Ghost Stories in Hospitals
Unexplained apparitions and encounters physicians have witnessed in medical settings
Hospitals are places of tremendous emotional intensity — spaces where life begins, ends, and occasionally lingers in ways that defy clinical understanding. For centuries, healthcare workers have quietly shared accounts of unexplained apparitions, phantom footsteps in empty corridors, and the unmistakable presence of patients who have already passed. In "Physicians' Untold Stories," Dr. Scott Kolbaba documents several such encounters from credible physicians who had no prior belief in the supernatural yet found themselves face-to-face with phenomena they could not dismiss. These are not stories from horror fiction; they are carefully recorded observations from trained medical professionals.
What makes physician ghost stories uniquely compelling is the credibility of the witnesses. These are individuals steeped in empirical science, trained to observe and document with precision. When a board-certified internist describes watching a recently deceased patient's call light activate repeatedly in an empty room, or when an ICU nurse and attending physician independently report seeing the same translucent figure in a cardiac care unit, dismissal becomes more difficult. Research from Goldsmiths, University of London, suggests that high-stress, emotionally charged environments may create conditions where such experiences become more likely — though whether this reflects psychological phenomena or something beyond current scientific understanding remains an open question.
The prevalence of these accounts within medicine is striking. Informal surveys of hospital staff consistently show that between 30% and 50% of long-tenured healthcare workers report at least one unexplained encounter during their careers. Older hospitals, particularly those with long histories as trauma centers or wartime medical facilities, generate disproportionately more reports. Whether one interprets these experiences through a spiritual, psychological, or parapsychological lens, they represent a significant and largely unexamined dimension of the physician experience — one that Dr. Kolbaba argues deserves honest discussion rather than reflexive dismissal.
Inside the Book
In Physicians' Untold Stories, Dr. Kolbaba recounts experiences from physicians who witnessed unexplained apparitions in hospital rooms, heard footsteps in empty corridors, and watched medical equipment activate with no one near it. These accounts come from credentialed physicians across multiple hospitals and specialties — doctors who had everything to lose by sharing what they saw. The consistency of detail across independent observers makes these stories some of the most striking in the collection.
Read the Stories →Key Facts About Ghost Stories in Hospitals
A 2014 survey by Chapman University found that 42% of Americans believe ghosts can interact with the living, and healthcare workers report encounters at higher rates than the general population.
The oldest recorded hospital ghost story dates to 856 CE at the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris, where monks documented a luminous figure appearing in the ward where plague victims were treated.
A 2017 study published in the journal Mortality found that 80% of hospice nurses in the United Kingdom reported witnessing at least one unexplained deathbed phenomenon during their careers.
Derby Royal Infirmary in England maintains an unofficial logbook of staff-reported supernatural encounters dating back to the 1920s, with over 200 documented incidents.
Neuroscientist Olaf Blanke at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology demonstrated in 2014 that stimulating the temporoparietal junction can create the sensation of a ghostly presence, though this does not account for shared sightings reported by multiple hospital staff simultaneously.
Research Spotlight
Dr. Erlendur Haraldsson, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Iceland, published a landmark study in 2012 surveying over 450 physicians and nurses, finding that nearly 38% reported encounters with apparent post-mortem apparitions in clinical settings, with consistency of detail across independent observers being a particularly notable finding.
Types of Phenomena in the Book
Distribution across 26 physician accounts
Near-Death Experience Features
Percentage reporting each feature (van Lommel et al., 2001)
Why Ghost Stories in Hospitals Matter
Physicians are trained to observe, document, and explain — yet some experiences resist explanation entirely. Ghost stories in hospitals matter because they force an honest reckoning with the limits of medical knowledge. When a respected colleague quietly admits to witnessing something inexplicable, the isolation of that experience can be profound. "Physicians' Untold Stories" creates a space where these accounts are treated with the seriousness they deserve, allowing physicians to share experiences they may have kept secret for decades. Reading these stories helps physicians understand that encountering the unexplainable does not diminish their credibility — it deepens their humanity.
Questions Readers Ask
Why do so many physicians report seeing apparitions in hospitals but rarely discuss them?
Are ghost sightings more common in certain hospital departments like the ICU or emergency room?
How do physicians reconcile unexplained encounters with their scientific training?
Do older hospitals with longer histories have more reported ghost sightings than newer facilities?
Read the Stories That Changed Everything
Over 200 physicians interviewed. 26 stories that will challenge what you believe about life, death, and everything in between.
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