Flickering lights, a name called, and faint music at a movie theater after a projectionist's death
A caller who gives their name as [quote withheld] tells Art Bell that they worked as a custodian at a six-screen movie theater where one of the projectionists died of a heart attack. The caller says that a couple of days later employees were reporting flickering lights, slamming doors, and an ice machine “falling apart.” A system manager said they heard their name called. The caller says five workers left a tape recorder in an empty theater and later heard a chair spring up by itself on the recording. They then tracked faint music to the projection doorway. A projectionist said no such radio was in the projection room, which the caller calls the strangest part. The host then offers general remarks about spirits remaining where they died.
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 2:50:01). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives their name on air as [quote withheld] ([quote withheld]), says they used to work as a custodian at a theater building that showed six movies under one roof. The caller says that one day one of the theater's projectionists died after a heart attack. A couple of days later all the employees were talking about strange things in the theaters: lights flickering off and on, doors slamming, and an ice machine [quote withheld] Within that same week, the caller says, a system manager asked the workers whether they had called the manager. The workers said they had not, and the manager said they had heard someone calling their name while the workers were cleaning a theater. The caller says five of them decided to investigate. They put a tape recorder in one theater, turned off the light, cleaned in another theater for about an hour, then took the recorder outside to listen. On playback, the caller says, they heard a chair go down and spring right back up by itself, which the caller calls strange. Going back inside the same theater, they heard faint music, searched the room and the whole building, and traced it to the projection doorway. They first supposed it was a timer radio switching on by itself. But the caller says the projectionist told them no such radio was in the projection room. The caller calls this the strangest part, adding that [quote withheld] The caller does not state what they think caused any of it. After the call, the host remarks that people seem to remain near the place where they died.
Reported events, in order
- 0:01
The caller identifies as [name withheld] from San Diego and says they have a story. The caller says they used to work as a custodian at a theater building showing six movies.
- 0:13
The caller says one of the theater's projectionists died after a heart attack.
- 0:20
A couple of days later, the caller says, all the employees were talking about strange things in the theaters: lights flickering off and on, doors slamming, the ice machine [quote withheld]
- 0:40
Within that week, a system manager asked the workers whether they had phoned the manager. They said no, and the manager said they had heard someone calling their name.
- 1:05
Five of them set a tape recorder in one theater, turned off the light, and cleaned in another theater for about an hour.
- 1:27
They took the recorder outside and listened back. The caller says they heard a chair go down and spring right back up by itself.
- 1:42
Back inside the theater they heard faint music, searched the room and the building, and traced it to the projection doorway.
- 1:56
They supposed it was a timer radio switching on by itself.
- 2:04
They asked the projectionist, who said there was no such radio in the projection room.
- 2:11
The caller closes by saying that was the strangest part and that [quote withheld]
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· 0:13
The caller says one of the theater's projectionists died after a heart attack.
- hearsay· 0:20
The caller says that a couple of days later “all the employees” were talking about strange things in the theaters, and lists lights flickering off and on, doors slamming, and an ice machine “falling apart.”
- hearsay· 0:40
The caller says a system manager asked whether the workers had telephoned the manager, which they denied, and that the manager said they heard someone calling their name.
- observation· 1:31
The caller says that when the caller and four others played back a tape recorder they had left in an empty theater, they heard a chair go down and spring back up by itself.
- observation· 1:31
The caller says that on returning to the theater they heard faint music and, after searching the room and building, traced it to the projection doorway.
- observation· 1:56
The caller says they at first took the faint music for a timer radio turning on by itself.
- hearsay· 2:04
The caller says a projectionist told them there was no radio of that kind in the projection room.
- host statement· 2:30
In his remarks after the call, the host asserts that people seem to remain near the place where they died and asks the audience whether a spirit is present where it lost its life.
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 clear but short firsthand story with some concrete procedure (the tape-recorder test) and a stated consideration of an ordinary explanation. But several key events are relayed from unnamed coworkers, and nothing is identifiable or can be checked. It sits slightly above the [quote withheld] level.
Evidence for and against
- The caller places themselves as a participant in the events they report, including the tape-recorder test ([quote withheld]).
- Concrete detail of procedure: a tape recorder left in a theater with the lights off, about an hour of cleaning elsewhere, playback outside.
- The caller considers an ordinary explanation for the music first (a timer radio) and reports checking it with the projectionist.
- The reported sequence is orderly (death, then days of reports, then the group's test).
- Most of the striking events are relayed secondhand from unnamed coworkers ([quote withheld]).
- No name of the venue, city of the theater, date, or time frame is given, so nothing could be checked.
- The story is brief, and the caller never states what they think caused the events, or what any outcome was.
- Ordinary causes (failing equipment, drafts, an ordinary radio, staff pranks in an empty building) are not ruled out.
- One line in the middle of the story is not transcribed, so a short passage is unknown.
- The labels showing who is speaking are noisy: one line labeled as the host (“the”) appears to be part of the caller's sentence, and another (“We didn't”) is labeled as the host though it reads as the caller.
- [quote withheld] is vague and can't be made more specific from the transcript.
- 0:20
- 1:05
- 1:56
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component judgment: source proximity 21/25 (took part, though not a direct witness to the flickering lights, doors, or the manager's experience); specificity 11/20 (procedure and type of building, but no names, dates, or venue); consistency 15/20 (told in order, no contradictions, little answering of host questions); other explanations 7/20 (ordinary causes fit moderately well and only the radio idea is checked); measured claims 10/15 (the caller separates what they perceived from guesswork and does not exaggerate). Sum 64.
The only support is testimony. It includes several claimed witnesses and a tape recording whose existence is claimed but which is not produced or examined, with no identifiable venue or dates. That places it at 11 to 25 (claimed witnesses, or details that could be checked given but not checked), and a bit above the floor because a recording is said to have been made.
Evidence for and against
- Several witnesses are claimed for the group test (“five of us”).
- A physical record is claimed to have been made and listened to: a tape recording of a chair sound.
- A detail that could be checked in principle is given: the projectionist's statement that no such radio existed in the projection room.
- No second witness speaks on air. The five coworkers are unnamed and absent.
- The recording is not played or examined on air, and the caller does not say it was kept.
- No name of the venue, address, date, or staff is given that could be looked up.
- It is not stated whether the tape was kept, replayed for anyone else, or ever examined by anyone.
- The line that is not transcribed could contain more claims, but it can't be assessed.
- 1:05
- 1:31
- 2:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): The claimed recording and the claimed group of witnesses count as support, but no item is examined on air, so the score cannot reach 26 to 40. A second witness on air or a played recording would be needed.
The story is eerie rather than frightening: unexplained noises and a name being called in an empty workplace after a death, with music from a projection room and no resolution. It does not reach the level of lasting dread, threat, or intrusion into a bedroom.
Evidence for and against
- The events are tied to a workplace right after a colleague's death by heart attack.
- A manager is said to have heard their own name called by no one.
- Faint music with no findable source, heard in a darkened building, is traced to the projection doorway.
- The story ends without resolution or explanation.
- No threat, harm, physical contact, or menacing figure is reported.
- Several elements sound ordinary (an ice machine, doors, a radio), and the caller's manner is matter-of-fact.
- The closing line leaves the events as odd rather than frightening.
- Tone and delivery are not considered. The score rests only on what the story says.
- 0:50
- 1:52
- 2:11
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placed between “mildly eerie” (30) and “genuinely unsettling” (50), slightly above the midpoint because of the link to a death, the name being called, and the unresolved ending.
The story uses a familiar [quote withheld] setup but gains something from its setting in a multiplex projection area and from its centerpiece: a tape-recorder test whose playback is said to contain a chair springing up on its own. That is a familiar setup with unusual details rather than a stock retelling or a wholly new kind of event.
Evidence for and against
- The setting is an unusual one for the genre: a six-screen multiplex and its projection room rather than a house.
- The group deliberately leaves a tape recorder in a dark auditorium and listens to the playback, making the tape test the center of the story.
- The specific reported content of the recording, a chair going down and springing back up, is a fairly uncommon detail.
- The music is tracked by searching the building to the projection doorway, then checked against a projectionist's word.
- The core setup, unexplained noises and lights in a building after an occupant or worker dies, is a stock haunting pattern.
- Flickering lights, slamming doors, a name called, and faint music are all familiar in the archive.
- No unusual figure, clothing, or location detail is supplied.
- It is uncertain how to classify the [quote withheld] passage because the description is vague.
- Originality compared with the rest of the archive can't be judged from this part of the broadcast alone.
- 0:10
- 1:05
What the model inferred (not said on air): The editor's judgment is about 48 out of 100. The published score may also be blended with a comparison against the rest of the archive when enough stories exist. The reasoning above is from the content only.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.71 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story about the tape playback and about hearing faint music; The caller's secondhand report of coworkers' and a manager's experiences; A tape recording is said to have been made and listened to, but nothing is played or examined on air and it is not said to have been kept; No second witness speaks on air; no documents, names, dates, or identification of the venue. The originality score blends the model's score (48) 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.
- Suggestion or heightened attention among employees after a coworker's death, with ordinary building noises and equipment faults being read as strange. · The caller says the events began after a colleague's death and that [quote withheld] them, a setting where expectation and suggestion can spread among a small staff.
- Building and equipment effects in a large, empty multiplex (drafts, failing appliances, a radio or sound system left on, seating that springs back). · An [quote withheld] flickering lights, slamming doors, and a chair noise in an old six-screen building are all consistent with failing equipment, drafts, and heating, cooling, or plumbing vibration. The caller also reports that a timer radio was their own first guess.
- A prank or accidental action by staff, including someone in the auditorium while the recorder ran. · The caller says five employees were alone in the building and that they set up and later retrieved the recorder themselves.
What stands out
The story is built around a deliberate test, five employees leaving a tape recorder in a darkened auditorium. The reported result is a chair springing back up on the recording, rather than a voice. Its setting, a multiplex with a projection room where faint music is said to be heard, is also less common than a haunting in a home.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.