Ghost called Charlie reported to follow a family through moves
A caller who says they are a truck driver in Denham Springs, Louisiana, tells Art Bell that a presence the caller named “Charlie” has followed them across several homes. The caller says it began when they were about fifteen and first dating their future wife. The caller reports repeated leg-bumping and objects moved and hidden. More recently, the caller says, their wife saw a figure in a doorway, and something grabbed their 11-year-old daughter in the bath and left a mark on her shoulder. The caller says the presence does not really bother them. The caller ends by saying they are only worried it might become more physical. Art says that when a presence leaves marks, it is time to consider professional (religious) help.
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 4:30:02). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller says they are “in North Louisiana” and are a truck driver who [quote withheld] The caller says the story is [quote withheld] that [quote withheld] when they first began dating their wife. At that time they lived in a round house whose ceilings [quote withheld] The caller says she was in their bedroom while the caller was in the living room, and she kept saying “stop that” before turning around looking scared. When the caller asked what was wrong, she said [quote withheld] The caller says this happened [quote withheld] The caller told her it was [quote withheld] a name the caller says they “named him” themselves. Answering Art, the caller confirms they were not yet married at that stage.
After they married, they moved into a trailer and, the caller says, “nothing happened.” In the second trailer “he came back,” moving and hiding things and [quote withheld] They later lived in New Orleans and then moved to where the caller is now. Asked whether it occurred to them that Charlie was not tied to one place but was following them, the caller says [quote withheld]
The caller says they have now been in Denham Springs five years and that [quote withheld] The caller has an 11-year-old daughter. The caller says the name Charlie was [quote withheld] and [quote withheld] The caller reports that [quote withheld] They told her [quote withheld] The caller also relays what their wife told them. She and the daughter had been sleeping in their bedroom because the caller works nights. She woke and [quote withheld] silhouetted against a nightlight in the living room shining through the doorway. The dogs were in the bedroom, and the cat ran into the other room. The figure [quote withheld] and could not be found when the house was searched. The caller concludes: [quote withheld]
Asked how they feel, the caller says [quote withheld] The caller calls the moving and hiding of things “a little annoying.” The caller says their only worry is the mark on their daughter's shoulder and that the presence might [quote withheld] Art says there is a dividing line between a caress or a push and something that leaves marks. At that point, he says, one should think about [quote withheld]
Reported events, in order
- 0:05
The caller states they are in North Louisiana and work as a truck driver living in Denham Springs, Louisiana.
- 0:12
The caller says the story began when they were about fifteen and first dating their wife. They were living in a round house with ceilings that did not reach the roof.
- 0:41
While the caller was in the living room, their girlfriend in the bedroom said something kept bumping her leg, and she became scared.
- 0:54
The caller says this happened a few times in that bedroom. The caller told her it was [quote withheld] a name the caller chose.
- 1:11
After marrying, they moved to a trailer where nothing happened. The caller says Charlie returned in the second trailer, moving and hiding things and bumping both of them.
- 1:24
They lived in New Orleans at that time, then moved to Denham Springs, where the caller has been for five years.
- 1:41
The caller says that over roughly the last two years Charlie has shown up again.
- 1:51
The caller states they now have an 11-year-old daughter and that the name “Charlie” came from a TV program they do not name.
- 2:15
The caller reports that on the Tuesday before the call, their daughter was grabbed on the shoulder while taking a bath and was left with a mark.
- 2:31
The caller relays that their wife, sleeping in their bedroom with the daughter because the caller works nights, woke and saw a figure by the doorway, lit by a nightlight. The cat ran off, the figure disappeared, and a search found nothing.
- 3:07
The caller says the presence does not really bother them and that they get a kick out of it. After the mark on their daughter, though, the caller worries it may become more physical.
- 3:32
Art says that leaving marks is a dividing line, and that professional religious help (a priest or exorcist) should then be considered.
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).
- interpretation· 0:54
The caller gave the presence the name Charlie and regarded it as the household's ghost.
- hearsay· 0:47
The caller’s girlfriend at the time told the caller something kept bumping her leg in the bedroom of the round house.
- observation· 1:18
In the second trailer the presence returned and moved and hid objects.
- observation· 1:21
The presence bumped both the caller and their wife.
- interpretation· 1:35
The caller concluded the presence follows them instead of being tied to a place.
- hearsay· 2:15
The caller reports their daughter was grabbed on the shoulder while bathing and that it left a mark.
- interpretation· 2:23
The caller blames Charlie for the mark on their daughter.
- hearsay· 2:40
The caller’s wife told them she woke and saw a figure in the doorway of the bedroom.
- hearsay· 2:52
The caller’s wife said the figure disappeared and could not be found when she searched the house.
- interpretation· 3:15
The caller says the presence is back and that they are mainly worried it may become more physical.
- host statement· 3:42
Art asserts that events that leave marks cross a line and call for professional religious help.
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 clear firsthand story with concrete details that could in principle be checked (named towns, several homes, an 11-year-old daughter) and a coherent sequence. Parts of it are relayed from the caller’s wife and daughter. The caller does not address any ordinary explanations, and the caller’s claims are largely mixed in with their own conclusions.
Evidence for and against
- The caller gives a time and place with names: [quote withheld]
- The caller gives a running sequence across homes: round house, first trailer, second trailer, New Orleans, Denham Springs.
- The caller supplies sensory detail for the wife's sighting: the nightlight through the doorway, the dogs in the bedroom, and the cat running off.
- Key episodes (the leg-bumping, the figure, the mark on the daughter) are secondhand from family members who never speak on the air.
- The story is brief, and no physical detail is examined or described ([quote withheld]).
- The caller's identification of the cause ([quote withheld]) is asserted, not drawn from any distinguishing detail.
- Some lines carry unclear speaker labels (for example, “HOST?”), so who said a few sentences is uncertain.
- Times and years are given only loosely ([quote withheld]).
- 0:12
- 1:35
- 2:15
What the model inferred (not said on air): The scores for how close the source is and how specific the story is are my own assessment of how detailed and firsthand the transcript is. The transcript offers no outside verification, and the caller does not test any ordinary explanation.
Apart from the caller's word, there are claimed witnesses (the caller’s wife and daughter) who do not speak on the air. There is also a claimed physical mark on the daughter's shoulder that is neither described nor examined. That places the story in the scoring range for claimed but unexamined physical evidence.
Evidence for and against
- A physical mark is claimed: [quote withheld]
- Multiple witnesses are claimed: [quote withheld]
- Specifics that could in principle be checked are given: Denham Springs, New Orleans, and five years in the current home.
- No second witness speaks on the air. The caller alone relays the wife's and daughter's experiences.
- No one on the air sees, photographs, or describes the claimed mark.
- No document, recording, or photograph is mentioned.
- It is not stated whether the mark lasted or was ever shown to anyone.
- No outside check was done.
- 2:15
- 1:21
What the model inferred (not said on air): Counting a claimed but unexamined skin mark as the strongest evidence available is my use of the scoring guide. It is not a statement about what caused the mark.
The story includes an intrusion into a bedroom, a figure seen in a doorway at night, and, most of all, a child grabbed in the bath and left with a mark. The caller raises the possibility that things will get worse. The caller’s casual attitude softens the chill.
Evidence for and against
- A child is reportedly grabbed while bathing: [quote withheld]
- The wife sees a figure at the bedroom doorway at night.
- The caller voices fear that things will get worse: [quote withheld]
- The caller says the presence [quote withheld]
- No steady escalation beyond the single mark is reported.
- What the mark looked like is not stated, which limits how disturbing the description can be judged.
- 2:15
- 2:40
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a judgment about how the story reads to a listener, not about whether anything happened.
The separate motifs are familiar: a named household ghost, objects moved, a figure in a doorway, a touch or a scratch. Two things give the story a distinctive shape. One is a single presence said to follow a family through several moves. The other is a name picked at random from a TV program.
Evidence for and against
- The presence is said to persist across homes: [quote withheld]
- The name's origin is unusual: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- The main motifs (bumping, hidden objects, a bedroom figure) are common in this kind of story.
- No rare or unique event is described.
- The published originality score is compared with the rest of the archive and is provisional when few similar stories are available.
- 1:35
- 2:03
What the model inferred (not said on air): The provisional originality score is my own. The part that compares it with the rest of the archive is calculated automatically.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.72 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: the caller's firsthand story (live telephone call); experiences the caller attributes to their wife and 11-year-old daughter, neither of whom speaks on the air; a claimed mark on the daughter's shoulder, not described or examined on the air; no photographs, recordings, documents, or second witness on the air. The originality score blends the model's score (50) 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.
- The family lived in a round house and two trailers. Ordinary structural noise, drafts, or settling could produce bumps or sensations, and household objects could simply be misplaced. · The caller describes several moves between a round house and two trailers. The caller reports only vague events (bumping, objects moved or hidden), and no one but family members witnessed them.
- A figure seen on waking at night, in a bedroom lit only by a nightlight shining through a doorway, could be a misperception in low light or while waking up. · The caller says their wife “woke up” and saw the figure “through the doorway” by the living-room nightlight.
- A mark on a child's shoulder could have an everyday cause, such as a knock, a scratch, or a skin mark. It is described secondhand and was not examined. · The mark is reported but not described, photographed, or shown on the air.
What stands out
The key claim is that the same named presence followed the family across at least four homes instead of staying in one house. The caller says they saw this pattern only after several moves.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.