Gray figures circling and red eyes in Genesee Park at the summer solstice
A caller who gives their name as [quote withheld] tells Art Bell that they and a group went to Genesee Park at the summer solstice to see tree spirits. They saw red eyes and gray figures circling in a meadow, fled, and were stopped by a police officer. The caller says they returned the next day to find thousands of ladybugs at the spot. They say they later learned the park is built over an Indian burial ground.
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 2:51:02). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives their name as [quote withheld] says they were [quote withheld] and had a friend who claimed to be a wizard. They went to Genesee Park at the summer solstice to see tree spirits. At one spot, the caller says, the air felt heavy and everything began feeling bad. They started seeing little red eyes, which kept coming, so they decided to leave. Walking back to the car, the caller looked left toward a meadow and was [quote withheld] The caller reports seeing gray figures out of the corner of their eye making a circle and moving counterclockwise [quote withheld] Their friend stopped and said [quote withheld] and the whole group ran. As they ran, the caller says, other gray figures came from both sides of the road “like scouts.” The caller grabbed a dragon necklace that they say Wiccans had put a protection spell on and asked, [quote withheld] A bright light shone in their faces and the heaviness dropped. It turned out to be a Golden police officer, who detained them. Some in the group had warrants over parking tickets. They gave their IDs and were released. The caller says there is only one road in and out, and they watched for “him” to come back, but the officer never did. The next day they returned in two groups. Halfway up, a friend’s freshly reworked car was [quote withheld] and then it started. At the spot where they had sat, the caller says, there were thousands of ladybugs. They say they later learned that ladybugs are said to gather where something paranormal happened, that Genesee Park is built over an Indian burial ground, and that Jefferson County, not Golden, patrols there. They say they have not been back.
Reported events, in order
- 0:04
The caller gives their name as TJ from Colorado Spring and says they were into paranormal subjects. A friend claimed to be a wizard.
- 0:16
The caller says the group went to Genesee Park at the summer solstice to see tree spirits.
- 0:26
At a spot in the park, the caller reports, the air felt heavy and everything began feeling bad. They began seeing little red eyes that kept coming.
- 0:42
They decided to leave. Walking back to the car, the caller looked left at a meadow and was fixed on the spot.
- 1:02
The caller reports seeing gray figures out of the corner of their eye making a circle and moving counterclockwise, like a fire.
- 1:16
The caller’s friend stopped, turned, looked where the caller was looking, and said, [quote withheld]
- 1:28
The whole group ran. The caller says other gray figures came from both sides of the road, following them like scouts.
- 1:48
The caller says they grabbed a dragon necklace that Wiccans had put a protection spell on and asked the dragons for help.
- 2:03
A bright light shone in their faces and the heaviness dropped. It turned out to be a Golden police officer, who detained them. Some had warrants over parking tickets.
- 2:27
They gave their IDs and were released. The caller says there is only one road in and out, and they watched for the officer to come back, but the officer never did.
- 2:43
The next day they returned in two separate groups. Halfway up, the caller found a friend’s freshly reworked car dead, and it was eventually started.
- 2:59
At the spot where they had been sitting, the caller reports thousands of ladybugs crawling over it.
- 3:27
The caller says they later learned that ladybugs are said to gather where something paranormal happened, that Genesee Park is built over an Indian burial ground, and that the area is under Jefferson County jurisdiction, not Golden.
- 4:22
The caller says they have not been back up there.
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· 0:26
The caller reports seeing small red eyes approaching while in the park.
- observation· 1:02
The caller reports gray figures circling counterclockwise in a meadow.
- observation· 1:32
The caller reports more gray figures coming from both sides of the road as they ran.
- hearsay· 1:25
A second person in the group is quoted as saying the figures were dancing.
- interpretation· 1:48
The caller says they wore a dragon necklace that Wiccans had put a protection spell on.
- interpretation· 1:57
The caller says they called on the dragons for help as they fled.
- hearsay· 3:27
The caller says they later learned that ladybugs are said to gather where something paranormal happened.
- hearsay· 3:49
The caller says they learned that Genesee Park is built over an Indian burial ground.
- interpretation· 4:00
The caller says the area is outside the Golden police department’s jurisdiction.
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, reasonably specific story with a consistent sequence and answers to the host’s interjections. But the central sightings are vague, and many ordinary explanations fit easily and are not addressed.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand story of a named park and a named group activity ([quote withheld]).
- Concrete sequence: sitting spot, red eyes, walk to car, meadow, running, police stop, return the next day.
- Specific details that could be checked: Genesee Park, a Golden police officer, Jefferson County jurisdiction, a friend’s car that had to be started.
- The main sightings are described vaguely and from the edge of the caller’s vision ([quote withheld] [quote withheld]).
- The group went deliberately seeking spirits, which invites expectation and suggestion.
- Key claims about cause ([quote withheld]) are things the caller says they learned from others afterward, not things they saw.
- The number of people present is never stated.
- The transcript renders some words uncertainly (“colorado spring,” “golden police”).
- 0:16
- 1:02
- 3:49
What the model inferred (not said on air): My judgment by part: closeness to the source high; detail moderate because the main sighting is at the edge of vision and vague; consistency good; alternative explanations (eyeshine, suggestion, an ordinary police stop) fit readily and were not considered by the caller; caution low because what the caller saw and what they later learned are not clearly separated.
The story rests on the caller’s word plus claimed group witnesses who do not speak on air. No photograph, recording, or document is presented. Some details (the park, the agencies) could in principle be checked but were not.
Evidence for and against
- Details that could be checked are given: Genesee Park, the Golden police department, Jefferson County.
- Multiple witnesses are claimed ([quote withheld]).
- No physical evidence or documentation is presented or examined.
- No second witness speaks on air. The friend’s remark is only quoted by the caller.
- No outside check was performed.
- It is not stated whether the group’s size and identities could ever be confirmed.
- The claimed burial ground is attributed to unnamed “other people.”
- 1:28
- 3:27
What the model inferred (not said on air): Under the scoring guide, claimed witnesses count as assertions, not as backing up the story. The story therefore sits in the 11 to 25 range for checkable details that remain unchecked.
The story builds unease: red eyes approaching, gray figures circling, more figures flanking the group as they run, and an eerie aftermath the next day of a dead car and a ladybug swarm. The ordinary police stop and the lack of any reported harm soften it.
Evidence for and against
- Approaching eyes and a group of figures moving in a circle.
- Images of pursuit: figures coming from both sides of the road “like scouts.”
- An ominous ending: the officer never returns, and the caller has never gone back.
- No reported injury or physical contact.
- The episode ends with an ordinary police detention.
- The ladybugs and the burial-ground claim are offered as explanation rather than as threat.
- The time of day is not stated, which affects how the scene reads.
- 1:32
- 2:59
- 4:22
What the model inferred (not said on air): Creepiness is judged from the content of the story only, not the caller’s tone or Art Bell’s reactions.
Familiar elements (red eyes, gray figures, a burial-ground claim, a protective charm) are combined with a distinctive frame. A solstice trip to seek spirits is interrupted by a police officer the caller says was outside their jurisdiction and who never returned, and a ladybug swarm appears at the site.
Evidence for and against
- Unusual combination: a solstice tree-spirit outing, a dragon necklace with a Wiccan spell, a puzzle over jurisdiction around the police stop, and a ladybug swarm.
- The officer’s alleged presence outside their jurisdiction and failure to return is a specific, less common detail.
- Red eyes and gray figures are stock ghost-story elements.
- The [quote withheld] claim is a common motif.
- The part of the score compared with the rest of the archive is provisional with so few stories, so this score is largely the model’s estimate.
- 1:48
- 4:00
What the model inferred (not said on air): Model estimate of about 60 on the given anchors (familiar frame plus distinctive details). The published score compared with the rest of the archive would be computed separately.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.72 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story.; Claimed group witnesses, none speaking on air.; No photograph, recording, or document presented or examined.. The originality score blends the model's score (60) 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 reported red eyes were animal eyeshine reflecting light in a dark park. · [quote withheld] while the group was sitting in a park at the summer solstice.
- Group expectation and suggestion led to a misreading of indistinct shapes. The group deliberately went looking for spirits, and the caller describes seeing the figures [quote withheld] · The caller says they went [quote withheld] and that the caller [quote withheld] The caller describes the figures as seen at the edge of their vision.
- The interruption was an ordinary police contact. The bright light and detention are described as a Golden police officer, and the heaviness reportedly stopped at that point. · [quote withheld]
What stands out
The story mixes an occult framing (a solstice trip to see tree spirits, a dragon necklace with a Wiccan spell) with an ordinary intervention (a police officer with a flashlight). The caller also describes an aftermath of a ladybug swarm and a burial-ground story. The most distinctive detail is that the officer was said to be outside their jurisdiction and never came back.
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