Two tomb robbers found dead in a New Orleans above-ground cemetery
[name withheld], calling from New Orleans, tells Art Bell that they and their younger son were visiting and cleaning their grandmother's tomb in an old above-ground cemetery. They found several tombs broken into. In the tomb of a girl said to have died in a scarlet fever epidemic, they found the recent bodies of two young men. The caller says the cemetery keepers called the police and that they later heard both men had died of heart attacks. The call ends with the caller saying the little girl took her revenge on the men who tried to break into her tomb.
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 2:53:43). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], calling from New Orleans on Ghost to Ghost night, begins by noting that in New Orleans people are buried above ground and that their grandmother is buried in one of the old cemeteries. [name withheld] says they and their younger son clean and weed her tomb and walk around looking at the dates on other tombs. On one such walk they noticed that a couple of the tombs had been broken into. Looking inside, the caller says, they saw bodies disturbed and caskets open, broken, or chipped at the corners. One of the oldest tombs, about a block from their grandmother's, was said to be that of an eight-year-old girl who died during a scarlet fever epidemic. The caller climbed up to look in and saw two bodies that appeared recent, about a day or two old. Bell asks whether these were the people desecrating the tombs. [name withheld] agrees and describes two young men, one face down and one face up. The one face up had an expression [quote withheld] The caller says they told the keepers of the ground, who called the police. Two weeks later, when the caller called to ask what had happened, they were told both men had died of heart attacks. The caller says they are sure the man they saw died of fright. The caller adds that the girl's metal coffin had been opened and that the men were thought to have been robbing it when something scared them to death. The caller says their son still talks about it and that it is told every Halloween. It still bothers the caller once in a while. The caller concludes that the little girl took her revenge when they tried to break in. Bell thanks the caller and takes the next call.
Reported events, in order
- 0:29
The caller explains that in New Orleans people are buried above ground and that their grandmother is buried in one of the old cemeteries.
- 0:39
The caller says they and their younger son clean and weed the family tomb and walk around reading dates on the tombs.
- 0:50
They notice that a couple of tombs have been broken into.
- 0:55
Looking inside, they see bodies disturbed and caskets open, broken, or chipped at the corners.
- 1:02
They come to one of the oldest tombs, about a block from their grandmother's, said to be that of an eight-year-old girl who died during a scarlet fever outbreak.
- 1:14
The caller climbs up to look in and sees two bodies that appear recent, about a day or two old.
- 1:25
The caller describes the two dead men: two young men, one face down and one face up, apparently the people who had been desecrating the tombs.
- 1:31
The caller says the man lying face up had an extraordinary expression on his face.
- 1:37
The caller reports telling the cemetery keepers, who called the police. When the caller called two weeks later, they were told both men had died of heart attacks.
- 1:51
The caller says they are sure the man they saw died of fright.
- 1:55
The caller reports the metal coffin of the little girl had been opened and that the men were thought to have been robbing it when something scared them to death.
- 2:14
The caller says their son still talks about the event and that it is retold every Halloween.
- 2:26
The caller says it still bothers them once in a while.
- 2:31
The caller concludes that the little girl took her revenge on the men who tried to break into her tomb.
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· 0:50
Several tombs in the old cemetery had been broken into.
- observation· 0:55
Bodies inside the broken tombs had been disturbed and caskets opened or damaged.
- observation· 1:14
Inside one old tomb the caller saw two bodies that looked only a day or two old.
- observation· 1:25
The two dead men were lying one face down and one face up.
- observation· 1:31
The man lying face up had an extraordinary expression on his face.
- hearsay· 1:37
Both men were said to have died of heart attacks, according to what the caller was told when they called to ask two weeks later.
- interpretation· 1:51
The caller is sure the man they saw died of fright.
- hearsay· 1:55
The caller says they were told that the men were robbing the tomb and something scared them to death.
- interpretation· 2:31
The dead girl's spirit took revenge on the tomb robbers.
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 consistent, fairly specific firsthand story of finding bodies and damaged tombs. But the supernatural part is entirely inference, and the reported cause of death (heart attacks) is ordinary. The caller is a firsthand witness to the discovery, but did not see the strange core of the story.
Evidence for and against
- The caller presents themselves as a firsthand witness to the discovery of the bodies.
- Concrete detail is given in order: broken tombs, caskets chipped at corners, two bodies a day or two old, one face down and one face up.
- The caller reports a follow-up and its result: they called two weeks later to ask what had happened.
- The central strange claim rests on the caller's inference plus what the caller says they were told, not on anything the caller saw: [quote withheld]
- The caller gives no date, no cemetery name, no police report, and no name for anyone but themselves, so the events are not anchored by anything outside the story.
- The reported official cause of death was heart attacks ([quote withheld]), so an ordinary explanation fits the reported facts.
- The caller moves from hedged reporting (“i’m sure,” [quote withheld]) to certainty ([quote withheld]).
- The cause of death is reported secondhand, and the transcript does not say who told the caller.
- The speaker labels shift near the end between the caller and a questionable host label, so a small amount of the closing material cannot be firmly credited to one speaker.
- 1:14
- 1:37
- 2:31
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component estimates: source proximity 18 (a direct witness to the discovery, but not to the deaths); specificity 12 (setting, body positions, and order of events, but no names, dates, or records); internal consistency 16; alternative explanations 6 (heart attacks and misreading a dead man's face fit easily, and the caller does not address them as alternatives); calibration of claims 5 (some hedging, but conclusions are stated with certainty). Total 57.
The only evidence is the caller's word plus a claimed second witness who does not speak. No specifics that can be checked, such as a named cemetery, date, or record, are supplied. It sits at the low end of the “other witnesses claimed” range.
Evidence for and against
- The caller names themselves and their city: [quote withheld]
- The caller says a second witness, their younger son, was there.
- The caller reports an official response (cemetery keepers calling police) and a follow-up inquiry two weeks later. These could be checked in principle only if records existed, and none are given.
- No document, photograph, recording, or official source on air is produced.
- No cemetery name, date, case number, or official is named. New Orleans is the only place given.
- The claimed second witness, the caller's son, does not speak on air.
- It is not stated whether the son saw the bodies as clearly as the caller did.
- 0:39
- 2:14
What the model inferred (not said on air): Range placement: 11 to 25 for a claimed additional witness with no documentation. It is scored low within the range because identifying details are missing.
Corpses inside a robbed tomb, a described look of terror, and a child-revenge frame make for a strongly unsettling mood. But the story is brief and has no threat to the living and no lasting build-up.
Evidence for and against
- Two corpses are found inside a tomb, described as only a day or two old.
- The face of one dead man is described as having an expression [quote withheld]
- The family returns to the story each Halloween, and it still [quote withheld]
- The caller's closing line blames the deaths on a child's revenge.
- Nothing threatening is aimed at the caller or at anyone living.
- The telling ends with the host's matter-of-fact sign-off and thanks.
- No description of the tomb's inside is given beyond the bodies and caskets.
- 1:31
- 2:31
What the model inferred (not said on air): Rated for mood only. The single event and short length keep it below the high end of the scale.
A familiar revenge-from-the-grave story carried by a specific and fairly uncommon setting: New Orleans above-ground tombs, an old child's grave, and the victims found in the coffin they were robbing.
Evidence for and against
- A distinctive setting: above-ground New Orleans tombs and tomb desecration.
- A distinctive detail: the robbers are found inside the tomb of an eight-year-old girl said to have died in a scarlet fever epidemic, a block from the family grave.
- Someone dying of fright after disturbing a grave is a familiar legend structure.
- No unusual event (no ghost seen, no strange physical thing) is reported. The strange part is an inference about an existing death.
- Only one story has been scored in this area of the archive, so comparison with other stories is not yet meaningful.
- 0:29
- 1:02
What the model inferred (not said on air): A provisional estimate of 58 based on the content. The comparison with the rest of the archive carries little weight at this stage, so the published value should be treated as provisional.
Scoring confidence 0.68 · analysis confidence 0.72 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's own firsthand word about finding the broken tombs and the two bodies; A claimed second witness (their younger son) who was there but does not speak on air; Claimed information from a third party (what the caller says they were told about the cause of death), with no document, record, or official confirmation on air. 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.
- The two men died of natural medical causes (as the cause of death the caller reports indicates) while inside the tomb, and the setting supplied the frightening story afterward. · The caller reports the deaths were blamed on heart attacks ([quote withheld]). A medical cause of death needs nothing supernatural, whatever the men were doing when they died.
- The “expression of fright” is one person's reading of a dead man's face. The caller had just climbed up to look into a tomb where two decomposing bodies lay. · The only detail the caller gives about the dead man is his facial expression ([quote withheld]). How a body looks after death, how it lies, or the caller's own reaction on finding two corpses could be read as “fright.”
- The revenge part may be a family or community story that has been repeated and shaped over the years, not a single account from the time. · The caller says the story is retold each year: [quote withheld]
What stands out
The caller did not experience any strange event personally. The caller describes the aftermath of an alleged encounter and takes the reported terror of two dead men as proof that the dead girl acted. The specific image, robbers found dead in the coffin they had opened, is also fairly rare among this archive's cemetery stories.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.