A barefoot footprint at an Arctic creek and a legend of an immortal shaman
A caller from Anchorage tells Art Bell they found a single large barefoot human footprint in fresh sand at an abandoned gold-mine creek near Teller, Alaska, in 1961. The caller says their Eskimo companions, [name withheld] and a cousin, walked away in apparent fear. [name withheld] later told the caller a legend of a huge shaman from the turn of the century who was said to be immortal and “still here.” The caller finishes the legend, and Art thanks the caller and comments that sailors would not put to sea under such conditions.
This clip comes from the source recording. AI chose where it starts and ends, so it may start or end a little early or late. The word-for-word transcript is not published. You can hear the source recording on the Internet Archive (file “Ghost to Ghost 1993.mp3”, starting at 2:32:18). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller gives their location as Anchorage (“Anchorage, K-A-N-I”). The caller opens by agreeing with a previous caller about strange radio reception and says they have [quote withheld] The caller says that in 1961 they were visiting an old Eskimo friend, [name withheld], tribe historian for the Mary's Igloo tribe, in Teller on the Seward Peninsula near the Arctic Circle. The caller says they took a skiff about 30 miles out of Teller to look for gold up a creek at an abandoned gold mine. Walking along the creek, the caller reports seeing a single barefoot human footprint, a left foot, in sand left fresh after the creek had dropped. The caller says their own foot was exactly 12 inches long and the print was four inches longer, and that it was in a place where walking required care because of sharp rocks. The caller says they called [name withheld] and [name withheld]'s cousin over. Both looked and walked away toward the skiff, about a mile off, and [name withheld] “acted afraid.” After persuasion, the caller says, [name withheld] told them a story of a famous shaman. At the turn of the century a huge Eskimo, nearly seven feet tall, traveled among villages, appearing 150 miles away in a day, preaching, healing the sick, and, [name withheld] said, raising the dead (a dead boy, a tent over the grave, a roaring sound, the boy walking out). The caller recounts [name withheld]'s story of the shaman appearing outside Nome, where soldiers and a captain came to arrest him for preaching revolt and warning the Eskimos against the coming white man. The shaman said they could do nothing to him, had a man stab him with a spear, spat on his hands, rubbed his side, and showed no scar. The captain arrested him and had him taken by boat toward Seattle for trial. A storm came up, and the shaman was found sitting on the stern. After being returned to the brig, he was back on deck. The captain “went berserk,” and the sailors turned the boat around and put the shaman ashore near Nome. [name withheld], the caller says, told the caller, [quote withheld] Art calls it a great story and remarks that sailors would not sail under such conditions.
Reported events, in order
- 0:01
The caller comes on the line and agrees with the earlier Fairbanks caller about strange radio reception and popping and glitching.
- 0:09
The caller gives their location as Anchorage and says the station is usually clear but [quote withheld]
- 0:17
The caller says they have [quote withheld]
- 0:22
The caller says that in 1961 they were visiting an old Eskimo friend, [name withheld], tribe historian for the Mary's Igloo tribe, in Teller on the Seward Peninsula.
- 0:41
The caller says they took a skiff about 30 miles out of Teller to an abandoned gold mine to look for gold.
- 0:53
Walking along the creek, the caller reports seeing one barefoot human footprint, a left foot, fresh in the sand after the creek dropped.
- 1:02
The caller says their foot was 12 inches long and the print was four inches longer, in rocky ground that required careful walking.
- 1:18
The caller says they called [name withheld] and [name withheld]'s cousin over. Both looked, then turned and walked away toward the skiff, and [name withheld] “acted afraid.”
- 1:30
After persuasion, the caller says [name withheld] told them about a famous shaman: a huge Eskimo nearly seven feet tall who traveled among villages, appeared 150 miles away in a day, preached, healed the sick, and, [name withheld] said, raised the dead.
- 1:50
The caller recounts [name withheld]'s story of the shaman raising a dead boy, with a tent over the grave and a roaring sound, and then walking out with the boy.
- 2:00
The caller recounts that at the turn of the century at Nome the army came and had a law against witchcraft. The huge shaman appeared outside Nome, and a captain and troops came to arrest him.
- 2:21
The caller says the shaman claimed powers greater than the soldiers, had a man stab him with a spear, spat on his hands, rubbed his side, and showed no scar. The captain arrested him anyway.
- 2:36
The caller says they put the shaman on a boat to Seattle, and a storm came up. The shaman was found on the stern, then back on deck after being put in the brig. The captain went berserk, and the sailors turned back and put the shaman ashore near Nome.
- 3:01
The caller says [name withheld] told them: [quote withheld]
- 3:08
Art thanks the caller, calls it a great story, and comments that sailors would not venture out to sea under such conditions.
Claims
Each claim is labeled as something the person telling the story noticed (observation), what they made of it (interpretation), something others told them (hearsay), or something the host said (host statement).
- observation· 0:53
The caller says they saw a single barefoot human footprint, a left foot, in fresh sand at a creek near an abandoned gold mine.
- observation· 1:04
The caller says the print was four inches longer than their own 12-inch foot.
- observation· 1:18
The caller says their Eskimo companions looked at the print and walked away, and that [name withheld] “acted afraid.”
- hearsay· 1:33
The caller relays [name withheld]'s story that a huge shaman, nearly seven feet tall, traveled among villages and appeared 150 miles away in one day.
- hearsay· 1:47
The caller relays [name withheld]'s statement that the shaman healed the sick and raised the dead.
- hearsay· 2:29
The caller relays the story that the shaman was stabbed with a spear, spat on his hands, rubbed his side, and showed no scar.
- hearsay· 2:40
The caller relays the story that a storm arose on the boat and the shaman was found on the stern and again on deck. The sailors turned back and put him ashore near Nome.
- interpretation· 3:01
The caller relays [name withheld]'s conclusion that the shaman is still present, tied to the footprint.
- host statement· 3:28
The host says that sailors would not sail under such conditions, then or now.
Scores, with reasons
An AI model gave these scores using a fixed set of scoring rules (scoring-v1). They are editorial judgments and rough guides, not the odds that anything paranormal happened. How scoring works.
The footprint sighting is told firsthand, with specific details that could be checked in principle (year, towns, a named companion, foot sizes). But the part that explains it is a relayed legend, so the cap of 60 for secondhand or legend material applies.
Evidence for and against
- The caller is a firsthand witness to the footprint: [quote withheld]
- Concrete details: 1961, Teller and the Seward Peninsula, [name withheld], the Mary's Igloo tribe, 30 miles, a 12-inch foot against a print four inches longer.
- The shaman material is secondhand, relayed from [name withheld], not the caller's own experience: [quote withheld]
- Only a single print is reported. No other physical trace or repeat event is described.
- Some lines carry low-confidence marks in the automatic transcript, and place names appear garbled (“Gnome”).
- The labels showing who is speaking are automatic, and at least one host line (“Where are you?”) is attributed to the caller.
- 0:53
- 1:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): The weighing of ordinary against paranormal readings, and how the cap is applied, are my judgment. The automatic transcript gives nothing to back up the legend part.
Nothing is examined or recorded. The story rests on the caller's word plus names, dates, and places that could be checked but were not, which places it in the 11 to 25 range.
Evidence for and against
- Named people and places that could in principle be checked: “[name withheld],” “Mary's Igloo tribe,” and “Teller.”
- No photograph, cast, measurement record, or document is presented or examined.
- The claimed second witnesses do not speak on air.
- Whether the companions actually looked at the print rests only on the caller's statement.
- 0:30
What the model inferred (not said on air): The cap of 50 applies because no outside check is recorded in the request.
The fresh single print in a remote place and the companions' apparent fear build moderate dread, and the closing [quote withheld] leaves it unresolved. But nothing threatens or harms anyone, and the setting is open daylight.
Evidence for and against
- The guides look and silently walk away, described as afraid: “He acted afraid.”
- The legend ends ominously and unresolved: [quote withheld]
- The events occur on “a beautiful day,” and no threat is directed at anyone.
- The host's tone treats it as an entertaining story, not a frightening one.
- Mood and emotional content are left out of scoring. Only reported content is used.
- 3:05
What the model inferred (not said on air): Creepiness is a judgment about how the story plays for a listener, not a claim about events.
The story combines unusual elements: an Arctic gold-mine setting, an oversized barefoot print, and a living shaman said to survive, to be spear-proof, and to raise storms. These are not the archive's common ghost motifs.
Evidence for and against
- A distinctive frame of [quote withheld]
- Specific unusual details: a spear test with no scar and a boat that must turn back.
- The [quote withheld] and [quote withheld] elements have folktale parallels.
- Novelty compared with the rest of the archive counts for little in the pilot, so this score is provisional.
- 1:33
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is the provisional content-based score. The published value will be recomputed against the archive.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand account of the footprint (a single claimed observation).; A legend passed on secondhand and attributed to [name withheld].; No photograph, cast, recording, or document presented or examined.; No second witness speaks on air.. The originality score blends the model's score (75) with how rare the story's details are across the archive. This method is still provisional.
Ordinary explanations to consider
These are possibilities only. None is a finding about what happened.
- The print could have been made by another, unusually large person, or be a misread animal track, in a remote area where such a print would be unexpected. · The caller describes a single human-shaped print in sand. The caller notes the ground was rocky and required careful walking, which they offer as the reason it seemed implausible.
- The companions' walking away could reflect an existing local taboo, or a reluctance to discuss a well-known legend, rather than a reaction to the print itself. · The caller says [name withheld] only spoke [quote withheld] and that the story was a known legend of [quote withheld]
What stands out
The strange content is carried almost entirely by a footprint rather than a sighting. The only physical oddity reported is a single oversized barefoot print, and the figure itself exists only inside the legend [name withheld] told. The legend is also unusual because it is not a ghost but a reportedly living, immortal strongman and shaman, which sits awkwardly beside the archive's ghost and haunting stories.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.