A dream of a family death, a waking premonition, and a phone call, Utah, 1955
A caller tells Art Bell that after their family moved from Ely, Nevada, to Provo, Utah, they woke on December 18, 1955, from a dream that someone in the family had died. The caller says they telephoned a cousin in Ely, who reported everything was fine. Then on December 21 they woke around 12:30 a.m. with the thought that “somebody's gone” and waited for the phone. It rang with news that their cousin's uncle had died in a car accident.
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 36:06). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller says their family moved from Ely, Nevada, to Provo, Utah, in 1953. The caller says that in 1955, on December 18, they woke up from [quote withheld] but did not know who. The caller says they “immediately keyed” on their cousin, who was still living in Ely. The caller says they called the cousin that night to ask how everything was going and were told everything was fine. The caller notes there were then three or four children in the family and that the mother was pregnant with a fifth, and the caller says they told the mother they were going to call and wish her Merry Christmas. The caller says that on December 21 they woke at what they call [quote withheld] and, describing themselves as a young person still in school, said “somebody's gone.” The caller says they lay awake and waited for the phone to ring. It rang, and they were told that [quote withheld] The caller says they thought, [quote withheld] The caller gives no explanation for the experiences in this part of the broadcast. The transcript then moves on to a separate story about a visit through a mirror in 1970.
Reported events, in order
- 0:17
The caller says the family moved from Ely, Nevada, to Provo, Utah, in 1953.
- 0:30
The caller says that on December 18, 1955, they woke from a dream that someone in the family had died, without knowing who, and thought of their cousin in Ely.
- 0:49
The caller says they telephoned the cousin that night, and the cousin said everything was fine. They mention the number of children and a pregnancy in that family.
- 1:11
The caller says that on December 21 they woke at about 12:30 a.m. and said “somebody's gone.”
- 1:24
The caller says they lay awake waiting for the phone. It rang, and they learned their cousin's uncle had died in a car accident.
- 1:33
The caller says they thought the sequence was “pretty weird.”
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· 0:30
The caller woke from a dream that someone in the family had died, without knowing who it was.
- observation· 0:41
The caller says they immediately connected the dream to their cousin in Ely.
- observation· 0:49
The caller says they telephoned the cousin, who said everything was fine.
- observation· 1:11
The caller says they woke around 12:30 a.m. on December 21 and said “somebody's gone.”
- observation· 1:24
The caller says they waited for the telephone and that it then rang.
- hearsay· 1:24
The caller says they were told that their cousin's uncle had died in a car accident.
- interpretation· 1:33
The caller calls the sequence “pretty weird,” without naming a cause.
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 caller tells their own story in a clear order, with concrete dates and towns. But what the dream predicted was general, and the death reported was of a more distant relative than the person they had worried about. The caller does not address any ordinary explanations.
Evidence for and against
- The caller's own firsthand story of the dream, the phone call to the cousin, and the later call about the death.
- Concrete anchors: [quote withheld] [quote withheld] and “like 12.30.”
- A clear sequence: dream, phone call, later waking premonition, phone call with news.
- The dream was not specific: [quote withheld]
- The death reported was of “my cousin's uncle,” not the cousin they had focused on or telephoned.
- The caller makes no attempt to consider or rule out coincidence.
- In the transcript, it is unclear whom [quote withheld] refers to.
- The caller's age in 1955 is described only as “a young person” in school.
- 0:30
- 0:39
- 1:24
What the model inferred (not said on air): How I weighted the parts of the score is my own judgment: firsthand closeness to the source, moderate specificity, a sound internal order, a weak showing against coincidence, and moderate calibration. Neither the caller nor the host weighs other possible causes in the transcript.
Only the caller's own word is present. The caller gives checkable specifics (towns, dates, a named relationship) that were not checked, and there are no documents and no second witness on air.
Evidence for and against
- Checkable details are given: “Ely, Nevada,” [quote withheld] “December 18th,” and “December 21st.”
- No photograph, recording, document, or record is claimed or produced.
- No second witness to the dream or the premonition speaks on air.
- The story rests entirely on the caller's memory of 1955.
- Nothing in the transcript can be independently verified, and no outside check was made.
- 0:30
- 1:24
What the model inferred (not said on air): A score of 11 to 25 is chosen because dated, locatable specifics are offered, but nothing was checked and no second witness speaks on air.
The story is quietly eerie rather than frightening: a dream premonition, waking in the small hours with the thought “somebody's gone,” and a phone that rings with news of a death. There is no threat, no unseen presence, and no physical intrusion.
Evidence for and against
- The caller says, [quote withheld]
- Waking at [quote withheld] and waiting for the phone to ring.
- The call brings news of a fatal car accident.
- No unseen being, ghost, or physical contact is reported.
- Nothing escalates, and there is no ongoing threat. The story ends with the caller's mild reaction.
- The person the caller worried about was reported to be fine.
- Tone and delivery are not considered. Only the reported content is scored.
- 1:11
- 1:24
What the model inferred (not said on air): The creepiness score judges the story as entertainment, as it is told. It is not a claim about events.
A dream that foretells a death is a stock ghost-story element. What sets this one apart is the vagueness of the dream, the misplaced worry about a cousin who was fine, and the ringing phone.
Evidence for and against
- A dream predicting a death, followed by a real death, is a familiar motif.
- Distinctive detail: the death was of “my cousin's uncle,” not the relative they had focused on.
- No unusual event beyond the dream and the call. No ghost, strange behavior of objects, or physical trace.
- Originality compared with the rest of the archive cannot be computed here. This is a provisional judgment based on content.
- 0:30
- 0:41
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is the model's provisional originality score, not the measure compared with the rest of the archive.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.75 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story; No documents or physical evidence claimed; No second witness speaking on air. The originality score blends the model's score (30) 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.
- Coincidence, plus matching after the fact. The dream was general ([quote withheld]), and the death reported days later was of a distant relative, so a broad dream can be matched to an unrelated death afterward. · The caller says they [quote withheld] and that the person who died was “my cousin's uncle,” not the cousin they had worried about or telephoned.
- Expectation and attention. The caller had already telephoned the cousin days earlier and was lying awake waiting for the phone, so a call at an unusual hour is read through an expectation already in place. · The caller says [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
What stands out
The story has two stages rather than one event: a vague dream days earlier, then a waking premonition at about 12:30 a.m., followed by the phone call. Notably, the person the caller worried about was fine, and the death reported was of a more distant relative, “my cousin's uncle.”
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