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...

[lpnstudentin2010, LPN]

tvccrn said:

One Last Goodbye

Working as a nurse in a very small rural hospital gives you a chance to get to know your patients. You meet them on the street, in the grocery store, and at school functions. They become more than a number or a disease process, they become neighbors and friends. Members of their family work beside you.

One night as I was the charge nurse and the ER nurse all rolled into one, I recieved a call from the front desk that I had a patient in the car downstairs and I needed to open the ambulance door so I could get him into the ER. As I ran down, I was wondering what what I would encounter. I opened the door and as the car pulled in I saw a man hanging out the passenger side of the car. I went over to the side and saw that he was blue and not breathing. I ran into the ER to call for some assistance in getting him out of the car and into the ER. I also called for the CRNA that was on-site to do an intubation. Normally our CRNA lived about 10 miles away, but he was on vacation and his cover stayed in house.

We got the man into the ER and intubated. The doctor came down and we stablized him for transport to our SCU. Because we were such a small hospital, we had a special care unit that had three beds and some of the best nurses that I have ever worked with. The rest of the evening went by without any more commotion. I left that night feeling good about having saved someone.

The next day, I came in and went into the unit to check on how the man had done overnight. I was told that he had pulled his tube out three times and was mad because we had replaced it. Apparently he had not wanted anything done to prolong his life, but we hadn't been aware of it. Once, he had recovered enough, his doctor sat down with he and his family and discussed their options. He was made a DNR and all the staff was made aware of this. When he saw me I got a royal chewing out for having him intubated in the first place. That was the start of a friendship that went on for a while. I worked with his daughter and grand-daughter, so I was soon his favorite nurse. Every time he came into the ER with trouble breathing and that blue look to him, he always made sure that no one else put a tube down his throat.

Of course, a person can go on like that only so long before the body decides that it has had enough. The time came when he came in and was not responding. We placed him in the room that was directly across from the nurses station and I made the family comfortable to wait for the inevitable. I checked on them periodically, but for the most part they were left alone. Soon, the daughter came out and said that he had passed away. It was my responsiblity to verify this information and get in touch with the proper people. I walked into the room and the harsh sound of his breathing was gone. I did the things I needed to make sure that he was really gone. As I looked at the family, there were tears in all our eyes. His wife hugged me and told me that I had always been his favorite and she thoughts he would be happy that I was there when he left.

After gathering all the information from them that I needed, I left to call the coroner to notify her and to call the place that would handle his interment. He had decided long ago that he wanted to be cremated. As there was only one crematorium in the area, they were already out when I called, but they would be there as soon as they could. I relayed this to the family and told then they were more than welcome to stay if they wished. Some of them did stay. I provided them with privacy, tissues and any comfort they might need. Everytime I went to check on them, although there were tears, there was also laughter at stories about his life. Once, they looked at me and asked me if I was uncomfortable with their laughter. I told them, no, I knew that they had been prepared for this and although it's never pleasant, it was nice to see that they could look back with love at the time they had spent with him.

Soon, the service came and picked him up. The wife and daughter thanked me for the kindness of letting them stay and spending a last couple of hours with their loved one. I have always felt that a family should have as much time as they need to say goodbye. After they left, I had housekeeping come and clean the room. When they were done the door was closed and we all went about the rest of our shift.

Near the end of the shift, the other nurse and I were at the desk charting on the night's event when a buzzer went off. We both looked to which patient was calling for assisstance. It was the call bell from the room across from the nurse's station. As we were both at the desk, we knew that there was no one in there. Neither one of us wanted to go in, so we tried to cancel the bell from the console, but we were unable to. I felt that it was my responsiblity to go in as it had been my patient that had been in there. As I walked into the room and turned on the light, I saw that the cord for the call bell was pulled out of the wall and was across the room. Now, with no one in the room that was eerie to say the least. I hurriedly put it back and left the room.

A few weeks later, I was talking with the daughter of the patient who had passed away in the room and she smiled at me and said that it was probably her father coming back to tell his favorite nurse goodbye one last time.

OMG I almost cried when I read this story.

[Chad_KY_SRNA]

I resent the implication that I have watched too many scary movies. I have great reverence for death and even the bible talks of spirits, demons, and such. In my long term care facility we work closely with hospice and I provide the best end of life care that is possible for my residents. Come on over, you'll believe.

[SueH]

StatBlues said:

"saw a black figure "

After reading this in a few posts. I wonder if it is the angel of death, or a soul collector for the evil? Or if being dark means evil at all? And, a white mist is not evil....?

I wonder too, why so many hang around, earth. Is not heaven waiting for all who have tried to have a good life? Especially the children....why arent they playing in heaven? Why do some have people to greet them, and some dont.

I have so many questions.

I think a book could be made and published with all these stories and more.

?

There are a couple of excellent books, "Life After Death" and "Life After Death Revisited." They have been out for a while so may need to be ordered but last time I looked were readily available on Amazon.com. I can't remember the author's name but he was originally an unbeliever and set out to disprove the stories of after death experiences. There are som absolutely fascinating stories in the two books and the author outlines the similarities present in most of these occurrences.

[sHaMpOo_mE]

Why did I read this thread minutes before bedtime?.....spooky..damn my curiousity!!!

[eagnd]

LOVE THE ROSES AND EVEN ROSE PETALS.........WOW WHAT AN EXPERIENCE.....KEEP THE STORIES COMING........

schroeders_piano said:

I used to work in an old catholic hospital. Where the labor and delivery unit is located now, it used to be the convent for the nuns that worked at this hospital. One of the nuns died of natural causes years ago. This nun loved and raised numerous varieties of roses. Ever since the OB department was moved to this area, anytime a mother or baby is having difficulties you can smell the scent of roses throughout the whole unit. The OB nurses know to be prepared when they start smelling the scent of roses. If a mother or baby dies, the room suddenly fills with rose petals. It is one of the creepiest, but also loving things that happens. I was standing in a room one night when the baby died. The room filled with white and pink rose petals. The nurses and family was creeped out.

I worked at another hospital where you would see a nurse in the old white dress and cap walk down the hallway and smile at you. Then she would walk into a patient's room and apply wrist restraints. All the nurses knew her. It was just Mildred who died 60 years ago. You just had to follow her so you can take the wrist restraints off.

I do have other stories that are a lot creepier than these.

[CeeKayRN]

Wow... I did the same thing... reading this right before bed. I have a few stories to share myself. I just started at the hospital in town, so I don't have any from there. I did, however, work at an Independent Living/Assisted Living facility for almost 4 years, and in almost every department, save for nursing and housekeeping. Anyway, this past fall semester, I was working security. My general duties, included answering phones, helping residents, making exterior rounds, shoveling snow(I swear we had one of the snowiest wintersI can remember when I worked this position), and locking up the building at 2100. On one such night, I had just finished locking up the building. I let myself back into the office to record the temps from the coolers in the kitchen and such. As I'm writing, out of the corner of my eye, I see a man, who I thought lived at the East End of the building. He doesn't move too quickly, but not overly slow. Needless to say, if I wanted to I could have caught him going down either hall quite easilly. As soon as I saw the man, I put down my pen and went right out into the hall. Nobody in the east end, nobody on the west end, and nobody on the mezzanine. The only way he could have gotten away is if he ran... that's how quickly I dropped my pen and investigated. I was eagerly anticipating the night janitor clocking on... In another occurance, I had finished up rounds, I'd say it was about 2145, I settled in with one of my text books at the front desk to study some material from my nursing theory lecture. I didn't see any movement out of the corner of my eyes, but I heard the DISTINCT sound of one of those aluminum(I dunno what material, but the little silver ones) going over tile. the only tile in the WHOLE building is right in the front lobby, and in the kitchen. Nobody was around... again, I was eagerly anticipating the night janitor coming on, so I could clock out and get the heck outta there.

I've heard some firsthand accounts from several of my friends from the kitchen, where, oddly enough, I began and ended my employment. Anyway, we had a cook who pretty consistently came in hungover for the saturday morning shift. This was a problem in and of itself, and it has/still does happen to several of our "early morning" cooks. "Chucky" would put the large mixing bowl for eggs, or whatever, on the large stainless steel counter, and go back into the walk in cooler to get whatever neccessary ingredients he needed. He would come back out and the bowl would be spinning down the counter. Several other cooks have told me about how they'll be prepping stuff for lunch and dinner and various items for meals throughout the week, we have a large rack that holds all of our chafing dishes, lids, and on the side we hang all of our ladels... Well, one by one, the ladels come off, as if flicked by somebody. One of the cooks, who I love dearly gave me this advice, should I encounter this spirit myself(I often worked early on the weekends)Just put a cup of regular coffee out in the serving area, and it will stop. Apparently there was a little old man who would throw things until the early morning cook, or server, would get him his coffee. It's a good thing to know that there are things you can do to quell odd goings on!

[eightB]

Hi everyone

Where to start? Well I work for a city hosptial in New York as an LPN. I have just about as many ghostly patients as I do living. It's true the ghostly ones don't ask for much but they tend to scare my co-workers.

I think my favorite two are the Walker and the Watcher.(these are nick names I've given them.) :uhoh21:

The walker is a woman who comes down the hall nightly. She's pushing or pulling an IV pole because I can hear the wheels squeak as she makes her way down the hall. ( this usually happens when I'm alone. Go figure) If I look right at her I can't see her but if I look with the corner of my eye I can just make her out. She's wearing a house gown, not hospital gown.

Now just in front of the Nurse's station is a large pillar. My ghostly visitor walks to the pillar and disappears behind it.

My other ghostly client is the Watcher. This one is a middle age gentlemen. He looks hispanic and has a small mustashe. He is dressed in a hospital gown and I usually see him in room two, but only is its unoccupied. This rrom is located right next to the nurses station. Most of the time he just stands by the doorway watching the nurses. Some of my co-workers have seen him and are scared, but I tell them he can't hurt them. :chuckle

[Fran_Nurse]

My Grandma (Meme) was living with us after a stroke and was bed bound and only wore night ware for about 9 months. After she died, the same day I was putting my Three year old to bed, and I was justing saying night night to him when he said "Meme (Grandma) is with the Angels now and she is dressed and stood over there."

This freaked me out cos for nine months he has only seen her laying in bed. :stone

[Lavslady]

SueH said:

There are a couple of excellent books, "Life After Death" and "Life After Death Revisited." They have been out for a while so may need to be ordered but last time I looked were readily available on Amazon.com. I can't remember the author's name but he was originally an unbeliever and set out to disprove the stories of after death experiences. There are som absolutely fascinating stories in the two books and the author outlines the similarities present in most of these occurrences.

Hey! Thanks for the introduction to a new (to me) site to get cheap books! I ordered both of these and 4 others for a little over $20! Love this forum!

[LT Dave]

My friend an RT told me she had this room her and another RT would rest during their break late at night.. The male RT, Donald, was sitting across a table from her with his head resting on his folded arm leaning on the table and facing the door. The room was pretty dark and my friend Karen was reading when she noticed a mist forming by the door. Before she could react the mist formed into a figure of a nurse or nun looking person in white with a long shawl over her head. The apparition stood inside the room just looking at Karen and smiling. Karen noticed she ended at the waist, no legs or pelvis was visible. Karen was terrified and in a soft voice she called out to the other RT, "Donald?" and a little louder she called to wake him again, "Donald?".

With out lifting his head he spoke up" I see her too Karen."

The ghost faded away after a few moments and both agreed on what they had seen.

[lil_judt]

I think it is when the administration thinks I am invisible. No recognition... and no thank yu ....but definitey get you for all those bad things...med errors, your actions, (when you meant to do the right thing) totally misunderstood

Chad_KY_SRNA said:

The best I have heard is from a nurse who said that one night she was floated to oncology at the hospital she used to work at. She was given a patient who was passing away and had been unconscious for several days. At one point during the night the nurse went into the room and the patient was at the top of the bed and looked at her and said, "don't let them take me!", the nurse was freaked out and asked her who was going to take her and she said that black thing up there and pointed up in the air. This patient died within minutes.

Come on now share your stories, I know you have seen and heard freaky things.

[sav]

Love these stories..I have a few to share.

I'm doing my final consolidation in a psych hosp, and most nurses on the floor have at least one story that leads them to believe the floor we work on is haunted.

Once, two nurses were on either end of the ward, trying to close windows...They'd close one, go to the next, close it, and the first windows would open again by itself. Finally, they both ran out of the rooms they were in, only to discover the other nurse doing the same.

Two nurses have had their hair flipped when no one was around, when they were sitting seclusion.

One nurse once felt something wet drip onto her hand when sitting seclusion. She looked, was something red, she wiped it off. Looked up, nothing on ceiling..That was it

A nurse (one of the one's the window thing happened to, and had her hair flipped) was doing rounds at the beginning of the shift. The shower room door was closed, but she heard shower running. She went, asked coworkers who was in shower..No one knew, didn't think anyone was. So she went to shower room, went to open door..It was locked, she could still hear shower going. She freaked a bit, thinking pt had been locked in. Unlocked door, opened it..And the shower stopped.

Same nurse, was sitting seclusion, could hear the door handle of the locked solarium rattling like someone was trying to open it..Is a lever type handle, the sound was it going up and down over and over. In the morning, she went in there, she had opened the window of the staff smoking room in there to air it outm, she thought maybe the wind had done it. The window was closed when she checked. No one had closed it.

Last night, same nurse and another went down to solarium, passed my male bathroom. No one in there, all pts were in bed. They got their smokes from the solarium, no more than 10, 15 secs later, walked back past male bathroom, tap was running. She had earlier turned off same tap, thinking someone had left it running.

Same nurse was once doing rounds, heard someone whisper loudly "Fire!" in her ear. No one around.

Last night, another nurse was in staff room alone, heard very distinct 'click click' coming from the bathroom..Few mins later, when she told us, another nurse was testing out sounds, trying to figure out what it was. The nurse who heard it said it sounded most like the door handle going up and down.

That's all I can think of for now...I work again tonight, so if I get more, I'll let you all know.