Duplex poltergeist, a figure at the wall, and a hidden room of the former police chief
A first-time caller who gives their name as [name withheld] describes living in a California duplex apartment at age 21. They say objects flew from a kitchen cupboard and a young neighbor also experienced activity. They report being shaken awake one night and seeing a man standing at the wall of their bedroom, whose face then appeared in a mirror. Moving the mirror revealed a concealed room full of guns, knives, Confederate money, and flags. They say police told them the former chief of police had lived and died there, that the removal of the weapons ended the activity, and that they moved out.
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 2:22:43). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives their name as [name withheld] and says they now live in California, tells the host they were 21 when they moved into a duplex apartment and a young couple moved in next door. They say they were apprehensive about the unfamiliar area. While the caller was sitting on the neighbors’ couch, they heard things falling at their own home. Returning, the caller found [quote withheld] They say the activity stopped at their unit when the neighbor woman came over, then started at her unit. The two households spent their days together because it [quote withheld] One night, they say, they were shaken wide awake and told to come next door. They knew they were alone in the house, turned on the light, and saw a man standing at the wall who said “come here” and then vanished. They report feeling [quote withheld] believing the figure wanted them to do something, and saying the episode is [quote withheld] They say they next saw their own reflection and then the man’s face in a mirror, and pounded on the neighbor’s wall. When the neighbor and her husband came over, they moved the mirror and found a room behind the wall containing guns, knives, bow and arrows, Confederate money, flags, and gun-cleaning kits. They say they called the police, who asked if the caller knew who had lived there. They told the caller the old chief of police died there and that the property was the chief’s. When the caller described the man, they asked if the caller was joking. The caller says that after police removed the guns and knives, everything stopped, but that they moved because they [quote withheld]
Reported events, in order
- 0:06
The caller, who goes by “[name withheld],” says they moved into a duplex apartment in California when they were 21. A young couple moved in next door.
- 0:23
The caller went next door to meet the neighbors and, sitting on a couch, heard things falling at their own home.
- 0:41
Returning home, they report objects coming out of the kitchen cupboard.
- 0:54
The neighbor woman came over. The activity stopped at their unit and then started at her unit.
- 1:17
The two households began spending days together because it [quote withheld]
- 1:25
One night they say they were shaken wide awake and told to come next door.
- 1:41
They turned on the light and report a man standing at the wall who said “come here” and then disappeared.
- 2:14
They report seeing their own reflection and then the man's face in a mirror, and they pounded on the neighbor's wall.
- 2:27
The neighbor and her husband came over. Moving the mirror revealed a room behind the wall.
- 2:37
The hidden room contained guns, knives, bow and arrows, Confederate money, flags, and gun-cleaning kits.
- 2:54
The caller called the police, who came to the house.
- 3:13
Police told the caller the former chief of police had died there and the items belonged to the chief. They reacted when the caller described the figure.
- 3:33
After the police removed the guns and knives, the caller says everything stopped.
- 3:43
They say they moved out because they [quote withheld]
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
Objects moved out of the kitchen cupboard on their own while the caller was next door.
- observation· 1:00
The activity stopped at the caller's duplex unit and then started at the neighbors' unit.
- observation· 1:25
The caller was shaken awake at night and told to go next door.
- observation· 1:43
A man was standing at the wall when the caller turned on the light.
- observation· 1:54
The figure told the caller to come over, then disappeared.
- interpretation· 2:04
The caller believed the figure wanted them to do something, and says the episode is documented in a newspaper.
- observation· 2:14
The caller could see their own reflection and then the figure's face in the mirror.
- observation· 2:31
Moving the mirror revealed a hidden room behind the wall.
- observation· 2:37
The hidden room contained guns, knives, archery equipment, Confederate money, flags, and gun-cleaning kits.
- hearsay· 3:13
Police told the caller the former chief of police had lived and died there and that the items were the chief's.
- observation· 3:22
Police were surprised when the caller described the figure's appearance.
- observation· 3:33
After the police removed the guns and knives, all activity stopped.
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.
As a story told by one person, this is a straightforward firsthand account with a coherent sequence and some concrete detail. But it has no checkable specifics, and its claims escalate. Ordinary explanations fit poorly for the reported object movement. The score sits near the [quote withheld] level of the scoring guide.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand telling throughout: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- A concrete sequence and objects: cupboard, mirror, hidden room, guns, knives, and “Confederate money.”
- The caller answers the host's clarifying questions without contradiction, for example confirming the sounds came from their own unit.
- No checkable specifics are given: no city, street, dates, or name for the chief.
- The story escalates from falling objects to nighttime shaking, a vanishing figure, and a hidden weapons room. That is internally tidy but depends heavily on the caller's word.
- The claimed newspaper documentation is not produced, named, or examined.
- No outside check was possible from the transcript. All the detail rests on one caller.
- The labels showing who is speaking shift between the caller and the caller in this part of the broadcast, so some lines may be mis-attributed.
- 0:06
- 0:41
- 3:13
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component scores are my own editorial judgment. The transcript itself offers no verification either way.
The story offers only the caller's word, plus claimed witnesses and claimed but unexamined physical items and documentation. That places it in the scoring band where checkable specifics or claimed witnesses exist but nothing is verified.
Evidence for and against
- Other witnesses are claimed: the neighbor woman who came over and her husband.
- Physical evidence is claimed to have existed: the hidden room and its contents, later taken by police.
- The caller claims a newspaper documented the events.
- No documentation was examined on air. The newspaper is never named or produced.
- No second witness speaks on air.
- No names, dates, addresses, or record numbers are given that could be checked.
- The “documentation” claim could refer to a real article, but nothing in the transcript identifies or confirms it.
- 2:04
- 2:27
- 3:33
What the model inferred (not said on air): The cap of 50 without an outside check applies. I place the score low within that band because no location or document detail is actually given.
A bedroom figure, physical shaking, mirror images, and a concealed weapons room make for a strongly unsettling story. The resolution and the caller's matter-of-fact delivery soften it somewhat.
Evidence for and against
- An intrusion into the bedroom at night, including being physically shaken awake.
- A silent figure standing at the bedroom wall that vanishes, then appears in a mirror.
- The discovery of a hidden room full of weapons and Confederate money tied to a dead police chief, with the order “come here.”
- The outcome is effectively resolved: the caller says the activity stopped after the weapons were removed.
- The caller gives no lasting description of menace or harm from the figure.
- The transcript is terse and some lines are low-confidence, so the full sensory detail may be understated.
- 1:25
- 1:43
- 2:37
What the model inferred (not said on air): Creepiness is a judgment about the story's effect, not about whether the events occurred.
The poltergeist setup is familiar. But the concealed weapons room of a former chief of police, revealed behind a mirror, gives the story a distinctive central detail.
Evidence for and against
- The hidden room reached by moving a mirror, holding a dead police chief's guns, knives, archery gear, Confederate money, and flags, is an unusual combination of details.
- Activity said to move between two adjoining duplex units is a distinctive wrinkle.
- Object movement, a nighttime figure, and a house with a history are common ghost-story elements.
- The [quote withheld] ending is a familiar resolution.
- The adjustment for how the story compares with the rest of the archive cannot be made from this part of the broadcast alone.
- 2:31
- 2:43
What the model inferred (not said on air): No comparison with the rest of the archive is available here. This is a provisional judgment based on content alone.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.72 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's own firsthand telephone account (a single caller).; Claimed newspaper documentation of the events ([quote withheld]), not produced, named, dated, or examined on air.; Claimed other witnesses: the neighbor woman and her husband. They do not speak on air.; Claimed physical objects (guns, knives, Confederate money, flags) found in a hidden room, not shown or examined on air.. 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.
- Household causes: an overloaded or unstable cupboard shelf, and a normal jolt out of sleep rather than an outside force shaking the caller. · The caller describes cupboards disgorging their contents and being shaken awake. A settled, poorly fitted, or overloaded shelf could cause similar reports, and so could a bed-mate or a muscle jerk waking the caller. They state, however, that they were alone in the house.
- A real concealed storage space in the building had an ordinary origin and was later found, with the paranormal framing added around its discovery. · The [quote withheld] is a physical space reached by moving a mirror, and it held real objects (guns, knives, money, flags). Hidden spaces like this are a normal feature of some older buildings.
- A new, unfamiliar home and nervousness could change how unclear events were seen and remembered. · The caller was 21, had recently moved to an unfamiliar area, and says they were “kind of scared” of the neighborhood. Unfamiliar surroundings and earlier odd events can shape how people read unclear sights and sounds.
What stands out
The story links a poltergeist-style disturbance in a duplex to a concealed room revealed by moving a mirror. The room is said to hold the former police chief's weapons, Confederate money, and flags. The activity is reported to move between the two adjoining units. The caller claims the events were documented in a newspaper, but the paper is never produced or examined.
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