Man’s ghost in a basement and a cat-sized figure in a new house
A caller who gives their name as [quote withheld] tells Art Bell that about fourteen months earlier they moved into a house with their wife, dog, and child. While showing their stepfather the basement, they say, they saw the ghost of a man walking behind the stepfather toward the back door. The caller later reports a cat-sized figure moving past them in the same basement toward the back door. They say their wife saw a similar figure moving from the kitchen to the living room. The story ends with the neighbors’ statements about a previous resident and a cat, and the caller’s own description of it as [quote withheld].
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 2:35:58). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller says their name is [name withheld] and their location is Philadelphia. They say, [quote withheld] The caller describes showing their stepfather the basement, standing about six feet away while the stepfather stood on the stairs. They say they saw [quote withheld] The caller did not think anything of it at the time but thought about it half an hour later.
In a later, separate incident, they say, they came home and went to the store one night around two o’clock in the morning. When they came into the basement, they saw an animal [quote withheld] which they took to be their dog. They then say the dog was asleep upstairs. They say they mentioned this to their wife, and that she saw the thing walking from the kitchen to the living room.
The caller says they asked the neighbors whether they had a cat. The caller says a man who had lived there died, and his wife, who was alive, got sick and moved into an apartment. The neighbors, the caller says, confirmed they had a cat. Asked by Art whether it was a cat, the caller says they think so. The caller describes the presence as not evil but [quote withheld] They finally call it “a ghost cat” and concede “it sounds crazy.” Art replies that cats have individual personalities and would be as likely to come back as a ghost as a human.
Reported events, in order
- 0:12
The caller says they moved into a house with their wife, dog, and child about fourteen months earlier.
- 0:19
While showing their stepfather the basement, they report seeing the ghost of a man walking behind the stepfather toward the back door.
- 0:33
They say they only thought about the sighting half an hour later.
- 0:43
On another night around 2 a.m., coming into the basement, they report a cat-sized animal walking past them toward the back door. They assumed it was their dog.
- 0:57
They say the dog was asleep upstairs.
- 1:01
They say they told their wife, who reported seeing the thing walking from the kitchen to the living room.
- 1:03
They say neighbors told them that the man who lived there died and that his wife, who was alive, became sick and moved into an apartment.
- 1:19
They say neighbors confirmed they had a cat.
- 1:25
They describe the presence as not evil, as if it were checking the family out, and call it a ghost cat.
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· 0:28
The caller says they saw the ghost of a man walking behind their stepfather toward the back door in the basement.
- observation· 0:52
The caller says they saw an animal about the size of a large cat walking past them toward the back door and thought it was their dog.
- observation· 0:57
The caller reports that their dog was asleep upstairs at the time.
- hearsay· 1:01
The caller reports that their wife saw the thing walking from the kitchen to the living room.
- hearsay· 1:12
The caller says neighbors told them the previous male resident died and his wife, who was alive, became sick and moved to an apartment.
- hearsay· 1:19
The caller says the neighbors confirmed they had a cat.
- interpretation· 1:35
The caller concludes the animal figure was a ghost cat.
- interpretation· 1:25
The caller describes the presence as not hostile and as though “they” were checking the family out and moving their house.
- host statement· 1:49
Art Bell states that cats, like dogs, have individual personalities and are as likely to come back as ghosts as humans are.
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.
These are firsthand sightings, told briefly, with some concrete anchors (room, back door, 2 a.m., the dog’s age). The order of events is clear, and the caller marks their own uncertainty. But there are no checkable specifics, and the cat-sized figure has an easy ordinary explanation.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld] This gives a stated time frame.
- [quote withheld] This is sensory, positional detail.
- [quote withheld] and “it sounds crazy.” The caller separates what they saw from what they concluded and flags their own uncertainty.
- [quote withheld] A living cat is an easy ordinary explanation for the animal sighting.
- The man sighting was brief and, by the caller’s own account, unnoticed at the time.
- No address, no named previous occupant, and no dates beyond a vague [quote withheld]
- The labels showing who is speaking in the transcript are unreliable, so several apparent host lines may be the caller speaking, and the reverse.
- The phrase [quote withheld] is unclear. It is not stated whether this describes the house’s age or something else.
- 0:12
- 0:28
- 0:33
What the model inferred (not said on air): My component scoring (closeness to the events about 20, specificity about 10, consistency about 14, other explanations about 6, calibration about 8) is my own use of the scoring guide. The transcript supplies the supporting quotations only.
The story rests on the caller’s own word plus a claimed second witness (their wife), who does not speak on air. No physical or documentary evidence exists, and nothing was checked.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld] This is a claimed witness, not an independent one.
- [quote withheld] This is a claimed check with the neighbors, not verified on air.
- No photograph, recording, document, or mark is described.
- No names, addresses, or dates precise enough to check.
- The only voice on air is the caller’s.
- Whether the stepfather saw anything is not stated.
- 1:01
- 1:19
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placing this in the 11 to 25 band follows the scoring guide’s provision for “other witnesses claimed.” The caller asserts that the witnesses exist. It is not shown.
A figure passing in a basement and a small animal-like form are mildly eerie. But the story is a household one and brief, and the caller says outright that the presence is not evil.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld] A figure seen close behind a family member.
- The second sighting happens at about 2 a.m. in a basement.
- [quote withheld] The caller describes the presence as not harmful.
- The animal figure is small and compared to a household pet.
- The caller’s final framing sentence is garbled, so the full sense of their attitude is unclear.
- 0:28
- 1:35
What the model inferred (not said on air): My creepiness judgment reflects the events as told, not the caller’s delivery.
The frame, a figure in a basement and a previous occupant who died, is stock material. The distinctive touch is a cat-sized animal ghost tied to a neighbor’s pet.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld] An animal ghost rather than a human one.
- “a ghost cat.” The caller’s own unusual label.
- A basement figure and an old-house previous-occupant explanation are very common motifs.
- A short story with little detail leaves less room for distinctive elaboration.
- The provisional score is a judgment of the content. Newness compared with the rest of the archive is not computed here.
- 0:52
- 1:35
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is my judgment of how familiar the combination of motifs is. It does not come from comparing with the rest of the archive in this run.
Scoring confidence 0.50 · analysis confidence 0.55 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: the caller’s firsthand story on air; claimed sighting by their wife, secondhand, who does not speak on air; claimed neighbor statements about the previous resident and a cat, not verified; no photograph, recording, or document described. 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.
- The cat-sized figure the caller saw in the basement at about 2 a.m. could have been a living cat. The caller says neighbors told them they had a cat. · [quote withheld]
- The man’s ghost, seen in passing and not registered until half an hour later, could be a brief misperception of light, shadow, or a reflection in a basement. · [quote withheld]
- The figure the caller’s wife reported moving from the kitchen to the living room could be the same living animal, seen at a different time from a different part of the house. · [quote withheld]
What stands out
The story pairs a briefly glimpsed adult male ghost with an animal ghost in the same basement. It links both to a previous occupant’s household, including a neighbor’s pet. The caller treats the activity as part of ordinary household life rather than a threat.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.