Daytime sleep paralysis, a woman speaking in a man's voice, and nails in the head
A caller named [name withheld], speaking from L.A. and formerly of the Truckee area near Donner Pass, reports a series of daytime nap experiences over about two and a half weeks. The caller describes waking up paralyzed and feeling someone sit on the bed. It ended one afternoon, they say, when they saw a woman on the bed who spoke in a man's voice. She told the caller to pull out three nails they felt in their head, and she showed the caller their own body lying beside her. The caller says they refused, returned to their body, and the experience never happened again.
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 4:37:55). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], calling from L.A. and saying they previously lived in the Truckee area near Donner Pass, tells Art Bell they had not believed such stories and had not planned to call. The caller says that less than a year earlier, while home alone during the day for about two and a half weeks, they would wake from naps paralyzed and feel someone sit on the bed. They say doors and windows were locked and the dogs were outside, and that if they moved a muscle the episode would end. It all came to a head one afternoon, the caller reports, when they were more aware than before. In daylight, they saw a woman reclining on the side or corner of the bed. They say they jumped up, went to the back door, put their hand on the deadbolt, opened it a crack, and looked back. The caller reports that the woman was speaking in a man's voice and said, “pull them out.” They say they then felt three old, rough nails pounded into the top of their head. Looking back at the bed, they say, they saw their own body lying there with the woman beside it. They recall thinking this might be a demon, devil, soldier, or something similar. They reasoned that pulling the nails out would acknowledge it, while running away would avoid dealing with it. They say they looked at the woman, said no, returned to their body, and the experience never came again. The caller adds that they moved and got out of the house. The host closes this part of the broadcast by summarizing it as a man waking with three rusty nails in his head and a young lady instructing him in a man's voice.
Reported events, in order
- 0:03
The caller gives their name as [name withheld], from L.A., and says they used to live in the Truckee area near Donner Pass.
- 0:41
The caller says they did not believe such stories and had not planned to call.
- 1:05
The caller says the experience went on over about two and a half weeks while they were home alone during the day.
- 1:19
The caller says they would wake from naps paralyzed and feel someone sit on the bed. Doors and windows were locked, and the dogs were outside.
- 1:32
The caller says if they moved a muscle, the episode would stop.
- 1:38
After about two and a half weeks, on one afternoon, the caller felt something sit on the bed and was more aware than before.
- 1:53
The caller says they were wide awake in daylight and saw a woman reclining on the side or corner of the bed.
- 2:10
The caller jumped out of bed, went to the back door, put their hand on the deadbolt, opened the door a crack, and looked back.
- 2:15
The caller says the woman was talking to them in a man's voice.
- 2:22
The voice said, “pull them out.”
- 2:29
The caller felt with their right hand on top of their head and found three nails.
- 2:34
The caller describes the nails as old and rough and pounded into the top of their head.
- 2:39
The caller says that when they looked back at the bed, their own body was lying in it, with the woman next to them.
- 2:48
The caller recalls the host's earlier remark about never making a deal with the devil. They consider that pulling the nails out would be acknowledgment, while running out would not be dealing with it.
- 3:28
The caller says they looked at the woman, said no, walked back, and laid down into their body, and the experience never came again.
- 3:43
The caller says they moved and got out of that house.
- 4:15
The host summarizes the story as a man waking with three rusty nails in his head and a young lady speaking in a man's voice.
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· 1:19
During daytime naps, the caller would wake paralyzed.
- observation· 1:25
The caller would feel someone sit on the bed while paralyzed.
- observation· 1:53
On the last afternoon, the caller saw a woman reclining on the corner or side of the bed.
- observation· 2:15
The woman spoke to the caller in a man's voice and said “pull them out.”
- observation· 2:34
The caller felt three old, rough nails pounded into the top of their head.
- observation· 2:39
The caller saw their own body lying in the bed.
- interpretation· 2:58
The caller thought the being might be a demon, devil, soldier, or something similar.
- observation· 3:28
The caller said no, returned to their body, and the experience never happened again.
- host statement· 4:15
The host summarized that the caller woke with three rusty nails driven into his head and a young lady speaking in a man's voice.
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 detailed and holds together as a firsthand account. But the daytime nap and paralysis give an easy ordinary explanation, and nothing backs it up or can be checked.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand story with detail in order and in the senses.
- Consistent recurrence over about two and a half weeks, followed by a final event.
- The caller says they had disbelieved such stories before and had not planned to call.
- The episodes begin on waking from naps and include paralysis, which fits a common sleep-paralysis pattern.
- No exact date, address, medical record, or independent check is provided.
- Nothing but the caller's story supports the demonic or nonhuman reading.
- Exact timing and place are not stated.
- There is no second witness or documentation.
- The automatic transcript may credit some lines to the wrong speaker.
- 1:19
- 1:25
- 1:32
What the model inferred (not said on air): My score reflects how well the story holds together and how close the source is. I lowered it because sleep-related explanations fit so well and there is no independent support.
The only evidence is the caller's word. There is no documentation and no independent witness on the air, and the specifics given are too broad to check from the transcript.
Evidence for and against
- The caller gives their own firsthand story.
- Broad location details are given: L.A., the Truckee area, and Donner Pass.
- A time frame of about two and a half weeks is described.
- No full name, exact date, address, or record is provided.
- No photograph, recording, or physical trace is examined.
- No witness on the air backs up the story.
- The nails are reported as felt, not shown or medically documented.
- No outside check was done.
- 2:29
- 2:34
What the model inferred (not said on air): I place this at the low end of the range for stories resting on word alone, because even the details that could be checked are vague and unchecked.
The bedroom paralysis, the mismatched voice, the nails in the head, and the view of the caller's own body are unsettling. The daytime setting and the settled ending soften the effect.
Evidence for and against
- Something intrudes on the bedroom and bed during paralysis.
- A woman speaks in a man's voice and tells the caller to “pull them out.”
- Nails are reported in the head, along with a view of the caller's own body from outside it.
- The caller briefly interprets it as a demon or devil.
- The setting is described as daytime with the sun out.
- The event reportedly ended when the caller said no.
- The host responds with jokes about a tetanus shot and a hokey story.
- It is not clear how literally the caller means the nails and the view of their own body.
- 2:15
- 2:29
- 2:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is an entertainment judgment about the story's content, not about whether the events happened.
The story uses a familiar sleep-paralysis and bedroom-visitor frame. A woman speaking in a man's voice, nails felt in the head, and a view of the caller's own body from outside it give it moderately distinctive details.
Evidence for and against
- Sleep paralysis and a figure at the bedside are familiar motifs.
- The mismatch between a woman and a man's voice is unusual.
- The instruction to pull nails from the head and the view of the caller's own body are distinctive details.
- The core frame is a stock bedroom paralysis encounter with a figure at the bedside.
- There is no historical backstory or complex setting.
- How new the story is compared with the rest of the archive is not calculated here.
- 1:53
- 2:22
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a provisional score based on content. How it compares with the rest of the archive is not calculated here.
Scoring confidence 0.80 · analysis confidence 0.85 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand spoken story only.; No physical evidence, photograph, recording, medical record, or object is offered for inspection.; No second witness speaks on the air.; Broad place details are given as L.A., the Truckee area, and Donner Pass.. 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.
- Sleep paralysis, with imagery seen while falling asleep or waking up. · The caller says the episodes happened when they woke from daytime naps. They included paralysis and a sense that someone sat on the bed, and they ended when the caller moved a muscle.
- A vivid dream, or a dream of waking up. · The last episode includes paralysis, a figure the caller perceived, speech, felt nails, and a view of their own body, all around a nap. The caller reports being “wide awake,” but the sequence is dreamlike.
What stands out
The story puts a paralysis-and-bedroom-visitor experience in daylight instead of at night. It combines a woman speaking in a man's voice, nails felt in the head, and a view of the caller's own body from outside it.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.