Footsteps on the roof while the caller's husband was at his shop
A caller who gives the name [name withheld], from Olympia, tells Art Bell they heard what sounded like their husband walking back and forth on the roof one night. [name withheld] says he was down at his shop working at the time. Their macaw became agitated, and when they got up to complain, their husband walked in the door. [name withheld] ends by repeating their husband's suggestion that it might have been someone close to them who had passed 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 3:00:37). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], from Olympia, begins by saying their story [quote withheld] to others heard that night. [name withheld] describes the bedroom: a bed, a TV at the foot of the bed, and a blue and gold macaw on an open perch. [name withheld] says the roof always leaked in one small place, and they eventually covered the hole with plastic. [name withheld] says it had [quote withheld] to hear their husband walking back and forth overhead when work was being done on the roof.
One night, [name withheld] says, their husband was down at his shop working while [name withheld] lay in bed watching television. [name withheld] heard someone go up on the roof. [name withheld] assumed he was fixing the plastic, which might have blown off, and notes it was [quote withheld] [name withheld] stayed in bed through several commercial breaks because of being cozy. The bird, which [name withheld] says normally goes to sleep when [name withheld] gets into bed, began pacing back and forth and then made a loud sound. Worried the bird would wake the children, [name withheld] got out of bed to go yell at the husband. As [name withheld] reached the door to open it, they say, the husband opened the door and walked in.
[name withheld] asks Art what he thinks it was. [name withheld] says the husband told them that if it was anything, it may have been someone close to them who had passed on, wanting to make contact without frightening them. [name withheld] notes the sound was exactly like the husband walking up there, and that they have heard it for years. Art thanks [name withheld] and offers his own general thoughts about an afterlife and contact with loved ones.
Reported events, in order
- 0:05
[name withheld], from Olympia, introduces themself and says their story is modest compared with others that night.
- 0:13
[name withheld] describes the bedroom, the TV at the foot of the bed, and a blue and gold macaw on an open perch.
- 0:21
[name withheld] says the roof always leaked in one spot and they covered the hole with plastic.
- 0:35
[name withheld] says hearing their husband walking back and forth on the roof had always been a familiar sound.
- 0:40
One night [name withheld]'s husband was down at his shop and [name withheld] was in bed watching TV. [name withheld] heard someone go up on the roof and assumed he was fixing the plastic.
- 0:55
[name withheld] stayed in bed through several commercial breaks.
- 1:02
The bird, which normally sleeps when [name withheld] is in bed, paced back and forth and then made a loud sound.
- 1:20
[name withheld] got up to yell at the husband, and as [name withheld] reached the door he opened it and walked in.
- 1:33
[name withheld] repeats the husband's suggestion that it may have been someone close to them who had passed on.
- 1:49
[name withheld] says the sound was just like the husband walking up there and that they have heard it for years.
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· 1:27
[name withheld] says they heard someone walk back and forth on the roof, which [name withheld] took to be the husband.
- observation· 0:40
[name withheld] says the husband was down at his shop working at the time the footsteps were heard.
- observation· 1:07
[name withheld] says the macaw became agitated, pacing back and forth and making a loud sound.
- observation· 1:23
[name withheld] says the husband opened the bedroom door and walked in just as [name withheld] went to open it.
- hearsay· 1:40
The caller's husband suggested it may have been someone close to them who had passed on, making contact without frightening them.
- observation· 1:54
[name withheld] says the roof sound was exactly like the husband walking and that they have heard it for years.
- host statement· 2:04
Art says he is convinced there is an afterlife and that the dead would want to contact loved ones.
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 clear, specific firsthand story with concrete household detail and a sequence that hangs together. But an ordinary explanation (noise from the patched roof, an animal, house sounds) fits easily.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand story told live by the person who reports the experience.
- Concrete setting detail: bed, TV at the foot of the bed, macaw on a perch, plastic over the roof leak.
- Clear sequence from hearing the sound to the bird's reaction to the husband entering.
- The sound described is one the caller says they have heard routinely for years in connection with roof work.
- No detail that could be checked (no date, no address, no independent description of the roof).
- An ordinary source of roof noise fits easily and is not addressed.
- The phrase describing the husband walking in is partly garbled in the transcript.
- 0:21
- 0:40
- 1:23
What the model inferred (not said on air): Closeness to the source and consistency are strong. The score for other explanations is low because wind, the plastic, and roof noise could plausibly explain the sound.
The story rests entirely on the caller's own memory. There are no checkable names, dates, or records, no one backs it up on air, and no physical evidence is mentioned.
Evidence for and against
- The caller tells a clear first-person story.
- No documentation, recording, photograph, or other checkable item is offered.
- The husband does not speak on air to confirm anything.
- No date or checkable location beyond “Olympia” is given.
- 1:30
What the model inferred (not said on air): It rests on the caller's word alone, which puts it at the bottom of the scoring guide for evidence.
Mildly eerie: an unexplained sound on the roof and an unsettled pet, but no threat, no visible figure, and no sense of menace.
Evidence for and against
- An unexplained sound occurs at night while the caller is in bed.
- The bird becomes agitated and calls out before the discovery.
- The ending (the husband walking in instead of being on the roof) creates a brief unsettling moment.
- Told in a conversational, understated way and framed outright as a modest story.
- No threat, intrusion, or physical harm is reported.
- Tone and delivery are not considered in this score.
- 1:07
- 1:23
What the model inferred (not said on air): Judged from what the caller reports (an unexplained nighttime sound, an anxious pet), not from how the story is told.
A familiar phantom-footsteps setup, made somewhat distinctive by the roof setting, the patched leak, and the macaw's reaction.
Evidence for and against
- Unusual detail of a large pet macaw reacting before the discovery.
- Household detail of a patched roof leak and a husband working in his shop.
- Phantom footsteps taken for a family member is a common ghost-story motif.
- No distinctive being, location history, or documentation.
- Novelty compared with the rest of the archive cannot be judged from a single story.
- 0:21
What the model inferred (not said on air): Scored from how familiar the motifs are (footsteps, night, an animal reacting), offset by the unusual roof and macaw details.
Scoring confidence 0.75 · analysis confidence 0.80 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: the caller's firsthand story; the caller's husband's interpretation, passed on secondhand. 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.
- Wind or an animal moving the plastic sheeting over the roof hole, making a rustling or rhythmic sound. · [name withheld] says they [quote withheld] and that the plastic might have blown off.
- An animal (possibly the macaw itself or another bird) moving on or around the roof. · The macaw is on an open perch in the room and was pacing and calling before [name withheld] got up.
- Ordinary house or roof settling noises, or the husband briefly going up before returning to the shop. · [name withheld] describes the sound as one heard routinely for years while roof work was done.
What stands out
The strange thing is a familiar household sound, the caller's husband walking on the roof, heard while he was clearly somewhere else. The caller's pet bird reacted beforehand.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.