Strangling dream and a hag mask found at the basement stairs
A caller who gives the name [name withheld] and says they are calling from New Haven, Connecticut, tells Art Bell a “scary” story from their teens. The caller reports that in summer 1980, while sleeping in their parents’ basement, they dreamed of being strangled by a hag or witch. They woke to find the rubber hag mask they had gotten for Halloween 1979 lying at the foot of the basement stairs, though the caller says it had been upstairs. The caller reports no marks and says their family did not believe them. The caller says they never figured out how the mask got there or where it later went.
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 1:18:10). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
After greeting Art Bell, the caller says they are calling from New Haven, Connecticut, and gives their name as [quote withheld] The caller announces two stories, one scary and one odd, and the host asks for the scary one. The caller says that in 1979 they picked up a Halloween mask [quote withheld] In summer 1980 they were living with their parents, who had set up a bed for them in the basement. The caller says that while sleeping late one morning they dreamed they were being strangled by [quote withheld] The caller says they thought it was a dream but that it was “very real.” They reached up and tried to push “whatever it was” off them, feeling they were fighting for their life and [quote withheld] The caller says they woke and thought it was a nightmare, then looked toward the stairs and saw the rubber mask lying by the foot of the stairs. The caller says the mask had been upstairs, not in the basement, and they have never been able to figure it out. The caller says the only other explanation is scarier than a ghost. Asked what they did with the mask, a line attributed to the caller says [quote withheld] The caller says they told their family and their family did not believe them, thinking they had a dream. The caller was a teenager. Asked whether they had marks, the caller says they did not. The caller notes that relatives from California were upstairs talking, and calls the whole thing weird. This part of the broadcast ends as the host asks whether there could be something in a mask.
Reported events, in order
- 0:18
The caller says that in 1979 they picked up a Halloween mask of an old lady or hag.
- 0:31
The caller says that in summer 1980 they were living with their parents, who had set up a bed for them in the basement.
- 0:50
The caller reports a dream in which they were being strangled by a witch or hag. The caller says they thought it was a dream but that it felt very real.
- 1:02
The caller says they reached up and tried to push whatever it was off them, feeling they were fighting for their life.
- 1:20
The caller says they woke and thought it was a nightmare, then looked toward the stairs and saw the rubber mask at the foot of the stairs.
- 1:36
The caller says the mask had been upstairs somewhere and was not in the basement.
- 1:43
The caller says they have never been able to figure out how the mask got there.
- 1:53
Asked what they did with the mask, a line attributed to the caller says the caller does not know and that it disappeared.
- 1:56
The caller says they told their family and their family did not believe them, thinking they had a dream. The caller says they were a teenager.
- 2:06
Asked whether they had marks, the caller says they did not.
- 2:10
The caller notes that relatives from California were upstairs talking, and calls the whole thing weird.
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· 0:50
The caller says they had a very real dream of being strangled by a witch or hag while sleeping in their parents’ basement.
- observation· 1:02
The caller says they physically tried to push the attacker off them.
- observation· 1:20
The caller says that after waking they saw the rubber hag mask at the foot of the basement stairs, although it had been upstairs.
- interpretation· 1:43
The caller says they have never been able to explain how the mask got there.
- interpretation· 1:45
The caller says the only other explanation would be scarier than a ghost.
- hearsay· 1:56
The caller says their family did not believe them and thought they had merely had a dream.
- observation· 2:06
The caller says they had no marks on their body.
- host statement· 2:27
Art Bell asks whether there could be something in a mask.
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 brief but firsthand, and specific about dates, place, and sequence. However, the central event is plainly a dream, and the mask’s move has simple ordinary explanations that the caller does not address.
Evidence for and against
- The caller gives concrete dates and setting: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- The caller reports a clear sequence: dream of strangling, waking, seeing the mask at the stairs, telling family, and having no marks.
- The caller separates what they experienced from what they concluded: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- The event is framed as a dream that felt real, which is a common sleep experience.
- Another person in the house could have moved the mask. Relatives were visiting.
- No second witness or physical evidence is presented on air.
- The transcript labels [quote withheld] as spoken by the caller, but the label may be wrong, so who said it is uncertain.
- The caller says they are calling from New Haven but gives their name as [name withheld] [quote withheld] The transcript does not resolve this.
- 0:50
- 1:20
- 2:06
What the model inferred (not said on air): I credit the story as specific firsthand testimony. But I lower the score for other explanations, because a dream, or another household member moving the mask, fits the reported details easily.
Only the caller’s word is available. The caller gives dates and places that could be checked, but no evidence is examined and no second witness speaks on air.
Evidence for and against
- The caller provides specifics that could be checked: 1979, summer 1980, New Haven, Green Bay, a basement, and a rubber mask.
- The caller says they told their family, which implies at least a claimed social context.
- No photograph, recording, marks, or object is examined on air.
- The family did not believe the caller, and no second witness speaks on air.
- The mask is said to have disappeared.
- The transcript shows no follow-up check.
- Who said the “It disappeared” line is uncertain.
- 0:18
- 1:53
- 1:56
What the model inferred (not said on air): This falls in the 11 to 25 range because details that could be checked are stated, but nothing is actually checked or examined.
The story has a disturbing image of an attack in sleep and an unsettling coincidence with an object. But it is brief, and the caller frames the core as a dream with no injury.
Evidence for and against
- The caller describes being strangled and [quote withheld]
- The caller wakes to find the hag mask at the foot of the basement stairs, matching the figure in the dream.
- The mask later disappears, and the event is never resolved.
- No marks or physical harm are reported.
- The caller at first thought it was a nightmare, and their family apparently agreed.
- The story is short and ends without escalation.
- The final line about possession is at the edge of the story, and who said it is uncertain.
- 1:02
- 1:20
What the model inferred (not said on air): The creepiness comes from the dream-attack imagery and the mask’s apparent match to it. The dream framing and the lack of physical harm soften it.
The story combines familiar elements, a hag dream and a moved object. But the specific link between the dreamed hag and the physical hag mask at the stairs is distinctive.
Evidence for and against
- The hag or witch dream and the mask found at the stairs create a specific match.
- The caller says the only other explanation is scarier than a ghost, which adds a distinctive twist.
- A sleep disturbance involving a hag figure is a stock ghost-story element.
- An object that moves or disappears is a common motif.
- The story is short, and only one of the two announced stories is told.
- 0:18
- 1:20
What the model inferred (not said on air): I rate this as a familiar frame with one distinctive detail, not a highly new kind of event.
Scoring confidence 0.68 · analysis confidence 0.74 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand spoken story; No photograph, recording, marks, or object examined on air; No on-air second witness. 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 dream while falling asleep or waking up could account for the feeling of being strangled and the sense of a hag, especially since the caller says they were sleeping and at first thought it was a dream. · The caller says they were sleeping late one morning and describes the event as a dream that felt “very real.” The caller reports no marks.
- Another person in the house could have moved the mask from upstairs to the basement stairs, and later removed or thrown it away. · The caller says the mask had been upstairs, that relatives from California were visiting upstairs, and that the mask later disappeared.
- The caller may have misremembered where the mask was before the event, or overlooked it in the basement. · The caller says they do not know how the mask got there and have never been able to figure it out. No one else is said to have seen it placed there.
What stands out
The story links a dream of being strangled by a hag with the later sight of a physical hag mask at the basement stairs. The caller says the mask then disappeared. The caller also says the other possible explanation is more frightening than a ghost.
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