Black figure at foot of bed in a Redlands home
A caller describes living in Redlands, California, when they were first married to a husband who flew C-141s at Norton Air Force Base. The caller reports a period of uneasiness and cold in their new home. A moving garage-door doorknob made their dog bark and led them to call police. One night they woke in bed and saw a black figure at the foot of the bed that cast no reflection in a mirror. The caller says they were paralyzed and prayed the Lord’s Prayer. The figure disappeared, and the house warmed. The caller adds that they thought they imagined it and did not share it for a while.
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 1996.mp3”, starting at 2:58:00). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller says that when they were first married they lived in Redlands, California, while their husband flew C-141s at Norton Air Force Base, so they were home alone a lot. The caller says they had bought a brand-new, peaceful home, but that over a period of time things happened that they ignored. The caller describes a night when the garage-door doorknob was moving and their dog barked wildly, so they called police. The police came and found nothing. Afterward, the caller says, an ominous feeling came through the home when they were alone at night, and a coldness became more obvious. One night the caller was lying in bed, with a full-length mirror on a dresser at the foot of the bed. The caller reports waking suddenly, like a shock or cold sweat, and seeing a black figure standing at the foot of the bed in front of the mirror. It had no reflection in the mirror. The caller says they lay paralyzed and began praying the Lord’s Prayer, and the figure was gone. Afterward the whole house warmed up. The caller adds that for a while they thought they had imagined it and did not share it with anybody, but over the years they heard others describe similar experiences. Their husband slept through the event. The caller ends by saying they wanted to relate it as their ghost story.
Reported events, in order
- 0:10
The caller says they were first married and living in Redlands, California. Their husband flew C-141s at Norton Air Force Base, and the caller was home alone a lot.
- 0:22
The caller says they had bought a brand-new home that was peaceful.
- 0:29
The caller reports a period when things happened that they ignored.
- 0:38
The caller reports the garage-door doorknob moving and their dog barking wildly. They called police, who looked around and found nothing.
- 0:47
The caller says an ominous feeling began to come through the home when they were alone at night.
- 1:00
The caller reports a coldness in the house becoming more and more obvious.
- 1:13
The caller describes lying in bed with a full-length mirror on a dresser at the foot of the bed.
- 1:20
The caller says they were woken suddenly, like a shock or cold sweat.
- 1:31
The caller says they looked at the foot of the bed and saw a black figure standing there in front of the mirror.
- 1:38
The caller reports there was no reflection in the mirror.
- 1:41
The caller says they lay paralyzed and began to pray the Lord’s Prayer.
- 1:52
The caller says the figure was gone and afterward the whole house warmed up again.
- 2:04
The caller says that for a while they thought they had imagined it and did not share it with anybody.
- 2:23
The caller says their husband was sleeping through the whole event.
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· 0:38
A garage-door doorknob was moving and the caller’s dog barked wildly. Police found nothing.
- observation· 0:47
An ominous feeling came through the home when the caller was alone at night.
- observation· 1:00
A coldness in the house became more and more obvious.
- observation· 1:31
The caller saw a black figure standing at the foot of their bed.
- observation· 1:38
The black figure cast no reflection in the mirror.
- observation· 1:41
The caller was paralyzed while the figure was present.
- observation· 1:45
The caller prayed the Lord’s Prayer and the figure was gone. The house then warmed up.
- interpretation· 1:49
The caller had known as a Christian that they had authority over anything.
- interpretation· 2:16
The caller later describes it as something manifesting at the foot of their bed.
- host statement· 2:19
The host says it is easy to laugh at unless it has happened to you.
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 firsthand, consistent, and includes specific household details. But the central bedroom episode fits sleep paralysis, or a hallucination while falling asleep or waking up, very well. No date is given, and no one else backs it up.
Evidence for and against
- Direct, firsthand witness story.
- Specific location and household details: Redlands, California; Norton Air Force Base; a brand-new home; a mirror on a dresser at the foot of the bed.
- Consistent sequence from uneasiness and coldness to waking, seeing the figure, paralysis, prayer, and disappearance.
- The caller acknowledges uncertainty: they say they thought they imagined it for a while.
- Sleep paralysis, or a hallucination while falling asleep or waking up, fits the waking, paralysis, and bedroom figure well.
- No date, full name, or independent witness. The caller’s husband is reported asleep.
- The moving doorknob and the dog barking have easy ordinary explanations, and police found nothing.
- The coldness and ominous feeling are subjective and may have environmental or psychological explanations.
- The caller’s name is not clearly stated in the transcript.
- No era or date is given for the events.
- The line about things being [quote withheld] is awkwardly transcribed.
- 0:22
- 1:00
- 1:31
- 1:41
- 2:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): I scored the parts as follows: closeness to the source about 22/25; detail about 14/20; internal consistency about 16/20; alternative explanations about 6/20 because sleep paralysis fits easily; caution in claims about 10/15 because the caller admits uncertainty but also uses interpretive language such as “manifested itself.” This gives a middle score.
Only the caller’s firsthand word supports the events. Some details that could be checked are given, such as Redlands, Norton Air Force Base, and C-141s. None was checked, and there is no physical evidence or on-air second witness.
Evidence for and against
- Details that could be checked are mentioned: Redlands, California; Norton Air Force Base; C-141s.
- The caller says police were called, which in principle could be checked if a date existed.
- The mirror detail is concrete.
- No date, full name, address, or records are provided.
- No photograph, recording, or physical trace is claimed or examined.
- The caller’s husband is reported asleep and does not confirm the main event on air.
- Police are said to have found nothing.
- No outside check was performed.
- The police call cannot be matched to a date or location beyond the general area.
- 0:15
- 0:45
- 1:38
- 2:23
What the model inferred (not said on air): This falls in the 11 to 25 range because there are checkable details that remain unchecked and no one who backs it up speaks on air. It is not in the 26 to 40 range because no physical evidence is claimed or examined, and no second witness speaks.
The story is a classic bedroom intrusion: a cold, ominous house, waking in the night, paralysis, and a black figure at the foot of the bed with no reflection. It is unsettling but contains no reported injury or direct threat. The episode ends after prayer, with the house warming.
Evidence for and against
- The setting is a bedroom at night while the caller is alone.
- The caller reports an ominous feeling and coldness before the encounter.
- The caller reports waking suddenly and being paralyzed.
- The black figure has no reflection in the mirror, adding an unnatural detail.
- No physical harm, chase, or continuing threat is reported.
- The figure disappears after prayer, and the house warms up.
- The story is brief and ends with the caller’s everyday remark about their husband sleeping.
- The figure is described only as black. No face, features, or movement are given.
- The caller does not say whether the strange events continued afterward.
- 0:47
- 1:31
- 1:38
- 1:41
What the model inferred (not said on air): I place this above “genuinely unsettling” because of the paralysis and the bedroom intrusion, but below “frightening” because there is no reported attack or lasting malevolent outcome.
The story uses familiar motifs: a cold spot, a nighttime bedroom, a black figure at the foot of the bed, paralysis, and prayer ending it. The detail of no reflection in the mirror is distinctive, and the home is said to be brand-new rather than an old haunted house.
Evidence for and against
- No reflection in the mirror is a distinctive detail.
- The mirror is at the foot of the bed, directly in front of the figure.
- The home is described as brand-new, not an old house with a previous occupant.
- A black figure at the foot of the bed is a stock ghost-story element.
- Paralysis on waking is a stock bedroom element.
- An ominous feeling and coldness are common haunted-house motifs.
- Prayer ending the encounter is a familiar storytelling device.
- Originality compared with the rest of the archive cannot be calculated from this part of the broadcast alone.
- The published originality score would need a comparison with the full archive.
- 1:13
- 1:31
- 1:38
- 1:45
What the model inferred (not said on air): I provisionally score this as a familiar frame with one distinctive detail, around the midpoint of the originality scale. Comparison with the rest of the archive is not available here.
Scoring confidence 0.76 · analysis confidence 0.80 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story.; Claimed police call, not documented in the transcript.; No photograph, recording, or physical evidence examined.; No second witness speaks on air.. The originality score blends the model's score (52) 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.
- Sleep paralysis, or a hallucination while falling asleep or waking up, could fit the reported waking, paralysis, and figure at the foot of the bed. · The caller says they were lying in bed, were woken suddenly, saw the figure, and were paralyzed. The caller says, [quote withheld]
- A moving doorknob and a barking dog could have ordinary causes, such as a draft, vibration, an animal, or house noise. · The caller reports the doorknob moving and the dog barking. Police came and found nothing. The caller says, [quote withheld]
- The reported coldness and ominous feeling could relate to being alone at night in a new home, to heating or drafts, and to expectation. · The caller links the feeling to being alone at night and describes coldness becoming more obvious. The caller says, [quote withheld]
What stands out
The story combines familiar bedroom-encounter motifs with one specific detail: the black figure in front of a full-length mirror produced no reflection. It also happens in a brand-new home rather than an old or previously occupied house. The caller says they first thought they imagined it and kept it to themselves.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.