
Nurses Share The Spookiest Things Their Patients Have Done At Night
[rebelmouse-image 18353259 is_animated_gif=Thank the Lord for nurses. They heal, they help, they care. They are a pivotal and essential part of the medical profession. We all feel for them because we know it's a difficult job but who knew it was a scary job? A scary job like working in a graveyard scary, like horror movie scary. The things some nurses have seen could cause all of us running into therapy. Their bump in the nights are bumps in the day, in the hall, in the hallway... it's a wonder they are psych patients themselves.
Redditor __wearing_pants _asked Nurses of Reddit, what is the spookiest thing that a patient did late at night?
COULD YOU BE A SILENT CREEPY?
I work overnight in a nursing home. We use small nighlights over the beds at night, so we don't disturb them any more than necessary. It makes the room very dark and shadowy. This normally is fine, I'm not superstitious so I don't get freaked out easily.
Anyway. I had this patient who was 75-85 years old, 80-90lbs soaking wet. Tiny little non-verbal woman. She was fairly contracted, in a fetal position. I came in to give her meds, and since she was facing the wall I leaned over her slightly to wake her. As I leaned over her, my body blocked part of the nightlight, leaving her face in shadow, except her eyes. I'll never forget looking at her face and reaching out to touch her shoulder to wake her. Before I could touch her, her eyes snapped over to me, and she whispered"diiieee." _I froze in shock, and I felt my stomach roll up into my chest. Before I could react, she whispered "murder" in a long whoosh. Freaked me out. I immediately left the room. She didn't get her meds in until she was up and in the brightly lit dining room.
I never had an issue like that with her again. It was so scary. Other nurses said they had creepy encouters with her as well.
BOO!
[rebelmouse-image 18345076 is_animated_gif=I used to work on a mental health unit and every hour we had to go into the patients rooms to check on them (make sure they're breathing, not self harming, etc). At night, we would use flashlights so we don't have to turn on the lights and wake them up.
One day, a colleague was doing the round, and I heard a loud scream. I ran to her aid, and saw a small female schizophrenic patient on top of her. Apparently the nurse went in and couldn't see the patient on the bed - the patient was against the wall, and as soon as she shined the flashlight at her, she charged at my colleague.
We did rounds in groups of 2 after that.
NEVER SLEEPING ALONE AGAIN!
[rebelmouse-image 18353260 is_animated_gif=I worked at a nursing home for six years, and we had a lot of creepy stuff happen. I think the worst one for me was this little lady with dementia. She was seriously _"gone" _minute to minute. And she would just moan and cry, these long drawn out, _"Helllllp. Help me. HELLLP MEEEE. Helllllp...."_ over and over. It wasn't screaming, but it was this loud, sad calling.
It didn't matter what you did, you could go and sit with her for an hour playing Uno or talking about her kids, as soon as you left she'd think she'd been alone for that entire time and the calls for help would start again. To combat it, we'd try to keep her out in a common area or next to the nurses desk, but at night when we're trying to get her to sleep it's important to keep her in her room.
So one night (11ish) it's me and one other person and we're just generally waiting for call lights to go off. Everyone is asleep or hanging out quietly in their rooms. The cries for "help me" start up and I head to her room. She's sitting straight up in bed and calling for help, because she's been alone so long. "You have to help me, you just have to." Honestly at this point it was pretty routine, although creepy to hear sometimes, so I calm her down and promise that I'm just outside her door, and that she should try to sleep. She lays down and closes her eyes, so I head back to the nurses' station.
(At this point I just want to interject that someone needs to be at the station at all times in case call light goes on. I didn't want to leave my partner alone too long, in case someone called and she needed to tag-team)
Sure enough, I'm back at the station for maybe ten minutes when the calls start happening again. _"Someone, anyone help me, help me PLEEEEASE help me." _I head back to her room and repeat the process of calming her down and telling her she should try to get some sleep, and head back to the nurse's station once she's settled into bed with her eyes closed. Another short time goes by, and the calls go up again. I head back to her room and am ready to soothe her with the usual routine, when she grabs my arm and pulls me close.
"Every time you leave the room, he comes back." Now, this woman usually forgets who I am even if she's seen me in the past five minutes. The creepy dialogue, plus the fact she knew I'd been there before absolutely sent a chill down my spine. I asked her who comes when I leave, and she kept pointing towards a mirror above her little dresser.
"He comes back and smiles at me, but it's not the nice kind of smile."
Needless to say I packed her up and we had a little pajama party at the nurse's station that night.
THE EXORCIST IS REAL!!
[rebelmouse-image 18353262 is_animated_gif=I was rounding on an elderly patient on the overnight shift. She was maybe 80-85 years old. She had some issues from a stroke but was generally pretty coherent and "with it."
She is laying down but opens her eyes wide and looks right at me when I enter. She says "The devil is in this room." I'm not religious but I promptly walked out after I checked on her. Nope, nope, not today satan.
A BABY CRYING IS HORRIBLE ALREADY!
[rebelmouse-image 18353263 is_animated_gif=I had a patient who would speak in three different voices. Her normal voice, her dads voice, and a baby's voice. Normally it was just inane chatter but one night she started talking in her dad's voice to give the baby to him so he could kill it. The baby kept saying please don't kill me and her voice was crying. It didn't help it happened around Halloween.
I NEED A DRINK.
[rebelmouse-image 18978795 is_animated_gif=I was cleaning out the patient restroom in an ICU/Palliative care unit, when the patient asked me if she could just talk to me.
Being a nice guy and having been told to listen to requests of patients as long as it wasn't a medical request, or in some way illegal or dangerous, i sat and waited. Lady started speaking, and it went from good English, if a little slurred because of the stroke that had her in the unit, then she started speaking in tongues, her voice getting louder, eyes wide with panic, the machines started going nuts, and the nurses and other staff were in the room ASAP.
They asked me what she was doing right before the machines went haywire and i told them. Turned she had had another stroke, and it involved her Speech Center. Still freaked me out.
GET OUT!!!!
[rebelmouse-image 18978796 is_animated_gif=This didn't happen super late at night, but I was floated to another unit between 7pm to 11pm. I had a patient who we all swear was possessed. She was in her early 70s and was a psych patient put on a medical floor for I think it was dehydration. She never closed her eyes. They were constantly wide open, and she'd track you while you were in the room. She would cackle this deep, raspy, maniacal laugh. The only words you could understand were "get out!" She would be staring at you, cackling, mumbling nonsense (or speaking in tongues, not sure lol) and then she'd scream _"get out!!!!" _then go back to cackling. She'd also twist her body, especially her neck, in these very odd, unnatural looking positions. When my unit called me back at 11, I happily got out of there.
THE SOUL LIVES ON...
[rebelmouse-image 18978797 is_animated_gif=I worked as a nurse's aide for a summer. At night, it was common for older people to talk with their deceased spouse or family member. Kind of sad, but I could tell that they still loved them.
NO MORE PILLS...
[rebelmouse-image 18978157 is_animated_gif=Not a nurse, but when I was 15 I had a severe allergic reaction that required a stay in hospital. The only bed they had available was on an adult ward, the hospital was a really old building (reminds me of the one in return to oz). I woke up in the middle of the night and there was this really old lady beside my bed, rubbing my head. I freaked out and started screaming which must have startled the lady and caused her to start screaming! The nurses came running in and took her away and calmed me down. Looking back, I was off my face on whatever medicine they had given me and I was extremely uncomfortable so I must have been unsettled in my sleep and this lady was probably trying to comfort me but accidentally freaked me out!
I FEEL IT KICKING...
[rebelmouse-image 18978798 is_animated_gif=The nurse that was looking after my grandmother before she died would always tell me how she would talk about a baby living in her stomach. She would always tell me and my mom/dad when we visited too. "I keep feeling this baby inside of me." Needless to say, it was really scary seeing a formerly sharp, extremely intelligent family member go through dementia.
We may not like it, but getting older is pretty inevitable.
With age may come wisdom, but it also comes with lots of responsibilities.
And some days, we're just over it.
Redditor brick_layer asked:
"What tasks are you tired of doing as an adult?"
Decisions, Decisions
"Deciding what to make for dinner."
- PortiaEss
"I would eat people kibble if it tasted good. Bachelor Chow (just add beer) needs to be a real thing."
- chaos8803
Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho
"Going to work and acting like a functional person."
- ovelanimimerkki
"Yep, I hate trying to work when I'm not emotionally stable or just exhausted. And you literally can't tell anyone or they tell you to go get a coffee which just makes the week go downhill over time."
- gg_ff_42069
Manners
"Being polite to other adults who don't deserve it."
- 25_-a
"Also known as the 'I am too old for this sh*t' phase of life."
- Zintao
Cleaning
"Cleaning the fridge. 🤢 when I find something way in the back that’s been forgotten."
- joydobson
"I finally cleaned out ours today because it was trash day, and the husband isn’t home to argue with me about how that sauce from 2015 is 'still good!!' 🤨 Now I have an empty fridge with just the bare essentials. Worth it."
- Grizelda_Gunderson
Circle of Life
"Working. Paying bills. Getting up early. Doing stuff."
- guyfromcroswell
"Agreed. Such a mundane cycle indeed."
- Emotional_Ratio_3251
Is Naked So Bad?
"Laundry grrrrr."
- FewPizza7880
"I tend to put the laundry in, hear it beep, forget about it for 6 hours then remember it needs to dry."
- marvel_is_wow
Traffic
"Anticipating the morons on the roads that change lanes without signaling."
"Or merging into 70mph traffic while doing 45..."
- haveyouseenthebridge
"Or being stuck behind those people as we're merging, I get pissed. Like speed up to the flow of traffic, being behind them merging puts me in danger too."
- Nigel_IncubatorJones
Maintenance
"Buying a house is an endless list of shit that needs fixing or improving."
- muffbiscuits
"This is one of the many reasons I bought a condo. The majority of the maintenance is somebody else’s problem. I haven’t cut grass, raked leaves or shoveled snow in almost a decade."
‐ yogaballcactus
Teeth
"Brushing my teeth. It's annoying."
- scottevil110"
"I feel this deep. It’s flossing for me."
- brick_layer
"Wait until you're in your 60s and all of a sudden the perfect teeth that never even had a cavity now all of a sudden have tiny cracks and need porcelain crowns and you have constant pain and Delta Dental only covers cleanings and x-rays and a single crown is like $1500 and they're telling you that you need four and you think, well, we don't really need two cars, I could sell my old Subaru."
- Nobody_Wins_13
Alarming
"Waking up to an alarm clock."
"I've been waking up to an alarm clock almost every day since 1985, and I'm fucking tired of it."
"I want to wake up when I'm done sleeping."
"I don't want to wake up and find that I've slept through/turned off my alarm(s) yet again, and have to choose between packing a lunch and taking a shower."
- thisbuttonsucks
What part of adulthood are you tired of?
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I would love to know how people don't fear death.
I mean, it's the end. Life will be over. That kind of sucks.
Yet there are people who find tranquility in it.
Can you teach the rest of us?
Redditor deensuk wanted to hear from everyone who has a calmness about the heading to the afterlife. They asked:
"People who are not scared of death, why?"
I have a constant fear of death. I wanna perfect the ending of "Death Becomes Her" so I can live forever.
Before
"I'm not scared of death because of working in health care I was around it so much. I AM scared of what leads to death, however."
Full-Mulberry5020
Why now?
"Why should I be scared now of something that's only going to happen at the end of my life?"
User Deleted
"I did this cult thing called the landmark forum and I actually did like their “meaning of life”: the meaning of life is that there is no meaning. Life is empty and meaningless. There is no answer."
"Life is what you make of it and every persons answer is equally valid because there is no meaning to life. Life exists as, basically, an accident, we are all here by complete accident, there’s no great mystery, it’s all biology and you are 100% free to make life about whatever it is you want."
Conservative_HalfWit
Death and I are good friends...
"I was very sick as a child. Spent ages 7-20 in and out of hospital due to kidney issues. Lost a kidney at 28. Almost died during the surgery to removed the dead kidney due to blood loss. Had 5 surgeries back to back during the next 2 years. Twice they had difficulties bringing me out of anesthesia."
"Found my favorite aunt dead in her bed when I was 22. Watched my best friend die from a brain tumor at 30. Death has been a constant force in my life. Sometimes just on the edges waiting, sometimes unexpected staring me in the face. I'm not afraid because it's always been there. I now work in healthcare. Death and I are good friends."
Tiny_Teach_5466
No Worries
"Because it's coming for us all, sooner or later. So there's no point in worrying about it. I am much more concerned about day to day minutiae. The Lars von Trier film Melancholia starring Kirstin Dunst portrayed this perfectly. If there was an asteroid hurtling towards the earth, I'd probably be more preoccupied with worrying about whether I left the back light on or not."
Giallo_submarine
It's Over
"Because no one has ever made it out alive, and I was dead for an eternity before I was alive, and didn't suffer the slightest inconvenience because of it."
MarshallApplewhiteDo
I never thought about the before much. I hope the before is quick.
The Effects
"I hope that when my times comes it will be merciful. My uncle had a stroke, he is paralyzed. My grandmother is 91, but is losing all her memories of her life. Death does not scare me, what could be left of me before I die is what terrifies me."
M1ssy_M3
No Terror
"It’s like when the writer Nabokov said that he saw a picture one time, a picture of before he was born. It was a picture of his mother, his brother and sister that were older than him, but he had not been born yet. He said that when he saw that picture there was no terror in him, even though he was looking at a picture where he didn’t exist."
im_on-the_can
state of nonexistence...
"I'm not afraid of death, I'm afraid of dying. Death is just the state of nonexistence I experienced before I was born. I don't remember it because I didn't exist yet. Death will be the same way. I just don't want the transition to be marked by pain and sorrow at things left unfinished. I want it to be quick, painless, and with me surrounded by love."
Wazula42
I'm Gone...
"Because once I die, I won't know it. I won't miss people or regret things or feel pain or sadness about anything. I might fear being sick and slowly dying, just having to live with the knowledge that it's all going to end and this is the last time I'll ever see the people I love or taste good food or hear good music. That sounds almost unbearable. But death isn't even a thing, it's just having done something (died)."
"It's like virginity, it's a made-up state of being that just says whether or not you've experienced a specific occurrence. Once I die, I'm gone. My corpse will be the empty wrapper I used to be in, just garbage to be disposed of in whatever way makes my survivors feel better. I'll be switched off. If I don't worry about what the light feels after the bulb burns out, why would I be afraid of being dead?"
SallyHeap
At Peace
"I’m scared now because I have young kids. Once my kids are old enough to be on their own I imagine the fear will subside and I’ll have a more relaxed approach."
User Deleted
Some very interesting perspectives. May it all calm peacefully and with great mercy for us all.
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Dating and the search for love and companionship... What a nightmare.
This journey plays out nothing like in the movies.
Every Prince or Princess (or everything in BTW) seems to have a touch of the psycho.
The things people say during what should be simple dinner conversation can leave a dining partner aghast.
Like... do you hear you?
Redditor detroit_michigldan wanted to discuss all the best ways to crash and burn when trying to make a romantic connection. They asked:
"You're on a date and it's going really great. What can another person say to ruin it completely?"
I once had a guy ask me if I was willing to follow him into the woods, depending on the price of the meal.
Yeah. No steak is worth that.
Plans After...
"Thanks for the ride but I have a date with someone else, I figured you wouldn't drive me if you knew I was going on a date with someone else and I really needed a ride."
"Online dating, talked to her for a while, finally got the courage to ask her out and then she said that as we got there."
iareyours
Mirror Image
“'You look just like my wife!'”
catalinachild
"I did have a guy tell me I reminded him of his son. I don’t believe English has a word to adequately describe my feelings at that time."
UnicornMagicRainbow
"That would definitely do it."
chaotica78
Third Wheel
"'Hope you don't mind if my mother joins us.'"
ofsquire
"Actually had a girl do this on a first date because she had anxiety issues. Honestly wasn’t bad except that 90% of the time she was silent and her mom talked over her."
"I didn’t mind that much and wouldn’t have minded trying again when she was more comfortable except that she was let go at the company we worked at and she deleted her social media profiles and she never responded on her number. Ah well."
Seightx
Liar
"'Hey bro aren't you gay? I made out with you last night.'"
"Random dude I've never seen before in front of my (f) date."
JHXC16
Was he lying though?
Filter Issues
"'You looked better on Tinder.'"
waqasnaseem07
"Isn’t it basic knowledge that everybody looks slightly worse than the worst picture you can find?"
no_user_ID_found
The Past
"'My ex used to do that too.'"
xxIvyOF
"Yep. I’ve definitely had two otherwise-decent-guy date-situations sour because the ex-comparisons just would not stop flowing. No woman wants to be seen as interchangeable—I’m not here to perfectly fill that ex-sized hole in your life. Focusing on the present moment and a future we could build together is a courtesy we need to grant each other in earliest dates of dating."
LarkScarlett
Powerless
"'I'm an alpha, you cant handle my top energy.'"
Midnightgay28
"I actually left a dude in the middle of dinner, in part, for saying this. I ordered an Uber under the table while pretending to listen to him. Went to the bathroom, and never came back. That was when I was young. Now I’d just say, 'How about we enjoy this meal in silence, before we head our separate ways.'”
UnicornMagicRainbow
Mommy...
"'Mother says I should be back by 9.'"
"Saying 'mother says' just feels weird."
bunnyrut
"That gives me Norman Bates vibes."
Werewolf_lover20
"'Mother says alligators are aggressive because they have an overabundance of teeth, but lack a toothbrush.'"
sodaextraiceplease
Obvs...
"'If you were going to be murdered, what method would you prefer. Purely hypothetical. Obvs.'"
Specific_Tap7296
If it looks anything like a Dateline NBC episode... RUN!
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Despite the advancement of technology rendering people left to their own devices–literally–to entertain them, there are some leisurely activities that will never go out of style.
Or so you would think.
Do people still knit to pass the time? Are people actively collecting stamps?
It depends on who's asking.
Curious to hear about hobby trends, Redditor gizehgizeh asked:
"What are once popular hobbies that are slowly dying these days?"

Before we've become conditioned to living on our phones, these activities used to keep people occupied.
Before Texting, There Was This
"Letter writing."
– littlekingMT
Literal And Tangible Joy
"Well the internet killed pen pals for sure. I do remember I had a Japanese girl for a penpal maybe back in 2007 or so. I honestly don't remember how it started, pretty sure some website, but that was a fun experience. But now I can just straight up talk to foreign people real time, lol. But yea getting a physical letter that someone took the time to write and mail still is hard to beat feelings wise."
– skyburnsred
Model Trains
"When I was growing up, every town had a model train store in it. Now I have one in region and everything else has to be bought online."
– Hairy_Effective1172
Pretty Rocks
"Don’t see anyone playing marbles anymore, I had an awesome collection in school."
– sheeple85
"I had some marbles as a kid in the 90s. My grandma got them for me and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them. I always imagined them as a thing kids in the 40s played with."
– Ryoukugan
People Were Moving Canvases
"Paintball has been dying a slow death since 2006. Sad, really."
– hobo_recycler
Before the general population began hating clutter, collecting was once a "thing."
Precious Coins
"Coin collecting... I'm a silver/gold nut and I'm always hunting for precious metal coins. whenever I go into a shop they get all excited because 'no one under 70 collects coins anymore.'"
– ThatFishySmell99
Post It
"Stamp collecting."
– spooky_scully_mulder
"Collecting in general, really. Of course there are still prominent collectors but it's slipped more into enthusiast and niche territory than being a popular hobby that you might expect anyone to have."
– iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
What A Gem
"Rockhounding was immensely popular back in the 1950's and 1960's. Personally, I think it's a fascinating and fulfilling hobby, but when I go to a meeting at a rock and gem club, I'm usually the youngest one in the room by several decades."
– filthy_lucre
People once enjoyed making things.
Admiring The View
"Stained glass. I learned how to make it from my old man, and my junior high art class teacher also taught it. Very few artisans are still around."
– brobeanzhitler
Metal Vocation
"Black smithing."
– kenworth117
"I bought a forge to try. It’s insanely hard work, and crazy expensive. I still haven’t finished a piece."
– DSentvalue
Scrapbooking
"Yeah. I'm watching the arts and crafts stores around me completely uninstalling their racks for specialty paper. Now the only thing they have is mega packs of repeating colors/images. To boot all the inclusions like papercraft/die-cut things, washi tape, scissors, stickers, etc have gotten so expensive I would rather go buy $5 bags at value village to get an assortment of things versus buying anything new. I really, really miss yard sales for the same reasons."
– Phantasmai
I envy people who have jobs that are basically their hobbies.
Not everyone gets paid doing what they actually enjoy and have a profound level of passion for.
If they do, kudos to them.
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