Blue streak through a closed window and a light bulb behind a radiator
A caller who identifies themselves as [quote withheld] tells Art Bell about two days at their home. They say a large lightning bolt struck outside their upstairs sunroom window in what they describe as storm-free weather. They say a thin blue streak came off the bolt, entered through the crack of the closed window, and hit a lamp. The next day, they say, the bulbs were blown. While replacing one, it slipped from their hand. They report searching for it and finding it hours later crammed behind a radiator, where they say it could not fit. They characterize it as [quote withheld]
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 1997.mp3”, starting at 1:43:19). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives the name [name withheld] and says they are in Las Vegas, tells Art Bell that the story [quote withheld] though only a portion is told here. The caller says the sequence began on a day when nobody was home and they had “an eerie feeling.” The caller notes that they had experienced [quote withheld] After supper, they say, they went upstairs to relax and watch television in the upstairs sunroom. The caller reports that there was no storm outside when a very large lightning bolt struck right outside the window the caller was facing. It was large enough to fill the whole outdoor area. From that bolt, they say, came a small streak about two centimeters thick, blue in color, which came through the crack of the closed windows. The caller says it approached slowly rather than immediately, so the caller got down on the floor. The caller says it entered and hit the top lamp of the lamp in the room. The caller says they crawled out on all fours, frightened.
The next day, the caller says, the light bulbs had been blown out. The caller went up to change one. The room was dark, with light only from another room. The caller says that as they began screwing the bulb in, it slipped from their hand and fell. The caller says they saw it bounce about a foot and roll about a foot. The caller reports feeling around on the shag carpet without success, then fetching a flashlight, again with nobody home, and finding nothing. The caller describes the room as basically unfurnished because of remodeling, about fifteen by ten feet. Four cabinets were the only other possible places, and they say they checked them. About two hours later, they say, they were in tears and decided to look under the radiator. The caller found the bulb crammed behind the radiator, up in the middle section where the cover goes. The caller says a bulb would not fit into that spot. The caller says they checked the bulb for dust to see whether it had been sitting there for months, and it had not. The caller calls the episode [quote withheld]
Reported events, in order
- 0:07
The caller says the story covers about a week and two days, and that they had an eerie feeling on a day when nobody was home.
- 0:34
They say they finished supper and went upstairs to a sunroom to relax and watch television.
- 0:44
They report that with no storm outside, a very large lightning bolt struck right outside the window the caller faced, filling the whole outdoor area.
- 1:06
They say a thin blue streak, about two centimeters thick, came off the bolt and came through the crack of the closed windows.
- 1:24
They say the streak approached slowly, so the caller got on the floor, and that it hit the top lamp of the lamp in the room.
- 1:31
They say they crawled out of the room on all fours.
- 1:38
The next day, the caller says, the light bulbs had been blown out.
- 1:55
They say that while screwing in a replacement bulb in a dark room, it slipped from their hand, fell, bounced about a foot, and rolled about a foot.
- 2:08
They say they searched with their hands on the shag carpet and then with a flashlight, with nobody else home, and found nothing.
- 2:35
They describe the room as basically unfurnished during remodeling, about fifteen by ten feet. They say they checked four cabinets, the only other possible places.
- 3:18
About two hours later, the caller says, they looked under the radiator, a space they say a bulb would not fit in, and found the bulb crammed behind it, up in the middle section where the cover goes.
- 3:30
They say they checked the bulb for dust to see whether it had been there for months, and it had not.
- 3:36
They characterize the episode as one poltergeist incident connected to another.
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· 0:44
A very large lightning bolt struck right outside the window the caller was facing, although they say there was no storm.
- observation· 1:06
A thin blue streak about two centimeters thick came off the lightning bolt and passed through the crack of the closed windows.
- observation· 1:24
The streak moved slowly rather than instantly. The caller got on the floor, and it hit the top lamp of the lamp in the room.
- observation· 1:38
The light bulbs had been blown out by the next day.
- observation· 2:00
The replacement bulb slipped from the caller’s hand, and they saw it bounce and roll only about a foot.
- observation· 2:35
A thorough search of the small, nearly empty room found no bulb.
- observation· 3:18
The bulb was found crammed behind the radiator, up in the middle section under the cover.
- interpretation· 2:58
In the caller’s judgment, a bulb could not physically reach the spot where it was found.
- observation· 3:30
The caller checked the bulb for dust to test whether it had been lying there for months, and says it had not.
- interpretation· 3:36
The caller attributes the episode to a poltergeist and says it was connected to a further incident.
- hearsay· 0:22
The caller says they had experienced poltergeist-style hauntings earlier in their life.
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 caller is the direct witness. The sequence is coherent and concretely described, with the room size, the bulb’s bounce, and the radiator cover. The caller also tests one ordinary explanation by checking the bulb for dust. However, the central events are not backed up by anyone else, and no date or checkable location is given. The claim that the bulb could not have reached the radiator rests on the caller’s own judgment, not on a demonstration.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand, first-person story of both days, told in order.
- Concrete detail of the senses and the space: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- The caller considers an ordinary explanation: [quote withheld]
- No date, address, or checkable location is given. The caller says they are in Las Vegas, but the house described, with “East Coast radiators,” is not placed.
- The impossibility is asserted, not demonstrated: [quote withheld]
- A dropped bulb ending up behind a radiator in a dark, poorly lit room is not ruled out.
- The caller says the story covers more than the part given here ([quote withheld]), so this part of the broadcast is partial.
- The automatic transcript renders some terms loosely, such as [quote withheld]
- 0:44
- 3:18
- 3:30
What the model inferred (not said on air): The weights are my judgment: direct witness high, specificity moderately high, consistency high, other explanations only partly addressed, and calibration moderate. The cap for secondhand stories does not apply, and nothing says the story is a joke or fiction.
The story rests only on the caller’s own word. There is no second witness, photograph, or document, and nothing was inspected on air. By the caller’s own repeated statement they were alone, so no second witness is claimed.
Evidence for and against
- The caller gives detailed observations of what they saw and where.
- No physical evidence is offered. The bulb itself was not produced for inspection.
- [quote withheld] and [quote withheld] rule out a second witness.
- It is not stated whether any photograph or record exists.
- 0:33
- 2:20
What the model inferred (not said on air): Under the scoring guide this is the caller’s assertion only, which falls in the score of 0 to 10 range. No outside check is recorded.
There is a real startle: a bolt in storm-free weather, and a slow blue streak entering a closed room and striking a lamp. A two-hour search then ends in an impossible placement. But nothing threatens or harms anyone, and the story is told as a puzzle rather than as rising dread.
Evidence for and against
- The caller says the streak approached gradually: [quote withheld]
- The caller describes crawling out and being frightened: [quote withheld]
- The caller says they were in tears before finding the bulb: [quote withheld]
- No figure, presence, threat, or injury is reported.
- The ending is the discovery of an object, not an open-ended encounter.
- The emotion in the caller’s delivery is not assessed and is not treated as evidence.
- 1:17
- 1:31
What the model inferred (not said on air): The rating reflects an eerie, unresolved, but non-threatening strange event in a home.
An object vanishing and reappearing in an impossible place is a familiar poltergeist theme. But lightning in storm-free weather that sheds a slow blue streak through the crack of a closed window is a distinctive combination that the usual checklist does not cover.
Evidence for and against
- The sight is specific: [quote withheld]
- The place where the bulb ended up is specific and unusual: [quote withheld]
- Moved or vanishing objects and blown bulbs are common themes in this kind of story.
- The published originality score is computed against the archive. With a small pilot archive, that comparison carries little weight.
- 1:06
What the model inferred (not said on air): A familiar frame with a distinctive detail, so a mid-range score. The comparison with the rest of the archive is provisional.
Scoring confidence 0.72 · analysis confidence 0.72 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story only.; No claimed photograph, recording, or document.; No second witness claimed or heard.. The originality score blends the model's score (58) 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 nearby lightning strike or power surge could account for the blown bulbs and the bright flash the caller attributes to the bolt. The reported “blue streak” might have been ball lightning or an electrical arc. · The caller describes a bolt and a thin blue streak hitting a lamp, and the bulbs being blown out the next day. Ball lightning and surge damage are known natural events, though the caller says there was no storm.
- The dropped bulb may simply have rolled farther than the caller judged in the poor light and come to rest behind the radiator, rather than being moved by something strange. · The caller says they only had [quote withheld] The room was dark, with light only from another room. They also had to search by feel and by flashlight.
- A strong earlier link with “poltergeist-style” experiences could have shaped how the caller noticed and interpreted the events. · The caller themselves brings up earlier “poltergeist-style hauntings” as background and calls this episode a “poltergeist incident.” This is offered only as a possibility about interpretation, not about the caller’s character.
What stands out
The pairing is distinctive. A supposed lightning bolt in storm-free weather sheds a slow-moving blue streak that enters through a closed window. Then a dropped bulb is found in a space behind a radiator cover that the caller says is too narrow for it. The caller says outright that these were poltergeist events and links them to a longer connected sequence.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.