31 Shinbi's Apartment Ghosts!
DAY TWELVE: PUPPET NURSE

Written by Jonathan Wojcik

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SEASON 02, EPISODE 04: the local hospital loses power, leaving no way to properly treat patients or even perform vital surgical procedures, and one by one, medical staff are even disappearing.

The culprit turns out to be a terrifying figure, dressed as a nurse covered in dirty bandages. Her fingers are various surgical tools, and she has the ability to morph into what appears to be nothing but old, dark blood. She seems particularly furious with the head surgeon, and is narrowly stopped from cutting into him with her scalpels after she binds him to an operating table, very much conscious and without anesthetic.

She's so bent on vivisecting the guy, she even raises a small army of zombie-like ghosts from the hospital morgue when she kids try to stop her, until she's finally weakened by an attack from yesterday's Bella, and Hari gets a chance to discover what's really going on.

ORIGIN REVEAL:

This is a much more complex one than we've previously seen. The story begins when a young, single mother gives away her baby to another woman, unable to care for her due to her own chronic illness. Years later, the mother has a job as a nurse, and is shocked to see the same woman show up with her daughter. Sure enough, her child inherited the same condition.

She takes it upon herself to take care of her sick daughter, "befriending" her without ever telling her the truth of who she is. All the while, she has been begging her boss, head of surgery, to perform the expensive operation it would take to save her child from years of suffering.

He insists that he can't, because the procedure is too costly and it ostensibly wouldn't be fair to do it for free on behalf of a staff member.

Some time later, she herself is bedridden and close to death at her own hospital. The last thing she ever sees is her boss pass by, and refuse to look at her.

The same kids who just saved the surgeon's life are disgusted to find out what he did, but they did just save his life, and the entire ordeal - one that has put all of his staff and patients at risk - is his fault. He finally admits the real truth, that he was afraid his reputation would be stained if the risky operation were to fail, and confronted now with the repercussions of his cowardice, he finally agrees to the procedure.

Which goes perfectly fine, and the knowledge that her daughter will live a longer, healthier life is all the spirit needs to rest.

FINAL REVIEW:

This one is translated as "Puppet Nurse" in Getcha Ghost, notably the same name as the nurse enemies in the original Silent Hill! She does seem like a direct reference to the series, with her face mostly covered by filthy bandages (all except for her right eye) and that old fashioned nurse's outfit slightly emphasizing her curves. Her thin, long arms and the various tools on her fingertips are wonderfully creepy, and her ability to transform into blood seriously kicks ass. As seen in our clip, she can even take the form of medical equipment, or perhaps possess it, or whatever's going on when some poor sucker's stethoscope melts into blood and smothers him!

This was one of the first ghosts I ever saw after researching further than the first season, and how I knew immediately that the series just kept getting cooler and darker. She's also noted on the Korean fan wiki as one Hari's most powerful summons, with a high rate of quick wins against even powerful demons and monsters!

She also has a deeper, more layered origin story than many of the other ghosts, with a more despicable "villain" who's still tragically realistic. If you ask me, the head surgeon still gets off too easy. He may have ultimately saved the little girl's life, but still only because he was threatened. At the very least, if I were these kids, I'd still visit the guy's office every now and then with my new friend here.