Truck driver reports numbness and a rising sensation in a sleeper berth at a New Mexico rest area
A female long-haul truck driver, calling from Ludlow, California, tells Art Bell about an episode in the sleeper berth of the truck she drives with her husband. It happened at an I-25 rest area outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, near mile marker 163. She says that shortly after lying down, and not yet asleep, her body went numb and she could not move. A gurgling sound came from her mouth, and she felt the middle of her body rising. It ended when her husband woke and spoke to her. She offers no settled explanation. She raises the possibility that she was simply asleep, then doubts it.
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 3:15:44). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, a female long-haul truck driver who says she teams with her husband, tells Art Bell the story from Ludlow, California, over a ham radio. She says the experience happened at a rest area on I-25 outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, at mile marker 163.
She had just finished a driving shift and was tired. Her husband was already asleep in the truck’s sleeper berth. She put on a nightshirt, brushed out her hair, turned everything off, and climbed in behind him. She says something kept telling her to look behind her, which she refused to do. She had only just lain down and was not yet asleep. She says her body suddenly went totally numb and she could not move. A gurgling noise came out of her mouth as she tried to speak and to say her husband’s name while he kept snoring. She says she wondered whether she was having a stroke, then reasoned that her mind was working. She felt as though she were about to start levitating, so she began praying in her mind.
She reports that her husband then woke and asked what was going on, and the experience left. She says she had already come back down and did not fully rise, only the middle of her body moving. Asked whether she recognized anything that came out of her mouth, she says it was just noise. She also remarks that only two other trucks were parked at the rest area, which she found strange. She raises the idea that she might have been asleep, but rejects it because she had just lain down.
Reported events, in order
- 0:00
The caller says she is part of a husband-and-wife long-haul truck-driving team, speaking by ham radio. She says she is then in Ludlow, California.
- 0:41
She says the experience happened in the sleeper berth of their truck at a rest area on I-25 outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, at mile marker 163.
- 0:52
She says she had just finished driving, was tired, and her husband was already asleep. She changed into a nightshirt, brushed out her hair, and turned everything off.
- 1:11
She says something kept telling her to look behind her. She refused and closed her eyes.
- 1:27
She says she had only just lain down and was not asleep when her body suddenly went completely numb and she could not move.
- 1:38
She says a gurgling noise began coming out of her mouth as she tried to speak or call her husband’s name. He was still snoring.
- 2:10
She says she wondered whether she was having a stroke, then reasoned that her mind was working.
- 2:22
She says she felt as if she might start levitating, and began praying in her mind.
- 2:55
She says her husband woke up, asked what was going on, and the experience then “just left.”
- 3:05
She says she had already come back down and did not fully rise. Only the middle part of her body moved.
- 4:16
She notes that only two other trucks were in the rest area, which she found strange for a late-night stop.
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· 1:35
The caller says her body went numb and she could not move it.
- observation· 1:38
The caller says a noise, which she describes as gurgling, came out of her mouth while she tried to speak.
- observation· 3:05
The caller says she felt the middle part of her body rising, though she says she did not fully rise.
- observation· 1:11
The caller says something kept telling her to look behind her.
- interpretation· 2:10
The caller says she wondered whether she was having a stroke.
- interpretation· 3:39
The caller rejects the idea that she was asleep or dreaming, saying she had only just lain down.
- observation· 4:16
The caller says the rest area was unusually empty, with only two other trucks, when she arrived late at night.
- host statement· 3:51
The host suggests something “inhabited” the caller for a period of time.
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 clear firsthand story that holds together, with concrete details of the setting and reasonably measured claims. But a strong ordinary explanation (she had just lain down and was tired) and nothing that can be independently checked keep it in the middle range.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand, direct-witness story of an experience while lying down.
- Concrete details of the setting: I-25, a rest area at mile marker 163, the sleeper berth, and her husband asleep beside her.
- She separates what she perceived from what she feared or guessed, and says she did not fully rise.
- An ordinary explanation tied to falling asleep fits the symptoms closely (sudden immobility, inability to make sounds, sensation of rising).
- The story rests on a single inner experience with no outside detail that could be checked.
- Fragmentary transcription (for example, “Bellum, New Mexico”) means parts of the sequence are unclear.
- Whether she did or did not drift into sleep before the numbness is only her own word.
- Some transcribed lines are fragmented, so the exact order of sensations is uncertain.
- 1:35
- 3:39
- 3:05
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component judgment: closeness to the events about 20 of 25 (firsthand), specificity about 13 of 20 (place named but nothing verifiable), internal consistency about 15 of 20, other explanations about 3 of 20 (the start of sleep fits easily), calibration about 9 of 15. Together these give a cautious mid-range score.
This is essentially the caller’s word, with place specifics given but unchecked and a second witness merely claimed, placing it in the score band of 11 to 25.
Evidence for and against
- The caller is a firsthand witness.
- Specifics that could in principle be checked are given (I-25, mile marker 163, rest area south of Albuquerque).
- A second person is claimed to have been present.
- No documentation, recording, or physical trace is offered.
- The only claimed second witness (the husband) does not speak on air.
- The host checked nothing in the story.
- The place name as transcribed (“Bellum”) is unclear, so it cannot be treated as a verified location.
- 2:21
- 0:58
What the model inferred (not said on air): Scored at the low end of the band because the place details are incidental to the event and nothing was examined.
The confinement, loss of control of her body, and the sensation of rising give a genuinely unsettling middle level, without threat, harm, or an ominous ending.
Evidence for and against
- Total-body numbness and inability to move or call out in a cramped sleeper berth.
- An involuntary gurgling noise from her own mouth.
- Feeling the middle of her body rising and praying for it to stop.
- The episode ends when her husband wakes and speaks. She says “it just left.”
- No threat, harm, ill will, or physical contact is reported.
- A possible ordinary explanation (just fallen asleep, tired) is available, softening the effect.
- The exact sensation of the body “moving up” is described only briefly and in fragments.
- 1:38
- 2:52
What the model inferred (not said on air): Weighted toward the loss of bodily control rather than any menace, since the story resolves when the husband wakes.
A familiar frame like sleep paralysis, with one distinctive detail (the middle of the body rising in a truck sleeper berth). My provisional score is 50, subject to later adjustment against the rest of the archive.
Evidence for and against
- The setting, the sleeper berth of a truck at a highway rest area, is less common than a bedroom.
- The specific detail of the middle of the body rising while the limbs are held down is distinctive.
- Sleep paralysis with immobility and an inability to call out is a very familiar motif.
- A feeling of a presence or of being watched is likewise common.
- The comparison with the rest of the archive is provisional (pilot).
- 2:46
What the model inferred (not said on air): Judged from how familiar the motifs are only. No comparison with the rest of the archive was run here.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.65 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: the caller’s firsthand story only; a second person (the husband) is said to have been present and to have woken during the episode, but he does not speak on air; no photograph, recording, document, or physical trace is offered or examined. 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.
- An episode at the start of sleep, or sleep paralysis, could account for the immobility, the inability to make sounds, and the sensation of rising or floating, especially given her stated tiredness after driving. · The caller describes lying down tired, then sudden total numbness, inability to move or speak, a gurgling sound, and a feeling of the body rising. This is a commonly reported set of symptoms.
- An unfamiliar, unusually empty rest area at night could add to alertness or expectation. This is a possibility about the setting, not about the caller. · The caller says she noticed [quote withheld]
What stands out
The experience happens in a working truck’s sleeper berth at a highway rest area rather than a bedroom. The caller reports a specific sensation of only the middle of her body rising while she held her limbs down. The urge to “look behind her” just before the immobility is also a notable detail.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.