Letter: Transparent old man and smell of dirt, rot, and alcohol in a Missouri house
A letter read on air, attributed to [name withheld] in Anchorage, Alaska, describes events when the writer was 24 and stationed at an Air Force base at Knob Noster, Missouri. The writer lived in a roughly 150-year-old remodeled house. Over successive nights the writer reports being woken by a smell of dirt, rot, and alcohol. On the third night the writer saw an old man described as transparent sitting at the foot of the writer's bed. A co-worker whose father owned the house told the writer about the previous elderly couple and the husband's death in that bedroom. The writer says they then told the figure to leave. The writer reports that he disappeared and never returned, and neither did the smell.
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 2:47:45). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The host reads a letter attributed to [name withheld] in Anchorage, Alaska. The writer says they were a “young 24-year-old” stationed at an Air Force base at Knob Noster, Missouri (transcribed as “Whitman”). The writer lived in a remodeled house about 150 years old, where they had been for about three months. On the first night the writer woke from a deep sleep because of a stench described as a combination of dirt, rot, and alcohol that filled the house. The writer searched the house and found no source. On the second night the writer was awakened by the same smell and went across the hall to wake their roommate. The roommate also asked what the awful smell was, which the writer says confirmed they were not dreaming. On the third night the writer woke to the smell again and saw an old man sitting at the foot of their bed. He had distinct features but was transparent, and he smelled of rot, dirt, and alcohol. He just sat there, and the writer says they sat up, afraid to move, for hours until daylight. The writer went to work exhausted and described the old man and the smell to a woman whose father owned the house. The woman then told the writer about the elderly couple who had owned the house before her father. The couple were married fifty years. The wife fell ill, and the husband cared for her until she died in the house. He became lonely and distraught, began drinking, and never left the house. He was found dead in what was [name withheld]'s bedroom. That night the writer says they resolved to deal with the problem. Awakened again by the smell, the writer found the old man at the foot of their bed. The writer told him they were not afraid of him, that he was dead and this was no longer his home but theirs, that they were taking good care of his old house, and that he should leave them alone and go away. The writer says he looked sad, stared at them a moment, and disappeared before their eyes. He and the smell never returned.
Reported events, in order
- 0:09
The letter writer says they were 24, stationed at an Air Force base at Knob Noster, Missouri, and had lived about three months in a roughly 150-year-old remodeled house.
- 0:24
First night: the writer was woken from deep sleep by a smell of dirt, rot, and alcohol filling the house. The writer searched the house and found no source.
- 0:43
Second night: the writer was woken by the same smell. The writer woke their roommate across the hall, who also asked about the smell.
- 0:59
Third night: the writer was woken by the smell. An old man with distinct features, but transparent, was sitting at the foot of the writer's bed, smelling of rot, dirt, and alcohol. The writer says they sat up afraid to move for hours until daylight.
- 1:25
The next day at work the writer describes the old man and the smell to a woman whose father owned the house.
- 1:40
The woman tells the writer about the previous elderly couple. They were married 50 years. The wife died in the house after an illness, and the husband drank, never left, and was found dead in what was the writer's bedroom.
- 2:19
That night the writer is woken again by the smell and sees the old man at the foot of the bed again.
- 2:24
The writer tells him they are not afraid, that he is dead and the house is theirs now, that they are caring for it well, and that he should leave them alone and go away.
- 2:43
The writer reports he looked sad, stared a moment, and disappeared before their eyes. He and the smell never returned.
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· 0:24
The writer reports being woken by a smell of dirt, rot, and alcohol that filled the house.
- observation· 0:59
The writer reports seeing an old man with distinct features, but transparent, at the foot of the writer's bed on the third night.
- hearsay· 1:40
A co-worker is said to have told the writer that the previous owners were an elderly couple, that the wife died in the house, and that the husband drank, never left, and was found dead in what was the writer's bedroom.
- interpretation· 2:24
The writer treated the figure as the dead previous occupant and spoke to him as such.
- observation· 2:43
The writer reports the figure disappearing after the writer spoke to him, and neither he nor the smell returning.
- host statement· 0:00
The host attributes the letter to [name withheld] in Anchorage, Alaska.
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 detailed, internally consistent firsthand story with a clear sequence and concrete settings. But the writer asserts certainty (“it really happened”) without separating what they perceived from what they concluded. Ordinary explanations tied to sleep or odor are not addressed.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand telling with sequence, times of night, and specific sensory detail.
- Consistent across nights. The roommate detail fits the described sequence.
- The writer searched the house for the smell's source on the first night.
- The writer offers no thought of ordinary causes for the smell or the visions on waking.
- Claims are stated as flat certainty rather than weighed.
- The writer's identity and location are unverified and only as spoken.
- The transcript garbles the base name.
- 0:09
- 2:05
- 2:53
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component weighting and the cap check are my judgment. All quoted content comes from the transcript.
The story rests on the letter writer's word. It supplies specifics of a kind that could be checked (base, town, state, house age) and a claimed second witness (the roommate). But nothing is examined or verified, and the roommate does not speak on air.
Evidence for and against
- Named location details that could in principle be looked up.
- A claimed second person who reportedly smelled the same thing.
- No documentation, recording, or photograph is offered.
- The claimed witness is not on air and is not named.
- Place names are given but garbled (“Whitman”), so even checks in principle are limited.
- No documentation is presented or examined.
- 0:09
- 0:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placing it in the 11 to 25 band rests on checkable-type specifics being stated but not verified, plus a claimed but silent second witness.
Waking night after night to a foul smell, a transparent figure at the foot of the bed, and the writer's reported hours of fear produce real unease. But there is no threat, contact, or harm, and the ending is a resolution rather than an ominous one.
Evidence for and against
- The bedroom is intruded on across several nights.
- A figure is reported at the foot of the bed with a rotting odor.
- The figure is described as sad and passive rather than menacing.
- The story ends with the events stopping.
- No threat or physical harm is reported, which limits the score.
- 1:16
- 1:07
What the model inferred (not said on air): The rating is my judgment of the described content from a listener's point of view.
It uses stock elements: a transparent figure at the foot of the bed, a foul smell, and an old house. The distinctive touches are the smell's specific makeup (dirt, rot, alcohol) tied to the previous occupant's reported drinking, and the ending by spoken command.
Evidence for and against
- A figure at the foot of the bed and a foul odor are recurring ghost-story motifs.
- The smell is given a specific makeup tied to the story, rather than a generic “foul” smell.
- The ending by direct spoken command, with the smell stopping along with the figure, is a less stock combination.
- The comparison with the rest of the archive cannot be made here. Only my own estimate is given.
- 0:59
- 1:12
What the model inferred (not said on air): My assessment of how common the motifs are is a judgment. The linked smell comes from the transcript.
Scoring confidence 0.80 · analysis confidence 0.85 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The writer's firsthand account, read from a letter on air.; A claimed second witness (the roommate) who smelled the odor, not on air.; Claimed information from a co-worker about the house's previous occupants, not on air.. The originality score blends the model's score (45) 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 odor had an ordinary household source (for example, drains, damp or mold, or decay) that the writer could not find. The figure the writer saw on waking from deep sleep was a sleep-related image rather than something in the room. · The writer reports waking out of a deep sleep and searching the house without finding a source for the smell. The writer describes sitting up and staying still for hours.
- Waking repeatedly at night to a strong smell could build expectation and produce images while falling asleep or waking on later nights. The third-night figure would then be a waking dream attached to a real or remembered odor. · The writer reports the same smell on three nights in a row and the figure only on the third, with the sequence described as building night by night.
What stands out
The odor is tied specifically to the figure's reported history: dirt, rot, and alcohol match the previous occupant's reported drinking. The writer ends the encounter by ordering the figure to leave, and after that both the figure and the smell stop.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.