Stereo switching on by itself during a movie at a Chalmette home
A caller who gives the name [name withheld], in New Orleans, tells the host that the caller’s girlfriend’s parents told ghost stories about their family home in Chalmette, Louisiana. [name withheld] says that while they and others were watching Amityville Horror in the living room, a stereo connected to the TV came on loudly by itself. [name withheld] says it was not switched on. A person in the room turned it off and shrugged it off. The host thanks [name withheld] and moves on, and the second story [name withheld] says they have is not told in this part of the broadcast.
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 2:29:15). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], calling from New Orleans ([quote withheld]), says their girlfriend lives in Chalmette, Louisiana, in a house they describe, as transcribed, as having been [quote withheld] [name withheld] says her mother and father had often told them ghost stories about things that happened in the house. [name withheld] says they never really believed it and made fun of the stories. [name withheld] reports that they rented a batch of ghost films from a video store and were watching Amityville Horror in the living room, the group [quote withheld] [name withheld] says the stereo hooked up to the TV [quote withheld] but that about halfway through the movie it [quote withheld] very loudly. According to [name withheld], the person the transcript renders as “he” jumped up, checked the stereo, and turned it off, and then shrugged it off as the sort of thing that happens. [name withheld] says it never happened when they were there and that they had never seen anything like that before. Asked in effect about the area, [name withheld] agrees. [name withheld] mentions a write-up that day in their newspaper about ghost stories in New Orleans and says there seems to be a lot of superstition locally, especially around the old French Quarter, the Battle of New Orleans, and the old cemeteries. The host thanks [name withheld] and continues with other announcements. [name withheld] had announced [quote withheld] but only one is told in this part of the broadcast.
Reported events, in order
- 0:06
[name withheld] says their girlfriend lives in Chalmette, Louisiana, and that her parents repeatedly told them ghost stories about the house. [name withheld] says they did not believe it and made fun of it.
- 0:27
[name withheld] says they rented several ghost films from a video store and were watching Amityville Horror in the living room, all together.
- 0:46
[name withheld] says a stereo hooked up to the TV, which was not on at the time, blasted on by itself, very loudly, about halfway through the movie.
- 0:56
[name withheld] says the person referred to as “he” jumped up, checked the stereo, turned it off, and shrugged it off.
- 1:04
[name withheld] says nothing like that had happened when they were there and that they had never seen anything like it before.
- 1:23
[name withheld] mentions a newspaper write-up that day about New Orleans ghost stories and local superstition around the French Quarter, the Battle of New Orleans, and the old cemeteries.
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· 0:46
A stereo connected to the TV, which the caller says was not switched on, came on by itself about halfway through the film and was very loud.
- observation· 0:40
The stereo was hooked up to the TV in the house in Chalmette.
- observation· 1:07
The caller had never witnessed anything like this before.
- hearsay· 0:13
The girlfriend's mother and father told the caller ghost stories about events in the house.
- observation· 0:13
The caller did not believe the stories at the time and made fun of them.
- host statement· 1:11
The host says New Orleans or Louisiana is the sort of place where ghosts would be.
- observation· 1:23
The caller notes local superstition and newspaper coverage of New Orleans ghost stories.
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 short but coherent firsthand story with a named place and film. It is weakened by an easy ordinary explanation (equipment malfunction) that the caller does not address, and by unclear pronouns that make it hard to tell who did what.
Evidence for and against
- The caller says they were present: [quote withheld]
- They had just rented ghost films [quote withheld] and were watching the Amityville Horror, which gives a concrete setting and sequence.
- The caller gives a clear report of the event, [quote withheld] and describes the response: someone turned it off.
- No date, time of day, or year is given. The story lasts under two minutes.
- A fault or automatic switching-on in the link between the stereo and the TV is a ready ordinary explanation that the caller never addresses.
- The person meant by “he” shifts, and the labels showing who is speaking are inconsistent, so who did what is not fully clear.
- Whether the phrase [quote withheld] said of the house, is a transcription error for “built on.”
- The identity of the person called “he” is unstated.
- 0:46
- 0:27
What the model inferred (not said on air): I treated this as a typical short firsthand story with an obvious ordinary explanation. So I placed it near the scoring guide's example score of 40 rather than 55, which calls for a specific firsthand story that is not backed up by anyone else.
Only the caller's word is offered. The caller claims a second person was in the room, but that person does not speak, and no recording, photo, or document is examined.
Evidence for and against
- It comes with checkable place names (Chalmette, Louisiana, and Chalmette Battlefield) and a claimed second witness.
- The caller also mentions a newspaper write-up from that day. It is a secondhand item that might be checked, though the caller does not describe it in detail.
- No documentation, photograph, recording, or named independent witness is produced on air.
- The events are undated, and no follow-up check is described.
- No second witness speaks. The host only reacts and moves on.
- The newspaper write-up is unnamed and may not relate directly to this house.
- The number and identities of the other people in the room are unstated.
- 0:06
- 1:23
What the model inferred (not said on air): I placed this in the range of 11 to 25 on the scoring guide because there are checkable details (place names) and a claimed other witness, but nothing is verified and no physical evidence is claimed. That range is for details that could be checked but have not been.
A single device switching on suddenly and loudly while people watch a film in a darkened living room is mildly eerie, especially with a horror movie playing. But there is no threat, presence, or escalation.
Evidence for and against
- The sound is described as sudden and very loud: [quote withheld]
- The setting is a family home the caller had been told was haunted, during a showing of the Amityville Horror.
- It ends as soon as the unit is switched off, and the reaction is described as a shrug.
- No figure, voice, touch, injury, or sense of a presence is reported.
- The time of day is unstated, which would affect how the scene reads to a listener.
- 0:46
- 1:00
What the model inferred (not said on air): The startle and the haunted-house framing put this slightly above the middle of the low range. It is an unexplained but unthreatening incident at home, so I kept it near the scoring guide's “mildly eerie” level.
An appliance switching itself on is a stock ghost-story element. What sets this one apart is that it goes off in the middle of a horror film, in front of a guest who says plainly that they did not believe.
Evidence for and against
- A stereo or TV that switches on by itself is a familiar theme. It falls in the TV and radio category.
- The distinctive detail is the context: a visitor to the household who did not believe is watching Amityville Horror, a film about a haunting.
- No unusual event beyond the device switching on by itself is reported. There is no figure, message, or physical trace.
- The story's structure, in which a skeptic witnesses a small strange event, is itself a common pattern.
- This part of the broadcast is short, so the story may be less distinctive than the fragment suggests.
- The published originality score is measured against the rest of the archive and is provisional during the pilot.
- 0:27
- 0:46
What the model inferred (not said on air): A provisional estimate of 35, made without comparing the story with the rest of the archive. It is a familiar frame (a device working by itself) with one mildly distinctive detail of context. That is not enough to reach the scoring guide's level of 50, for a familiar frame with a truly distinctive detail.
Scoring confidence 0.55 · analysis confidence 0.60 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story only (live call).; Claimed other person present in the room, who does not speak on air.; No photograph, recording, document, or physical trace produced or examined.. The originality score blends the model's score (35) 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.
- Faulty equipment, an automatic power-on, or a malfunction in the stereo or its link to the TV produced a sudden burst of sound. · The caller says the stereo was [quote withheld] and [quote withheld] before it came on. The incident ended as soon as it was switched off.
- Someone in the room switched the stereo on, by accident or otherwise. · The caller says [quote withheld] and that another person there jumped up and checked the unit.
What stands out
The strange event reported is a single piece of consumer electronics switching itself on during a rented horror film. The caller says plainly that they had not believed the family's earlier ghost stories. No figure, voice, or physical trace is reported.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.