Know Your Fire Exits

In the five years that I worked at an HCA hospital, I heard many stories about creepy and spooky happenings in medical facilities. It seems like every hospital shares the same kind of ghost stories, and I never considered them more than that; just stories. However, after this night I had a whole new outlook on fear and acquired my own story to tell. This is my record of a night in the hospital gym.

One of the perks of my job was that employees could have unlimited access to the hospitals weight room. However, the weight room was actually located in a different building on the other side of the parking lot. Since the building closed many hours before my shift ended, a security officer would have to accompany me to the building in order to unlock the doors.

This night started out no different from any other. It was around nine-thirty at night and the building was completely empty. After unlocking the doors, the security officer and I said our goodbyes and he continued his rounds. From the moment that I stepped through the doors something did not feel right to me. I noticed how it seemed to be much darker in the lobby that night than it normally was.

Pressing the button, I waited for the elevators in the silent darkness. It occurred to me that there was normally music playing in the lobby; it was a 24 hour bombardment of horrible music that I never even knew could be turned off. I was debating on skipping out on the gym and going home as I boarded my ride to the bottom floor. I noticed how dark it was inside the elevator, and looking up I saw that the ceiling, which normally housed hundreds of small lights, only had a few that were actually on. As it slowly descended to the basement I started to feel cold and uneasy. I had never really felt too good about this building, but, I kept on course hoping this was just paranoia.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. I stared into the basement lobby, it was almost pitch black. No lights were on, not even the vending machines or the fire exit sign. I walked over to the large panel of switches on the wall and started to flip them on and off, but none of the switches seemed to do anything. Looking back at the elevators, I saw that even the small ring that surrounds the button was off. The only light I could see was coming from the 150 foot long hallway that goes to the gym. The hallway bends after about forty feet at a 45 degree angle, exactly where my only source of light was flickering in protest. I was sure that the light would go out at any second, but even with it on it was going to be a very dark walk once I got past the bend. I took one last look behind me, and started walking down the hallway.

Right before I got to the light I heard the distinct sound of the large and very heavy hospital doors opening on the top floor. One, right after another, then without being open for more than a few seconds they both slammed closed only a moment apart from each other with a very loud bang. I was feeling very apprehensive at the sounds, but gained a small amount of courage from the idea that there were other people in the building; most likely housekeeping.

I got to the bend and turned to walk around the corner that I have taken a thousand times before, and jumped in surprise: I saw, standing about five feet in front of me, a man that I had never seen before. I froze for a moment, as my mind switched to fight-or-flight mode. However, he did not seem to be startled by me, and in the flickering light I saw that he was a doctor, which brought a degree of relief to my mind. He gave no sign that he was even aware that I was standing in front of him, other than the fact that he did not break eye contact; he did not even seem to blink. I smiled and babble and tell him what a relief it was to see him when he turned to face the opened door that I assumed lead to the hyperbaric chamber, I watched this in confusion. His movement was very strange and very stiff, unnatural enough to make me take notice. First his upper body turned, then his legs, then his head. All the while that his head was facing me he was staring into my eyes. The moment that his head turned, it was almost as if his eyes locked onto something else as he walked into the room which was pitch black. In my mind I justified it by thinking that it was the sleep lab, of course the lights would be off… people are sleeping in there. Later, however, I would remember that the sleep lab was 5 doors down the hall and empty. I started to really question if I should be there, but I had come this far and leaving without a workout just seemed like a waste. As I walked past the door the doctor had entered I looked into the black room and felt a very cold chill creep up my back. I started to move faster, prepared to leave this feeling behind.

I made it to the gym and started my workout; however, I could not get over the gloomy feeling that had followed me since the moment I stepped into the building. Still looking over my shoulder, again I heard the sound of the two large doors opening then quickly closing with a slam. ‘I’ve had it! I’m leaving!’ I thought to myself as I grabbed my things and headed back to the door that led to the hall.

As I opened the door disappointment swept through me. I saw that this time there was no light at all. In its angry attempts to flicker off, the light must have succeeded. I stood with the door open staring into the darkness, when I started to feel that cold feeling I had felt when I met the doctor in the hall. I felt as if there was someone that I could not see in the darkness, but who was watching me. Thinking to myself, there’s no way I am going back down that hallway, I started to pace in the gym. I did not feel right, as though my thoughts were becoming more and more irrational. I thought to myself ‘ah, I can kick out one of these windows and make a run for it… I will just pay for it later, it is better than going back out there.’ I had to shake my head and laugh. There were multiple thoughts like this that were just not logical. The longer I stayed the stranger my thoughts were becoming. Dark and twisted thoughts. At one point my thoughts were that the only way I would ever escape this place was to die. Again, I snapped myself out of it, unsure as to why I was thinking such bizarre and dark thoughts; unsure why it felt like someone else was planting these ideas into my mind.

I decided that the only thing to do was to run down the hallway… through the pitch black. I knew that somewhere near the end of the hall there was a fire escape, if I could only find it. I knew that I had to do it fast. I flung the door open as wide as it could go, giving me as much light for as long as possible. I took off running watching every inch of light that the closing door claimed. The door slammed with a bang and the full darkness of the hallway engulfed me. I could see nothing. All I could hope to do was to continue to run to where I thought the fire escape was. As I passed the door where I had seen the doctor I again heard the large doors slam above me. Immediately I started to get this feeling like something was now in the hall with me. I could hear it, it sounded like a howling wind mixed with the static from a TV. I could feel something as if it was right behind me! A few feet past the bend, I again heard the slamming doors from above. I just kept moving.

I could see it! The outline of the “Fire Exit” sign who’s light was not working. I slammed into the door and pushed it; however, it did not open. I was sure that this was the door so I pushed again as hard as I could. It did not even budge. I felt that whatever was chasing me was almost right next to me. I could feel it. I could hear it. My adrenaline was pumping and I was starting to panic. I took a step back and kicked the locking arm with all my might. The door burst opened and I took off running up to the floor where I came in. I ran outside and my escape was complete.

Stepping out I continued to run to my car, although I immediately felt better having left behind the feeling of fear that seemed to accompany me when I was inside. I looked up at the building from the outside and recollected my thoughts on all that happened. I looked over my shoulder one last time, and got into my car.

Over the next few days I told some of my co-workers about the strange night. Nobody could think of who the doctor was, but every person I spoke with agreed that they have had or heard of strange things happening in that building. Some said they have had the feeling I described, even in the middle of the day. Just about every one of them said that they would not go into that part of the building alone.

About a month later, one of the security officers and I were talking about scary movies when I was suddenly reminded of my experience and brought up the story. He listened with a smile on his face, and when I got to the end I asked if anyone else had told him anything like this since he had been there longer than any other security officer. He laughed and relayed the following story:

“Kind of, maybe your doctor was a cardiologist because about eight years ago one of the other officers was doing his rounds when he walked in to find one of the office doors had been barricaded with a desk and chairs. He called the police right away. Together they were able to pry the door open, where they found a doctor, one that sounds like the man you described, had hung himself in his office. That officer quit the next day.” I grinned because I was skeptical of his story, and told him that I did not believe him. Swearing that the story was true, he challenged me to look it up in the local newspaper archives online. Accepting his challenge, together we looked for any information on the hospital around the time he said… And we found it!!! The story was true… And it was the same man I met in the hall.

I do not claim to have seen a ghost on that night, I only say this: I never went back into that part of the building alone again. And I never will.

A funny little side note to this story. After my bad night, it seemed common for the alarms in this building to go off for no reason. Since alarms were a large part of my job, a security officer and close friend of mine went down to the building to investigate. After searching for a while we found the door in question. It was the fire exit that I used to escape. When the officer looked at it, he said “That’s why the alarm triggers, the whole latch has been broken off.” I sheepishly laughed to myself, since I knew how this could have happened. He then said “It looks like someone kicked this door in or something.” At that point I could not contain it and I burst out laughing… My escape was epic!

This story, and its rights belong to me. Any attempts to copy is stealing!