Memory Care Workers, What Are Some Of Your Most Haunted Stories? I’ll Go First…

In 2011 I worked in a memory care unit as a CNA. There was one room that had bad vibes because shorty after people moved into it, they would progress in their condition immensely and pass away a few days later. One of the nurses HATED walking in there because of the weight of emotions the room held.

After a while of having no one move in, a couple (for safety reasons I will call Mildred and Tom) moved in. Tom had Alzheimer’s and never could produce full words (his voice was shakey and his words were broken), but physically he was well and fit. In fact, he would walk around MC all day long and attend all of the scheduled activities. Mildred was a quick as a whip, well spoken and was only there for the sake of her husband. The family told us to not give her any meds because Tom was our main focus.

A week after moving in Tom became bedridden. No falls, no change in medication, nothing. He never left bed, he refused to eat or drink. He laid in bed and SCREAMED all day long. Everyone in MC was on high alert due to his screaming, but there was really nothing we could do. One day I walked in to try and get his meds in, but it was completely silent in the room (not normal since all he does is scream in pain and agony). He was sitting up in bed, had a slight smile on his face and was looking me in the eye.

I said “Hey Tom, are you feeling any better” and he replied “Yes, I feel good”. He took his medications and STARTED WALKING AROUND. Mind you, this man hasn’t eaten or drank anything in days. It is physically impossible for him to be moving THAT well. I called the nurse in and she took his vitals and his BP was at 58/32 and was completely cold to the touch…which is basically dead…BUT HE WAS LUCID. A while later he got back in bed, started shaking and passed away in bed.

The weirdest part is later, the family decided to move Mildred to an independent living facility since Tom passed, but she refused because she said Tom was still alive. Everyone was confused because she had no cognitive impairment…her family even later took her to get her memory tested and she came back normal. Sometimes, she would run out of her room calling for help because Tom was screaming for a while and no nurses came in for meds for him. The creepiest thing is that OTHER residents started getting upset because of screams and loud noises they would report.

Now obviously this is a memory care unit, but it is strange that none of the residents complained about screams until Tom moved in, and despite Tom having passed, STILL hear his screams and are very wary of that room.

I have since moved away from that facility because of my out of state schooling, but Mildred was still there when I left and all of the complaints of noise were still going on as I was leaving…truly I will never forget it.