Retired sheriff's captain reports a ghost cat and a figure in an old courthouse
A caller who says they are a retired sheriff’s captain tells Art Bell about a night they went with a dispatch supervisor into an old western courthouse to get computer paper. The caller reports a ghost cat on the stairs that hissed, attacked, and ran up their body. Then they saw a ghostly man at the top of the stairs who faded away. The dispatch supervisor reportedly said the cat passed through the caller and that the supervisor would never go back into the building.
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 3:38:03). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
According to the caller, who identifies themselves only as a retired sheriff’s captain, one night a dispatch supervisor ran out of paper in a computer and asked the caller to go along into the courthouse to get some. The supervisor would not go there alone, the caller says, because it was an old western courthouse with a jail in the basement where a number of people had been hung and killed themselves. The caller says they went in through a double glass front door. The caller had a flashlight and did not want to turn the lights on. The caller reports that at the top of a set of stairs there was a [quote withheld] When the caller shined their light on it, the cat reared its back, hissed at them, attacked, ran down the stairs at them, and ran up their body. The caller states that according to the dispatcher, the cat went through them. The caller did not see it go through. The dispatcher said they saw it come out the back end of the caller. The caller says it shocked them so badly that they lost their composure, dropped their flashlight, picked it up, and turned it back on. When they shined it at the top of the stairs, the caller reports a man standing there, [quote withheld] who slowly faded away. The caller describes the cat as not a physical cat and says it scared them to death. The caller also reports that the dispatcher told them that from that day forward the dispatcher would never go back in there again, and that this was the first time. The host closes by remarking on law enforcement officers being trained observers and on the cat that jumped through.
Reported events, in order
- 0:08
The caller says they are a retired sheriff’s captain and that a dispatch supervisor ran out of paper in a computer.
- 0:15
The caller says the dispatcher wanted them to go along into the courthouse because the dispatcher would not go alone.
- 0:16
The caller describes the courthouse as an old western courthouse with a jail in the basement where a number of people had been hung or killed themselves.
- 0:30
They entered through a double glass front door. The caller had a flashlight and did not turn the lights on.
- 0:39
The caller notes a set of stairs and says at the top of the stairs there was a ghost cat standing.
- 0:48
When the caller shined their flashlight on the cat, it reared its back, hissed, attacked, ran down the stairs, and ran up their body.
- 1:01
The caller says that according to the dispatcher the cat went through them. The caller states they did not see it go through them.
- 1:09
The dispatcher reportedly said they saw the cat come out the back end of the caller.
- 1:13
The caller says the event shocked them. They lost their composure, dropped their flashlight, picked it up, and turned it back on.
- 1:27
When the caller shined the flashlight at the top of the stairs, they report a man standing there.
- 1:30
The caller describes the man as a ghostly looking man.
- 1:32
The caller reports that the man slowly faded away.
- 1:49
The caller says the dispatcher told them the dispatcher would never go back in there again and that this was the first time.
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· 0:45
The caller reports seeing a ghost cat standing at the top of the stairs.
- observation· 0:48
The caller reports that when they shined their flashlight on the cat, it reared its back.
- observation· 0:57
The caller reports the cat attacked, ran down the stairs at them, and ran up their body.
- hearsay· 1:09
The dispatcher reportedly said the cat went through the caller and came out the back.
- observation· 1:27
The caller reports seeing a man standing at the top of the stairs after turning the flashlight back on.
- observation· 1:30
The caller describes the man at the top of the stairs as ghostly looking.
- observation· 1:32
The caller reports the man slowly faded away.
- interpretation· 1:38
The caller concludes the cat was not a physical cat.
- hearsay· 0:16
The caller states the courthouse jail was in the basement and that a number of people had been hung or killed themselves there.
- host statement· 2:12
The host later sums up the cat as attacking and jumping through.
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.
The story is firsthand and consistent, with a clear sequence and some sensory detail. But it is brief, has no names, dates, or location, and the second witness is only reported. Ordinary possibilities, such as a real cat in the dark or a trick of shadow and light, are not ruled out.
Evidence for and against
- The caller states their firsthand role: [quote withheld]
- The caller gives a step-by-step sequence: entering the courthouse, the stairs, the cat, the flashlight, the man.
- The caller separates their own sighting from the dispatcher’s claim: [quote withheld]
- Nothing checkable: no name, city, county, date, or courthouse name.
- The claimed second witness does not speak on air.
- A dark building and flashlight-only light offer plausible ordinary explanations.
- The labels showing who is speaking are unreliable. Several caller lines are labeled as the host.
- The courthouse location and era are not stated.
- 0:08
- 1:01
- 1:09
What the model inferred (not said on air): I scored it below the maximum for closeness to the source because the story is brief, is not backed up by anyone else, and has nothing checkable. This is not a judgment of the caller’s honesty.
Only the caller’s word is available. A second witness is claimed, but the dispatcher does not speak on air, and no physical evidence or checkable records are provided.
Evidence for and against
- The caller gives a consistent first-person story.
- No documentation, recording, photograph, or examined trace.
- No names, dates, or locations to check.
- The dispatcher’s observation is hearsay within the story.
- The automatic transcript and the labels showing who is speaking are imperfect.
- 1:09
- 0:16
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is at the bottom of the range because nothing can be independently checked. Claimed witnesses do not count as on-air backing.
A night entry into an old courthouse with reported hangings and suicides, an attacking cat that runs up the body, and a ghostly man who fades away make for a truly unsettling sequence. It is brief, though, and ends without injury or lasting threat.
Evidence for and against
- The setting: [quote withheld]
- The cat “hissed at me” and [quote withheld]
- A “ghostly looking man” appears and “slowly slowly dissipated.”
- No harm or lasting menace is reported.
- The encounter is short and cut off by the host.
- Some lines are marked as low confidence in the transcript.
- 0:55
- 0:57
- 1:30
- 1:32
What the model inferred (not said on air): I place it in the middle because the imagery is disturbing but not prolonged, violent toward the caller, or hostile in tone.
The old courthouse with a violent history is a familiar setup. But an attacking ghost cat that reportedly passes through the witness, followed by a silently fading man, is a distinctive combination.
Evidence for and against
- A ghost cat attacks and runs up the caller’s body.
- The dispatcher says it went through the caller.
- A ghostly man fades away.
- A ghost on a staircase in an old public building is a recognizable ghost-story setting.
- The human figure is a stock ghostly-man element.
- Originality compared with the rest of the archive is provisional, with few stories in the pilot.
- 0:45
- 1:09
- 1:32
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is a provisional estimate from the model. Novelty compared with the rest of the archive is not weighted much here.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.75 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand word.; A claimed second witness (the dispatch supervisor) who does not speak on air.; No photograph, recording, document, name, date, or location supplied.. The originality score blends the model's score (62) 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.
- A real cat could have been in the dark courthouse, been startled by the flashlight, and run toward or over the caller. The caller could later have described it in ghostly terms. The claim that it went “through me” rests on the dispatcher’s secondhand report. · The caller says they had only a flashlight and did not turn the lights on. The caller says they did not see the cat pass through them. The dispatcher reportedly said it did.
- Low light, a flashlight beam, and a shadow or object at the top of the stairs could produce a briefly seen human-like figure. It could seem to fade when the light moved or the caller’s attention shifted. · The caller describes the man only as [quote withheld] seen by flashlight at the top of the stairs, and says the figure faded away.
What stands out
The main strange event is a ghost animal reported as attacking and passing through the witness, followed by a human figure who fades away. The caller separates their own sighting from the dispatcher’s claim that the cat went through them.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.