The Nurse Who Never Clocked Out (Old Hospital on College Hill)

After a successful and exciting investigation of The Old Hospital on College Hill this past summer, the SRI team is ready to head back for a follow-up! On Thursday, October 14th, we'll once again be making the trip to Williamson, WV to explore and document the haunted history of the old Williamson Memorial Hospital. 

One of the most popular stories from the Old Hospital on College Hill is the tale of the nurse who never clocked out. As the story goes, sometime during the 1950's, or possibly into the 1960's, one of Williamson Memorial's very own nurses was involved in a car crash on her way to work.  She was taken to the hospital's Emergency Department, where she passed away from her injuries.  Ever since then, she has been seen in various parts of the hospital grounds by both staff and patients alike.

Back when the hospital was still in operation, a woman had come to Williamson Memorial at the start of her labor.  She was presumably admitted to the second floor obstetrics unit, where she patiently awaited the birth of her child.  She claims that a nurse came into her room and told her that her baby would not be born that day, and that she should head home to wait until labor progressed further. On her way out, she was stopped by a different nurse, who alarmed, asked her where she was going.  The woman stated that the other nurse had told her to go home.  Flabbergasted, the 'real' nurse told her that she was the only nurse on the floor that day, and not, she would NOT be going home until the after the baby was born!

During some renovations to the hospital, a construction worker reported seeing the apparition of a nurse on the fourth floor. He was so spooked by the image that he refused to return to work.

The phantom nurse has also been seen in the basement. Here, she is seen FLOATING, mainly back and forth in the area between the two X-Ray rooms. Interestingly to note, the basement was the original location of the emergency department. 

But, perhaps one of the most interesting pieces of evidence for the existence of a ghostly nurse is a set of two photos. The photos were taken on Halloween night of 2018 by a tour patron named Sheena Daniels.  After her tour had ended, she had taken the two back-to-back photos on the 'overlook' between the hospital and the nurse's college. One picture came out normal, but the other clearly shows what appears to be the image of a nurse in an older uniform.

The Old Nurse's College

I've searched diligently for any historical documentation of a nurse passing away in a car crash. I looked through tons of death certificates from the WV Vital Statistics website, and tried multiple search terms on Newspapers.com.  While an absence of evidence doesn't necessarily mean the story isn't true, as of yet I haven't been able to find any historical documentation to give us an idea of who this phantom nurse may be. I did find something close, however...

On November 12, 1957, Mrs. Anna Hensley had just dropped her daughter (Mrs. Alice Davis) off at work at the Miners' Memorial Center in South Williamson, KY, where Mrs. Davis worked as a nurse.  Mrs. Hensley was returning home to Chattaroy with her young grandson, Barry Neal Davis (Alice's son). As she was driving along Turkey Creek Road, her car skidded off the highway and plunged 200 feet end over end into the waters of the Tug River.  Both Mrs. Hensley and Barry were thrown from the car.  Barry had been thrown quite a distance into the river. Mrs. Hensley had been thrown from the car much closer to the bank.  Gravely injured and clinging to her overturned vehicle, she was desperately trying to get to young Barry. 

Luckily, a Good Samaritan had witnessed the accident.  Orange Adkins, described as a small man in his 60's, was driving his truck west on Turkey Creek Road when he saw the car skid off the road.  Adkins stopped his truck, ran down the embankment, and plunged into the cold river.  He got Barry ashore first, and then went back and pulled Mrs. Hensley to safety.

Mrs. Hensley was actually a nurse employed at Williamson Memorial at the time, and that is the hospital she and Barry were taken to for treatment.  Barry was treated for exposure and released.  Mrs. Hensley, however, had suffered a fractured pelvis and other major injuries.

Admittedly, I was super excited when I found the newspaper article outlining this accident.  I assumed that if Mrs. Hensley was so badly injured, there's a good chance that she had passed from those injuries. The timeline fit the ghost story as well. Fortunately for Mrs. Hensley, though, that wasn't the case. The 48 year old nurse recovered from her injuries and lived to the ripe ol' age of 96, passing away in 2005. 

The Courier-Journal, 13 November 1957

I'm interested in finding out where the story of the nurse who died in a car accident originated from, and if any other researchers have found documentation showing who this dedicated employee may be. Whether or not the back story of a nurse dying in a car crash is true doesn't necessarily matter, however.  Over the hospital's 60+ years of operation, I'm sure many nurses have been employed there and passed away from various causes, at various times, and in various places, including their own ER. Nursing is one of those professions that requires a great deal of dedication and it would be totally believable for someone who spent so much of their life helping others to want to continue doing so after death. I'll be continuing my search to give an identity to this oft-seen ghost of Williamson Memorial---The Old Hospital on College Hill. 

Want MORE ghost stories from The Old Hospital on College Hill? Check out my blog post about Mose Blackburn! Also, check out Brian's blog post about SRI's Old Hospital on College Hill investigation! 

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