Caller relays aunt’s story of a goat-like figure and hoof prints in an Ohio cellar
A caller who gives the name [name withheld], of Kapolei, Hawaii, relays a story the caller’s mother told them about her sister, the caller’s aunt, as a girl in Ohio. Sent to a dirt-floored cellar for potatoes, the aunt reportedly heard heavy footfalls. She turned, screamed at a tall half-goat figure she called “the devil,” and fled upstairs. Her parents were said to find hoof prints in the dirt running from the wall to where she stood and back, including a half print at the wall.
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 1:11:09). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives the name [name withheld] and a location of Kapolei, Hawaii, says at the outset that the story did not happen to them. It happened to an aunt of the caller’s, and the caller’s mother told them the story. The caller says the events took place when the family members were young. The caller puts the aunt at roughly 10 to 15 years old, in Ohio (not Hawaii). According to the story, the aunt’s grandmother told her to go down into the cellar to get potatoes for dinner. The caller describes the cellar as bare dirt, not modern cinder block. The aunt reportedly did not want to go, was being rebellious, and was yelled at by the grandmother to get down there. She cursed as she went down the stairs. In the cellar, as she picked up potatoes and put them in a basket, she heard footsteps behind her. The caller likens them to [quote withheld] heavy thuds. She turned, screamed at the top of her lungs, and ran up the stairs crying. In the caller’s words, she looked as though she had just seen a ghost. When the grandmother asked what happened, the aunt said she had just seen the devil. She described a figure around seven feet tall, half goat, with hooves. The grandmother reportedly scolded her for lying, but the aunt was adamant. The grandmother and grandfather then went down to look. According to the caller, they found hoof prints in the dirt. The prints started at the wall, went to where the aunt had been standing, turned around, and went back to the same corner. There was a half hoof print at the wall, half in the dirt and half inside the wall. The caller offers no further outcome, and the host closes this part of the broadcast.
Reported events, in order
- 0:27
The caller, [name withheld], of Kapolei, Hawaii, says the story did not happen to them but to an aunt, and that the caller’s mother told it to them.
- 0:33
The caller says the family was young at the time, with the aunt roughly 10 to 15, in Ohio.
- 0:45
The aunt’s grandmother tells her to go down into a bare dirt cellar for potatoes and yells at her when she resists.
- 1:25
Going down the stairs and cursing, she picks up potatoes and hears heavy, thudding footsteps behind her.
- 1:40
She turns, screams, and runs up the stairs crying. The grandmother asks what happened.
- 1:51
She says she saw the devil, describing a roughly seven-foot, half-goat figure with hooves. The grandmother scolds her for lying.
- 2:07
The grandmother and grandfather go down to look and reportedly find hoof prints starting at the wall and returning to it.
- 2:39
A half hoof print is described at the wall, half in the dirt and half inside the wall.
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).
- hearsay· 0:27
The caller says the events happened to their aunt, not to them, and that the caller’s mother told them the story.
- observation· 1:25
The aunt, sent to a dirt cellar for potatoes, heard heavy, thudding footsteps behind her.
- observation· 1:40
The aunt turned, screamed, ran upstairs crying, and looked as though she had seen a ghost.
- interpretation· 1:51
The aunt said she had seen the devil.
- observation· 1:52
The aunt described the figure as about seven feet tall, half goat, with hooves.
- observation· 2:07
The grandmother and grandfather went down to the cellar to look.
- observation· 2:17
Hoof prints were reportedly found in the dirt, running from the wall to where the aunt stood and back.
- observation· 2:39
A half hoof print was described at the wall, half in the dirt and half inside the wall.
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 detailed secondhand story with a concrete setting and a physical trace. But it is passed along at two removes, and no ordinary explanation is addressed.
Evidence for and against
- Concrete setting and sequence: dirt cellar, potatoes, stairs, heavy footfalls
- The aunt’s description is given consistently, and the grandparents are said to have checked the cellar
- The caller says plainly that they were not present and names the source
- Secondhand: the caller heard it from their mother about their aunt
- No town, date, or names given, so nothing can be checked
- The description of the figure (“the devil,” half goat, seven feet) is a familiar cultural template
- The aunt’s exact age is given only as [quote withheld]
- No timeframe is stated for the events
- 0:27
- 2:17
What the model inferred (not said on air): The caller is a secondhand source, though a close, named relative. Detail and consistency are moderate. The scoring guide caps secondhand stories at 60.
Only the caller’s relayed claim. The hoof prints were not shown or examined, and no independent witness speaks on air.
Evidence for and against
- Physical traces (hoof prints, a half print at the wall) are claimed to have existed
- Several family members are said to have seen the cellar afterward
- No photograph, record, or site is produced
- No second witness speaks on air
- No town or date given that could be checked
- Whether the prints were ever photographed or documented is not stated
- 2:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): The claimed physical evidence exists only in the telling, so this sits in the lowest range.
A dark dirt cellar, heavy footfalls approaching, and a tall half-goat figure make for a truly unsettling scene, though there is no contact or harm.
Evidence for and against
- Heavy, thudding footsteps closing in from behind in a cellar
- A child fleeing upstairs screaming
- Hoof prints that reportedly begin and end at a wall
- No physical contact, injury, or pursuit
- Ends with the family inspecting the floor, with no continuing threat
- Time of day is not stated
- 1:25
- 2:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): Unsettling atmosphere and imagery rather than lasting threat, hence a middle score.
A familiar frame of a demonic figure in a cellar, made more distinctive by hoof prints said to start at a wall and leave a half print embedded in it.
Evidence for and against
- A goat-like “devil” and a frightened child are stock elements
- The half hoof print embedded in the wall is an unusual detail
- The overall shape (a child is sent to the cellar, sees a figure, and adults find traces) is a common ghost-story pattern
- Provisional score, with no comparison against the rest of the archive
- 2:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): A familiar frame with one distinctive trace, so just above the midpoint of the scale.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.75 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s relayed story (secondhand, from the caller’s mother, about their aunt); Claimed hoof prints in the cellar dirt, not examined or documented. The originality score blends the model's score (56) 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.
- Animal tracks or marks in a bare dirt cellar floor, later read as hoof prints. · The cellar floor is described as plain dirt, and the prints are reported only after the fright.
- A startled child misjudged what she saw in a dark cellar, and the fright shaped her description of the figure. · The aunt was reportedly between 10 and 15, went down unwillingly, and ran upstairs crying.
- Footfalls from an ordinary source, such as boards, pipes, or an animal in the cellar. · The footsteps are described as thuds heard from behind while she was busy with the potatoes.
What stands out
The reported physical trace is the distinctive element: hoof prints said to begin at a wall and end in a half print embedded in it. Most ghost stories feature a figure seen in the house instead.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.