Figure at foot of bed, then a man in the laundry room five months later
A caller who gives their location as Wenatchee, Washington, tells Art Bell they woke from a nightmare to feel pressure on their bed. They saw a man from the waist up at the foot of the bed, in inverted light. The caller says that about five months later, while sitting in their dining room, they sensed someone behind them and then found a man in their laundry room. They say the police came and found his footprints around the house. They state they do not know what the first figure was.
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 48:56). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller says they are speaking from Wenatchee, Washington, and opens by saying they are [quote withheld] The caller reports that one night they were asleep and dreaming that somebody was trying to kill them. The caller says they knew they were dreaming and struggled to wake up. Then they felt as though someone [quote withheld] After struggling hard to wake, they say, they opened their eyes. No one was beside the bed, but at the foot of the bed they could see a man from the waist up. The caller describes the image as inverted, like a negative, [quote withheld] The caller says he was moving around and they could see the outline of his face and features. The caller says they kept repeating [quote withheld] looked over, and found they had turned on their light. The caller looked at their clock, looked back, and the figure was still there. Asked how long he stayed, the caller says they do not know, “several minutes.” The caller says they went back to sleep hoping to forget it, have never been able to forget it, and do not know what it was. The caller then says that about five months later (they state this happened “last year”), they were sitting in their dining room with their back to a sliding window and the door open a little [quote withheld] The caller kept thinking they heard something outside. The caller says that after getting coffee and sitting back down, they thought [quote withheld] and were terrified. The caller says they got up for another cup of coffee, decided to replace the patio lights, and went into the laundry room next to the slider for a light bulb. Reaching to turn on the light, they say, [quote withheld] who had been within five feet of them. The caller reports that the police came and found his footprints all around the house.
Reported events, in order
- 0:11
Asleep, the caller dreams that somebody is trying to kill them. The caller knows they are dreaming and struggles to wake up.
- 0:27
The caller feels as though someone put a knee or pressure on the bed.
- 0:46
The caller opens their eyes. No one is beside the bed, but they see a man from the waist up at the foot of the bed, in inverted (negative-like) light, moving around, with the outline of his face visible.
- 1:23
The caller turns on their light, looks at their clock, looks back, and the figure is still there.
- 1:30
The caller goes back to sleep hoping to forget it. They say they have never been able to forget it and do not know what it was. They say the figure stayed for several minutes.
- 1:52
About five months later (the caller says the events happened “last year”), they are sitting in their dining room with their back to the sliding window, and they keep hearing something outside.
- 2:12
After getting coffee and sitting back down, the caller thinks somebody is behind them and is terrified.
- 2:34
The caller goes to the laundry room next to the slider for a light bulb and finds a man there, who had been within five feet of them.
- 2:39
The caller says the police came and found the man's footprints all around the house.
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· 0:27
The caller woke from a nightmare to feel a knee or pressure on the bed.
- observation· 0:46
At the foot of the bed the caller saw a man from the waist up, in inverted light.
- observation· 0:51
The figure was inverted like a negative, dark where it should be light.
- observation· 1:23
After the caller turned on the light and looked at the clock, the figure was still there.
- interpretation· 1:30
The caller does not know what the figure was.
- observation· 2:12
Sitting in the dining room, the caller thought somebody was behind them.
- observation· 2:34
The caller found a man in the laundry room who had been within five feet of them.
- observation· 2:39
The police came and found his footprints all around the house.
- host statement· 3:01
The host says the pressure the caller felt indicates there could have been an attack, possibly by an evil being.
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 firsthand story with a clear sequence and some concrete detail (the city, “last year,” turning on the light, the police). However, the bedroom episode matches a common pattern of sleep paralysis and waking hallucination that the caller does not address. The second episode is described as an intruder who left footprints, which is ordinary in character. These keep the score in the middle of the range.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand, direct witness throughout: [quote withheld]
- A coherent, ordered sequence from dream to pressure to figure to waking.
- Concrete, observable actions: the caller turned on the light, looked at the clock, and looked back.
- The second incident contains a detail that could be checked: [quote withheld]
- The bedroom episode fits a pattern of sleep paralysis and waking hallucination: a nightmare, knowing they were dreaming, struggling to wake, pressure on the bed, and a figure on waking.
- The caller states they do not know what it was, so the claim stays unclassified.
- “Last year” is the only dating given. There is no exact date, address, or names.
- The caller's date and location are given only loosely.
- Some lines are labeled as the host's although the words appear to be the caller's, so the attribution of individual phrases is uncertain.
- 0:27
- 0:46
- 2:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component estimate: closeness to the source about 22 (firsthand), specificity about 10, internal consistency about 14, alternative explanations about 4 (sleep paralysis fits easily and is not addressed), and calibration about 10. These were summed and rounded to 50. The anchor for a [quote withheld] (about 40) was used to pull the total down from the raw sum of the components.
The paranormal element rests entirely on the caller's own word, with no photograph, recording, or document examined. The only element that could be checked is the claimed police response and footprints after the second incident, which is not verified on air.
Evidence for and against
- A detail that could be checked is given for the second incident: police came and found footprints.
- No physical evidence is presented or examined on air.
- No second witness of the bedroom figure is described.
- The police detail is the caller's report, not confirmed on air.
- Whether any police record or report exists is unknown from the transcript.
- 2:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placed in the range of 11 to 25 (details that could be checked but were not, or witnesses only claimed). The hard cap of 50 for no outside check is nowhere near binding here.
A figure seen at the foot of the bed on waking, still there in inverted light after the lamp is switched on, is unsettling. The later discovery of a stranger within five feet inside the home is an intrusion into a safe private space. The ending is left unresolved, though no violence is described.
Evidence for and against
- A figure at the foot of the bed with visible facial features.
- The figure stays after the light is switched on.
- The caller was “terrified” after sensing someone behind them.
- A stranger found within five feet inside the home, and footprints around the house.
- No physical contact or injury is reported.
- The story is told conversationally, and the second incident is a living intruder rather than a supernatural threat.
- How far the two incidents are linked is left to the listener.
- 1:35
- 2:34
- 2:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): Rated around the “genuinely unsettling” anchor, weighted by the bedroom figure staying after the light was turned on and by the intrusion at home.
The figure at the foot of the bed is a stock motif. But the figure's inverted, negative-like look is a distinctive detail, and the pairing with a later living intruder and footprints found by police is an unusual combination. This is a provisional model score only.
Evidence for and against
- The inverted, negative look of the figure: [quote withheld]
- A two-part structure: a bedroom figure, then a separate intruder five months later.
- A figure at the foot of the bed and pressure on the mattress are common motifs.
- The second incident is an ordinary intrusion, not a new kind of event.
- No comparison with the rest of the archive was done. The originality score is a provisional judgment only.
- 0:51
- 1:52
What the model inferred (not said on air): Assigned between the “stock elements only” (20) and [quote withheld] (50) anchors, leaning toward 48 because of the inverted-light detail and the two-incident structure.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story; A claimed police response and footprints, not examined or confirmed on air. The originality score blends the model's score (48) 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 bedroom experience fits sleep paralysis or a hallucination while falling asleep or waking up: a vivid dream of being attacked, awareness of dreaming, an inability to wake or move, a sensed pressure on the bed, and a figure seen on waking. · The caller's lines [quote withheld] [quote withheld] and [quote withheld] [quote withheld] and the knee or pressure on the bed.
- The second incident could be an ordinary break-in by a living person, since the caller describes a man physically present and says police found footprints around the house. · The lines [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
What stands out
The story pairs a bedroom figure seen in inverted, negative-like light with a second, separate incident five months later. In it, the caller reports a man physically in their home and footprints that they say the police found. The caller frames the experience with uncertainty ([quote withheld]) and states no cause linking the two incidents.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.