Black dog rising out of a sleeping wife in a bedroom lit by a store sign
In a letter read on air by Art Bell and credited to [quote withheld] the writer says that several years earlier they were lying in bed beside their then-wife when they saw something black rise up out of her body. The writer says it formed into a black dog with glowing yellow eyes, which took its time to fade away after they screamed. The writer says the dog never reappeared. The writer adds that sad events followed, most notably learning that their wife [name withheld] had been cheating on them.
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 5:40). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
Art Bell reads a letter he credits to [quote withheld] (0:05:40, 0:07:04). The writer says that several years ago they experienced a disturbing sight, and that they will tell it [quote withheld] The writer describes lying in bed next to their wife (first called their wife, later called their ex and named [name withheld]) in a room lit by the light of a Circle K store next door. The writer says they were lying there thinking about how good she looked in the yellow light when something black rose up out of her body. The writer says their first thought was that they thought they were awake. According to the letter, the blackness moved over the writer and formed itself into a black dog with glowing yellow eyes and fangs that dripped red. The writer says they screamed and held their arms over their head, the woman turned over and tried to comfort them, and the neighbors pounded on the wall. The letter says the black dog took its time to fade away and seemed amused by the writer's struggles while [name withheld] comforted them. The dog, the writer says, never reappeared, though they will never forget it. The writer adds that several sad events happened after that night. The most notable, the writer says, was the discovery that [name withheld] was cheating on them with an old high school flame. The host then names the letter's contributor and moves to the next letter.
Reported events, in order
- 0:00
The host introduces a letter obtained from the internet and says it will get the dog stories out of the way.
- 0:02
The writer says that several years ago they experienced a disturbing sight, which they will tell as best they can.
- 0:12
The writer says their wife (later called their ex and named [name withheld]) was lying in bed next to them, with light from the Circle K store next door lighting the room.
- 0:23
The writer reports that while they lay there thinking how good she looked in the yellow light, something black rose up out of her body.
- 0:31
The writer says their first thought was that they thought they were awake.
- 0:35
The writer reports that the blackness moved over them and formed into a black dog with glowing yellow eyes and fangs dripping red.
- 0:48
The writer reports that they screamed and held their arms over their head.
- 0:53
The woman turned over and tried to comfort the writer, and the neighbors pounded on the wall.
- 0:58
The writer reports that the black dog took its time to fade away and seemed amused by their struggles.
- 1:07
The writer says the black dog never reappeared.
- 1:13
The writer says several sad events followed, most notably discovering that [name withheld] was cheating on them with an old high school flame.
- 1:23
The host credits the letter to [quote withheld] and moves on.
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· 0:23
The writer says they saw something black rise up out of their sleeping wife's body while they lay beside her in bed.
- observation· 0:31
The writer says they believed they were awake at the time rather than dreaming.
- observation· 0:35
The black form moved over the writer and became a black dog with glowing yellow eyes and fangs dripping red.
- observation· 0:48
The writer screamed and covered their head during the experience.
- interpretation· 1:02
The writer reports that the figure was slow to disappear and seemed amused by their reaction, while [name withheld] tried to comfort them.
- observation· 1:07
The black dog never appeared again.
- observation· 1:13
Sad events followed after that night, including the discovery that [name withheld] was unfaithful with an old high school flame. The writer does not say the two are connected.
- host statement· 0:00
Where the letter came from, as the host states it: it arrived from the internet and is credited to [quote withheld]
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.
A firsthand bedroom story that hangs together and has some concrete detail. It is read from a letter, so no follow-up questions are possible. A common explanation, the passage between waking and sleep, fits the setting rather easily.
Evidence for and against
- The writer tells, in the first person, an event they say they experienced themselves: [quote withheld] (0:05:43)
- A concrete setting and lighting detail: [quote withheld] (0:05:59)
- Specific description of what the writer saw and how they reacted: [quote withheld] (0:06:16), [quote withheld] (0:06:29), and [quote withheld] (0:06:37)
- No date, city, or address for the event is given. The writer is identified only by a pen name and a city the host gives.
- The first image is described only vaguely, as “something black” (0:06:04), and the dog shape is described in more detail in the next sentence.
- The added story of the wife's infidelity is not presented as connected to the sight.
- The transcript reads [quote withheld] (0:05:53), so the wording about whether they were married is garbled.
- The labels showing who is speaking mark the whole passage as the host, because the host is reading the letter. The writer's own voice reaches listeners only through the host.
- [quote withheld] (0:06:12) leaves unclear how awake the writer actually was.
- 0:02
- 0:23
- 0:31
What the model inferred (not said on air): The 60 reflects my reading of the scoring guide: a clear firsthand story with concrete but limited details, no one else backing it up, and a plausible ordinary fit to the setting. The points behind that score (closeness to the source 16, specific detail 11, consistency 15, other explanations 8, and how carefully the claims are stated 10) are my judgment, not facts from the transcript.
The only support is the writer's own word. No document, photograph, recording, or second witness on air is present.
Evidence for and against
- A written story exists in principle (the host reads a letter), but it is not examined as evidence: [quote withheld] (0:05:40)
- Nothing checkable is supplied: no date, address, or independent witness.
- The wife is said only to have tried to comfort the writer, not to have seen anything: [quote withheld] (0:06:34)
- It is unknown whether the letter contained any further detail not read on air.
- The city where the event happened is not stated. The Seattle attribution applies to the writer, not necessarily to the event.
- 1:07
- 1:23
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placing this at a score of 0 to 10 (the writer's word only) is my use of the scoring guide. The transcript contains no physical or documentary evidence in the story itself.
A black dog with glowing eyes and dripping fangs rises out of a sleeping partner's body, crosses over the writer in bed, and lingers while the writer screams. It intrudes into the most private space, with steady, menacing images.
Evidence for and against
- The figure comes out of a sleeping person next to the writer: [quote withheld] (0:06:04)
- Vivid, threatening description: [quote withheld] (0:06:16)
- It lingers rather than vanishing: [quote withheld] (0:06:39)
- No injury, physical contact, or later activity is reported, and the dog never returns.
- The scene is brief and ends with the partner comforting the writer and the neighbors knocking on the wall.
- It is unclear how awake the writer was, which may change how listeners read the scene.
- 0:35
- 0:58
- 1:02
What the model inferred (not said on air): This rating is my judgment about the story's effect on a listener. It is not a claim about what happened.
A black-dog figure in a bedroom is a familiar ghost-story frame. But the shape coming out of the sleeping partner's body and the added story of betrayal in the marriage are distinctive details.
Evidence for and against
- The figure is said to rise from the partner's body rather than appear on its own: [quote withheld] (0:06:04)
- The letter attaches later events at home to the story: [quote withheld] (0:06:54)
- The core elements (a black dog, glowing eyes, fangs, a bedroom at night, and screaming) are stock parts.
- The host himself places it in a run of dog-themed letters: [quote withheld] (0:05:51)
- The published originality score will be computed against the rest of the archive. This provisional score is 52.
- 0:10
- 1:13
What the model inferred (not said on air): The 52 is my provisional estimate from content only. The value computed later against the rest of the archive may differ.
Scoring confidence 0.65 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The writer's firsthand story in a letter, read aloud by the host (the letter itself is not examined on air); No photograph, recording, document, mark, or trace claimed; No second witness on air: the partner and neighbors are described but do not speak. The originality score blends the model's score (52) 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.
- Vivid images that come while falling asleep or waking up, possibly with the stillness and absorbed thinking typical of that state. · The writer places the event in bed at night beside a sleeping partner and describes lying still and thinking. The writer's own story includes doubt about their state: [quote withheld] (0:06:12)
- A shadow or a trick of the light in a room lit at an angle from outside, which the writer later built on. · The writer specifies how the room was lit, [quote withheld] (0:05:59), and first describes the shape only as “something black” (0:06:04).
What stands out
The figure is not reported standing in the room. Instead, it emerges from the body of the sleeping wife and then crosses over the writer. The letter also adds an unrelated personal betrayal to the story without linking the two. And the host presents it outright as part of a run of dog-themed letters.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.