Unexplained knocking on a signal-shack hatch aboard a Navy oiler
A caller from Albany, Oregon, who identifies as a former Navy signalman, tells Art Bell about something they say happened around 1983 or 1984. The caller was stationed in the Indian Ocean aboard an aging oiler. They report that they and another signalman heard repeated knocking on a hatch of their signal shack in the middle of the night. They found no one when they opened it, and the knocking returned twenty to thirty minutes later. They searched from both access doors and found no one. The caller says they never found a cause.
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 57:29). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
On Ghost to Ghost AM, a first-time caller from Albany, Oregon, says the event happened around 1983 or 1984, when they were in the Navy in the middle of the Indian Ocean aboard an aging oiler the caller calls the USMF Pathum Thick. The caller was a signalman, and the caller and another signalman were on the signal bridge. The caller describes the front of the signal bridge as fairly open and spacious, with a narrow walkway and a small signal shack in back, and a doorway or hatch in the room. The caller says the ship was old and they later tried to figure out what happened. The caller says it could have been someone trying to play a trick, but the caller and the other signalman did not think so because they could hear anyone sneaking around. While they were sitting there, the caller says, they began hearing knocking on the hatch. The caller describes it not as a friendly “let me in” knock but as a steady [quote withheld] that made the caller’s hair stand on end. They opened the door and found no one there. They thought someone might be playing a joke, but they had heard no one wandering around, and it was the middle of the night. The host remarks that ships are as likely a place as any for a haunting. The caller also mentions being on the Forrestal during a fire in which over a hundred people were killed. The caller says they closed the door, looked around, and about twenty or thirty minutes later the knocking returned. They called out [quote withheld] but it kept going. The caller went out the front part of the signal shack through one access door, and the other signalman went out the other. They found not a soul. The caller says the only way someone could have left the bridge without being seen was to jump about 20 feet. They looked for something like a loose wire and never found anything, but it made for a few sleepless nights. The host closes by calling the sea eerie.
Reported events, in order
- 0:15
The caller says the event happened around 1983 or 1984.
- 0:21
The caller says they were in the Navy in the middle of the Indian Ocean aboard an aging oiler called the USMF Pathum Thick.
- 0:31
The caller says they were a signalman and were on the signal bridge with another signalman.
- 0:43
The caller describes the layout of the signal bridge: an open front, a narrow walkway, and a small signal shack with a doorway or hatch.
- 1:39
The caller says they began hearing knocking on the hatch.
- 1:46
The caller describes the knock as a steady [quote withheld] rather than a friendly knock.
- 1:54
They opened the door and found no one there.
- 2:08
They considered a prank but had heard no one moving around, and it was the middle of the night.
- 2:24
The caller mentions being also on the Forrestal during a fire in which over a hundred people were killed.
- 2:39
They closed the door, and about twenty to thirty minutes later the knocking returned.
- 2:46
They called out [quote withheld] but the knocking kept going.
- 3:04
The caller went out one access door and the other signalman went out the other. They found no one.
- 3:20
The caller says the only way off the bridge without being seen was a 20-foot jump.
- 3:36
They looked for a loose wire or a similar cause and found nothing. It made for sleepless nights.
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· 1:38
The caller and another signalman heard knocking on the hatch.
- observation· 1:54
When they opened the door, they found no one.
- observation· 2:39
The knocking returned about twenty to thirty minutes later.
- observation· 3:04
After searching from both access doors, they found no one.
- observation· 3:20
The only way off the bridge without being seen was a jump.
- observation· 3:36
They searched for a loose wire or a similar cause and found nothing.
- interpretation· 1:22
The caller considers a prank as a possible explanation.
- host statement· 2:19
The host says ships are as likely as any place for a haunting, perhaps more likely.
- host statement· 3:32
The host concludes that it was something, but the caller does not know what.
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, specific story with a concrete setting and sequence. The caller addresses the prank and loose-wire possibilities. But no one backs it up beyond a claimed second witness, and ordinary ship noises remain plausible.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand story with a year, location, ship type, and duty station.
- A concrete sequence: knocking, opening the hatch, a search, the knocking returning, and a second search.
- The caller considers and rejects a prank and a loose wire.
- No second witness on air.
- No physical evidence or documents.
- An old ship and conditions at sea offer possible ordinary sources of knocking.
- Gaps in the transcript and unclear ship names reduce specificity.
- The second witness does not speak on air.
- Plausible shipboard noises cannot be fully ruled out.
- 1:38
- 3:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): I weigh closeness to the source and the concrete sequence heavily. I keep the score below the top anchor because no one independently backs up the story and ordinary shipboard causes remain plausible.
The caller's word plus a claimed second witness. Details that could be checked (year, ship, location) are given but not verified.
Evidence for and against
- A range of years, a ship type, an ocean, and a duty station are given.
- A second signalman is said to have been present.
- No second witness on air.
- No photograph, recording, log, or physical trace is described.
- No physical evidence is described.
- The second witness is claimed but does not speak on air.
- The name of the ship and another ship are unclear in the transcript.
- 0:21
- 0:31
What the model inferred (not said on air): Details that could be checked exist but were not checked. A claimed witness is not independent confirmation on air.
Repeated knocking with no source on an isolated ship at night, a search that finds no one, and a 20-foot escape route make for a truly unsettling scene, without threat or harm.
Evidence for and against
- Repeated unexplained knocking on a hatch at night.
- A search from both access doors finds no one.
- The only way to escape unseen would be a 20-foot jump.
- No physical contact, injury, or menace is reported.
- The encounter ends with the men merely sleepless.
- No threat or physical harm is reported.
- The host's tone is light and conversational.
- 2:08
- 3:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): I rate the story as truly unsettling rather than frightening because it is isolated and unresolved but not threatening.
A familiar frame of mysterious knocking, with distinctive details of setting (a signal shack on an oiler, a two-man search from both access doors).
Evidence for and against
- A specific setting: a signal shack on a Navy oiler in the Indian Ocean.
- Two men search from separate access doors and find no one.
- Unexplained knocking is a common ghost-story motif.
- Nothing unusual beyond the knocking.
- The transcript has fragmented lines and, in places, uncertain labels for who is speaking.
- The ship's name and the name of the other ship are transcribed unclearly.
- 0:43
- 3:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): I treat the unexplained-knocking frame as familiar and give some extra weight to the distinctive setting and search.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.75 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story; A claimed second witness who is not on air; No physical evidence described. 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.
- Noise from an old ship, such as a loose hatch, fitting, or wire, or metal flexing, produced the knocking. · The caller says the ship was old and that they looked for a loose wire or something similar but found nothing.
- A crew member played a prank by knocking and then avoided being seen. · The caller explicitly considers that it could have been someone trying to play a trick, but says they heard no one and found no one.
- Wind or waves against the ship's structure caused a hatch or panel to knock repeatedly. · The event happened at sea on an aging oiler, though the caller does not mention wind or waves directly.
What stands out
The setting is a signal shack on a Navy oiler in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The caller describes a two-man search from both access doors to trap the source of the knocking. The caller does not claim a ghost or spirit. The caller leaves the cause unstated while rejecting a prank.
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