Furnished apartment of a deceased tenant and a door held shut
A caller who says only that they are calling from Texas tells Art Bell that at nineteen they rented a furnished apartment. The previous tenant, an elderly woman, had died with nobody to inherit her belongings. The caller reports that cleaning supplies and dirty dishes vanished whenever the phone rang, their cat went berserk, and windows and the front door were found open despite the bolts. Finally, a door would not open against two people until they spoke a phrase they had been using. They say they packed up their cat and left.
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 50:11). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller says they were nineteen and looking for their first apartment when an apartment locator told them about a furnished place. It had belonged to an old woman who had died with nobody to leave her things to. They say they took it because it was cheap, and that as soon as they moved in, [quote withheld] The caller describes the apartment as heavily secured, with window locks and bolts, two dead bolts, a chain, and a regular lock. During the first week, while they were cleaning with supplies that were already there, the phone rang. They say they came back to find [quote withheld] Another time, while they were cooking, the phone rang and nobody was there. They say they came back to find the kitchen clean and no dirty dishes in the sink. They say this happened any time they tried to use something that had belonged to the woman. The caller lived alone except for their cat, which [quote withheld] The caller says they once woke in the night feeling somebody staring at them. In the morning, they say, all the windows were open with their bolts on, and the door was standing wide open. Asked how they stayed, they say they decided to [quote withheld] Whenever something eerie happened, they began saying, [quote withheld] The caller says the spirit would disappear and then come back. They also say the cat began attacking visitors. The last event they describe came after they locked everything up and drove a friend to the airport. The caller and another friend returned and unlocked the door, but it would open only about an inch against their pushing. Then the caller said the phrase, and the door flew open. They say they packed up their cat and left.
Reported events, in order
- 1:04
An apartment locator offers the caller a furnished apartment that belonged to an elderly woman who died with no one to inherit her things. The caller takes it because it is affordable.
- 1:50
They note the apartment's heavy security: window locks and bolts, two dead bolts, a chain, and a regular lock.
- 2:20
During the first week, while they are cleaning with supplies already in the apartment, the phone rings. They say they return to find all the cleaning supplies gone.
- 2:43
While they are cooking, the phone rings and nobody is there. They say they return to find the kitchen clean and no dirty dishes in the sink.
- 3:31
They say their cat starts going berserk, and later starts attacking people who come in.
- 3:35
They wake in the night feeling that somebody is staring at them.
- 3:47
In the morning they say all the windows are open, bolts included, and the front door is standing wide open.
- 4:25
Whenever something eerie happens, they begin saying [quote withheld] The caller says the spirit would disappear and then return.
- 5:12
After locking up and driving a friend to the airport, the caller and another friend return. The door unlocks but opens only about an inch against their pushing.
- 5:58
The caller says the phrase, and the door flies open. They pack up their cat and leave the apartment.
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· 2:29
Cleaning supplies left out while the caller answered the phone were gone when they returned.
- observation· 2:52
After an unanswered phone call, the kitchen and dishes the caller had been using were clean.
- observation· 3:35
The caller woke in the night feeling that someone was watching them.
- observation· 3:50
In the morning all the windows were open with their bolts still on, and the front door was standing open.
- observation· 3:31
Their cat went berserk and later began attacking people who visited.
- observation· 5:25
The unlocked door would not open more than about an inch against two people pushing, and then flew open after the caller spoke.
- interpretation· 3:04
The events were caused by the spirit of the dead previous tenant, who objected to the caller's use of the woman's belongings.
- interpretation· 0:56
The caller holds that spirits may present themselves as good while actually being evil.
- host statement· 6:15
The host says cats sense presences that humans do not.
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.
A firsthand story with a clear sequence and detail about the apartment's security. But it has no names, dates, or location beyond a state, and it does not address ordinary explanations. The caller does separate what they saw from what they infer at least once (“as if...”).
Evidence for and against
- A direct first-person story of events they say they experienced.
- A concrete description of the apartment's locks, bolts, and chain.
- An ordered sequence with a beginning (moving in), escalation, and an end (moving out).
- At one point they label their reading as inference, not observation (“as if...”).
- No date, city, address, or names. “Texas” is the only place given.
- The claimed second witness is unnamed and does not speak on air.
- The caller does not consider ordinary explanations, and the detail of windows open with bolts in place is left unexplained.
- The caller's earlier theory that spirits masquerade as evil is stated before the story.
- No date, city, or address is given, so nothing can be checked.
- The labels showing who is speaking switch partway through, so some lines attributed to the host may be the caller's.
- The caller does not discuss how the windows could be opened with their bolts in place.
- 0:15
- 1:56
- 3:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): The story is firsthand and in order, with detailed physical description of the locks and door. It has almost no specifics that can be checked and does not consider ordinary causes. That puts it above the [quote withheld] level and below the “mundane explanations considered” level.
The story rests on the caller's own word plus a claimed second witness who does not speak on air. The only specifics that can be checked are a state and an age. No physical evidence is claimed.
Evidence for and against
- A second person is said to have pushed at the door with the caller.
- Some specifics could in principle be checked: the state of Texas, age nineteen, an apartment locator.
- No names, dates, city, address, or documents.
- The claimed witness is not present on air.
- No physical trace or recording is claimed.
- No documents, recording, or photograph is claimed.
- The second witness never speaks on air.
- The location is given only as “Texas.”
- 0:09
- 5:01
What the model inferred (not said on air): The second-witness claim and the thin checkable specifics put this at 11 to 25, at the lower end because the claimed witness is unnamed and does not appear.
Something intrudes into the caller's bedroom and kitchen, an unseen force resists at the door, the events escalate, and the story ends in flight, not resolution. Together these make a story that stays unsettling throughout.
Evidence for and against
- Escalation is described outright: [quote withheld]
- The door is said to be held shut against two people pushing.
- The cat is said to go berserk and to attack visitors.
- No figure, injury, or threat of harm is reported.
- The caller describes part of it as a “game” they decided to play.
- It is not stated whether the caller's sense of being watched came while they were fully awake or while falling asleep.
- No figure or presence is ever described as seen.
- 3:35
- 5:58
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is raised by the escalation from small household oddities to an unseen force physically resisting two people, followed by the caller leaving their home. It stays below the frightening range because no figure is described.
A familiar setup: moving into a dead tenant's home, objects moving, a cat reacting, escalating activity, moving out. It carries a few distinctive details. How new it is compared with the rest of the archive cannot be judged from one part of the broadcast.
Evidence for and against
- A distinctive detail: cleaning supplies and dirty dishes disappear when the phone rings.
- A distinctive detail: the front door opens only after the caller recites a set phrase.
- Objects moved, doors and windows opened, animals reacting, escalation, and moving out are common themes.
- Whether the idea of a possessive previous tenant comes from the caller or from how the story was marked off from the broadcast.
- No other story in this part of the broadcast is available to compare it with.
- 2:52
- 4:25
What the model inferred (not said on air): The provisional automatic score reflects a stock haunted-apartment setup plus three details that are not standard: the cleaning supplies vanishing, the kitchen apparently cleaning itself, and the door held shut until a spoken phrase is used.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story in a live call; A claimed second witness (a friend) who does not speak on air; No photograph, recording, document, or physical trace claimed. 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.
- Items or mess were moved or tidied while the caller was out of the room, so the change was never directly seen. · Each disappearance is reported after the caller leaves to answer the phone. They say the phone call was the reason they left the room.
- The caller could have opened the windows and the front door while half asleep, or someone else with access to the apartment could have. · The open windows and door are found in the morning, after the caller was asleep. They note the bolts were still in place but do not describe hearing or seeing anything.
- The cat's behavior could have ordinary causes, such as sounds or animals outside, unfamiliar visitors, or illness or stress after a move. · The cat is reported to go berserk and to attack people coming in. No other trigger is described.
What stands out
The reported events are mostly household matters and possessive rather than threatening in the usual way. Things connected with the dead tenant's belongings go missing or get cleaned. The climax is a door that will not open against two people until the caller recites a phrase they had already been using. Their theory that spirits may “masquerade” as good while being evil comes before the story, not out of it.
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