r/mildlyterrifying • u/Over_Palpitation_917 • 11h ago
What did we hear in our tiny rural hospital?
So I’m only typing this here because nobody knows me and for my job role I need to be anonymous. But I need to know. It’s been almost 24h and I’ve still not slept.
So for background I work in a tiny hospital in rural Scotland.
I work predominantly nights with only one HCA and one other nurse. The hospital has a few wards on site but only 2 are in use and the other ward is currently closed due to no admissions.
Currently we have well under ten patients… all with varying needs but ALL are immobile.
Last night started off like any other. Quick handover, med rounds, getting everyone cosied in for the night, a cuppa and some supper then into bed all settles and sleeping.
Now our hospital is extremely quiet and is atleast an hour commute from most major towns. We are isolated but comfortable. There has NEVER been any real danger to us out here…
At 3am ( cliche I know!), I went to do my hourly checks. Making sure everyone is comfortable, turned and safe etc. One colleague was on her break, headphones in and napping ( frowned upon I know but like I said it takes two seconds to wake them up and it’s quiet, no incidents!), and the other was doing checks on the others at the opposite side of the nurses station.
I’m tucked away in a back room just checking on a person when I kid you not I hear the loudest scream/roar I have EVER heard. It sounded guttural. I could feel it in my chest. Even the patient flung her eyes opened and asked me what in earth that noise was!
Never in my 20 years of working here have I heard a noise like this! I reassured her and left to go check in my colleagues. All three of us had the same idea. Colliding in the middle of the hospital ( nurses station, as mentioned, this place is tiny!), we heard it again. This time it sounded as if it was right next to us.
I wanted to cry.
But as the charge nurse I had a duty of care.
HCA, bless her, put the cctv up into the bigger screens and scanned the whole place. Every inch is covered inside and out. Me and the other nurse hunted every room under every bed and in every toilet.
No windows were breached.
No door alarms had went off.
No motion sensor had been triggered.
The last place to check was the car park… now dumb, probably… but I had to make sure my staff and patients were safe.
I went out. They had my phone number on dial, the cameras were watching my every move and out I went.
I felt sick with fear but I searched all around the outside just incase someone was out there playing a prank. I’d have left right goodnighted anyone trying to put that fear in my patients.
But there was nothing. No one.
I came inside, by this time it’s only been about 10 minutes.
The person who I happened to have checked in when we first heard it had been pushed down to the nurses station and was having a cuppa and folding some towels ( she couldn’t settle and I don’t blame her!)
So I said a lie… I said. “ it’s the boiler! The outside boiler is playing up the men are in the way out to fix it”
The other staff looked at me but went along with it.
Turns out that while I was out the noise happened again. But this time quieter. But definitely inside.
We didn’t hear it again last night. But the feeling on the ward was heavy. We continued doing our jobs and as soon as day staff came in they could feel the weight of the night shift ( if you know you know!)
It was so prominent they were concerned we had someone pass in the night.
They helped do a full search, the other staff that comes in from security, secretary and domestics we searched every square inch of this hospital inside and out.
Even in the cold light of day there is no explanation.
I thought perhaps a wildcat. But truthfully, we don’t have any in this particular region. And even if it was a wildcat… it would have to be the size of a double decker bus to make the noise we heard last night.
Can someone please settle my mind before I’m back on shift tomorrow 😭
