Vision of a little girl kissing the caller’s cheek during an adoption decision
A caller named [name withheld], from Sacramento, California, tells Art Bell about a private adoption they were pursuing that kept stalling. The caller reports that one night, drifting in and out of sleep on their sofa, they woke to a little girl kissing their cheek and felt an overwhelming sense of love. They say the adoption did not go through in the end. They never worked out whether the girl was the child they had hoped to adopt or a child “waiting” for them.
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 5:23:06). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], calling from Sacramento, California, says they had just returned from a Halloween party and wanted to share a story they describe as [quote withheld] The caller says they are single and cannot have children. A private adoption they were pursuing kept stalling: [quote withheld] leaving them unsure whether to continue. The caller reports that one night, lying on their sofa, they fell asleep and drifted in and out of consciousness, in [quote withheld] The caller states they had not been thinking about the adoption that night. [name withheld] says they woke to a little girl kissing their cheek, calling it [quote withheld] and that the girl had long blonde hair. The caller describes a feeling of love that [quote withheld] and a thought that [quote withheld] The caller says the girl seemed to want them to know she loved and appreciated them. [name withheld] says they did not know whether it was the child they were trying to adopt or [quote withheld] Asked whether there was any resolution, they say the adoption did not go through. The caller says if it was that baby, the child knew how much they had worked and how much they loved the child, and it was [quote withheld] or, as they said before, something else. The host suggests it may have been a premonition and asks the caller to call back if they eventually adopt a child who is “the spitting image” of the girl.
Reported events, in order
- 0:08
[name withheld] calls after coming home from a Halloween party and asks whether the show is discussing ghost stories.
- 0:39
The caller describes being single, unable to have children, and pursuing a private adoption that kept stalling between yes and no.
- 1:05
The caller reports lying on their sofa one night, falling asleep, and drifting in and out in a daze.
- 1:39
The caller reports waking to a little girl kissing their cheek, which they call [quote withheld]
- 1:48
The caller says the girl had long blonde hair and that a feeling of love enveloped their whole body. They thought [quote withheld]
- 2:07
The caller says they did not know whether the girl was the child they were trying to adopt or [quote withheld]
- 2:26
Asked about resolution, the caller says the adoption did not go through.
- 2:46
The host suggests it may have been a premonition and asks the caller to call back if they later adopt a child who looks like the girl.
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· 1:39
The caller woke to a little girl kissing their cheek.
- observation· 1:48
The girl had long blonde hair, and the experience felt physical.
- interpretation· 1:55
It felt as though [quote withheld] with love enveloping their whole body.
- interpretation· 2:07
The caller could not tell whether the girl was the child they were adopting or a child waiting for them.
- host statement· 2:46
The host proposes the experience could have been a premonition.
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 brief firsthand story from a caller who experienced the event personally. It has a coherent sequence and a stated difference between what the caller perceived and what they concluded. But an ordinary sleep-related explanation fits easily, because the caller says they were drifting in and out of sleep, and nothing backs it up.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand testimony: [quote withheld]
- Some sensory specifics: long blonde hair, a physical sensation of a kiss, an enveloping feeling.
- The caller separates perception from interpretation: [quote withheld]
- The caller describes being in a drowsy in-between sleep state at the time: [quote withheld]
- No date, second witness, or documentation is given.
- Several passages are fragmented or interrupted, limiting the detail available.
- The exact date and time of the experience are not stated.
- The labels showing who is speaking shift within this part of the broadcast, so who said some lines is not fully certain.
- 1:05
- 1:39
- 2:07
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score reflects the scoring guide: a clear but brief firsthand story with an easy ordinary explanation (a sleep-state experience), placed near the 40 to 55 anchors. No points are given or held back for vocal delivery or the host's reactions.
The only support is the caller's own word. No physical evidence is claimed, no record is cited, no second witness speaks, and no details can be checked.
Evidence for and against
- The caller describes the experience in the first person.
- No photograph, recording, document, or mark is mentioned.
- No other person is said to have witnessed it, and none speaks on the air.
- Nothing in the transcript can be independently checked, and no outside check was done.
- 1:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placed in the lowest range (the caller's word only). The hard cap of 50 applies and is not close.
The story is presented as comforting and loving, not threatening, with no intrusion, harm, or lasting dread. The caller calls it [quote withheld]
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld]
- The reported feeling is explicitly positive: [quote withheld]
- A figure appearing on waking and an unexplained physical kiss are, in themselves, mildly eerie for a listener.
- Listener responses vary. This is a judgment about the story, not its truth.
- 0:28
- 2:15
What the model inferred (not said on air): Near the “comforting visitation” anchor (10), nudged slightly up because the experience happens on waking and involves a reported physical contact.
The core element, a child figure met in a dreamlike state and bringing comfort, is familiar. But the framing around an adoption decision, and the caller's stated uncertainty about which child it was, give it a somewhat distinctive personal shape.
Evidence for and against
- The child figure is tied to a specific real-life stake: a stalling private adoption.
- The caller cannot identify the child: [quote withheld]
- Comforting visits during sleep are a recurring motif in this kind of archive.
- No unusual mechanism or rare combination of strange events is described.
- The published originality score is provisional compared with the rest of the archive. With few stories, that comparison carries little weight.
- 2:07
What the model inferred (not said on air): Model estimate between the “stock elements” (20) and [quote withheld] (50) anchors, closer to the latter.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: the caller's firsthand story only; no claimed photograph, recording, or document; no second witness on the 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.
- An experience while falling asleep or waking up, during the in-and-out sleep the caller describes, when vivid imagery and physical sensation can occur on waking. · [quote withheld] and [quote withheld] then [quote withheld]
- A dream or dreamlike episode drawing on the caller’s ongoing, emotionally important adoption situation. · The caller describes the stalling private adoption at length. They also state they had not been thinking about it that night.
What stands out
The caller frames the story as comforting, not frightening. It is built around a pending real-life decision, a private adoption, and not around a haunting. The reported physical kiss and the caller’s stated uncertainty about which child it was give it a personal character, not one tied to a place.
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