Caller reports thirty-six years of shadows, moving doors, and lamps in a house tied to fires
A caller who gives their name as [quote withheld] tells Art Bell they have lived in a haunted house for thirty-six years. They report shadows, doors opening and closing, and lamps lifting and setting down. The caller also reports three sisters, killed in a 1906 fire, running through the house, and a man's screaming heard about fifteen years earlier. The host thanks the caller and moves on.
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 1:30:41). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
According to the caller, they have lived in a haunted house for thirty-six years. Asked why they would stay, they say [quote withheld] They report six different ghosts. The caller says it took about twenty years of research to learn what happened on the property. They say it involved two tragedies, in 1903 and 1906, both violent deaths by fire. The caller describes the haunting as “everything”: doors opening and closing. They say they have never seen the figures physically but see their shadows. The caller says three sisters killed in the 1906 fire run through the house frequently at night. On one occasion when an aunt was staying, the girls ran back and forth for six hours straight, and the aunt never came back. The caller reports that doors open and close every day and lamps lift up and set back down every day. Asked if the lamps lift into the air, they agree. The caller says the activity has never been threatening enough, in their opinion, to call a priest, and that they have tried to communicate with them. They say they are there but not harmful, and they do not realize they are dead because of the way they died. The worst part, the caller says, was about fifteen years earlier, when they heard a man screaming terribly in their bedroom. They ran outside and it was quiet, but when they went back inside the screaming was still going on. Later, the caller says, they found a witness who told them that was the man who was screaming when they could not get to him as he was dying. The host thanks the caller for the story.
Reported events, in order
- 0:10
The caller says they have lived in a haunted house for thirty-six years.
- 0:23
The caller reports six different ghosts.
- 0:28
The caller says about twenty years of research revealed what happened on the property.
- 0:34
The caller reports two tragedies, in 1903 and 1906.
- 0:41
A line in the transcript says the deaths were violent, by fire, in both cases.
- 0:53
The caller reports doors opening and closing.
- 0:55
The caller says they have never seen them physically but see their shadows.
- 0:59
The caller says three sisters were killed in the 1906 fire.
- 1:03
The caller says the sisters run through the house frequently at night.
- 1:06
The caller says that when an aunt stayed, the girls ran back and forth for six hours straight, and the aunt never came back.
- 1:26
The caller says doors open and close every day and lamps lift up and set back down every day.
- 1:33
Asked if the lamps lift into the air, the caller agrees.
- 1:51
The caller says the activity has never been threatening enough, in their opinion, to call a priest.
- 1:56
The caller says they have tried to communicate with them.
- 2:07
The caller says they are there but not harmful, and they do not realize they are dead because of the way they died.
- 2:22
The caller says the worst part was about fifteen years earlier.
- 2:27
The caller heard a man screaming terribly in their bedroom.
- 2:30
The caller ran outside and found it quiet. When they went back inside, the screaming was still going on.
- 2:42
The caller later found a witness to the events.
- 2:47
The witness said that was the man, who was screaming when they could not get to him as he was dying.
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· 0:10
The caller has lived in a haunted house for thirty-six years.
- interpretation· 0:23
There are six different ghosts.
- hearsay· 0:34
Two tragedies happened on the property, in 1903 and 1906.
- hearsay· 0:41
Both deaths were violent, by fire.
- observation· 0:53
Doors open and close.
- observation· 0:55
The caller has never seen the figures physically. The caller sees shadows.
- observation· 0:57
The caller sees their shadows.
- hearsay· 0:59
Three sisters were killed in the 1906 fire.
- observation· 1:03
The sisters run through the house frequently at night.
- observation· 1:06
During an aunt's stay, the girls ran through the house back and forth for six hours straight.
- observation· 1:26
Doors open and close every day, and lamps lift up and set back down every day.
- interpretation· 1:51
The activity is not threatening enough to call a priest.
- observation· 1:56
The caller has tried to communicate with them.
- interpretation· 2:07
They are not harmful and do not realize they are dead because of the way they died.
- observation· 2:27
The caller heard a man screaming terribly in their bedroom.
- observation· 2:38
When the caller went back inside, the screaming was still going on.
- hearsay· 2:49
A later witness said the screaming was the man who was screaming when they could not get to him as he was dying.
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, long-running story with some concrete anchors. But most of the events are not backed up by anyone else, and several have easy ordinary explanations that the caller does not address.
Evidence for and against
- The caller claims to have lived there and had these experiences over many years, with specific dates (1903 and 1906) and a stated research timeline.
- The caller distinguishes seeing shadows from physically seeing figures, and gives specific reported effects such as daily door movement.
- No second witness on air. The aunt and the later witness are known only from the caller.
- No ordinary explanations are considered or ruled out for the doors, lamps, shadows, or screaming.
- The labels showing who is speaking are noisy in the transcript.
- The caller's age at the start of the thirty-six years is not stated.
- 0:10
- 0:55
- 0:57
- 1:26
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score reflects the tension between a long firsthand claim and the lack of any checked or on-air confirmation, plus the availability of ordinary explanations for several reported effects.
The story rests almost entirely on the caller's word. Claimed secondhand witnesses and historical specifics are not checked or confirmed on air.
Evidence for and against
- Some checkable specifics are given, such as Taft, 1903, 1906, and thirty-six years of living there.
- The caller says they found a witness to the man's death, but that witness does not speak on air.
- No physical evidence, recording, photograph, document, or independent on-air witness is presented.
- The claims about the fire and the tragedies are not examined in this part of the broadcast.
- The caller's research method is not described.
- The later witness's identity and story are not independently available.
- 0:28
- 1:06
- 2:42
What the model inferred (not said on air): Under the scoring guide this fits the 11 to 25 range for checkable specifics and claimed witnesses that are not checked. It cannot rise higher without on-air confirmation or examined evidence.
The story has several unsettling elements, including shadows, nightly running by child ghosts, daily movement of objects, and a man's screaming in the bedroom. It avoids sustained threat or physical harm, and the caller describes the presence as not harmful.
Evidence for and against
- Three sisters are said to run through the house at night for six hours.
- A man's terrible screaming is heard in the bedroom and continues after the caller goes back inside.
- The caller says the activity has never been threatening enough to call a priest.
- No physical attack or injury is reported.
- The effect on the aunt is implied but not described in detail.
- The length and frequency of the screaming are not fully stated.
- 1:03
- 2:27
- 2:30
- 2:38
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is driven by the mix of child ghosts running at night and a man's screaming in a private space. It stays below the frightening range because no harm or threat is reported.
The story uses familiar haunted-house elements (shadows, moving doors, screams) but includes some distinctive details, especially daily lamp levitation and three sisters running for six hours after a 1906 fire.
Evidence for and against
- The caller ties the haunting to two researched fires on the property, in 1903 and 1906.
- The caller reports doors opening and closing daily and lamps lifting and setting back down daily.
- Moving doors, shadows, and screams are common ghost-story motifs.
- The story does not introduce a unique figure or an unusual interaction.
- No comparison with the rest of the archive is available in this request, so the published originality score is provisional.
- The transcript is short and some details are vague.
- 0:34
- 1:06
- 1:26
What the model inferred (not said on air): The model score reflects a familiar pattern with a few distinctive reported specifics. Without a comparison with the rest of the archive, the final originality score remains provisional.
Scoring confidence 0.75 · analysis confidence 0.80 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's own telling; Claimed secondhand witnesses: an aunt and an unnamed later witness, neither speaking on air; No physical evidence examined. 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.
- An old house settling, drafts, loose hinges, vibrations, pets, or mechanical or electrical causes could account for doors opening and closing and lamps lifting and setting down. · The caller says doors open and close every day and lamps lift up and set back down every day. The caller describes no physical investigation in this part of the broadcast.
- Low light, seeing faces and shapes in random patterns, house noises, or animals could contribute to reports of shadows and running sounds at night. · The caller says they see their shadows and that the sisters run through the house frequently at night.
- The man's screaming could have an ordinary source, such as an animal, wind, a neighbor, a device, or something misheard, though the caller reports no sound outside. · The caller heard screaming in their bedroom, ran outside and found it quiet, then heard it again inside. No source is identified in this part of the broadcast.
What stands out
The caller reports daily lamp levitation and doors opening and closing alongside shadow figures. The caller ties the haunting to two fires on the property that they say they researched for twenty years. The three sisters running for six hours and the screaming in the bedroom are especially specific details.
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