Caller recounts her mother smelling flowers before her sister's death
A caller who gives her name as [name withheld], in Las Vegas, tells a story about her mother. She says that in 1976, while they were talking on the telephone, her mother suddenly said she smelled flowers, strong, like stock or carnation. Her mother identified the smell as her sister [name withheld]'s flower. About an hour later, she says, her mother got a call that [name withheld] had died. The story ends there. Afterward, outside this part of the broadcast, the caller goes on to describe her own recurring flower smells.
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 1995.mp3”, starting at 2:02:23). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], calling from Las Vegas on the first-time caller line, says she wants to tell [quote withheld] She says her mother died in 1982 and that the incident she describes took place in 1976, when she was on the telephone with her mother. According to [name withheld], her mother said all of a sudden that she smelled flowers. The smell was described as strong, [quote withheld] and her mother said that was the flower her sister [name withheld] liked. [name withheld] reports that about an hour later her mother got a call telling her that [name withheld] had died. The story ends with that news. In the lines that follow, outside the story, the caller goes on to a related story about her own recurring experiences of smelling flowers she associates with her mother.
Reported events, in order
- 0:05
The caller gives her name as [name withheld] and says she is in Las Vegas, on the first-time caller line.
- 0:22
She says she wants to tell [quote withheld]
- 0:31
She says her mother died in 1982.
- 0:33
She says she was talking with her mother on the phone in 1976.
- 0:40
Her mother said all of a sudden that she smelled flowers, strong, like stock or carnation.
- 0:48
Her mother said that was the flower her sister [name withheld] liked.
- 0:53
About an hour later, her mother got a call that [name withheld] had died.
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).
- hearsay· 0:40
The caller's mother, on the telephone in 1976, said she smelled flowers.
- hearsay· 0:44
The smell was described as strong, like stock or carnation.
- interpretation· 0:48
The caller's mother identified the flower as the one her sister [name withheld] liked.
- hearsay· 0:53
About an hour after the smell, the caller's mother got a call that [name withheld] had died.
- interpretation· 0:22
The caller presents the smell as one of a set of “flower stories” connected with her mother.
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 and fairly specific story, told secondhand from a close named source, with no contradictions. The cap of 60 for secondhand stories applies. The caller does not address ordinary possibilities (real flowers nearby, coincidence with a relative's death), which keeps the score in the middle range.
Evidence for and against
- A specific year, relationship, and flower type are given.
- A simple, consistent sequence: phone call, smell, naming of the flower, news of the death.
- The caller does not push the claim beyond reporting what her mother said.
- The smell is not the caller's own experience. She relays it from her mother.
- No information about the mother's surroundings that would rule out real flowers or scent.
- The gap of about an hour and the death itself cannot be checked from the transcript.
- The labels showing who is speaking swap at one point: the host's question “Where are you?” appears in a line labeled as the caller's.
- The time of day, the mother's location, and the circumstances of [name withheld]'s death are not stated.
- Whether the caller herself was with her mother is not stated. The exchange was by telephone.
- 0:33
- 0:44
- 0:53
What the model inferred (not said on air): The scores by part are my editorial judgments: closeness to the source 12/25 (the mother had the experience, and a close named source relays it), specificity 12/20, internal consistency 15/20, other explanations 8/20, and calibration 8/15, for a total of 55.
The caller's word, relayed from her mother, with a few checkable details (the name [name withheld], the year 1976, the city of Las Vegas) but nothing examined. No physical evidence is claimed, and there is no second witness on air.
Evidence for and against
- The caller's name and city are given.
- Dates are given for the phone call and the mother's death.
- No photograph, recording, or document mentioned.
- No witness other than the caller speaks. The person who reportedly smelled the flowers is not on air.
- The death is stated, with no evidence offered.
- No outside check was done, so the hard cap of 50 applies.
- Whether any documentation exists is not stated.
- 0:48
- 0:53
What the model inferred (not said on air): I place the story at a score of 11 to 25 because checkable details (a first name, a year, a city, a stated death) are given but nothing was verified.
A quiet, unsettling coincidence: an unexplained smell linked to a relative shortly before news of that relative's death. There is no threat, no visible figure, and no physical contact. The effect is mild eeriness rather than lasting dread.
Evidence for and against
- An unexplained smell linked to a named person.
- News of the death follows within about an hour.
- No threatening or hostile element.
- Nothing is described as seen, heard, or touched. The only reported sensation is a smell.
- The time of day and the mother's surroundings are not stated, so the setting cannot be judged.
- The death itself is not described.
- 0:40
- 0:53
What the model inferred (not said on air): My rating reflects what happens in the story (an unexplained smell immediately followed by a death), not the caller's delivery.
A smell as a sign of death is a familiar setup for a warning or premonition story. But the specific detail gives it some distinctiveness: the smell is identified with a named living relative's favorite flower, sensed by a third person, and relayed over the phone. The score is provisional, since comparison with the rest of the archive carries little weight here.
Evidence for and against
- A specific flower identified with a named person.
- The smell was sensed by someone other than the caller, during a telephone call.
- Stories of a smell before a death, or a sign at a time of crisis, recur often in ghost lore.
- Nothing unusual beyond the smell itself. The story is very short.
- Novelty compared with the rest of the archive cannot be computed from a single story. The published value is provisional.
- A one-minute story, with a second, related anecdote in the lines that follow.
- 0:44
- 0:48
What the model inferred (not said on air): How familiar this seems is my own judgment. The transcript supplies only the smell, the naming of the flower, and the news of the death.
Scoring confidence 0.55 · analysis confidence 0.60 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's secondhand story: her mother's report of a smell, relayed during a telephone call; No physical evidence, recording, photograph, or document mentioned; No witness other than the caller speaks on air. 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.
- Real flowers or a scented product were present where the mother was, giving off an ordinary smell that she remarked on. · The smell is described as strong and specific ([quote withheld]), and the transcript says nothing about the mother's surroundings.
- Coincidence: an unrelated smell an hour before news of a relative's death. · The story gives no information about [name withheld]'s health, her age, or the timing of her death ([quote withheld]).
- The mother linked the smell with her sister's favorite flower, and that link shaped how she described and reported it. · The mother herself named the flower ([quote withheld]). The caller did not smell it.
What stands out
The smell is reported secondhand: the caller's mother smelled it and told her about it over the phone. The smell is tied to a specific named person's favorite flower about an hour before news of that person's death. The caller frames it as one of several “flower stories” about her mother.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.