Stumble in a radio station hall where a dead employee was found
A caller named [name withheld], in Santa Maria, California, who works at KSMA, says the station has a ghost. [name withheld] describes a former employee who died of a heart attack during a baseball broadcast about five or six years earlier. Later, the coworker who found the body stumbled in a long hallway at the spot where the body had lain. Nothing was visible when the lights were turned on. The host thanks [name withheld], and no resolution is given.
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 28:06). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, [name withheld], says they are in Santa Maria, California, and work at radio station KSMA, an affiliate that broadcasts the show. [name withheld]'s father and sister also work there. [name withheld] says the studios have a ghost. [name withheld] explains that a man who used to work there was working on the inside and doing a game, [quote withheld] About five or six years earlier, according to [name withheld], a man on the FM side came out and saw this man lying on the floor. The FM-side man called [name withheld]'s father, the operations manager, and said, [quote withheld] By the time [name withheld]'s father arrived, paramedics were working on the man. He eventually died, and it was said to be a heart attack, in the middle of the game. [name withheld] then says the man who found him later went down a long hall, about 50 feet, one night, checking for boxes or anything in the way. He turned out the lights. Later, going down the hall, he stumbled and fell. When he turned on the lights, there was nothing there. [name withheld] says it was right next to the AM room and “supposedly” where the body had been found. When the host guesses he stumbled over the body, [name withheld] says they don't know, but it was supposedly where he had found him. [name withheld] repeats that nothing was there when the light was turned on. The host thanks [name withheld] and calls it a good way to start. No further details or resolution are given.
Reported events, in order
- 0:18
The caller says they are [name withheld], in Santa Maria, California.
- 0:32
[name withheld] says they work at a radio station that broadcasts the show.
- 0:41
[name withheld] identifies the station as KSMA in Santa Maria.
- 0:54
[name withheld] says their father and sister also work there.
- 0:56
[name withheld] says, [quote withheld]
- 1:05
[name withheld] begins: [quote withheld]
- 1:35
[name withheld] says the man was working [quote withheld]
- 2:00
[name withheld] says it was [quote withheld]
- 2:04
The man on the FM side came out and saw the former employee lying on the floor.
- 2:16
The FM-side man called [name withheld]'s father.
- 2:24
The caller said, [quote withheld]
- 2:28
He said the man was on the floor and he thought he was dead.
- 2:35
[name withheld]'s father arrived, and paramedics were working on the man.
- 2:41
The man eventually died. It was said to be a heart attack.
- 2:47
This was in the middle of the game.
- 2:50
[name withheld] says [quote withheld] later went through the hall one night.
- 2:55
The hall is long, about 50 feet.
- 2:58
He checked for boxes or anything he might trip on.
- 3:03
He turned out the lights. Later, going down the hall, he stumbled and fell.
- 3:11
He turned on the lights, and nothing was there.
- 3:14
It was next to the AM room, supposedly where he had found the body.
- 3:24
[name withheld] says they don't know, but it was [quote withheld]
- 3:31
The host thanks [name withheld], and there is no resolution.
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).
- interpretation· 0:56
The station has a ghost.
- hearsay· 1:45
[name withheld]'s sister has had a strange experience at the station, but no details are given.
- hearsay· 3:03
The coworker who found the body later stumbled and fell in the hall.
- hearsay· 3:11
No obstruction was visible when the lights were turned on.
- hearsay· 3:24
The stumble happened at the spot where the body had been found.
- host statement· 3:21
The host guesses the coworker stumbled over the body.
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.
The story is coherent and gives some concrete details about the place. But the central strange event is relayed from coworkers, and a trip in a dark hallway is an easy ordinary alternative.
Evidence for and against
- Specific station and location.
- Coherent sequence of the death and the later stumble.
- The caller uses qualifiers such as “maybe” and “I suppose.”
- The central event is reported secondhand.
- No exact date or names.
- A misstep in a dark hallway or a missed object could explain the fall.
- Some lines are garbled, or it is unclear who is speaking.
- The caller did not witness the central strange event.
- No exact date or full names are given.
- 0:56
- 2:00
- 2:55
- 3:24
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is capped at 60 because the central strange event is reported secondhand. The caller is not the witness.
Checkable specifics such as KSMA and Santa Maria are given but not checked. Other witnesses are claimed, but none speaks on air.
Evidence for and against
- Station and location named.
- The caller's father is identified as operations manager.
- A sister and a male coworker are said to have had experiences.
- No physical evidence, recording, or document.
- No second witness on air.
- No exact date or full names.
- No exact date is given.
- The dead man and the coworker who stumbled are unnamed.
- No documentation or physical evidence is presented.
- 0:41
- 0:18
- 1:45
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score falls in the 11 to 25 range because checkable specifics are given but not checked, and other witnesses are claimed but none speaks on air.
A death at the workplace and an invisible obstruction in a dark hallway are mildly unsettling, but there is no threat, malice, or vivid horror.
Evidence for and against
- A death during a broadcast.
- A stumble in a dark hall at the spot where the body had been found.
- No threatening presence.
- No reported injury beyond the fall.
- The host treats the story as a good opening rather than a frightening one.
- It is not stated whether the fall caused injury.
- The story ends abruptly with no resolution.
- 3:03
- 3:11
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a judgment of entertainment value: the setting and the death give mild unease, but there is little sustained dread or threat.
A familiar workplace-haunting frame with one distinctive detail: the strange thing is an invisible trip or obstruction at the exact spot where a coworker had died, rather than a visible ghost.
Evidence for and against
- Radio station setting.
- An unseen obstruction causing a fall.
- A haunting tied to a death at work and a phantom obstruction are common motifs.
- No description of an unusual presence or a complex event.
- The very brief story limits any judgment of how distinctive it is.
- Novelty compared with the rest of the archive is not worked out here, so the score is provisional.
- 0:56
- 3:03
What the model inferred (not said on air): The radio-station haunting frame is familiar, but the invisible obstruction at the spot of a death is a distinctive detail.
Scoring confidence 0.65 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's secondhand story.; No physical evidence or documents.; No second witness 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.
- A trip hazard or misstep in a darkened hallway. · The coworker had checked the hall for boxes and turned out the lights before later going down it.
- Expectation or association with the spot where the body had been found could shape how a stumble is interpreted. · The caller says it was [quote withheld]
What stands out
The strange thing here is not a visible ghost but an invisible obstruction that causes a fall in a radio station hallway, at the spot where a coworker had found a body.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.