Knocking, pulled covers, and a figure in 1920s dress on a hotel's fifth floor
A caller who gives their name as [name withheld] from Sacramento, a stuntman, describes one night on the fifth floor of a large hotel in Coral Gable, Florida, while working on a film. They report knocking at their door with nobody outside, their bed covers being pulled off them repeatedly, and a man in 1920s formal dress at the end of the hallway. The next morning, they say, a woman at a hotel historical society booth told them the place is [quote withheld] She also said the fifth floor had been the morgue when the building was a wartime hospital. They then asked to be moved off that floor.
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 1998.mp3”, starting at 1:09:06). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives their name as [name withheld] from Sacramento, says they work as a stuntman and travel for film work. They say they were in “Coral Gable, Florida” on a film with friends. They describe the large hotel where they stayed as one that [quote withheld] Walking in with their friend [name withheld], they say they felt something [quote withheld] and told [name withheld] the place was haunted. They say they were the only stuntman on the fifth floor and went to bed early because they had a 4:30 call. Around 11:30 p.m. they report a knock at their door and nobody outside. Lying down again, they say their covers were pulled off them, and they wondered whether someone had come in. A second knock with nobody there followed, along with what they describe as party noise down the hallway. The covers were pulled off again, and they say they joked to themselves about being “short-sheeted.” On opening the door again, they say, they saw a man at the end of the hallway in a tuxedo with a red carnation and slicked-back hair, dressed in what they call 1920-period clothing. They say they told the man to stop and that the man laughed and walked away. They say they called downstairs to change rooms but were told they had a fifth-floor room, and that they slept little. The next morning, they say, a woman at a lobby historical society booth laughed and told them the hotel is [quote withheld] She asked whether they had stayed on the fifth floor and told them that floor had been the morgue when the building was a hospital during World War II. They say they went straight to the front desk and asked to be moved off the fifth floor.
Reported events, in order
- 0:00
The caller gives their name as [name withheld] from Sacramento.
- 0:05
They say they work as a stuntman, travel around the country, and were in Coral Gable, Florida, to work on a film with friends.
- 0:12
They describe a large hotel there called the Coral Gable, which they say used to be Al Capone's hangout.
- 0:43
Entering the hotel with their friend [name withheld], they say they felt something like a cold wind and told [name withheld] the place was haunted.
- 0:54
They say they were the only stuntman housed on the fifth floor and went to bed early because of a 4:30 call.
- 1:01
Around 11:30 p.m. they hear a knock, open the door, and find nobody there.
- 1:10
Lying down again, they feel the covers being pulled off them and think someone may have come into the room.
- 1:19
A second knock comes with nobody outside. They hear noise like a party down the hallway and grow irritated.
- 1:30
The covers are pulled off again. They say they wondered whether they were being “short-sheeted.”
- 1:39
Answering the door once more, they say they see a man at the end of the hallway in a tuxedo with a red carnation and slicked-back hair, dressed in what they call a 1920-period suit.
- 1:51
They tell the man they need to sleep and to stop. The man laughs, turns, and walks down the hallway.
- 2:00
They call downstairs to complain about the noise and ask to change rooms. The desk tells them they have a fifth-floor room.
- 2:15
The next morning in the lobby, they ask a woman at a historical society booth whether the place is haunted.
- 2:25
She is said to have laughed and told them it is one of the most haunted places in North America.
- 2:29
She is said to have asked whether they had stayed on the fifth floor and told them that floor had been the morgue when the building served as a hospital during World War II.
- 2:40
They say they immediately went to the front desk and asked to be moved off the fifth floor.
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· 0:49
On entering the hotel with their friend [name withheld], the caller says they felt something like a cold wind.
- observation· 1:01
Around 11:30 p.m. they heard a knock at their hotel room door and found nobody outside.
- observation· 1:10
As they were falling asleep, they felt the covers being pulled off them.
- observation· 1:30
After lying down again, the covers were pulled off once more. They say they wondered whether they were being “short-sheeted.”
- observation· 1:39
On answering the door again, they say they saw a man at the end of the hallway in a tuxedo with a red carnation and slicked-back hair.
- observation· 1:49
The caller describes the man's clothing as being of the 1920 period.
- observation· 1:57
The man they say they saw laughed, turned, and walked down the hallway after they spoke to him.
- interpretation· 0:43
The caller's own conclusion, voiced as they entered the building, was that the place was haunted.
- interpretation· 1:08
The caller says they first wondered whether someone was playing a practical joke on them.
- hearsay· 2:25
A woman at a historical society booth in the lobby is said to have stated the hotel is one of the most haunted places in North America.
- hearsay· 2:35
The same woman is said to have told them the fifth floor had been the morgue when the building was converted into a hospital during World War II.
- host statement· 0:36
The host recalls a film titled “Bad Boys” in connection with the caller's film work. This is the host's statement, not backing for any strange event.
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 clear, specific first-person story with a coherent sequence, but no one else backs it up, and an ordinary hotel explanation (party noise, a formally dressed guest) fits much of it. The caller partly separates what they perceived from what they inferred, though they label the place haunted early and on thin grounds.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand, direct story of events the caller says they experienced.
- Concrete details: floor number, a 4:30 call, an 11:30 knock, a tuxedo with a red carnation, a 1920-period suit.
- A coherent sequence across the night, with the caller's attempts to contact the front desk fitting the story.
- The ordinary reading fits easily. The caller mentions a party down the hallway and a man in formal dress in that corridor, who could be guests or staff.
- No dates, no name for the historical society woman, and no documentation of the building's wartime use.
- The caller's first conclusion ([quote withheld]) follows a vague sensation.
- Only the caller experienced the nighttime events. No second voice confirms them.
- The transcript is automatic, and the hotel name appears inconsistently as “Coral Gable.”
- The labels showing who is speaking vary, and some caller lines are labeled as the host.
- 1:01
- 1:39
- 1:21
What the model inferred (not said on air): The weights by part (closeness to events and specifics high, other explanations and calibration low to moderate) are my own judgment. No part of the score rests on the caller's tone or emotion.
Only the caller's word supports the strange events. Some details that could be checked are named but nothing was checked, and no second witness speaks on air. This places it in the low range above pure assertion.
Evidence for and against
- Details that could in principle be checked are given: a named city and hotel, a specific floor, a specific time, and a described figure.
- A witness ([name withheld]) and an institutional source (the historical society booth) are claimed, though neither is produced.
- No physical evidence, recording, photograph, or document is claimed or examined.
- The haunting claim rests on an unnamed woman's reported statement, and the historical claim rests on the same source.
- No second witness speaks on air.
- It is not stated whether the film, hotel, or historical society could be identified, and no such check is done here.
- 0:43
- 2:25
What the model inferred (not said on air): The range follows the scoring guide: claimed witnesses and named places that were not verified belong in 11 to 25.
A broken night's sleep, repeated unexplained knocking, bedding physically disturbed, and a figure in period dress seen alone at night give the story a steady, unresolved unease. That fits a middle-range creepiness rating.
Evidence for and against
- Intrusion into a private hotel room at night, with bedding physically disturbed twice.
- A knock with no one outside, repeated.
- A figure out of its time seen alone in a corridor at night.
- The closing news about the morgue and the caller's move to another floor.
- The caller treats parts of it lightly, wondering about a joke and about being “short-sheeted.”
- The encounter ends without harm: the figure laughs and walks away.
- The caller's own reactions are described only in words, so their delivery cannot be judged.
- 1:30
- 2:29
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a judgment about the story as heard, not a claim that anything happened.
A familiar hotel-haunting frame with a few distinctive particulars. The provisional score is in the middle range, to be adjusted by comparison with the rest of the archive when more stories exist.
Evidence for and against
- The caller's job as a stuntman traveling with a film crew is an unusual framing.
- Distinctive details: a tuxedo with a red carnation and slicked-back hair, and a historical society booth in the lobby supplying the explanation the next morning.
- Core elements are stock: knocking with no one there, bedding disturbed at night, a figure in period dress, and a wartime-morgue backstory.
- Originality compared with the rest of the archive is provisional at this archive size.
- 1:39
- 2:15
What the model inferred (not said on air): How rare the themes are, and how similar the story is to others, cannot be worked out from a single story. The provisional score reflects content alone.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.72 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story only; no recording, photograph, document, or register is presented or examined on air.; A second person ([name withheld]) is said to have been at the hotel entrance, but [name withheld] does not speak and none of [name withheld]'s reactions is reported.; The claims about the building's haunted reputation and its wartime use come from an unnamed woman and are not backed up on air.. The originality score blends the model's score (48) 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.
- Other hotel guests or staff: knocking noises and a formally dressed man in the corridor during a gathering. · The caller mentions [quote withheld] and noise while trying to sleep, and later describes a man in formal dress in that hallway. Hotel guests or staff attending a function could account for both the figure in the hallway and some of the noise.
- Repeated waking and drowsiness: bedding disturbance and door sounds felt while drifting in and out of sleep. · The caller says they had a 4:30 a.m. call and were repeatedly woken and trying to get back to sleep. That is the setting in which the bedding sensations and the sounds are reported.
- A practical joke, or someone entering the room, which the caller raised as a possibility. · They describe the covers as being pulled off and say they thought they were being “short-sheeted.” In other words, they considered a prank by another person before any other explanation.
What stands out
The story is framed by the caller's work as a stuntman on a film shoot. Its closing explanation comes the next morning from a hotel historical society booth, not from research by the caller. The specific figure, a tuxedoed man with a red carnation and slicked-back hair, placed by the caller in the 1920s, is a more particular detail than the usual vague presence in a hallway.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.