Late mother-in-law appears in her former bedroom; a footprint in the carpet
A caller identified on air only as “the gentleman” continues a story he began earlier in the program. He says he saw his dead mother-in-law leaning over the dresser area in the bedroom that had been hers. He also describes a bare footprint in the white carpet that his wife said was her mother’s, a constant feeling of being watched, and the dog staring into the bedroom. Later, he says, his vision blurred and [quote withheld] appeared in the dark. He also reports thumping on the wall and phone calls with nobody on the line. He says nothing has happened since the family moved to a new home. This is the second part of the call. The earlier part is not in this transcript.
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 12:49). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives no name or location, picks up a story about a house he had moved his wife and children into, the former home of his dead mother-in-law. He says he had seen a ghost [quote withheld] and that his wife told him she had seen it too, though at a different time. He says the hair stood up on the back of his neck and he did not know what to think. Leaving at once was hard because of money, children, and furniture. He then reads from notes, as he says, [quote withheld]
He says that around March 22, alone in the house near noon and getting ready for work, he came out of the restroom next to the master bedroom, which was formerly his mother-in-law’s bedroom. He looked over his right shoulder and saw his dead mother-in-law leaning over the dresser area where her dresser used to be, apparently putting something down. Asked whether she was “of more form” this time, he answers yes.
He describes white plush carpet throughout the house. One morning near the end of March or on April 1, he says, he called his wife to look at a bare footprint pressed into the carpet. It was not his wife’s footprint or his, he says, and it was too large to be either daughter’s. His wife said, [quote withheld] From that time on he reports a constant feeling of being watched, and the dog standing and staring across the house into the bedroom and whining. In the summer, lying awake at night, he says his vision would blur and [quote withheld] would appear and fade slowly. He says this did not resemble his mother-in-law, and he wondered whether a portal had opened. At the end of summer he reports thumping noises on the wall, often at the noon hour, and phone calls where [quote withheld] He says nothing has happened since the family moved to their new home. Art Bell closes with remarks about spirits staying in one place and a possible “portal.”
Reported events, in order
- 0:10
The caller says his wife had seen the ghost too, but at a different time. He says the hair stood up on his neck and he did not know what to think.
- 0:25
He says he had just moved his wife and children into the house.
- 1:43
Around March 22, alone near noon and about to leave for work, he came out of the restroom next to the master bedroom and saw his dead mother-in-law leaning over the dresser area, apparently putting something down.
- 1:29
He notes that the bedroom had been his dead mother-in-law’s bedroom.
- 2:49
Near the end of March or on April 1, a bare footprint was found in the white plush carpet. He says it was not his wife’s or his and was too large for either daughter, and his wife said it was her mother’s.
- 3:24
From that time on he reports a constant feeling of being watched, and the dog standing to stare across the house into the bedroom and whining.
- 5:24
Lying awake at night in the bedroom in summer, he says his vision would blur and [quote withheld] would appear sharply and fade slowly. He says this did not resemble his mother-in-law, and he wondered about a portal.
- 6:19
At the end of the summer he reports thumping noises on the wall, often at the noon hour, and phone calls that rang with nobody there.
- 6:49
He says nothing has happened since the family moved to their new home.
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· 1:43
He saw his dead mother-in-law leaning over the dresser area in the bedroom that had been hers.
- hearsay· 0:10
His wife had seen the ghost as well, but at a different time.
- observation· 2:49
A bare footprint in the carpet was not his wife’s or his, and was too large for either daughter.
- hearsay· 3:01
His wife said the footprint was her mother’s.
- observation· 3:18
From that time on there was a constant feeling of being watched.
- observation· 3:24
The dog repeatedly stood up and stared across the house into the bedroom, whining.
- observation· 5:24
Lying awake in the dark, his vision would blur and faces would appear and fade.
- interpretation· 5:58
The faces did not resemble his mother-in-law, and he wondered whether a portal had followed them.
- observation· 6:19
There were thumping noises on the wall, often around noon.
- observation· 6:27
The telephone would ring and there would be nobody on the line.
- observation· 6:49
Nothing strange has happened since the family moved to a new home.
- host statement· 7:40
Art Bell says a spirit may stay in the same place, and asks whether a “portal” has opened that let in more than the mother-in-law.
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 firsthand story with a dated sequence and household detail, but with no names or places to check. Plain, ordinary explanations fit several of the events. The caller does not address them and moves on to a “portal” idea.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand: [quote withheld]
- A dated sequence with a place: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- Concrete household detail that could be checked: [quote withheld] The footprint was checked against family members’ feet.
- An easy ordinary explanation for the faces: he was [quote withheld] with vision that [quote withheld]
- No place name, no surnames, and no year are given. The caller is introduced only as “the gentleman.”
- Garbled passages (for example [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]) make the story less precise.
- This is the second part of a call. The earlier part is not in this transcript.
- The labels showing who is speaking are inconsistent across several lines, so who said some sentences is uncertain.
- 1:00
- 2:49
- 5:24
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component scoring: source proximity 22 (direct firsthand witness); specificity 11 (dates and household details but no names or checkable locations); internal consistency 13 (ordered timeline, minor garbling); alternative explanations 6 (several ordinary explanations not addressed); calibration 7 (some hedging, [quote withheld] but also the jump to a portal). My own view, not the transcript’s, is that the footprint and the faces in the dark room are the two weakest points.
The caller’s word plus a claimed second witness (his wife, who never speaks) and claimed notes made at the time, which are not shown or read out. No document, photograph, or recording is produced or examined.
Evidence for and against
- A second witness is claimed: [quote withheld] a different time, and she reportedly said [quote withheld]
- The caller says written notes exist: [quote withheld]
- Dates are given that could in principle be checked with the caller: “around march 22nd.”
- The wife does not speak on air, so she is a claimed witness, not an independent one.
- The notes are mentioned but not read in full or examined on air.
- No physical evidence (a photograph of the footprint, phone records) is offered.
- Whether the notes held further detail that was never read out.
- Whether the wife’s confirmation was correctly attributed, given the inconsistent labels showing who is speaking.
- 4:59
- 1:00
What the model inferred (not said on air): The 11 to 25 range fits: there are checkable details (dates) and claimed witnesses, but nothing has been examined. No outside check was done, so a cap of 50 applies.
A dead relative appearing in her own former bedroom, a constant feeling of being watched, faces forming in the dark, wall thumping, and silent phone calls give a steady eerie tone. But there is no threat, harm, or physical contact, and the activity reportedly stops after the family moves.
Evidence for and against
- Faces described as [quote withheld] appearing and fading in the dark room.
- A reported constant feeling of being watched: [quote withheld] being watched, with the dog “whining, staring.”
- The caller’s own portal guess leaves the ending open: [quote withheld]
- The main figure is a familiar dead relative, described leaning over a dresser, not behaving in a threatening way.
- No injury, contact, or menace is reported anywhere.
- The caller reports nothing since moving: [quote withheld]
- The garbled line about a recent appearance to the wife makes the ending less clear than it seems.
- 5:24
- 6:27
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a judgment about the story as heard, not about whether it is true. The strongest unease comes from the faces in the dark room and the feeling of being watched, not from any threat described.
A familiar haunted-former-home frame (a dead relative’s house, a figure, a feeling of being watched, a dog reacting, silent phone calls) with one distinctive household detail: the wife identifying a bare footprint in the plush carpet as her mother’s.
Evidence for and against
- A distinctive detail: a footprint left in white plush carpet and attributed to the dead woman by the wife.
- An unusual mix: a ghost plus a physical imprint plus faces in a dark room plus the caller’s portal idea.
- Stock elements: a dead relative seen in her old room, a feeling of being watched, a dog reacting, a phone ringing with no one there, thumping noises.
- No unusual place, object, or time frame sets it apart from standard haunted-house stories.
- How new the story is compared with the rest of the archive cannot be judged from a single story.
- 3:01
- 3:24
What the model inferred (not said on air): A score of 50 is the model’s estimate from the content alone, for a familiar frame with one distinctive detail. The published figure would blend this with how rare the motifs are across the archive, which cannot be worked out from this one story.
Scoring confidence 0.45 · analysis confidence 0.55 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story (a live telephone call).; A claimed second witness (his wife), who does not speak on air.; Claimed written notes the caller made the same day, mentioned but not read out or examined.; No photographs, recordings, or documents are produced.. The originality score blends the model's score (50) 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.
- Faces seen while lying awake in a dark bedroom could be images seen while falling asleep, or the mind finding faces in random patterns. · He says he would [quote withheld] and that his [quote withheld] would “start to blur” before shapes appeared.
- A bare footprint in plush carpet could come from any household member or visitor walking barefoot on that carpet. · He says the house had uniform white plush carpet throughout and that barefoot walking leaves an imprint. He checked it against his own, his wife’s, and his daughters’ feet.
- Phone calls with nobody on the line and thumping sounds could be wrong numbers, prank calls, or ordinary building and appliance noise. · He says the phone rang “frequently” at the noon hour with nobody there, and he mentions unspecified [quote withheld]
What stands out
The most distinctive element is ordinary, not dramatic: a bare footprint pressed into uniform white plush carpet, which the wife says is her mother’s, in the very bedroom the mother-in-law had used. The caller also tells the story as a list in order of time, read from notes he says he made that day.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.