What's Your Best Nursing Ghost Story?

Nurses General Nursing Nursing Q/A

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 critical care transport.

Over this Summer I did a nursing internship at the hospital (I am a nursing student, and I've read every one of these posts). I did a spin-off in the ER, and a lady came in with hx of renal failure, but she had felt SOB, and so came in.

I heard her daughter say that she sees angels sometimes, and I perked up and asked her (professionally, but inside I am really "on the edge of my seat"), "So, your daughter says you see angels?" She replied, "Oh yes, sometimes. I had a beautiful lady come down." I asked, "A pretty lady?" "Yes, she was really nice." "Did she say anything to you?" "No, but I could tell that she was really nice."

Okay, I have already done my psych rotations through school, she was with it. She told all of us about a friend she had that was dying, and said that her friend's dead husband would come down and visit with her, but told her it wasn't time yet.

My current instructor told us that she's experienced stuff too- call lights going off, other nurses seeing ghosts, etc.

Specializes in med-surg.
Yes! I read that book in the fifth grade ~ way too young to be reading that stuff ~ and since then I freak when I wake up at that time, which happens quite frequently. I blame that book on my insomnia.

The Amityville Horror was a fake. Kathy Lutz supposedly admitted it at one point and it is widely accepted as having been made up. Apparently she and George Lutz got into deep over thier heads financially and hatched a plan to get out from thier financial obligations. It was easy to do because of the murders in the home the year before.

since we're all stuck in retrogression, why not share some extraordinary stories..

i'll start.. when I was still working in a hospital one of the nurses shared her story, she told us that her patient was due for a blood extraction early in the morning.. then the med tech goes to the pt. room for blood extraction but the pt. refused because it was already done and showed her arm.. and indeed somebody already took some extractions..

but..

the med tech said that it could not happen since she was the only one on duty that time.. and that gives us goosebumps..

until now no one knew who did that.. :uhoh21:

Specializes in cardiac, ortho, med-surg.

oooh i have a couple! (i can't resist this topic!) back home in florida, i was passing an area of the hall that had no patients because they moved ortho to a different floor. i was walking with a cna and when we passed an empty room, we both distinctly heard an older female's voice ask us for a blanket. since she heard it at the same time as i did, i knew i wasn't imagining things. she was ready to peel out of there, but of course i went in to look in case there was actually someone in there lost. they were lost all right....

at another hospital in tennessee which shall remain nameless except that is a portal to h*ll, had more than one patient on more than one occasion say their feet were getting really hot, but no s/s were apparent except subjectively. then the legs, chest, so on, then a look of panic, and then they were gone. another kind of "don't let them take me!" panic. there are also resident ghosts that i saw myself, before i heard the stories. i was looking into a patient's room and saw him clearly in the reflection in the window. (night shift). then a black figure went across his side of the curtain, reflection unseen. it was so tangible i had to look to make sure no one was in there, because it was 1 am. they also mess with the iv pumps, which only register 3 numbers were found with 4, or with letters. when i mentioned the shadow to my co-workers, they had names for these people and acted like it was old info. this is okay?!

Working the 3-11 shift in a nursing home, I was doing my med pass when I was summoned by a CNA to a room. Upon entering, the CNA states, "I think she just died, while I was changing her!" I checked for breathin, circulation and the patient's orders. She was a DNR (Do Not Resucitate) then attempted to get a B/P. NOTHING..... so, I called to notify the Pt's son, who requested for Mom to be sent to the ER to be Pronounced, and they would go straight to the hospital. I contacted 911 (our protocol for transferring for pronouncal) and summoned the ambulance. Approximately 20 minutes passed before the ambulance arrived. The Paramedic and EMT followed thier protocol, and followed the same steps I had (breathing, circulation, and BP) and got NOTHING. By the time they loaded my patient, covered her, and set on the way to the hospital, 30-40 mins had passed. In transport to our local hospital the ambulance had to cross a Railroad track. When the ambulance crossed the tracks, the patient sat up, pulled the sheet from her head, and proceeded to point and shake her hand at the Paramedic screaming, "TAKE ME BACK, TAKE ME BACK RIGHT NOW! I MEAN IT, TAKE ME BACK RIGHT NOW!!!" The EMT driving pulled over to check out the commotion, the Paramedic exited the Ambulance and proceeded to Vomit. The paramedic then continued to the hospital, and phoned the nursing home to tell me what had happened. Approximately an hour later, the son phoned stating "I was SUPRISED to arrive at the ER and my mom GREET me! Did you perform CPR after talking to me, you know she was a DNR, right?" When the family was told of this incident, they simply said...."It just wasn't her time."

The only thing that I can come up with (even to this day) is......... the bumps caused by the railroad crossing, "jolted" her heart to start beating again!

Any other thoughts or ideas about this?????

BTW, the paramedic resigned when his shift was over the next morning!

i can't move!!! gosh.. if it was me.. i might die at that moment... goosebumps everywhere..

Specializes in Hospice, Med Surg, Long Term.

Having worked in Hospice for awhile, I know how common it is for people to talk to family members who have already passed on, prior to their own death.

I've been reading these many posts where the same thing occurs over and over.

I've never really been afraid of death. But I realized through these posts, that I don't have anyone to meet me on the other side. It has deeply saddened me. I have a daughter who God willing, will go after me. But other than that, I don't have anyone. My mother will go to hell, she is very evil, and I never knew my father. Maybe I'll have pets who will meet me, if they can care for humans. However pets do seem to prefer the company of men, sh**, guess I'm out of luck.

Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Look over in the general discussion thread, there's a very long one about ghost stories.

:)

Specializes in ER; HBOT- lots others.

I am making my way thru this thread, i am just in awe. i really belive in this happening, but still really strange! Great thread though!!

-H-

Specializes in ER; HBOT- lots others.

okay, i dont know when i last posted.. what 3 hours ago or so, i have not put my laptop down yet! i have a test to study for and i just cant pull myself away from this!! dang-you-whomever-started-this-thread-person!!!!

Heather

Specializes in ortho/neuro/general surgery.

Last night in a pt room I was giving her meds and discussing them with her when we heard a really loud bang in the bathroom. The bedpan was on the floor when it hadn't been just a few minutes ago. It sounded like it had been thrown down with some force.

The roommate, who was assigned to a different nurse, hadn't been in the bathroom at the time, either, she was sleeping.

Why does this stuff always happen to me, I wonder? Is it maybe because I accept it more as real or am I assuming every little odd sound I hear is a ghost, or both? The room did feel rather creepy.

Oh yeah, a couple hours later, a troponin test on my patient came back quite elevated and it was determined she'd had an acute MI. Related? Who knows...

I'm fascinated by this thread for several reasons.

As a hospital trained nurse I heard, like every other student on their first stint of night duty, a raft of grey nurse stories. These tales included utility rooms being cleaned and patients attended to by a nurse in a grey uniform... my training school changed to blue uniforms for students after WW11 and teal or white for R.N in the 1950's.

Many times I have had a "feeling" about a patient and returned to the ward to find them deceased or in serious trouble. On more than one occasion in the past my "gutometer" has prompted to monitor a patient in an extraordinary way ... at both ends of life and I have not often been wrong, both births and deaths seems to have an aura about them. Or is it just years of experience and the capacity to make a judgment about a patient's physical or mental state?

oddly enough these days I work as a tour guide at an historic site, as part of my work I take Ghost Tours quite often and our normal route includes the old derelict convict hospital. One night recently I saw something at an upstairs window, I wonder what it was...

I started reading this post last nigh and stayed up way to late reading and then as soon as I woke up this am began reading again. i havent finished yet but im only on page 70 and its already 2 in the after noon. LOL

I have had some weird experiances. Im in nursing school and hope to have more.

The first thing I can remember happend when I was in second grade. My favorite aunt passed away after a long battle with cancer. I was so young I wasent allowed to say good bye to her in the hospital so I decided I would leave my body got to heaven say good bye and come back. now i had never read anything about this or seen and scarey movies so I dont know how i knew any of this but i knew to slow down my heart rate. I just took really slow shallow breaths and I can remember my heart slowing down. I had my eyes closed but out of the corners or my eyes i saw two glowing figues on each side of me. they were lifting me out of my body. they were a warm golden color. I got scared and felt myself fall back into my body. I didnt get to say good bye and always wonder what would have happend if i didnt get scared...

another thing was when I was in high school i loved to read ghost stories and things about paranormal stuff. well i had been reading true ghost stories for every day for about a month. I was home alone reading and all of the sudden my dog started barking at my bedrooom door. it was annoying so I said if someones there please just please go away or pet the dog so she stops barking ( yeh what was i thinking right?) LOL next thing i know my dog is sinking down like shes being pat on the head she wimpers turns in a circle a couple times and layes down. i was bold enough to say thank you and it was quiet the rest of the night.

My parents house was always creepy. everytime I came home if no-one was home I felt like I had to announce i was home and asked who ever was there to stay hidden till the lights came on so I wasent scared. weird. im getting the tight neck feeling just typing this LOL

ok I have more stories but I will type them later.

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