Old man’s head with a stretched neck hanging in a workshop
A caller from Paso Robles, California, tells Art Bell that a few nights earlier they were working on rocks and jewelry in their shop after midnight and listening to the program. The caller heard a creaking and saw the lights surge. The caller then looked to their right and saw an old man’s head hanging in midair, the neck stretched out about a foot, watching them. The caller says they told it they did not mind it hanging around but that it was “your pad” and to leave them alone. Art comments that he finds it as hard to believe as the earlier ankle-grabbing story, restates the image, and moves on. No outcome or follow-up is reported.
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 4:18:15). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives their location as [quote withheld] on KPRL, opens by asking Art Bell about a big bang on Art’s door that Art had discussed on air. Art says it was between about 12:30 and 1 a.m. and that it scared him. The caller then says something happened to them “the other night.” The caller says they were in their shop, where they work on rocks and jewelry in the evening, and that they were listening to the program when they heard a creaking and the lights seemed to surge: [quote withheld] The caller says they looked to their right and saw [quote withheld] stretched out about a foot long. Asked what it was, the caller describes it as an old man. In the transcript the line is partly attributed to the host, but the caller’s answer is “old man.” The caller says it was [quote withheld] According to the transcript the caller then says they looked at it and told it that they did not mind hanging around with it, but [quote withheld] Art responds that he finds this as hard to believe as the previous caller’s story of something grabbing their ankle in a waterbed. He repeats the image back ([quote withheld]), says he would be “out of there,” and closes the segment for the next item of the broadcast. The caller reports no further contact, no other strange events, and no attempt to identify the figure.
Reported events, in order
- 0:11
The caller, on air from Paso Robles, California (KPRL), asks Art Bell about the big bang on Art’s door and when it happened. Art says it was around 12:30 to 1 a.m.
- 0:36
The caller says the event happened to them “the other night” and that they were in their shop working on rocks and jewelry in the evening while listening to the program.
- 1:02
The caller says it must have been after midnight, and that they heard a creaking and the lights seemed to surge.
- 1:08
The caller says they looked to their right and saw an object hanging by its neck, stretched out about a foot long.
- 1:23
The caller says it was hanging there looking at and watching them.
- 1:31
In answer to the host’s question the caller identifies it as an old man.
- 1:40
The caller says they spoke to it, saying they did not mind it hanging around but “It’s your pad,” and to leave them alone.
- 1:48
Art says he finds it as hard to believe as the earlier ankle-grabbing story, restates the image, and ends the segment.
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· 0:36
The caller reports being in their shop working on rocks and jewelry in the evening while listening to the radio program.
- observation· 1:02
The caller reports hearing a creaking and the lights behaving like a power surge.
- observation· 1:08
The caller reports seeing an object hanging by its neck to their right.
- observation· 1:13
The caller reports the neck was stretched out about a foot long.
- observation· 1:23
The caller reports the thing was hanging there looking at and watching them.
- observation· 1:31
The caller identifies the figure as an old man.
- interpretation· 1:45
The caller treats the presence as belonging to the place, telling it “It’s your pad” and to leave them alone while it may hang around.
- host statement· 1:58
Art Bell restates the caller’s image in the first person while saying he would leave.
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 firsthand, consistent story with a described sequence (creaking, lights, a look to the right, the figure, the caller’s response). But it is brief, has almost nothing that can be checked, and has no second witness. The components are: closeness to the source 20 (firsthand but very short), specificity 10 (time of night and one physical detail, no names or dates), internal consistency 14 (consistent, though the speaker labels are garbled), alternative explanations 10 (an ordinary misreading of a dim workshop is plausible and not addressed), and calibration 9 (the caller reports what they perceived without overstating). No cap applies, as it is neither secondhand nor presented as fiction.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand phrasing: [quote withheld]
- Sequence and sensory detail: [quote withheld]
- Specific detail of appearance: [quote withheld]
- No date, no name, no other witness, and no document or record is mentioned anywhere in the story.
- The detail [quote withheld] is the caller’s reaction, not backing for the sighting.
- Art Bell declines to accept it: [quote withheld]
- Several lines labeled as the host contain wording that seems to belong to the caller (for example [quote withheld]), so the caller’s exact words and the completeness of the story are uncertain.
- The line “The D-man” is not understandable and may be transcription noise.
- 0:36
- 1:02
- 1:48
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component point values are my judgment from the transcript alone. The transcript does not grade any of these factors itself. Treating the caller as a direct witness rests on their first-person phrasing.
Only the caller’s word exists. A town is named, but nothing can be checked or was checked, and no photograph, recording, mark, or other witness is claimed. This sits in the lowest range.
Evidence for and against
- Location spoken on air: [quote withheld]
- No second witness is mentioned or speaks on air.
- No physical evidence of any kind is described.
- Even the time of the event is only approximate: [quote withheld]
- 0:11
- 0:07
What the model inferred (not said on air): My scoring applies the rule that a claim alone is not backing. The range of 0 to 10 is assigned because nothing beyond the caller’s word is present.
A hanging head with a stretched neck watching the caller from inside their own workspace at night is genuinely unsettling and is left unresolved. But there is no threat, no physical contact, and no escalation, and the caller’s own response is a calm bargain rather than fear.
Evidence for and against
- Intrusion into a personal space at night: [quote withheld] and “after midnight.”
- Image of a head hanging in midair: [quote withheld]
- Being watched: [quote withheld]
- No injury, pursuit, or threat is reported.
- The caller answers it in a conversational way: [quote withheld]
- The story is short and the segment ends abruptly, so whether anything followed is unknown.
- 1:08
- 1:23
What the model inferred (not said on air): My rating weighs the image and the homey setting against the lack of any threat and the flat ending.
The setup, a ghost at night appearing to someone alone in a room, is familiar. But the specific form, a head hanging in midair by a neck stretched about a foot, is uncommon and gives the story a distinctive detail. The comparison with the rest of the archive is provisional while the archive is small.
Evidence for and against
- Unusual detail of form: [quote withheld]
- None of the standard ghost signs (no cold spot, no footsteps, no full figure, no named dead person).
- A ghost at night while alone is a very common story setup.
- The setting (a workshop) and the figure’s old age are conventional elements.
- With few stories in the archive so far, the comparison with the rest of the archive carries little weight, so this score is largely a judgment of the content.
- 1:08
- 1:13
What the model inferred (not said on air): The model score is 68 (a familiar setup plus one rare detail). The published originality score would blend this with how the story compares with the rest of the archive, which cannot be computed here.
Scoring confidence 0.55 · analysis confidence 0.60 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story, live on air; No photograph, recording, document, or second witness described. The originality score blends the model's score (65) 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.
- A misread shape in a dim workshop, possibly a hanging object, tool, or lamp, helped by a change in lighting. · The caller was working in their shop at night and described the lights reacting ([quote withheld]) right before they looked to their right and saw the “object.” This is one possible ordinary reading of the event, not an assessment of the caller.
- Imagery while falling asleep during a late-night, low-light period. · The caller places the episode after midnight ([quote withheld]) while seated and occupied in a quiet room.
- A reflection or projected image from a surface in the workshop. · The figure is described as hanging in midair and consisting of a head and a long neck, a shape that fits a reflected or partly hidden object. The transcript does not describe the shop or its contents, so this remains only a possibility.
What stands out
The reported sight is not a full standing figure but a head hanging in midair with the neck stretched out about a foot. The caller’s response is a casual verbal bargain (“It’s your pad”) rather than fear or flight. The story also begins by tying itself to a noise Art Bell had described on air that same night, though no link between the two is established.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.