure if it was a ghost (though it most likely was) and you can get your own conclusions but I did say "thank you" out loud and started playing some tunes haha.

Bonus track:

I was 7yo and my family and me were just moved into our current apartment, in the same building and same floor but this one was bigger than our old one. I was given the bedroom right next to the hall when you enter the apartment. One night I was trying to sleep with my eyes on this hall, when I started seeing a man in Winter clothing dancing in circles with two or three kids holding hands. I got up after a few minutes, walked right by those people and went to my parent's bedroom to tell my mom what I saw. She was dead asleep, so I shook her shoulder a bit and she woke up, not entirely though. I said "hey mom.. there's people dancing in my room" and she said nah you were dreaming, go back to sleep. Then I said "but mom.. if I was dreaming... how come I see them here too? Needless to say she opened wide her eyes, grabbed me by my nape and tucked me deep inside the bed hahaha.

That's all, sorry again for intruding in this forum but I had to share since I enjoyed nearly all the stories posted here.

[StrwbryblndRN]

Being that I work nights I have always heard/seen things happen.  Very minor. However, things have started happening at home in past 2 weeks.  

 While trying to fall asleep around midnight, my phone fell off the night stand.  I was laying still and not close to night stand when it fell.   Well it fell face up and started playing a song on Pandora.  In order for this to happen, I would need to tap screen, swipe up, open app and tap play.  (I have not used Pandora in months) Freaked me out somewhat, only because it made me worry that someone needed me.   I checked the kids, checked my puppies, the doors, you name it.   I even checked the song to see if it was significant to someone I knew.  Nope.  When I went to lay back down, my sister text me.  She was in the ER with a tib-fib compound fx.   

While sitting with my 18 yo daughter on the couch, we kept seeing a shadow on the back door glass.  I could not tell if it was outside or inside but it just flicked away after a few minutes.  I know bugs will fly around the light but this was much bigger without any definitive shape.  We sit  in direct line of site with this door and have never seen anything like it before.     Could probably be easily explained but who knows.  

Then today, as I was trying to nap, the door to the room opened.  It opened 1/3 of the way and just stopped. I called one of my dogs who is notorious for coming to disturb me while sleeping.  Nope, not him.  No one was home.  I just layed there, waiting to see if anyone would text.  No one did.  But I could not sleep after that.  

Every once in a while for the last year, I swear I hear our side door shut like someone has come into the house.  It is an older door that can be heard easily when closed.   I happen to mention it to my daughter and she hears it sometimes too.    I always say Hello! (like Mrs. Doubtfire) because I am not sure if anyone is coming in or not.     I've gotten so used to it, it does not phase me.  Well maybe a little.    I should put a small bell on the door and see if it rings when no one is there. 

 

[BsnBull]

All of these stories are good, some are too scary to finish reading. I have one. When I worked as a LVN in a rehab center. There was a hospice pt being cared for by my coworker. The coworker asked me to accompany her to check on the pt as something weird had just happened with the contract hospice nurse and she ran out crying. We entered, the pt looked up at me ans asked if she could hold my hand, I said sure. I didn't know these pt well btw. She said Your mama told me to tell you she can't wait to see you again! I dropped her hand. My coworker asked was my mother still living. I said no she died 6 months ago. And the fact that she said my " mama", not mother, mom, etc! This is what we called her, mama.

[Davey Do]

Don't go down into the basement...

[thomas81z]

well my latest as a patient LOL

I was in cape coral hospital for something minor

but as I was waiting a black & white blur entered under the door

my fiancee also saw it & said a quick prayer & it vanished

[guydreamr]

On 10/31/2015 at 12:16 PM, HarryTheCat said:

The best ghost story I ever heard was from an LPN who had worked in a LTC facility. One of their oldest residents, a nonagenarian we'll call "John", had been a very evil, violent man in his younger years, and had been in an out of prisons for much of his adult life. Late one night, several terrified residents and staff reported seeing (and hearing) John being dragged screaming down the hallway by several shadowy, black-clad figures. When they checked John's room, they found the old man, passed away in his bed. The shadowy figures were never seen again, and there was no explanation as to how they were able to leave the building, but for years after there was a lot of speculation among staff and residents that what they had witnessed was John's soul being carried off to Hell. Creepy.

OMG, that is terrifying. That so reminds me of the movie "Ghost" (1990, Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore), when the two bad people in the film died. 

[vetnrse]

Good one!

[thomas81z]

OK people this thread has been going since 2000 ,lets keep it going , someone post up a new experience please

[SmilingBluEyes]

Not the best story but at the clinic  I was at,  it was known to be haunted.

Techs came in at 230 to open. They ALL reported seeing ghosts in the storage room. Things being pushed off shelves and onto the floor. Our biomedical guys (big dudes) often would never go into that room alone. They were that freaked out.

I have seen automatic doors open and shut and told (it) to STOP IT NOW and it stopped. It was always at night when we were about to close.

Also our scale goes off as if someone is stepping on it. I have also told (it) to STOP and it stops.

We have had many, many patients die over the years and I wonder if they wander our clinic, lost or confused......

I don't know for sure what's going on. I have seen nothing but sensed much!