Law student reports basketball-sized presence of dying mother during class
[name withheld], a second-year law student in Madison, Wisconsin, says that on October 24, 1995, he was drowsy in a first-year civil procedure class. He felt or saw a basketball-sized presence at arm’s length that seemed to be his mother saying hello and goodbye. He says his mother was then in the terminal stage of cancer. After class his wife relayed a call from his sister. When he called back, he learned his mother had died about an hour and 15 minutes earlier. He takes the classroom experience as his mother’s visit at the time of her death.
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 1:01:38). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], a second-year law student in Madison, Wisconsin, originally from Kodiak, Alaska, says the incident happened on October 24, 1995, when he was a first-year law student. He says he had been talking about heaven, hell, and the afterlife with a law-student friend who was also a minister. Around 4 p.m. he went to civil procedure class, where he sometimes fell asleep. He says he became drowsy and thought he was drifting off. Then he felt or saw something at arm’s length in front of his seat, about the size of a basketball. He says it felt like his mother, saying “hi, son” and seeming to say “goodbye, son.” He says it lasted about a minute, looked “a little swirly,” and left him alert with adrenaline pumping. He then had a thought that if one of his sisters called and his wife said she was upset, that was his mother visiting him. He says his mother was alive but in the terminal stage of cancer. When he got home, his wife, [name withheld], told him a sister had called and was upset. He called his sister [name withheld] and learned their mother had died about an hour and 15 minutes earlier. He says this matched the time of the class experience. He adds that the night before, he had been grieving and weeping even before she died. He concludes there is no question it was his mother and that she is waiting on the other side. Host Art Bell offered agreement and general remarks about survival after death.
Reported events, in order
- 0:25
The caller says the incident happened on October 24, 1995, while he was a first-year law student.
- 0:37
Before class, he was talking about heaven, hell, and the afterlife with a law-student friend who was also a minister.
- 0:57
Around 4 p.m. he went to civil procedure class, which he describes as boring and a class where he sometimes fell asleep.
- 1:08
He says he became drowsy and thought he was drifting off.
- 1:21
He says he felt or saw something at arm’s length in front of his seat, about the size of a basketball.
- 1:34
He says it felt like his mother was there, saying “hi, son” and seeming to say “goodbye, son.”
- 1:57
He says the experience lasted about a minute, looked a little swirly, and left him alert with adrenaline.
- 2:08
He says a thought entered his mind that if a sister called and his wife said she was upset, that was his mother visiting him.
- 2:32
He says his mother was alive but in the terminal stage of cancer.
- 2:35
When he got home, his wife, [name withheld], told him that one of his sisters had called and was upset.
- 2:50
He called his sister [name withheld] and says he learned their mother had died about an hour and 15 minutes earlier.
- 3:13
He says the timing matched the class experience and that he has no question it was his mother.
- 3:27
He says the night before, he had been in terrible grief, weeping and mourning even before his mother died.
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· 1:32
The caller says he felt or saw something at arm’s length in front of his seat, about the size of a basketball.
- observation· 1:34
The caller says the presence felt like his mother and that she was saying “hi, son” and seeming to say goodbye.
- observation· 2:08
The caller says a thought entered his mind predicting that if a sister called and his wife said she was upset, that was his mother visiting him.
- interpretation· 2:58
The caller takes the classroom experience as his mother visiting him at about the time she died.
- interpretation· 3:13
The caller says he has no question that the presence was his mother.
- interpretation· 2:08
The caller links the experience to his mother’s death and to her being on the other side, waiting for the family.
- host statement· 3:51
Host Art Bell asserts that hearing such stories should lead one to conclude that this life is not the end.
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, dated, and consistent. But the drowsy classroom and the known terminal illness offer ordinary explanations. Nobody outside the family backs it up, apart from the family’s reported timing.
Evidence for and against
- It was on October 24th, 1995.
- I just kind of was getting real drowsy
- No question, because I've never had an experience like that before or since.
- I thought I was drifting off, and all of a sudden,
- I didn’t know if I was hallucinating or what
- she was in the terminal stage of the cancer
- The exact time of death depends on the sister’s report.
- The automatic transcript has some smoothed or uncertain wording around the key description.
- 0:25
- 1:08
- 1:47
- 2:32
What the model inferred (not said on air): I treat the caller’s drowsiness and earlier grief as lowering the score for other explanations, while still giving credit for a clear, specific first-person sequence.
The story rests on the caller’s word. It includes names, a date, and a reported family sequence, but none are checked, and no physical evidence is examined.
Evidence for and against
- It was on October 24th, 1995.
- my wife lisa said tom one of your sisters called
- up theresa right away what happened theresa
- No physical evidence or recording is mentioned.
- No second witness to the classroom experience speaks on air.
- A family member reports the time of death. It is not documented on air.
- The sister’s account of the time of death is not independently verified.
- No documentation, recording, or photograph is presented.
- 0:25
- 2:35
- 2:50
What the model inferred (not said on air): Under the scoring guide this falls in the 11 to 25 range. The story gives details that could be checked but weren’t, and no second witness speaks on air.
The story is framed as comforting and ends with reassurance rather than threat. The death and the intrusion into an ordinary class give it only mild unease.
Evidence for and against
- she was in the terminal stage of the cancer
- And she was saying, hi, son.
- And it was like she was saying goodbye, son.
- It was beautiful, because I knew that she came.
- It just assures me that she’s somewhere on the other side waiting for us.
- 1:34
- 1:40
- 3:27
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a judgment of how unsettling the story is, not of whether the event occurred.
The broad frame is a familiar visit at a time of crisis. But the basketball-sized, swirly presence and the thought that matched the wife’s wording are distinctive details.
Evidence for and against
- It was about the size of a basketball.
- this thought entered my mind and it said well
- it was the same language that i heard in my mind
- A ghost appearing at the time of a known death is a familiar ghost-story frame.
- The experience happens during a drowsy classroom episode, a common sleep-related setting.
- How new the story is compared with the rest of the archive cannot be worked out from this part alone.
- The published originality score is provisional.
- 1:32
- 2:08
- 2:35
What the model inferred (not said on air): With nothing from the rest of the archive to compare against, this is a provisional judgment based on the content.
Scoring confidence 0.82 · analysis confidence 0.86 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story; Named family members and a date, not independently checked; No physical evidence, recording, photograph, or on-air second witness to the classroom experience. The originality score blends the model's score (55) 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.
- A drowsy, half-asleep perception in the classroom. · The caller says he was in a boring civil procedure class, was getting drowsy, and thought he was drifting off.
- Anticipation and grief shaping how he read a vague sensation or thought. · The caller says his mother was in the terminal stage of cancer and that he had been grieving and weeping the night before.
- Coincidental timing, at a time when a death and a telephone call were already expected. · The reported match in time depends on a family report that his mother died about an hour and 15 minutes earlier. The death was already expected.
What stands out
The reported presence is a basketball-sized, swirly sensation rather than a recognizable human figure. The caller also says a thought in his mind anticipated the exact wording of his wife’s later message.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.