The Old Lady in the Nursing Home

I have written to this site once before about my first experience at seeing a spirit/ghost if you look up Stamford Hotel Ghost you will see it. Since then I have come into contact with a few spirits/ghosts mainly good experiences but all rather unusual. I have had one extremely bad experience with a spirit that scared the hell out of me but I don't like to discuss that one. Maybe one day I will have the courage to write it down. I will tell you of my recent experience with a spirit /ghost.

I am currently working as a fire alarm tester and I go to different buildings each day to test their fire alarm panels. I will not name the company I work for or the place it happened but I will tell you it was an old nursing home in Elsternwick, which has been renovated and extended.

The nursing home is 3 stories, the front and rear of the building are only a few years old but the centre of the building is 3 stories. You can tell that the middle of the building is at least 80 years old by the fittings and the plaster work in that section.

I had finished testing all of the detectors etc. on the first and second floor and needed to get up to the third floor. I went to see the maintenance man and asked for the key to the third floor as it was locked. He gave me a big cheesy grin and said, "Are you really sure that you want to go up there? No one has been up there in years and it is a bit of a mess. Also the lights don't work up there."

I said, "No problems I have a Maglite and I have to do a report on the whole building." He gave me the key and away I went.

I got to the door on the third floor and couldn't open it. I twisted the lock in many different ways and pulled the key in and out of the lock several times to try to get it to open. My swearing was starting to get louder but I couldn't be bothered going back to see the maintenance guy. Finally I said loudly, "Damn it, if it doesn't open this time I am going to kick this fricken door in." To my amazement the door opened.

I went inside and felt around for the light switch. It didn't work. I pulled out my Maglite and looked around. The place was dark, dirty and dusty with cobwebs everywhere. Rat poo and possum poo littered the floor there was junk everywhere and then I heard her... "Excuse me! Excuse me!! Excuse me!!!" she said.

I shone my torch toward where the voice came from and I nearly pooped my pants... There was an old lady in a pink nylon dressing gown in fluffy slippers leaning on a 4 prong walking frame. I could tell immediately she was a ghost as my torch shone straight thru her and only the shadow of the walking frame reflected on the wall.

I said "How can I help you?"

She said, "What time is the Albury train arriving?"

I thought holy crap, there is no train station around here. So I said to her, "Sorry darling, the train isn't coming today, they have sent a bus and if you follow the light it will take you to the bus."

She said, "Thank god you came along and told me, I have been waiting here for ages."

With that she proceeded to turn the walking frame around and shuffled off. Within about 10 seconds she disappeared but the walking frame stayed where it was. I tested all of the break glass alarms and detectors in about a minute flat on that floor and got out of there quick.

I went back to see the maintenance guy to give the key back and with a cheesy grin he said to me, "Well, did you see her?"

I said, "Who?"

He said, "The old lady."

I said, "What old lady?"

He said, "There is a ghost up there. An old lady in a pink dressing gown."

I said, "Yeah! Are you serious? I didn't see anything." I didn't want to let on that I had seen her. I don't know if I helped her to walk into the light and finish her journey on earth or if she just vanished temporarily. I guess I will have to wait until next year when I go back to test there again.