Halloween at a Retirement Home

I was twelve when I realized that Halloween had completely lost its charm. I found no more delight in dressing up in grotesque and weird costumes for candy. By the time I was twenty-seven and worked at a nursing home for the elderly, the thought of the oncoming Halloween season this October did not pass me a thought either.

As a registered nurse, taking care of the elderly had introduced me to many of their mysterious pasts that I find fascinating. There were so many of them in our hospice care, but the event I want to talk about concerns a Ms. Dougherty; nicknamed in these parts as “Granny”.

The event in question started on the night before Halloween when after finishing my rounds, I started a brief conversation with her.

I asked her, “Hello Ms. Dougherty, what’s with the long face?”

She replied “Nothing Ben, it’s just tomorrow’s going to be my hundredth Halloween alive. I’m a witch and witches are cursed to roam the earth as atonement for their sins before they are visited by the big pearly gates in the sky”

“Ms. Dougherty, you can’t be a witch. You’re the sweetest person I know.”

“Not all witches are bad Ben. Some of us, just made some regrettable mistakes in the past” she said.

Not really buying her story but not meaning to offend her I said, “Not much you’re going to miss anyway, it’s just another silly holiday.”

“You’re wrong Ben. When had the magic left your eyes? If there is one thing left I can do before my time here on earth is over, it will be to bring the wonder back in your eyes” she said.

At that time, a call light was being pushed and I politely excused myself from Ms. Dougherty’s presence. It was the last time I ever saw the dear lady again. She died in her sleep the next day.


That Halloween changed it all for me. The residents were already tired from their Halloween party and that left me alone on the night shift when an oxygen tank exploded and fire broke out. Sensing that I was maybe the only on there at the moment, I began to evacuate the residents that were close to the fire.

Now this is where my tale gets harder to swallow. As I was pushing Ms. Lee on her wheelchair out of the hospice, the fire had already engulfed the corridor and covered the exits. I thought we were seriously done for until Ms. Dougherty’s door opened and out came the lady dressed like a witch complete with black hat and broom and she appeared to be sweeping the fire away from us.

I was stunned but I somehow managed to get moving past the roaring flames and into the safety of the cool night air outside. My head getting clearer, I dismissed it as a hallucination as I began check Ms. Lee’s vital signs.

But I swear the bloody truth as I write these letters, when I heard the sirens from afar signaling the distant fire trucks. As I watched the burning building with wild curiosity, a figure rose from the fire and flew away on a broomstick cackling into the silent Halloween night.