A cloud at a mother-in-law's death and ongoing house disturbances
A caller who says they are calling from Santa Rosa tells the host that in 1989, on Thanksgiving Day, their mother-in-law died. The next day, they say, they and their husband watched a large brown mist cloud dissipate on the sidewalk outside. They go on to describe a series of household disturbances: objects moved, a music box starting by itself, and odd smells. They also describe family upheavals involving their husband and their son. They blame all of it on demons. They say the situation is still going on. The host closes by telling them he believes they are in a dangerous situation.
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 1994.mp3”, starting at 45:08). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
A caller who says they are calling from Santa Rosa opens by asserting that [quote withheld] and are “agents of satan.” They say that in 1989, on Thanksgiving Day, their mother-in-law died, after three years of estrangement that followed the caller's questioning of her about [quote withheld] with the caller's son. The next day, they say, their husband came home from being with his mother at the moment of death, where the woman had [quote withheld] Standing on the sidewalk, they and their husband watched a “brown, dirty mist” cloud about 50 feet by 40 feet dissipate. They say they joked it might be their mother-in-law's spirit. About a week later, they say, their father-in-law reported things turned around on the mantelpiece and a spot on the windowsill that refused to dry. The family doubted him because [quote withheld] About a week after that, they say, a music box in the corner of their living room started by itself while they were alone. They describe their husband's later change: an affair with an older woman who was [quote withheld] and an incident in which he screamed at them to quit using his last name, then forgot it the next day. They also report that their son became addicted to drugs and arrived on their doorstep “last October” saying “Satan rules.” He brought head lice, body lice, chicken lice, and mites that they say they are still fighting at a cost of $3,000. Before leaving, they say, he told them [quote withheld] The next day their brake fluid was drained. They report a rotten-orange smell in his room and “dead smells” noted by two people who stayed briefly, and say it is still going on. The host closes by telling them he believes they are in a dangerous situation.
Reported events, in order
- 0:08
The caller says they are calling from Santa Rosa.
- 0:12
They open by asserting that ghosts, poltergeists, and past-life visions are “agents of satan.”
- 0:26
They say that in 1989, on Thanksgiving Day, their mother-in-law died, after three years of silence following a dispute about drinking and driving with their son in the car.
- 0:42
They say their husband had been with his mother at the moment of death, when the woman threw back the blankets as if to leave and was clouded with morphine.
- 0:52
They say they and their husband stood on the sidewalk and watched a cloud about 50 feet by 40 feet, a brown dirty mist, dissipate.
- 1:07
They say they joked that the cloud might be their mother-in-law's spirit.
- 1:11
About a week later, they say, their father-in-law reported objects turned around on the mantelpiece and a windowsill spot that would not dry. The family doubted him because [quote withheld]
- 1:25
About a week after that, they say the music box in the corner of the living room started by itself while they were alone. They called their husband.
- 1:52
They say their husband began to change and was seeing another woman who was [quote withheld]
- 2:09
They say he came to the door screaming that they should quit using his last name, then forgot it the next day and was charming.
- 2:22
They say their son became addicted to drugs and arrived on their doorstep “last October” saying “Satan rules.”
- 2:36
They say he brought head lice, body lice, chicken lice, and mites, which they are still fighting a year later at a cost of $3,000.
- 2:47
They say that before leaving their son told them [quote withheld]
- 2:52
They say their brake fluid was drained the next day.
- 2:58
They report an odd smell of rotten oranges in his room and “dead smells” reported by two people who stayed briefly.
- 3:07
They say they are still battling the situation at the time of the call.
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· 1:04
The caller says they and their husband watched a brown, dirty mist cloud of about 50 by 40 feet dissipate in front of them.
- hearsay· 1:11
The caller says their father-in-law reported that objects had been turned around on the mantelpiece and a spot on the windowsill refused to dry.
- observation· 1:25
The caller says a music box in the corner of the living room started by itself while they were alone.
- observation· 1:55
The caller says their husband was seeing another woman who was [quote withheld]
- observation· 2:09
The caller says their husband came to the door shouting that they should stop using his last name, then the next day forgot he had said it.
- observation· 2:22
The caller says their son became addicted to drugs and arrived on their doorstep “last October” saying “Satan rules.”
- observation· 2:36
The caller says their son brought head lice, body lice, chicken lice, and mites, which they say they are still fighting.
- observation· 2:47
The caller says that before leaving their son told them [quote withheld]
- observation· 2:52
The caller says their brake fluid was drained the day after their son's statement.
- observation· 2:58
The caller says there is an odd smell of rotten oranges in their son's room.
- interpretation· 0:12
The caller states as a general belief that ghosts, poltergeists, and past-life visions are “agents of satan.”
- interpretation· 1:07
The caller says they joked that the dissipating cloud might be their mother-in-law's spirit.
- host statement· 3:30
The host tells the caller he believes they are in a dangerous situation.
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 story with some concrete anchors but a loose structure. Ordinary explanations fit easily, and the caller moves from a joke about a spirit to a claim of satanic involvement. This places it in the middle of the scoring guide, near the [quote withheld] standard, and pulled down by how easily ordinary causes fit.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand claim of directly witnessing two events: the dissipating cloud and the music box starting.
- Concrete anchors: a year (1989), a holiday (Thanksgiving Day), the size of the cloud ([quote withheld]), and a cost figure (“$3,000”).
- The sequence is broadly consistent, and the caller answers the host's framing throughout.
- Ordinary explanations fit most reported events: the “cloud” could be ordinary mist or smoke, a music box can start through a fault, and the insects and smells have ordinary sources.
- The caller raises doubt about the father-in-law's report ([quote withheld]).
- The story ranges from a deathbed scene to an affair and a drug-addicted son, stringing loosely connected crises under one cause.
- No detail that backs it up can be checked from the automatic transcript.
- Several passages are garbled ([quote withheld] [quote withheld]), so parts of the story cannot be fully assessed.
- The labels showing who is speaking shift between the caller and the caller within this part of the broadcast.
- 0:52
- 1:20
- 0:12
What the model inferred (not said on air): The split of the score (strong closeness to the events, weak resistance to other explanations, and weak care in what is claimed) is my judgment, not stated in the automatic transcript.
This falls in the range for [quote withheld] Nothing rises to the level of physical evidence examined on air, and no outside verification exists.
Evidence for and against
- The caller gives details that could in principle be checked: a year (1989), a holiday, a location (Santa Rosa), and a cost figure ($3,000).
- Other witnesses are claimed: their husband, their father-in-law, and two people who stayed briefly.
- No document, photograph, recording, or physical object is presented or examined on air.
- All support is the caller's word. The claimed second witnesses do not speak.
- No outside check was made.
- The claimed witnesses are named only by their relationship to the caller and are never put on air.
- 1:11
- 2:36
What the model inferred (not said on air): Whether the father-in-law's damp spot or the insect problem could be checked now is not addressed in the automatic transcript. I treat them as unverified claims.
The story combines a death, a household haunting, implied threats, and an unresolved situation that is still going on. That is genuinely unsettling to a listener, but its loose, rambling structure keeps it short of the most frightening standard.
Evidence for and against
- A death is followed by an unexplained mist and a series of household disturbances.
- Language of threat and ill will throughout (“Satan rules,” [quote withheld] brake fluid drained).
- Intrusion into the home and family, including a son's arrival bringing insects and a foul smell in his room.
- An openly unresolved ending: [quote withheld]
- The story is sprawling rather than tightly focused, and some parts (an affair, a drug-addicted son, an insect infestation) read as domestic hardship rather than horror.
- The caller lightens one moment by making a joke about the cloud.
- Unclear or garbled middle passages reduce the clarity of the story, which also softens its impact.
- 2:47
- 2:52
- 3:07
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a judgment about the effect of the story, not about whether any of it happened.
A familiar haunting pattern carries one distinctive image (the cloud with measured size dissipating) and an unusually broad sweep of cause, placing it slightly below the middle of the scale. The published originality score may be revised once compared with the rest of the archive.
Evidence for and against
- The central image of a mist cloud with measured size ([quote withheld]) dissipating at the moment of a relative's death is a distinctive detail.
- The story links a death, a household haunting, an affair, a son's drug use, and an insect infestation into one chain of cause, an unusually wide span for a single caller's story.
- A self-starting music box, objects moved on a mantelpiece, and a foul smell are common ghost-story elements.
- Sudden household disturbances after a family death are a familiar pattern.
- Novelty compared with the rest of the archive cannot be judged from a single story.
- 0:52
- 1:02
What the model inferred (not said on air): The provisional score is my own reading. The score compared with the rest of the archive is not available here.
Scoring confidence 0.50 · analysis confidence 0.55 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand account (the cloud and the music box events, which they say they personally witnessed).; Claimed secondhand reports within the story: the father-in-law and two people who stayed briefly.; No documents, photograph, recording, or other object presented or examined on air.; No outside check made.. The originality score blends the model's score (45) 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.
- Unclear events at home may have been read through the family's recent loss. The caller describes their husband shut away in mourning ([quote withheld]) and a long estrangement before the death. · Reported grief and preoccupation after a death in the family.
- The “brown, dirty mist” could be ordinary weather or smoke. A music box can start through a fault. An insect infestation and the smell of decay or mold can have ordinary sources. The caller spends a year and $3,000 on the insects. · Ordinary physical causes are possible for each reported strange event.
- The caller notes their father-in-law “drinks a lot” and that they therefore doubted his report of moved objects and the damp spot. · The caller's own doubt about the father-in-law's story.
What stands out
The story threads a single claim of cause through an unusually wide range of family events: a death, a mist cloud with measured size, household disturbances, an affair, a son's drug use, and an insect infestation. The caller blames all of it on one demonic force. The measured size of the cloud ([quote withheld]) at the moment of death is the most distinctive single detail.
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