It is human to believe what we see, but sometimes, we can’t explain what we saw. This is the case of a particular ghost encounter that happened in Austin, Texas. The person who reported the sighting had no idea he was having one at the time. He’s an ex-Navy healthcare worker not prone to telling tall tales, and coincidentally, my big brother. His name is Steve.
The sighting happened at Ascension Seton Hospital in Austin, Texas. Steve was working at Seton as a traveler in their Cardiac Cath Lab. After a long night of working alongside the cardiac surgeon to save a patient’s life, Steve headed back to the guesthouse provided for healthcare travelers. It was 3:00 a.m.
He rode the elevator to the second floor and stepped off, turning to go down the hall. As he walked to his room, he passed two nuns. He described them as wearing brown habits with white cornetts, and states they had their hands tucked into their sleeves, heads down, as they glided past. He lifted tired eyes and nodded, saying, “Sisters,” as he continued on.
When he reached his room, he looked back and noticed they were gone.
The next morning, as Steve checked out, he asked the clerk about the nuns staying at the guesthouse. The clerk looked at him blankly.
What nuns, he asked.
Steve went on to explain about the two nuns he encountered the night before on the second floor.
The clerk shook his head, perplexed, and then told Steve that there were no nuns staying at the guesthouse.
“Well, I saw two last night,” Steve replied, and then described their attire.
The clerk, now shocked, explained again that there were no nuns checked into the guesthouse, and that the nuns associated with Ascension, Seton do not wear the brown and white robes anymore, had not for quite some time. Today, they wear a simple blue dress or skirt and no veil.
It was then, Steve recalled how the nuns had glided past him, so smoothly, and in retrospect, soundlessly. No footsteps. And neither lifted their heads to reply when he addressed them. He couldn’t recall seeing their faces, either.
So, did Steve actually see ghosts? Are the halls of the guesthouse for Ascension, Seton Hospital, Austin being haunted by the spirits of The Daughters of Charity nuns? Could it simply be a residual haunting, a spiritual replay of the lives of two nuns who walked that hallway every day of their lives dedicated to helping others? What do you think?
As for Steve, well, the big guy still gets a bit freaked out when telling this ghostly tale.
More Ghost Encounters in the Real World here.