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Hospital Happenings Of The Supernatural Kind

Thanks. Good link, I recommend clicks!

We used to live in Aldershot and my daughter was one of the last generation of babies to be born in Aldershot Military hospital.
I recall it as a very weird and gothic place.
The main, dead straight, central corridor seemed impossibly long as if, TARDIS like, it could somehow far exceed the length of the building.
 
We used to live in Aldershot and my daughter was one of the last generation of babies to be born in Aldershot Military hospital.
I recall it as a very weird and gothic place.
The main, dead straight, central corridor seemed impossibly long as if, TARDIS like, it could somehow far exceed the length of the building.

I used to work in Aldershot and live just outside the town. There's not really any more to add.
 
And on another hospital topic...

Considering what an A-wipe markbellis is being, I'm not going to bother posting the other fortean hospital stories my friend shared with me.

HOWEVER, if anyone is interested in a hilarious story my nurse friend shared with me about her first Christmas Eve rotation in the ER, which involved a Christmas ham and a patient in stirrups denying it's existence, message me.

Every Christmas Eve, for the rest of my life, I will giggle and remember.

JandZmom
I was (for many years) an A&E (ED) Charge Nurse (equivalent to a U.S Head Nurse) and a male version of a U.K. Nursing Sister. I’ve seen some very interesting things inside men AND women. We have removed:

large...I mean LARGE beach pebbles from a lady. Who kept them in place with oversized Rusty safety pins that she had pierced her lady garden with.
Small chicken (semi frozen) again inside a woman.
A large can of Lynx deodorant (inside a chap)
a lightbulb (male patient)
A housepainting brush handle snapped off During an over enthusiastic bout of self love (female)

I know our Consultant trauma Doctor had a personal collection of X rays showing all sorts of things lodged where they didn’t ougtta be. He used to test the junior Doctors when they rotated through ED...”can you tell me what THIS is?”

I remember a whole gaggle a medics, nurses and paramedics all standing round the light box laughing their heads off as they looked at an abdominal Xray with an obstruction in the transverse Colon that looked like a blurry missile with 2 D cell batteries. This was a 10’’ Dildo running on full power that had burrowed its way almost a foot inside his large intestine. It was blurry because it was still going at full pelt you could see the guys abdomen shivering when you examined him...which we all did (for medical reasons obviously) and if you listened with a stethoscope it sounded like Metallica were holding a concert in his guts. He needed surgery to get the blighter out.

message is. Don’t put things in you that you can’t guarantee you can’t get out easily.
 
I was (for many years) an A&E (ED) Charge Nurse (equivalent to a U.S Head Nurse) and a male version of a U.K. Nursing Sister. I’ve seen some very interesting things inside men AND women. We have removed:

large...I mean LARGE beach pebbles from a lady. Who kept them in place with oversized Rusty safety pins that she had pierced her lady garden with.
Small chicken (semi frozen) again inside a woman.
A large can of Lynx deodorant (inside a chap)
a lightbulb (male patient)
A housepainting brush handle snapped off During an over enthusiastic bout of self love (female)

I know our Consultant trauma Doctor had a personal collection of X rays showing all sorts of things lodged where they didn’t ougtta be. He used to test the junior Doctors when they rotated through ED...”can you tell me what THIS is?”

I remember a whole gaggle a medics, nurses and paramedics all standing round the light box laughing their heads off as they looked at an abdominal Xray with an obstruction in the transverse Colon that looked like a blurry missile with 2 D cell batteries. This was a 10’’ Dildo running on full power that had burrowed its way almost a foot inside his large intestine. It was blurry because it was still going at full pelt you could see the guys abdomen shivering when you examined him...which we all did (for medical reasons obviously) and if you listened with a stethoscope it sounded like Metallica were holding a concert in his guts. He needed surgery to get the blighter out.

message is. Don’t put things in you that you can’t guarantee you can’t get out easily.
Or, at least, put 'em on a long string...
 
Reading this thread reminded me of a story i think i read in the FT years ago, the story goes that there waa a bed in a particular hospital ICU, (i cant remember where) that was suposedly haunted, that any patient that was in that particular bed would die within days of being there, this happened a number of times and the death always happened on a friday evening, an investigation was launched by the hospital in to why this was happening, in the end it turned out that the deaths were down to the cleaning lady, coming in on a friday to polish the floors with a buffer, would unplug the life support machine of the patient to plug in the buffer.
(This may just be an urban legend IDK)
 
Reading this thread reminded me of a story i think i read in the FT years ago, the story goes that there waa a bed in a particular hospital ICU, (i cant remember where) that was suposedly haunted, that any patient that was in that particular bed would die within days of being there, this happened a number of times and the death always happened on a friday evening, an investigation was launched by the hospital in to why this was happening, in the end it turned out that the deaths were down to the cleaning lady, coming in on a friday to polish the floors with a buffer, would unplug the life support machine of the patient to plug in the buffer.
(This may just be an urban legend IDK)

I've heard that yarn in every hospital I've worked in! :chuckle:
 
... in the end it turned out that the deaths were down to the cleaning lady, coming in on a friday to polish the floors with a buffer, would unplug the life support machine of the patient to plug in the buffer.
(This may just be an urban legend IDK)
I've heard that yarn in every hospital I've worked in! :chuckle:

It's a well-known UL. The basic storyline (cleaner / janitor causing a mysterious problem) dates back a long time. The ICU / floor polisher version was a breakout UL circa 1996, proliferating from South Africa.

Here are Snopes' summary and the archived comprehensive FAQ for the 1996 South African 'outbreak'.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/polished-off/
http://web.archive.org/web/20040624065333/http://www.legends.org.za/arthur/cleanfaq.htm
 
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It's a well-known UL. The basic storyline (cleaner / janitor causing a mysterious problem) dates back a long time. The ICU / floor polisher version was a breakout UL circa 1996, proliferating from South Africa.

Here are Snopes' summary and the archived comprehensive FAQ for the 1996 South African 'outbreak'.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/polished-off/
http://web.archive.org/web/20040624065333/http://www.legends.org.za/arthur/cleanfaq.htm
Thought it probably waa lol
 
Last week I heard a radio interview with novelist Ian Hamilton. He recounted his experience following surgery at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto in 2009 to repair an aortic aneurysm. As he was being wheeled from the recovery area to his bed on the ward, an orderly told Hamilton that the ward was located in the oldest part of the hospital building. The orderly sternly warned him not to speak to any nuns he might happen to see. When Hamilton asked why not, the orderly replied that the nuns weren't real but were in fact ghosts who appeared when a patient was on the verge of death. Hamilton said he didn't see any nuns during his hospital stay, which was fortunate for him.
 
Last week I heard a radio interview with novelist Ian Hamilton. He recounted his experience following surgery at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto in 2009 to repair an aortic aneurysm. As he was being wheeled from the recovery area to his bed on the ward, an orderly told Hamilton that the ward was located in the oldest part of the hospital building. The orderly sternly warned him not to speak to any nuns he might happen to see. When Hamilton asked why not, the orderly replied that the nuns weren't real but were in fact ghosts who appeared when a patient was on the verge of death. Hamilton said he didn't see any nuns during his hospital stay, which was fortunate for him.
He was lucky to survive surgery for an aortic aneurysm, let alone to avoid having to speak to a nun. Out of the blue last week I got an invitation to have a scan to determine whether I had an a.a. (presumably as part of a research programme). The very "helpful" attached leaflet indicated that, if I had one, the situation would merely be monitored but if I required surgery there was a warning that some patients don't survive on the operating table, whereas they might have survived without intervention. Don't think I'll bother then.
 
He was lucky to survive surgery for an aortic aneurysm, let alone to avoid having to speak to a nun. Out of the blue last week I got an invitation to have a scan to determine whether I had an a.a. (presumably as part of a research programme). The very "helpful" attached leaflet indicated that, if I had one, the situation would merely be monitored but if I required surgery there was a warning that some patients don't survive on the operating table, whereas they might have survived without intervention. Don't think I'll bother then.
Yikes!! You've made a wise decision, PeteS. I had read that an aortic aneurysm is a very serious condition but I wasn't aware that the surgery to repair it was so risky. Not having the scan at least means you won't worry.

Surgery scares the hell out of me. I admit to being a wuss. My fear is probably a result of being blessed with good health, for which I am very thankful, and the few surgeries I've had have been for common ailments -- tonsils, appendix, gallbladder. My late partner had two surgeries to debulk a brain tumour. The procedures bought him some time, but not a great deal. Both operations were quite long: the first last seven hours and the second lasted five. The thought of being unconscious for such a long period of time scares me, although I know some surgeries can last much longer.

Interestingly, during the radio interview I mentioned in my earlier post, Ian Hamilton stated that he took up writing professionally during his recovery from the surgery. Writing was a form of therapy for him and he was able to make money out of it. I expect the recovery time for surgery for an aortic aneurysm is quite long so he must have had lots of time to hone his craft.
 
Yikes!! You've made a wise decision, PeteS. I had read that an aortic aneurysm is a very serious condition but I wasn't aware that the surgery to repair it was so risky. Not having the scan at least means you won't worry.
I really was in 2 minds GT. My father died of an a.a. but he was 86 and the coroner said that it could not have been repaired, nor could he have been saved on the operating table. I am therefore, according to the scientific info, more predisposed to having one, but the prospect of knowing that you have one and it could burst any minute didn't endear me. On this occasion and contrary to my usual practice I shall stick my head in the sand.
 
Better than sticking your head in the oven! :worry:
 
He was lucky to survive surgery for an aortic aneurysm, let alone to avoid having to speak to a nun. Out of the blue last week I got an invitation to have a scan to determine whether I had an a.a. (presumably as part of a research programme). The very "helpful" attached leaflet indicated that, if I had one, the situation would merely be monitored but if I required surgery there was a warning that some patients don't survive on the operating table, whereas they might have survived without intervention. Don't think I'll bother then.
Recently had said scan - invitation also came out of the blue, but it is apparently a Welsh NHS program. I was fine. But apparently they only need to scan you once at age 65 and if you are OK you are OK for life?
 
Recently had said scan - invitation also came out of the blue, but it is apparently a Welsh NHS program. I was fine. But apparently they only need to scan you once at age 65 and if you are OK you are OK for life?
This programme was for Lancashire and Cumbria, clearly a research one.
 
Anyway apologies for the thread drift. Back on track.

In the 80's I knew a ward sister who worked nights. At one point she looked after a patient who had solvable medical problems but some form of dementia. She was very lucid one moment and "gone" the next. In her lucid moments she would talk to people who walked by her bed at night in a very normal manner. My friend who had a desk close to her bed, used to keep an eye on her, and often see her having a conversation when no one was there. It wasn't a one sided one either, since she appeared to respond to something the "person" said and then carry on the discourse. If someone walked by as these conversations were taking place she would take the time to pause and speak to the passerby and then resume. My friend asked her once who she had been talking to and it was "her sister - couldn't you see her?, We were very close but she died a while ago". Staff believed that her sister was actually "there" - it transpired that the sister had died on that ward.

One wonders whether dementia sufferers have so "different" a cognitive ability to the extent that they can see what we can't.
 
Anyway apologies for the thread drift. Back on track.

In the 80's I knew a ward sister who worked nights. At one point she looked after a patient who had solvable medical problems but some form of dementia. She was very lucid one moment and "gone" the next. In her lucid moments she would talk to people who walked by her bed at night in a very normal manner. My friend who had a desk close to her bed, used to keep an eye on her, and often see her having a conversation when no one was there. It wasn't a one sided one either, since she appeared to respond to something the "person" said and then carry on the discourse. If someone walked by as these conversations were taking place she would take the time to pause and speak to the passerby and then resume. My friend asked her once who she had been talking to and it was "her sister - couldn't you see her?, We were very close but she died a while ago". Staff believed that her sister was actually "there" - it transpired that the sister had died on that ward.

One wonders whether dementia sufferers have so "different" a cognitive ability to the extent that they can see what we can't.
Yup, I have mentioned before that in my previous jobs working with the elderly we often came across people who seemed able to see, well, ghosts.
 
Anyway apologies for the thread drift. Back on track.

In the 80's I knew a ward sister who worked nights. At one point she looked after a patient who had solvable medical problems but some form of dementia. She was very lucid one moment and "gone" the next. In her lucid moments she would talk to people who walked by her bed at night in a very normal manner. My friend who had a desk close to her bed, used to keep an eye on her, and often see her having a conversation when no one was there. It wasn't a one sided one either, since she appeared to respond to something the "person" said and then carry on the discourse. If someone walked by as these conversations were taking place she would take the time to pause and speak to the passerby and then resume. My friend asked her once who she had been talking to and it was "her sister - couldn't you see her?, We were very close but she died a while ago". Staff believed that her sister was actually "there" - it transpired that the sister had died on that ward.

One wonders whether dementia sufferers have so "different" a cognitive ability to the extent that they can see what we can't.
Your last point reminded me of an interesting story a nurse at one of the homes* my grandma lived in towards the end of her life told me one night.

The facilities were (obviously) no-smoking indoors but residents very often complained of the smell of cigarette smoke in their rooms shortly before their was a death at the home. Did a little digging and the nurse claimed the phenomena only really started happened, or was at least commented on, after the death of a resident who happened to be an incredibly heavy smoker.

Could be a case of coincidence, but I love the idea of the Grim Reaper as a chain smoking pensioner in carpet slippers.

*She was kicked out of one. We’re wrong’uns in this family, everyone.
 
Our nearest hospital is a big purpose-built 1970s building; well, it's getting like a little town now, what with all the improvements and additions.

Here is some weirdness I've heard from a reliable source.

1. In a certain hospital lift, an elderly woman sometimes appears after the door has closed. Source has seen her, possibly more than once.
Source took a friend to try out the lift in the hope that the ghost would appear to both of them, but the friend ruined it by screaming her head off in fear. Lightweight.

2. A man will walk in front of people along the Top Corridor, then disappear. Source has seen this too.

3. The operating theatres were closed down when new ones were built. Staff were happy because Theatre No. 3 was heavily haunted. Taps would turn on, light flick off and on etc and small equipment would be moved around, all when staff were present.
Plumbing and electrics would be inspected with no faults found.

After every day's work large equipment would be wheeled away from the walls by staff so the cleaners could access that part of the floors.
When the cleaners came on duty everything would be back where it was in the daytime.

Caused some friction between the cleaners and theatre staff as the cleaners would grumble about having to move it all themselves!
Source witnessed all this many times.

At some point there was a plan to hold a ghost vigil overnight but everyone chickened out. Probably too tired, being overworked NHS staff.

So as I was going to that very hospital the next morning after hearing all this I decided to ride the Haunted Lift. It's one I used when I worked there although the ghost business was new to me.

I called the lift, braced myself, stepped in and looked forward to a scare.
Sadly, it was Mrs Apparition's day off.
I'll certainly try again though.
 
I know it's been mentioned before in this thread, but one of the best sources for supernatural hospital happenings is the discussion on the nursing forum at https://allnurses.com/whats-your-best-nursing-ghost-t79490/

It's now reached 221 pages of first person accounts. I guess if you want to experience life and death, hospital workers are the people to talk to.

The discussion has been a bit quiet lately, with no entries for almost a year, but one of the most recent posts is worth mentioning here, both as an intriguing story in its own right and because it contains a tradition I wasn't aware of:

I had a resident on hospice, end stage CHF and CKD, who was confused. He'd call the nurses station instead of calling his wife by accident. I'd tell him, "Mr. XYZ, you've reached the nurses station, this is DonnyDilaudid, your nurse. I'll come in and call your wife for you." It would happen like clockwork nearly every night around midnight for a few weeks. He deteriorated, as expected, and eventually, he died. For three nights after he died, the phone in his room would ring in to the station around midnight - nobody on the other end. On the third night, my third of three in a row, when the phone rang into the station from his room, I said, "Mr. XYZ, this is DonnyDilaudid. I'll come let you out." Went into the room, opened the window for a few seconds and shut it again. No more phone calls from an empty room after that!

To which someone replied:

- By any chance was your patient Irish?
- I believe that was his ancestry!
- It is an Irish Custom that all windows in the room of a dying person be opened to prevent a soul from being trapped at the moment of death.


You can almost see that if a person believed in a tradition like that during life, they might be constrained to act on it post mortem.
 
Very nearly a hospital happening. Ms P's friend had taken her mother to a party just before Christmas which mum had enjoyed immensely, dancing and having a little drink. Grandson was taking her home in his car and they were chatting away as usual, grandma being in fine form. When she had not spoken for 5 minutes gs pulled over and realised she had passed over. He was 2 minutes away from local hospital and when gran was examined she had apparently been dead for over half an hour. Could of course be gs mistaking time frame but nonetheless an experience which he will never forget. RIP gma she was apparently a lovely person and so full of life.
 
Very nearly a hospital happening. Ms P's friend had taken her mother to a party just before Christmas which mum had enjoyed immensely, dancing and having a little drink. Grandson was taking her home in his car and they were chatting away as usual, grandma being in fine form. When she had not spoken for 5 minutes gs pulled over and realised she had passed over. He was 2 minutes away from local hospital and when gran was examined she had apparently been dead for over half an hour. Could of course be gs mistaking time frame but nonetheless an experience which he will never forget. RIP gma she was apparently a lovely person and so full of life.
So, Grandson thought Gran'd been chatting away with him for possibly 20 minutes or so after she'd actually died? That's so weird.

Whatever, she'd had a great time and died peacefully, even though it must have been a shock to the family.
 
So, Grandson thought Gran'd been chatting away with him for possibly 20 minutes or so after she'd actually died? That's so weird.

Whatever, she'd had a great time and died peacefully, even though it must have been a shock to the family.
I'm guessing that he was so shocked that the passage of time got confused.
 
Our nearest hospital is a big purpose-built 1970s building; well, it's getting like a little town now, what with all the improvements and additions.

Here is some weirdness I've heard from a reliable source.

1. In a certain hospital lift, an elderly woman sometimes appears after the door has closed. Source has seen her, possibly more than once.
Source took a friend to try out the lift in the hope that the ghost would appear to both of them, but the friend ruined it by screaming her head off in fear. Lightweight.

2. A man will walk in front of people along the Top Corridor, then disappear. Source has seen this too.

3. The operating theatres were closed down when new ones were built. Staff were happy because Theatre No. 3 was heavily haunted. Taps would turn on, light flick off and on etc and small equipment would be moved around, all when staff were present.
Plumbing and electrics would be inspected with no faults found.

After every day's work large equipment would be wheeled away from the walls by staff so the cleaners could access that part of the floors.
When the cleaners came on duty everything would be back where it was in the daytime.

Caused some friction between the cleaners and theatre staff as the cleaners would grumble about having to move it all themselves!
Source witnessed all this many times.

At some point there was a plan to hold a ghost vigil overnight but everyone chickened out. Probably too tired, being overworked NHS staff.

So as I was going to that very hospital the next morning after hearing all this I decided to ride the Haunted Lift. It's one I used when I worked there although the ghost business was new to me.

I called the lift, braced myself, stepped in and looked forward to a scare.
Sadly, it was Mrs Apparition's day off.
I'll certainly try again though.
This evening, hospital-visiting, I had the good fortune to ride the allegedly Haunted Lift with, among others, the person who told me about it back in the winter. I did of course make full use of their time, extracting a blow-by-blow account of the previous weirdness.

The most interesting aspect was their account of a time when they took the lift with a colleague, not the Screamer; they both noticed the other passenger, whom they hadn't seen get in... :omg:
By the time they'd done a tandem double-take and turned to each other in shock, they were at their floor and the doors opened. For just the two of them. :nods:

The small group in the lift were so enthralled, we took the lift back up and down again.
No sign of the ghost even then but it was great fun.
 
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