College radio expedition to a reservoir reports a woman in white on the road
In a letter read on air, the host presents a story from [name withheld] in Bellevue, Washington. It describes an early-1970s college radio expedition on WPKN-FM in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The station set out on a Halloween special to look for a local “Easton monster.” Waiting in three cars by a reservoir at night, at least one person in each car reportedly shouted to leave at the same moment. Back at the station, the group wrote down separately what had frightened them, and all described a transparent woman in a long white gown on the road. The letter says the special was canceled and listeners were told there were technical difficulties.
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 21:01). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
According to a letter read on air by the host, the writer, identified by the host as [name withheld] in Bellevue, Washington, describes their “first experience” in the early 1970s while doing college radio on WPKN-FM in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The writer says there was a local legend in nearby Easton about a swamp monster, a Sasquatch-type creature. The station decided to make a serious Halloween special [quote withheld] They researched past sightings, interviewed locals, and recruited community volunteers to help verify findings. On the night of the expedition they loaded three cars with people and audio and camera equipment. They drove to the side of a reservoir where sightings had been recorded and parked in a small clearing between the roads and the reservoir. They switched off the engines and waited in the dark with recorders running. The letter says that suddenly, at the exact same moment in all three cars, at least one person in each car yelled [quote withheld] The writer claims this was later verified by listening to the tapes. There had been no communication between the cars. They drove back to the station without anyone speaking. The producer suggested no one say anything but each write down what had scared them. When they compared notes, the letter says, all had written the same thing: a woman around thirty with long flowing hair and a long white gown floating down the center of the road, and she was transparent. The writer argues this could hardly be group hypnosis because they had been looking for a Sasquatch, not a ghost. The writer says they were all badly unnerved, canceled the special, and told their audience there had been technical difficulties.
Reported events, in order
- 0:17
The letter writer says their first experience occurred in the early 1970s while doing college radio on WPKN-FM in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
- 0:29
The writer reports a local legend in nearby Easton about a swamp monster, a Sasquatch-type creature.
- 0:37
The station decides to do a Halloween special [quote withheld] researching sightings, interviewing locals, and recruiting volunteers.
- 1:00
On the night of the expedition they load three cars with people and audio and camera equipment and drive to the side of a reservoir where sightings had been recorded.
- 1:10
All three cars pull off into a small clearing between the roads and the reservoir. Engines off, they wait in darkness with recorders rolling.
- 1:26
Suddenly, at the same moment in all three cars, at least one person in each car yells [quote withheld] The letter says this was later verified from the tapes.
- 1:39
No communication had passed between the cars. They drive back to the radio station without anyone speaking.
- 1:49
The producer suggests no one speak but each write down what had frightened them.
- 2:01
Comparing notes, the letter says all had written the same thing.
- 2:07
The shared description: a woman around thirty with long flowing hair and a long white gown floating down the center of the road.
- 2:20
She was transparent, the letter states.
- 2:22
The writer argues this could hardly be group hypnosis because they had been looking for a Sasquatch, not a ghost.
- 2:32
All were badly unnerved. They canceled the special and told the audience there had been technical difficulties.
- 2:43
The host attributes the letter to [name withheld] in Bellevue, Washington.
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· 2:07
The writer says the group saw the figure of a woman in a long white gown on the road.
- observation· 2:20
The writer says the figure was transparent.
- observation· 1:26
The writer says at least one person in each of the three cars shouted to leave at the same moment.
- observation· 2:01
The writer says the group's separately written notes all matched.
- interpretation· 2:22
The writer concludes the experience was not group hypnosis because they had expected a Sasquatch, not a ghost.
- hearsay· 0:29
The writer reports a local legend of a swamp monster in Easton.
- host statement· 2:43
The host states the letter came from [name withheld] in Bellevue, Washington.
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 coherent, reasonably specific story that reads as firsthand, with a clear sequence and an explicit attempt to rule out one ordinary explanation. It is not backed up by anyone on air, and a group-expectation explanation still fits fairly easily. That keeps it in the middle of the scale rather than higher.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand framing: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- Concrete detail: three cars, audio and camera equipment, a reservoir, a small clearing.
- A coherent sequence with no evident self-contradiction, and arguments built into the letter ([quote withheld]).
- The writer separates what was seen from what it means. The woman and her transparency are described as seen, and the ghost framing is only implied.
- Only the letter's own word supports the multiple-witness element, and no witness speaks on air.
- A group primed by a monster legend and waiting in the dark is a setting where shared expectation and misperception fit reasonably well.
- The writer's argument against group hypnosis rests on not expecting a ghost, which does not rule out suggestion, seeing faces in shapes, or a real figure seen at a distance.
- The story reaches us only as a letter read aloud, and there is no chance to question the writer.
- The claimed tape verification is unexamined and cannot be weighed.
- 0:21
- 1:00
- 2:22
- 2:20
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component estimate (my judgment, not from the broadcast): source proximity 18, specificity 13, internal consistency 17, alternative explanations 8, calibration 9, total 65.
The story is the host reading a letter. No document, tape, or photograph is examined on air, and no second witness speaks. The letter claims audio tapes that verified the simultaneous reaction, and claims multiple witnesses, but none is independently available.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld] Audio recordings are claimed to exist.
- Checkable specifics are given: [quote withheld] [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- Multiple witnesses claimed: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- No tape, note, or photograph is produced or described as examined.
- No witness other than the letter writer speaks on air.
- The multiple-witness element rests entirely on the letter's own word.
- Whether the tapes actually exist and what they contain is not established.
- No second witness speaks on air, so the multiple-witness element is only asserted.
- 1:26
- 1:49
- 2:43
What the model inferred (not said on air): I treat the claimed audio tapes as [quote withheld] (a score of 26 to 40), which also covers the claimed multiple witnesses who do not speak on air.
A transparent woman in a long white gown floating down a road at night, and a whole group in several cars fleeing at once, make a sustained, eerie image with an unresolved ending. No threat, physical contact, or harm is reported, which keeps it below the higher scores.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld]
- “She was transparent.”
- [quote withheld]
- [quote withheld]
- No malice, attack, or physical contact is reported.
- The figure is described only as seen from a distance, and nothing is said about it approaching.
- No physical contact, threat, or harm is reported, which limits the score.
- Whether listeners would find the ending ominous or merely unresolved is a judgment call.
- 2:20
- 1:26
- 2:32
What the model inferred (not said on air): I rate the group's flight and the transparent floating figure as genuinely unsettling but not frightening, since there is no threat, contact, or harm.
The ghost itself (a woman in white on a road) is a familiar motif. The surrounding frame is more distinctive: a Sasquatch-hunting college radio expedition whose three car crews reacted at once and then wrote identical descriptions. This is a provisional value, with no comparison against the rest of the archive.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld]
- [quote withheld]
- [quote withheld]
- The “woman in white” or transparent figure on a road is a recurring stock element.
- A simultaneous group reaction and a shared written description are common in group-encounter stories.
- No comparison with the rest of the archive is available in this request, so the score is provisional.
- Whether the [quote withheld] frame is rare in this archive cannot be tested here.
- 2:07
- 1:26
- 2:29
What the model inferred (not said on air): The white-gown road figure is a stock motif (around 20), but the framing (a monster-hunting expedition, three cars, matched written notes) is distinctive, so I place the estimate in the middle of the scale.
Scoring confidence 0.72 · analysis confidence 0.78 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The writer's firsthand story in a letter, read aloud by the host.; Claimed audio tapes said to verify the simultaneous reaction across the three cars, not examined.; Multiple witnesses claimed (three car crews, community volunteers), none speaking on air.; Claimed separately written notes from the group that matched, not produced or examined.. The originality score blends the model's score (58) 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.
- Shared expectation and suggestion in a primed group waiting in the dark. · [quote withheld] and [quote withheld] A group already focused on a monster in the dark could react together and arrive at a similar description.
- Mistaking a real object or person at a distance in darkness (mist, a reflection, an actual person, or vegetation). · [quote withheld] This was low-light viewing at a distance over a road by a reservoir.
- The “exact same moment” reaction and the matching notes may be less precise than described, since the supporting tapes were never examined. · [quote withheld] and [quote withheld] The verification is asserted but not produced.
What stands out
A college radio expedition set out to hunt a local Sasquatch-type “monster” and instead reports a transparent woman in white on the road. The writer stresses that the group's separate written notes matched. The claimed tape verification of a simultaneous reaction across three separate cars is the most distinctive part of the story.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.