Caller reports kitchen doorbell ringing after its wires were removed
An unidentified first-time caller tells Art Bell they are 28, have never believed in ghosts, and still are not sure. They describe something that happened about twelve years earlier. They say they were sitting at their kitchen table after their father had taken apart the kitchen doorbell speaker, leaving the bare wires hanging down. The doorbell then rang with no wires attached. The host asks whether they have an explanation. The caller says they have none but do not believe a being was responsible. The host closes the call.
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 38:03). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, on the first-time caller line, says they have never really been a believer in ghosts and are still not sure, though they found the show entertaining. They say they are familiar with electronics. They say they are 28 years old and that the incident happened about twelve years ago. They say they were sitting at their kitchen table. They recall that at that time, neighborhood kids, themselves included, would come around and ring doorbells and run. They report that there was a short in the doorbell, that this had happened before, and that there was a humming in the kitchen where the doorbell speaker was. Their father, they say, took apart the speaker part of the doorbell in the kitchen. The speaker was off, and the wires, which they describe as the hot lead and the cold lead, just bare wires, were hanging down. They say they and a friend both saw this. They say they used to joke about ghosts and about the house, with its creaks and wind closing doors, and that they happened to be joking about ghosts that night. Then, they say, the doorbell rang, with no wires attached. Asked if they are sure they heard the doorbell, they say they are “pretty damn sure.” They say both of them looked at each other, that it was hair-raising, and that chills ran up and down their spine. The host asks whether they have an explanation. The caller says no, but that they still cannot believe another being was responsible. They add that you would have to be ignorant to believe there was not something else out there. The host agrees that something is out there and moves to the next call.
Reported events, in order
- 0:37
The caller says they are 28, have never really believed in ghosts, are still unsure, and are familiar with electronics. They date the incident to about twelve years earlier.
- 0:53
They say they were sitting at their kitchen table, and recall neighborhood kids ringing doorbells and running.
- 1:30
They report a short in the doorbell, that this had happened before, and a humming in the kitchen where the doorbell speaker was.
- 1:47
The caller’s father takes apart the kitchen speaker part of the doorbell. The speaker is off and the bare wires (hot lead, cold lead) hang down, which the caller and a friend both see.
- 2:12
They say they joked about ghosts and the house’s creaks and wind-closing doors, and were joking about ghosts that night.
- 2:30
The doorbell rings, which the caller says happened with no wires attached.
- 2:54
They say both of them looked at each other, it was hair-raising, and chills ran up and down their spine.
- 3:17
Asked by the host for an explanation, they say they have none but still cannot believe another being was responsible.
- 3:43
The host states that there is something out there and takes the next call.
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· 0:07
The caller says they have never really been a believer in ghosts and are still not sure about it.
- observation· 1:30
They say there was a short in the doorbell, this had happened before, and there was a humming in the kitchen where the speaker was.
- observation· 1:51
They say their father took apart the speaker part of the doorbell and the bare wires were left hanging, which they and their friend both saw.
- observation· 2:35
They say the doorbell rang with no wires attached.
- observation· 3:02
They say both of them looked at each other and it was hair-raising, with chills running up and down their spine.
- interpretation· 3:17
They say they have no explanation for the doorbell ringing but cannot believe another being was responsible.
- interpretation· 3:27
They say you would have to be ignorant to believe that there was not something else out there.
- host statement· 3:43
The host asserts that there is something out there and that questions remain about what it is.
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 short but consistent firsthand story with concrete physical detail (removed speaker, hanging bare wires, a claimed second witness). It is weakened by the lack of any place or date and by an ordinary electrical explanation that fits readily.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand story: the caller describes being present ([quote withheld]).
- Specific mechanical detail: speaker removed, [quote withheld] bare wires hanging.
- A second person is said to have seen the same disconnected wires.
- The caller separates what they saw from what they conclude and says they have no explanation.
- No location, no date beyond [quote withheld] and no names are given.
- Only the kitchen speaker is said to have been taken apart, so other parts of the bell circuit could remain connected.
- The caller acknowledges an earlier short and humming in the same doorbell, which suggests a recurring electrical fault.
- The labels showing who is speaking shift during the exchange, so some short lines may be misattributed.
- Part of the sentence stating the caller’s age at the time is garbled ([quote withheld]).
- 1:30
- 2:35
- 3:17
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component judgment: source proximity high (firsthand), specificity moderate, internal consistency high, alternative explanations low to moderate because an electrical fault remains plausible, calibration high. The age at the event, “teen,” is arithmetic from the caller’s stated age of 28 and [quote withheld] not a direct statement.
Nothing that can be checked is offered: no names, dates, or places. The only support is the caller’s word plus a claimed witness who does not speak on air.
Evidence for and against
- A second witness is claimed to have seen the hanging wires.
- A physical object (the doorbell and its wiring) is described in some detail.
- No documentation, recording, or photograph is claimed.
- The claimed friend never speaks on air.
- No address, town, date, or identifying detail is given that could be checked.
- The transcript cannot show whether the friend’s observation is accurately reported.
- 1:51
- 1:57
What the model inferred (not said on air): Scored in the 11–25 range because a claimed second witness is present but no specifics that could be checked are supplied. It is capped well below 50 since no outside check was made.
A single unexplained household sound with a chill reaction. Eerie but not threatening, with no being, no escalation, and no harm reported.
Evidence for and against
- The bell rings after the speaker and wires were removed.
- The caller reports a physical reaction: [quote withheld]
- The event happened while they were joking about ghosts.
- No figure, threat, contact, or harm is reported.
- The story ends with the caller declining to blame a being and the host moving on.
- The story is brief and gives no sense of the room or the hour beyond “that night.”
- 2:54
- 3:02
What the model inferred (not said on air): Judged as mildly eerie: the strange event is domestic and brief, and dread comes only from the caller’s reaction, not from any described threat.
A story of a strange electrical event, a familiar pattern, set apart by the specific detail that the bell rang after the kitchen speaker and its wires had been removed.
Evidence for and against
- The distinctive detail is a doorbell ringing with the speaker removed and bare wires hanging.
- The caller presents themselves as a skeptic familiar with electronics.
- Unexplained appliance behavior is a common motif in this archive.
- There is no being, ghost, or history of the place to add novelty.
- The published originality score is provisional; the part compared with the rest of the archive is unstable for short stories.
- 2:30
- 1:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): First-pass score placed near the middle: a familiar electrical-event pattern plus one concrete, unusual detail (disconnected wiring).
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story; claimed second witness (friend), not speaking on air; no photograph, recording, or document claimed. 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.
- The ring came from a part of the doorbell circuit that was still connected. Only the kitchen speaker was taken apart, so the push button, transformer, or chime unit could in principle still work. · The caller says their father took apart [quote withheld] and describes a short and humming from before.
- A person at the door pressed the bell, as the neighborhood children the caller mentions used to ring doorbells and run. · The caller says [quote withheld]
- An unrelated household sound was mistaken for the doorbell, given the joking about ghosts that night. · The caller says they [quote withheld] before the ring. This is offered only as a possibility, not as a judgment about the caller.
What stands out
The story centers on a single strange event with an appliance, a doorbell ringing after its kitchen speaker and wires had been removed, rather than a figure, voice, or haunting. The caller volunteers that they are a skeptic and still have no explanation, while declining to blame a being.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.