Hey, healthcare professionals! The pumpkins are looking plump, Spirit Halloween stores are popping up left and right, and all of your favorite blood-curdling movies are back on Netflix — orange you glad it’s finally Halloween time?
We sure are! So, in celebration, we asked our BALA Unit Members — what’s the spookiest story you’ve experienced, or been told, while on shift? As true Halloween fans, we have to say, the responses we got have us either dead with fear, or laughin’ till we coffin.
So, without further ado, here are a couple spoooOOooOOoky stories from our BALA Unit members that’ll make you say, “oh my gourd!”
Halee (Pediatrics, Ohio)
@haleeloving
“My mom used to work on an OB unit in Ohio. She had lots of spooky experiences there — doors that needed to be badged open would open randomly, and monitors in unused rooms would turn on and off on their own.
Rumor had it there was a blonde ghost mother who had been seen looking for her baby in the unit. One night, my mom walked out of a room, and another nurse asked, “who was that girl following you around?” There was no one else in the room, other than the patient in bed.”
Jonathan (Psych NP, California)
@drjonathanvllamas
“When I was working as a psych nurse, we had cameras around the unit to ensure that our patients were safe. Around 3:00 AM, I saw a fuzzy image of a man shrouded in white. He walked across the hallway, but when I turned around, he was no longer there.
I told my coworker about it, and they told me that a patient died back in 1960 who fit the same description as the man I saw. I still remember his face vividly.”
Vicky (Critical Care, NY)
“I was fresh out of nursing school. I had to transport a patient to a morgue for the first time, so myself and my nursing assistant headed to the basement where the morgue was located. The security officer came to help us place the body on a shelf.
He thought he was being funny when he knocked on a pipe, making it seem like someone was inside the drawer attempting to get out. I’ve never seen someone run faster than my nursing assistant…she thought someone was alive in the morgue drawers!”
Sarah F. (Critical Care, WI)
@sarahfelhofer
“I once had a coworker share a ghost story with me that happened to her at a previous job. She was working the night shift within a few weeks of one of her coworkers tragically passing away.
It’s important to note that this happened before IV pumps were a thing, so she had to manually titrate all of her drips. She was walking by her patient’s room, when she realized her IV drip was running at full speed, as if someone had unclamped it.
She quickly fixed the problem and hopped on over to her next patient, where the same problem was occurring. She quickly fixed that drip and went back to her other patient. All of her IV drips kept changing speed throughout the night for no reason. The other nurses on the floor experienced the same thing! She was convinced her co-worker was paying a visit back to their unit.”
Alright, there you have it, frightening folks! We hope those spooky stories — straight from real healthcare professionals just like you — gave you goosebumps.
Still, if you’ve got an even scarier tale to tell…send them our way at mystory@wearebala.com. Happy Halloween, all!