AP item on reported spirits and a bread smell at the US Capitol
Art Bell reads an Associated Press item datelined Capitol Hill about claims that the US Capitol building has been the scene of spirit sightings and sounds over its two-hundred-year history. The item quotes Clarence Brown of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. It lists a demon said to have been reported by more than one guard, a sighting of John Quincy Adams (who died near the old House chamber in 1848), and a smell of baking bread from the basement after a Civil War bakery there stopped operating. The reading ends, and the host moves to the next item.
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 2:28). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The host introduces an Associated Press story datelined Capitol Hill. It describes the United States Capitol building as the scene of many such stories over its two-hundred-year history. According to the host's reading of the item, Clarence Brown, identified as president of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society and a former congressman, says that over the past two centuries both the bold and the faint hearted claim to have seen or heard spirits at the Capitol. The item gives three examples. First, [quote withheld] Second, a sighting of [quote withheld] who, the item states, died near the floor of the old House chamber in 1848. Third, people who smelled baking bread from the Capitol basement long after Union forces stopped using a secret tunnel as a Civil War bakery. The host then closes the item (“bakery”) and introduces a separate story about the Mizpah Hotel. No witness speaks on air. The story is entirely a news roundup read aloud, and no date is given for the demon or Adams sightings beyond the two-century span and the 1848 death date.
Reported events, in order
- 0:00
The host introduces an Associated Press story datelined Capitol Hill about the Capitol's two-hundred-year history of such stories.
- 0:18
According to the item, Clarence Brown of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society says people have claimed to see or hear spirits at the Capitol over two centuries.
- 0:32
The item cites a demon reported over the years by more than one guard, and a sighting of former president John Quincy Adams.
- 0:46
The item states that Adams died near the floor of the old House chamber in 1848.
- 0:51
The item mentions people smelling baking bread from the Capitol basement after Union forces stopped using a secret tunnel as a Civil War bakery.
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).
- hearsay· 0:18
Over two centuries, people described as [quote withheld] have claimed to see or hear spirits at the US Capitol.
- hearsay· 0:32
A demon has been reported at the Capitol over the years by more than one guard.
- hearsay· 0:32
Former president-turned-Congressman John Quincy Adams has been sighted at the Capitol.
- hearsay· 0:51
People smelled baking bread from the Capitol basement long after Union forces stopped using a secret tunnel as a Civil War bakery.
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.
This is a short secondhand wire-service roundup, not a witness's story, so closeness to the source and verifiable detail are minimal. It is consistent but brief, and no one backs it up. The cap for secondhand stories and the caution applied to short items pull the score to the lower end of the typical range.
Evidence for and against
- Concrete named people and a date are given: Clarence Brown, John Quincy Adams, and 1848 (at 163.5, 180.9, and 194.6 seconds).
- The item frames its claims with “claim” and “reported” rather than stating them outright (at 167.5 and 180.9 seconds).
- No firsthand witness. The story is read from an Associated Press item (at 149.0 seconds).
- No dates or sequence given for the demon sighting or the sightings generally.
- The reported events are bundled together without detail, and no one on air backs them up.
- The transcript is short and marked throughout as having low confidence in its words, so the wording may be garbled.
- 0:00
- 0:18
What the model inferred (not said on air): My reasons for placing this below the scoring guide's example of a [quote withheld] are the distance from the source (a secondhand news item), the lack of checkable detail, and the brevity of the piece.
Nothing is examined, and no witness speaks on air. The only checkable details are names, a place, and one date, which are stated but not verified. This falls in the scoring guide's range for [quote withheld]
Evidence for and against
- Named people, an organization, and a date are cited: Clarence Brown, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, John Quincy Adams, and 1848 (at 163.5, 167.5, 180.9, and 194.6 seconds).
- No physical evidence, recording, or document is presented or examined.
- No witness speaks on air. All claims are attributed to unnamed or absent people.
- The transcript cannot show whether the original AP item contains further detail.
- 0:32
- 0:46
What the model inferred (not said on air): I treat the named people and the 1848 date as details that are “checkable in principle.” That places this just above the range for claims alone, but nothing here is actually checked.
The piece is a brief, neutral list of reported events, with no threat, sensory horror, or escalation. The word “demon” is the only possibly unsettling element, and it is mentioned in passing.
Evidence for and against
- A “demon” is among the reported events (at 180.9 seconds).
- No harm, contact, intrusion, or lasting dread is described.
- The tone is a factual news roundup, and the host closes the item and moves on.
- There is little storytelling framing, so its emotional weight cannot be judged reliably.
- 0:32
What the model inferred (not said on air): I score it low because the story informs rather than dramatizes, and nothing in it threatens anyone.
Ghosts in a famous government building are a familiar frame. The distinctive detail is the phantom smell of baking bread tied to a former wartime bakery. The estimate places this at the scoring guide's example of a [quote withheld]
Evidence for and against
- The phantom smell of baking bread from a former Civil War bakery is unusual (at 200.4 seconds).
- A presidential ghost and a haunting demon are stock themes.
- A haunted public building is a common template.
- The comparison with the rest of the archive is provisional in the pilot and may shift the published value.
- 0:51
What the model inferred (not said on air): The provisional content-only score is 50. The bread-smell detail raises it slightly above “stock elements only.”
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The host's reading of an Associated Press item (no firsthand story); No witness on air, and no photograph, recording, or document presented or examined. The originality score blends the model's score (50) 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.
- Continued use of the basement spaces for baking, cooking, or ventilation could account for a bread smell without any paranormal cause. The item itself ties the smell to the historical bakery. · And there are those who smelled baking bread from the Capitol basement long after Union forces ceased using a secret tunnel as a Civil War bakery. (at 200.4 seconds)
- Sightings of figures in a large, busy, dimly lit public building may come from mistaken identity, poor lighting, or the tendency to see figures in random shapes, and repeated retelling may keep the stories alive. · both the bold and the faint hearted claim to have seen or heard spirits at the capitol (at 167.5 seconds)
What stands out
This is not a personal story but a short wire-service roundup read aloud. It bundles three unrelated strange events into a single location: a “demon,” a presidential ghost, and a phantom bread smell. The phantom smell of baking bread tied to a former wartime bakery is an uncommon theme in ghost stories.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.