Two fortune tellers’ warnings and a 1945 dream of a factory explosion
A caller who gives their name as [quote withheld] tells Art Bell a story they date to 1945, when their newly married husband had just left for Navy service. The caller reports that two separate fortune tellers, weeks apart, gave them the same message: their husband would be fine, but they should take care of themselves. The caller says they later dreamed of an explosion at the factory where they worked, then were hurt in a real explosion about a week afterward. The host cuts the call off for time before they finish.
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 1:57:12). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives their name as [quote withheld] says their story [quote withheld] The caller says their husband had commando training and they [quote withheld] and that they were “worried sick” because they did not know where he was going or what was happening. The caller reports that they went with a friend to a fortune teller on Altair Street. The woman was finishing a reading for a young girl who was there with a sailor. The caller told her they were worried about their husband, since they had been married only a short time. The fortune teller told the caller not to worry about him, that he would be just fine, but to take care of themselves. The caller says they did not think much of it. Some time later, the caller says, they went by themselves to an elderly fortune teller in Maywood, southeast L.A. This fortune teller gave the same message and followed them all the way out to the car repeating [quote withheld] The host points out that both fortune tellers gave the same message. The caller replies that they had not linked them together. The caller says V-J Day came and their husband was fine. In October, the caller says, they dreamed they were up on a mountain looking down at the factory where they worked. They saw a big explosion, rushed down, and found one man who said [quote withheld] About a week later, the caller says, they were involved in an explosion and were the only one hurt. The caller was in the hospital during a heat wave, says the good hospitals were filled up, and says they asked God to let them die because of the heat. Art Bell ends the call for time.
Reported events, in order
- 0:04
The caller gives their name and location and dates the story to 1945.
- 0:27
The caller says their husband had commando training and was going into battle in the Navy. The caller was worried sick.
- 0:50
The caller goes with a friend to a fortune teller on Altair Street.
- 1:39
The first fortune teller tells the caller not to worry about their husband but to take care of themselves.
- 1:50
The caller goes alone to an elderly fortune teller in Maywood, southeast L.A.
- 2:09
The elderly man gives the same message and follows the caller out to the car repeating it.
- 2:33
V-J Day comes, and the caller’s husband is fine.
- 2:42
In October the caller dreams of a big explosion at the factory where they worked.
- 2:50
In the dream one man tells the caller everybody was killed but him.
- 3:06
About a week later the caller is involved in an explosion and is the only one hurt.
- 3:27
The caller is in the hospital during a heat wave, with the good hospitals full, and asks God to let them die.
- 3:37
The host ends the call because of time. The story is cut off.
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· 0:50
The caller says they went with a friend to a fortune teller on Altair Street.
- observation· 1:39
The caller says the first fortune teller told them not to worry about their husband but to take care of themselves.
- observation· 1:41
The caller says the fortune teller said their husband would be just fine but that they should take care of themselves.
- observation· 2:09
The caller says an elderly fortune teller in Maywood gave the same message and followed them out to the car.
- host statement· 2:26
The host asserts that both fortune tellers gave the same message.
- observation· 2:28
The caller says they did not link the two readings together at the time.
- observation· 2:33
The caller says V-J Day came and their husband was just fine.
- observation· 2:50
The caller says that in October they dreamed of a big explosion at the factory where they worked.
- observation· 2:50
The caller says that in the dream a man told them everybody was killed but him.
- observation· 3:06
The caller says that about a week after the dream they were involved in an explosion and were the only one hurt.
- observation· 3:27
The caller says they were in the hospital during a heat wave and asked God to let them die.
- interpretation· 0:59
The caller says they did not believe in fortune telling before this, but now may believe a little.
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 firsthand account with some concrete anchors (year, V-J Day, named streets and districts) and a coherent, uninterrupted sequence up to the host’s cutoff. But the strange part rests on generic fortune-teller reassurance and a match between dream and event that fits interpretation in hindsight, and the story is cut off before any detail of the explosion is given.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand throughout: the caller says they attended both readings and had the dream themselves.
- Concrete anchors: 1945, V-J Day, Altair Street, Maywood, southeast L.A., October.
- The sequence is coherent and answers the host’s questions without shifting details.
- The caller admits their own earlier disbelief and does not exaggerate the claim.
- The fortune tellers’ message is generic and says nothing specific about what would happen.
- The dream and the explosion are linked only by [quote withheld] and by the caller’s memory.
- No detail about the explosion itself is given before the host cuts the call off.
- No names, records, or documents are offered for the husband, the factory, or the hospital.
- The story is incomplete. The host ended the call for time.
- The labels showing who is speaking cut in mid-sentence in places, so a few lines may be attributed to the wrong person.
- The host addresses the caller as “Eric” at the close, which conflicts with the name they gave.
- 0:04
- 0:09
- 1:41
- 2:42
- 3:06
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component scores are my editorial judgment from the transcript content only. The caller’s tone and emotion and any reactions by the host were not used.
Nothing is present beyond the caller’s own account: no documents, photographs, recordings, or second witness on air. Some details that could be checked (1945, V-J Day, Altair Street, Maywood, southeast L.A.) are given but not checked, which places the story in the low range.
Evidence for and against
- Details that could in principle be checked are named: 1945, V-J Day, Altair Street, Maywood, southeast L.A.
- The caller names themselves and their town.
- No physical evidence of any kind is claimed.
- No second witness speaks on air. The friend who went with them is not reported to have seen or heard anything strange.
- The call is cut off before the event itself is described in detail.
- It was never established whether the caller had anything further to offer, because the host ended the call.
- Place names are spelled as transcribed and could be garbled (Altair Street, Maywood).
- 0:09
- 0:50
- 2:09
- 3:06
What the model inferred (not said on air): The range follows the scoring guide: the caller’s word plus unchecked details, with no examined evidence and no second witness on air.
The story carries mild dread: two separate fortune tellers warning the caller to watch out for themselves, a dream image of an explosion with a lone survivor, and a real explosion a week later in which they say they were the only one hurt, followed by the caller asking God to let them die in the hospital. The events are told in a matter-of-fact way and the call is cut off, which keeps it below the midpoint.
Evidence for and against
- Repeated, unexplained warnings aimed at the caller themselves.
- A dream of a fatal explosion at their workplace and a survivor’s line, [quote withheld]
- The caller reports being hurt in a real explosion about a week later.
- The caller says they asked God to let them die while in the hospital during a heat wave.
- No threatening or malevolent being is described.
- Most of the story concerns wartime worry and hospital conditions rather than a haunting.
- The call is cut short, so any escalation is not heard.
- The explosion itself is described in only one sentence, so the level of danger to the caller is unclear.
- 2:09
- 2:50
- 3:27
What the model inferred (not said on air): Creepiness is judged as an entertainment quality of the story as told, not as a claim about whether the events occurred.
The building blocks, fortune-teller warnings and a dream that foretells a disaster, are familiar ghost-story and psychic motifs. But the doubling of the warning by two separate fortune tellers and the reversal of the dream line ([quote withheld] against the caller being the only one hurt) give it a distinctive detail.
Evidence for and against
- Two separate fortune tellers, weeks apart, reportedly gave the same short warning.
- The dream survivor’s line is turned around in the real event.
- Fortune-teller warnings and dreams that foretell disasters are stock motifs.
- The 1945 wartime setting and the husband’s safe return are conventional framing.
- The call ends before the story can add unusual detail.
- This is a provisional model estimate. The comparison with the rest of the archive is not done here.
- 1:01
- 2:09
- 2:50
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score reflects my comparison with common ghost-story tropes from the transcript alone. No statistics on the rest of the archive were available.
Scoring confidence 0.55 · analysis confidence 0.60 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand account (live call); No physical evidence claimed; No second witness speaks on air; Story cut off by the host for time. The originality score blends the model's score (42) 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.
- Generic fortune-teller reassurance: [quote withheld] is the kind of broad statement that would fit almost any worried wartime wife, and the husband in fact survived. · The message as quoted is not specific, and the caller says V-J Day came and he was fine.
- Matching an ordinary dream to a later accident in hindsight: the caller links the dream and the explosion after the fact, and the call is cut off before any detail about the explosion itself (cause, location, other people present) is given. · The dream is told first and the explosion afterward, with only [quote withheld] as the connection. The host ends the call soon after.
What stands out
Two fortune tellers, seen weeks apart, are reported to have given the same short message. The dream image of a lone survivor ([quote withheld]) is turned around in the real event, where the caller says they were the only one hurt. The host also cuts the call off before the story is finished.
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