Vancouver house with reported voodoo history and a priest who would not enter
An unnamed caller on the international line, who gives their location as Vancouver, Canada, describes growing up in a house from the 1920s that their father bought cheaply. The seller returned two weeks later begging to buy it back and told of a claimed voodoo history. The caller reports years of strange events: a cross falling from the wall, their mother’s paralysis and chest pressure at night, cold areas, and footsteps. The caller also describes a priest who refused even to step onto the sidewalk in front of the house. The caller says the activity faded once the children were grown. The host suggests the children may have been the source.
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 3:47:49). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives their location only as Vancouver, Canada, says that when they were young their father bought a house built in the 1920s at a very good price. The caller reports that two weeks later the seller returned and begged to have the house back. The seller later told their father that three generations of a family from the West Indies had lived there and were practicing voodoo, and that the seller should not have let a young family buy it without knowing the history. Their father, described as skeptical about such things, kept the house. The caller says a lot of weird things happened over the years. A cross hung above the basement door kept dropping to the floor, even though it was hung so that this should not happen. Their mother would be asleep and feel a tremendous weight on top of her and be unable to move until the caller brought her the rosary or Bible kept on her nightstand, after which it left. Their father said certain parts of the house were very cold. They heard footsteps on the basement steps. The caller also reports that before the family moved in, a man had hanged himself in the bath in the downstairs bedroom. The caller says three or four priests came over the years to bless the house. On one occasion a different priest arrived, stopped across the street, and would not step onto the sidewalk in front of the house. The priest apologized, said they would have to send somebody else because they could feel something bad, and left. The priest later phoned back several times to apologize. The caller says the activity continued and then, when the children were grown, seemed to go away. The host suggests the children may have brought it in, saying strange events often occur around teenage girls. No second witness speaks on air.
Reported events, in order
- 0:20
The caller’s father buys a house built in the 1920s at a very good price.
- 0:32
Two weeks later the seller returns and begs to have the house back.
- 0:54
The seller tells the caller’s father that three generations from the West Indies had lived there practicing voodoo and that the seller should not have sold it to a young family.
- 1:14
The caller’s skeptical father keeps the house.
- 1:53
Over the years three or four priests come to bless the house.
- 2:18
A cross hung above the basement door repeatedly drops to the floor.
- 2:37
The caller’s mother feels a tremendous weight on her at night and is paralyzed until given her rosary or Bible, after which it leaves.
- 3:15
The caller’s father says certain parts of the house are very cold, and the family notices it too.
- 3:29
They hear footsteps on the basement steps.
- 3:31
The caller reports that a man hanged himself in the bath in the downstairs bedroom before the family moved in.
- 3:55
A priest arrives, refuses to cross the street onto the sidewalk in front of the house, and says they can feel something bad. The priest leaves, says they will send someone else, and later phones several times to apologize.
- 5:14
The strange events continue and then, when the children are grown, seem to go away.
- 5:21
The host suggests the children, particularly teenage girls, may have brought it in.
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).
- hearsay· 0:54
The previous owner told the caller’s father that three generations had lived in the house.
- hearsay· 0:58
The previous owner said the occupants were from the West Indies and practiced voodoo.
- observation· 2:18
A cross hung above the basement door repeatedly fell to the floor.
- observation· 2:37
The caller’s mother repeatedly felt a heavy weight on her while in bed.
- observation· 2:45
The caller’s mother was unable to move during these episodes until given her rosary or Bible.
- observation· 3:15
Certain parts of the house were reported as very cold.
- observation· 3:29
Footsteps were heard on the basement steps.
- hearsay· 3:31
A man is said to have hanged himself in the bath in the downstairs bedroom before the family moved in.
- observation· 3:58
A priest who came to the house refused to come onto the property.
- hearsay· 4:04
The priest said they felt something very bad about the house.
- interpretation· 5:14
The caller’s own conclusion is that the strange events ended once the children were grown.
- host statement· 5:21
The host suggests that the children may have been the source of the events.
- host statement· 5:31
The host says strange events often occur around teenage girls.
- host statement· 3:11
The host says such beings target the weak.
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 story about a household the caller lived in, with concrete details and a consistent sequence. But ordinary explanations fit the reported events easily and are not addressed: sleep paralysis for the mother’s episodes, an old house settling for the falling cross and cold areas, and ordinary noises for the footsteps. The caller does not claim more than they say happened.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand witness, including standing in the doorway during the priest episode.
- Specific detail: the cross above the basement door, how it was hung, and the priest stopping at the street.
- The sequence is consistent, and the host’s questions are answered consistently.
- Common ordinary explanations fit: sleep paralysis for the weight and paralysis at night, an old house settling or a failing fixing for the falling cross, drafts for the cold areas, and house noises for the footsteps.
- Key background (the voodoo history and the hanging) is secondhand and cannot be verified from the transcript.
- No backing beyond claimed family members.
- Some elements (the voodoo history and the hanging) come from other people, not from the caller’s own observation.
- The labels showing who is speaking are unreliable in this part of the broadcast.
- 0:20
- 2:18
- 3:58
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component split (source 20, specificity 13, consistency 14, alternatives 6, calibration 7) is my use of the scoring guide. The caps do not apply because the story is presented as the caller’s own experience, not as fiction.
The story rests on the caller’s own word, with claimed family witnesses who do not speak on air and no documentation or physical evidence offered. A few particulars (Vancouver, a house built in the 1920s, three or four priests) could in principle be checked, but none was.
Evidence for and against
- Specifics that could in principle be checked: Vancouver, a house built in the 1920s, three or four priests.
- The caller’s mother and father are claimed as other people who experienced it.
- No names, addresses, dates, or documents supplied.
- No second witness speaks on air.
- No names, dates, or records are given, and the claimed family witnesses do not speak on air.
- The claimed priests and the previous owner are unnamed and were not contacted.
- 0:04
- 0:20
- 1:53
What the model inferred (not said on air): This falls in the 11 to 25 range because some specifics that could be checked (city, approximate age of the house, number of priests) exist, but nothing was checked and no named witness appears.
Repeated paralysis at night with a weight on the chest, a death by hanging in the house before the family moved in, and a priest who will not come onto the property give the story a steady ominous tone. No injury, threat aimed at the caller, or violent climax is reported.
Evidence for and against
- The caller’s mother is reportedly paralyzed under a heavy weight at night.
- A priest reportedly refuses even to approach the house.
- A previous hanging in the downstairs bedroom is reported.
- The caller treats the events as commonplace, and the story ends with the activity fading.
- No physical harm or direct menace to a person is reported.
- The telling is calm and matter-of-fact, and the ending is a fading away rather than a climax.
- 2:37
- 4:04
- 3:31
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is my assessment of how unsettling the story is to a listener, not a claim about whether it is true.
The setup is a familiar [quote withheld] frame. Two distinctive details lift it: the priest who refuses to come onto the property and telephones to apologize, and the seller who returns to beg for the house back after telling of a claimed voodoo history.
Evidence for and against
- A priest refuses to cross the street and later phones back repeatedly.
- The seller returns two weeks after the sale to beg for the house back.
- The core motifs are common in ghost stories: a falling religious object, chest pressure and paralysis at night, cold spots, footsteps, and a death in the house.
- Comparison with the rest of the archive cannot be made from a single transcript, so the published value will be provisional.
- 3:58
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is my judgment of how distinctive it is compared with common haunted-house motifs. The comparison with the rest of the archive cannot be computed here.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story (one caller, live on air); Claimed but absent witnesses: the caller’s mother, father, and siblings; No documentation, photograph, recording, or physical trace offered; No named priests, seller, or address given. The originality score blends the model's score (52) 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 mother’s episodes match sleep paralysis with chest pressure while falling asleep: waking unable to move, a sense of weight, and relief when fully roused or when an object is brought to her. · she would call out in the middle of the night and say, pass me my rosary or pass me the Bible ... but she was paralyzed
- The cross repeatedly falling could be a failing fixing or fastener, a warped wall, or vibration (for example from the basement door beneath it), rather than something strange. · It was right above the basement door. And that kept falling.
- Cold areas, footsteps on the basement steps, and noises fit an old house from the 1920s: drafts, changes in temperature, and shifting timber and pipes. · my dad said certain parts of the house are really cold ... We'd hear footsteps on the basement steps.
What stands out
The most distinctive element is the priest who reportedly refused even to step onto the sidewalk in front of the house and then telephoned several times to apologize, rather than entering. The story also joins a claimed voodoo history and a hanging before the purchase in the same house, but the caller never states a conclusion of their own about the cause.
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