Falling through ground in a cemetery and being lifted out by pressure on their feet
A caller named [name withheld], calling from Houston, Alaska, tells Art Bell a story they say happened about thirty-five years earlier, when they were 13, in Westfield, Massachusetts. They say that while running through an old cemetery beside a church as a shortcut, they fell through the ground into what they assumed was a grave. They were covered in dirt and winged insects. Then they felt a pressure around their feet that lifted them out of the dirt. They say they ran to the far side of the cemetery, where their friends were, and have never entered a cemetery since. The caller offers no explanation for the pressure.
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 1:38:20). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], calling from Houston, Alaska, tells Art Bell that the story happened about thirty-five years earlier, when the caller was 13, in Westfield, Massachusetts, where they went to public school. The caller says they had a crush on a boy who went to Catholic school. They talked a couple of friends into going to see him on a Monday night after catechism let out. They had a curfew and knew they would be late. The caller says the route could be shortened by cutting through an old cemetery next to the church. It was enclosed by wrought iron and a stone wall and, as the caller remembers it, was not in use. Their friends talked them into the shortcut. The caller says they were a tomboy and weren't afraid, and they ran because of the deadline to get home. Halfway through, the caller says, they fell through the ground, which they assumed was a grave, with dirt coming in around them. They were screaming and covered with winged insects they assumed were termites. The caller says they were about 5 feet 1 inch tall and did not know how they would get out. The caller says they felt something around their feet: [quote withheld] The caller says they then ran without stopping to the other side of the cemetery, where their friends were, covered with dirt and the insects. The caller says they are 48 years old and have never been in a cemetery since. The host responds that it was scary and compares it to the film Poltergeist. The caller does not say what caused the pressure.
Reported events, in order
- 0:09
The caller identifies themself as [name withheld], says they were born on Friday the 13th, and says the story happened thirty-five years earlier when they were 13.
- 0:21
The caller says the events took place in Westfield, Massachusetts, where they went to public school.
- 0:31
The caller says they had a crush on a boy who went to Catholic school and talked a couple of friends into going to see him on a Monday night after catechism, knowing they would be late for curfew.
- 0:45
The caller describes an old cemetery next to the church, with wrought iron and a stone wall, which they do not remember ever being in use.
- 1:00
Their friends talked them into taking the shortcut through the cemetery. The caller says they were a tomboy and not afraid, and that they ran because of the curfew.
- 1:19
The caller says they fell through the ground halfway through the cemetery, into what they assumed was a grave, with dirt coming in alongside and around them.
- 1:33
The caller says they were screaming and covered with winged insects they assumed were termites.
- 1:51
The caller says they were about 5 feet 1 inch tall and did not know how they would get out.
- 1:57
The caller says they felt a pressure around their feet, [quote withheld] that lifted them up out of the dirt.
- 2:10
The caller says they ran without stopping to the other side of the cemetery.
- 2:15
The caller says their friends were there and that they were covered with dirt and the insects.
- 2:24
The caller says they have never been back in a cemetery, and that they are 48 years old.
- 2:39
The host calls it very scary and compares it to the film Poltergeist, describing running across a cemetery in the dark.
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· 1:19
The caller fell through the ground in the cemetery into what they took to be a grave.
- interpretation· 1:33
The caller took the hole they fell into to be a grave.
- observation· 1:57
The caller felt a pressure around their feet that lifted them out of the dirt, which they say was not something gripping them.
- interpretation· 2:15
The caller took the winged insects covering them to be termites.
- host statement· 2:52
The host restates the event as running across a cemetery in the dark and falling into a grave.
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 firsthand story with a consistent sequence and a few concrete details (a named town, age, height, the layout of the cemetery). But it rests entirely on the caller's own word and is brief. The central physical event also has a fairly easy ordinary reading: the ground collapsed and the caller climbed out.
Evidence for and against
- The caller says they were the one who fell in and was lifted out.
- Concrete local detail: Westfield, Massachusetts; public school; Catholic school; catechism; curfew; a cemetery with wrought iron and a stone wall.
- When the host asks why they were running, the caller gives a specific reason: the deadline to get home.
- The sequence is consistent: fall, dirt, insects, height, pressure, run to the far side.
- No date, named cemetery, named friends, or records. Nothing can be checked beyond a town name.
- The hole is plausibly a collapsed grave in an old cemetery, an ordinary ground hazard.
- The lifting is reported with no detail of how it worked or in what way the pressure moved the caller.
- The caller's friends are not heard from and are not said to have seen the lifting.
- A garbled stretch of lines makes some words uncertain.
- “Houston, Alaska” appears inside a line labeled as the host's, so the caller's stated location may be mislabeled.
- 1:19
- 1:57
- 2:24
What the model inferred (not said on air): The rating reflects that the story is tidy and firsthand, but what could be checked is limited to a named town and a general kind of place. The lifting is stated once and never described in more detail.
Nothing exists beyond the caller's own story: no document, photograph, recording, or second witness on air. A named town and a described cemetery are details that could in principle be checked. That places the score just inside the low range rather than at the bottom.
Evidence for and against
- A named place and setting that could in principle be located: Westfield, Massachusetts, and a walled old cemetery next to a church.
- A claimed second group of witnesses who say nothing on air ([quote withheld]).
- No physical evidence is claimed to exist at all.
- No named cemetery, named friends, date, or record.
- No second witness speaks on air.
- The transcript does not show whether the host or anyone else followed up or checked anything.
- 0:45
- 2:15
What the model inferred (not said on air): The named town counts as something checkable, but nothing was checked and no object was offered, so the score stays low.
Being buried in dirt in the dark, covered with winged insects, unable to climb out, is a strong, claustrophobic image. The child's age and the unexplained upward pressure add to it. It stops short of lasting dread or threat because the episode ends with the caller's escape and nothing strange follows.
Evidence for and against
- Falling into what the caller took to be a grave, with earth closing in, and being covered with insects.
- Nighttime, a 13-year-old alone at the bottom of a hole: [quote withheld]
- An unseen pressure on the feet doing something the caller could not explain.
- Lasting avoidance: the caller says they have never entered a cemetery since.
- No threat, presence, or ill will is reported, and nothing follows the caller home.
- The host's light comparison to a film at the end softens the tone somewhat.
- The transcript does not make clear how dark it was or how long the episode lasted.
- 1:33
- 2:24
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score reflects the buried-alive imagery and the insects rather than any reported ill will.
The frame, teenagers cutting through a cemetery at night on a dare or shortcut, is stock. But falling bodily through the ground into a grave and being pushed up out of the dirt by pressure on the feet is an uncommon central event. Comparison with the rest of the archive is provisional in this pilot.
Evidence for and against
- The central event is a physical fall through cemetery ground and an unexplained lift out of it.
- No figure, voice, light, or object appears. What is strange is purely a matter of the body and the ground.
- A cemetery at night and running children are common ghost-story furniture.
- The caller offers no interpretation, so the story lacks the explanation that many stories carry.
- Comparison with the rest of the archive counts for little at pilot scale, so this number is labeled provisional.
- 1:00
- 1:57
What the model inferred (not said on air): The originality score is set at 55 from the content alone. The published value would blend in comparison with the rest of the archive, which counts for little at this sample size.
Scoring confidence 0.65 · analysis confidence 0.72 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's own firsthand spoken word; Friends who were not heard from (said to be waiting on the far side of the cemetery); No photographs, recordings, documents, or records offered. The originality score blends the model's score (55) 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.
- An old, unused cemetery could have sunken, collapsed, or unmarked graves and soft, disturbed ground that a running child could break through. · The caller describes an old cemetery next to the church, “pretty shut down,” that they do not remember ever being used.
- In a shallow hole with loose earth, the feeling of pressure at the feet and of being moved upward could come from the caller's own scrambling and from soil giving way around their legs. · The caller says they felt [quote withheld] and that they did not know how they would get out of the hole.
- The winged insects could be ordinary soil or ground insects disturbed by a collapse, as the caller suggests. · The caller says they were covered with bugs [quote withheld] with wings.
What stands out
What the caller reports is not a sighting but a physical lift out of a hole. They name no spirit, figure, or cause for the pressure. The collapse of the ground itself is presented as ordinary ground giving way. The story is also told as a childhood misadventure with a curfew and a crush, rather than as a haunting of a building.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.