A caped figure, a skeleton, and two strangers at Redondo Beach
A truck driver who calls themselves [name withheld], phoning from a truck stop in Milan, New Mexico, tells Art Bell a story they date to the late 1970s at Redondo Beach, California. The caller says they and their girlfriend chased a fast-moving black cape-like figure on their motorcycle at dusk. It turned and looked like a skeleton. When it vanished around the corner of a building, two oddly dressed strangers were suddenly standing there. One of them grabbed their girlfriend’s hands and repeated a warning. The caller ends by passing on a friend’s opinion that they had met something supernatural. The host calls it not easily explained.
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 1999.mp3”, starting at 1:23:12). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld] says they are a truck driver calling from the Petro Truck Stop in Milan, New Mexico. They tell the host they were in the Navy and were [quote withheld] in the late 1970s at Redondo Beach, California. They say they and their girlfriend rode their motorcycle to a store for a case of beer at about sundown, and that both were [quote withheld] They report seeing something like a black cape run across the road in front of them, moving faster than a person could run. Asked whether it ran like a human, they say “not really” and agree it was more like a fast-moving floating thing. They say it went into a grass field where power lines run, and they rode in and chased it. When they caught up, it spun around, looked like a skeleton, and took off back the other way. They say they chased it back across the field, across the street, and up an alley by a park, and that it ducked around the corner of a building. As they turned their motorcycle around, they say, two people were standing there who had not been there before. One was a girl with long black hair, a white gown, very white skin, and wire-rimmed glasses. The other was a man in a brown trench coat over an old-looking brown suit with a frilly shirt, a scissor-cut haircut, and a cane. They say the girl reached out and grabbed [name withheld]’s hands and squeezed them so hard it hurt her for a week, and that three times she said, [quote withheld] The man, they say, never said a word. [name withheld] says they rode off after the thing and it “just, poof, disappeared.” Asked what they thought they met, they say a friend who was into that kind of thing told them it was something supernatural. The host replies that it is [quote withheld] but he doesn't know about “crazy.”
Reported events, in order
- 0:31
[name withheld] says the event happened in the late 1970s at Redondo Beach, California, when they were in the Navy and up for the weekend.
- 0:51
They say they and their girlfriend rode their motorcycle to a store for a case of beer at about sundown, both [quote withheld]
- 1:02
They report a black cape-like thing running across the road in front of them, faster than any person could run, more floating than running.
- 1:28
They say it went into a grass field under power lines and that they rode in and chased it.
- 1:38
They say that when they caught up, it spun around, looked like a skeleton, and took off back the other way.
- 1:52
They say they chased it back across the field, across the street, and up an alley by a park, and it ducked around the corner of a building.
- 2:37
They say that while they were turning their motorcycle around, two people were standing there who were not there before.
- 2:48
They describe the girl: long black hair, white gown, very white skin, wire-rimmed glasses.
- 2:57
They describe the man: brown trench coat, old-looking brown suit with a frilly shirt, scissor-cut haircut, cane.
- 3:16
They say the girl grabbed [name withheld]’s hands and squeezed hard enough to hurt for a week, and said three times, [quote withheld]
- 3:40
They say the man never said a word when they asked about the running thing.
- 3:47
They say they rode off to chase the thing and it disappeared.
- 4:02
Asked what they thought they met, they say a friend into “crazy stuff” told them it was something supernatural.
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· 1:02
[name withheld] reports seeing a black, cape-like shape run across the road in front of the motorcycle at dusk.
- observation· 1:10
They report the thing moved faster than a person could run and more like a floating thing than a running human.
- observation· 1:38
They report that when they caught up with it, it turned and looked to them like a skeleton.
- observation· 2:37
They report two people suddenly standing where they had not been a moment before.
- observation· 3:16
They report the woman in the white gown took hold of their girlfriend’s hands and squeezed hard enough to cause pain for a week.
- observation· 3:22
They report the woman repeated a warning three times.
- observation· 3:47
They report the pursued thing simply vanished when they rode off after it.
- hearsay· 4:02
A friend who was into such subjects told [name withheld] they had met something supernatural.
- host statement· 4:17
The host describes the story as not easily explained.
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 detailed, coherent firsthand story with concrete time, place, and appearance detail. Ordinary explanations (an animal misidentified in low light, real bystanders in costume) only partly account for the grab and the vanishing.
Evidence for and against
- Concrete setting and date: [quote withheld]
- Specifics of the sighting: [quote withheld]
- Vivid detail about the two figures that could in principle be checked (“white gown,” “wire-rimmed glasses,” “brown trench coat”).
- The caller describes how the thing moved when asked, agreeing it was less like running than floating.
- The central event is an evening motorcycle chase in fading light, an easy setting for misperception.
- The caller states both were [quote withheld] a defensive framing rather than a backed-up fact.
- No detail is given that could be checked independently (no street names, building, or friend’s name).
- Several lines in the chase are labeled as the host but read like the caller’s own telling, so the exact sequence is uncertain.
- The girlfriend’s name appears only once, as “[name withheld]'s hand,” and may be an error in the transcript.
- 0:31
- 1:02
- 0:57
What the model inferred (not said on air): The editor treated this as a single witness with a claimed second witness who does not speak. It earns mid-to-high marks for detail and consistency. Alternative explanations are held at a moderate level because dusk and vehicle speed are noted but do not account for the reported hand grab or the disappearance.
The story rests entirely on the caller’s word. A named second witness is claimed but does not speak, and no physical evidence or documentation is mentioned. Details that could be checked (place, decade) are given but not checked.
Evidence for and against
- A second person is said to have been present: [quote withheld]
- A specific place and decade are stated: [quote withheld]
- No photographs, recordings, documents, or physical traces are claimed.
- The only backing offered is the caller’s own statement about their girlfriend, who does not speak on air.
- The final interpretation is itself secondhand, from an unnamed friend, and adds no evidence.
- 0:24
- 4:02
What the model inferred (not said on air): Under the scoring guide, a claimed witness who does not speak on air and no examined material put this at 11 to 25. It is scored at the upper end because a concrete place and era are named, though not checked.
A pursuit on a motorcycle at dusk of a black cape-like shape that turns into a skeleton, followed by two strangers appearing out of nowhere and a hard hand-squeeze with a repeated warning, produces lasting unease without an open threat of harm.
Evidence for and against
- The pursued figure turns and looks like a skeleton.
- Two people are suddenly present who were not there before.
- Physical contact said to hurt for a week.
- Repeated warning: [quote withheld] said three times.
- No injury, threat, or later harm is reported beyond the hand squeeze.
- The story closes on the host’s mild, deflating remark.
- The caller tells it matter-of-factly, and the thing simply disappeared.
- Whether the caller or the host supplies some transition lines affects how the escalation reads.
- 1:38
- 3:22
- 3:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): The creepiness comes from the chase at dusk, a pursuer that changes form, and a stranger who grabs someone. It stays below the frightening range because no harm, follow-up, or escalation is described.
Stock elements (a roadside figure at dusk, a woman in white, a repeated warning) are combined with an unusual form-changing pursuer that becomes a skeleton and with two strangers in old-fashioned dress who appear only when the chase is abandoned.
Evidence for and against
- The pursued thing is first a cape-like shape and later looks like a skeleton.
- The strangers appear at the exact moment the motorcycle is turned around.
- The repeated line of dialogue is specific and odd: [quote withheld]
- A woman in white and a man in old-fashioned clothes are long-standing ghost-story staples.
- A nighttime road sighting is a common setup.
- The published originality score is provisional: the comparison with the rest of the archive carries little weight with so few stories archived.
- 1:02
- 2:37
What the model inferred (not said on air): The editor’s estimate rests on the combination and order of the motifs rather than any single element. The adjustment compared with the rest of the archive is not available from this part of the broadcast.
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 girlfriend) who does not speak on air.; A secondhand opinion from an unnamed friend, passed on by the caller.; No photographs, recordings, documents, or physical traces mentioned.. The originality score blends the model's score (68) 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.
- At dusk, in fading light and at motorcycle speed, an animal or a windblown object crossing the road could have been mistaken for a running or floating figure. The chase itself was made from a moving vehicle. · The caller places the sighting at sundown (“right about sundown”), while riding and chasing by motorcycle ([quote withheld]).
- The two strangers could have been real pedestrians or partygoers in old-fashioned dress who were not noticed until the caller stopped and looked around. · The caller says they were [quote withheld] after they turned their motorcycle around ([quote withheld]).
- The grab could have been a real, if rough, encounter with an ordinary person rather than a strange event. · That the woman’s grip [quote withheld] describes an ordinary physical sensation. There is no claim of an impossibly strong or cold touch.
What stands out
Two things stand out. The pursued figure is said to change form during the chase, first a fast black cape-like shape and then a skeleton. The story also ends with two strangers in old-fashioned dress who appear only when the chase is abandoned, and one of them physically grabs the second witness and repeats a warning three times. The line [quote withheld] is unusual dialogue for a roadside encounter.
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