Grandparents' handbuilt Sacramento house: light switches, toilet, cigar smoke (part 1)
A caller from Sacramento tells Art Bell about living in a handbuilt house their grandfather bought in the 1930s. The caller reports the deaths of their grandfather and grandmother, then moving in with their girlfriend. Small strange events followed: clicking light switches, a bathroom light, a jarring door and flushing toilet, and cigar smoke linked to the grandfather. Art Bell interrupts for a break, so the story is incomplete.
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 52:05). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who says [quote withheld] tells Art Bell that they were privileged to live in a house their grandfather bought in the 1930s. The caller says the grandfather bought the land and built the house by hand, working with a cement mason. The grandparents later traveled during the war, with the grandmother doing government contracts building air bases, before settling on the property. The caller reports that the grandfather died in the late 1970s, that they came home on leave and saw him, and that they talked on the night he died. The grandmother died in the late 1980s, after which the caller and their girlfriend moved into the house. The caller describes the house as repeatedly added onto and says their father and uncle made bricks by hand. They say they were a nurse who worked nights and lived in South Sacramento. After moving in, the caller says, small things began. Distinctive light switches would go “click, click.” The back bathroom light would come on. A door would jar and the toilet flush. And there would be cigar smoke, which the caller links to their grandfather, an avid cigar smoker. Art interrupts, saying they will finish after the break. The story ends there.
Reported events, in order
- 0:09
The caller says they are calling from Sacramento and were privileged to live in a house their grandfather bought in the 1930s.
- 0:17
The caller says the grandfather bought the land and built the house by hand, working with a cement mason.
- 0:25
The caller says the grandparents traveled during the war while the grandmother did government contracts building air bases.
- 0:37
The caller reports the grandfather died in the late 1970s, that they came home on leave and saw him, and that they talked on the night he passed away.
- 0:46
The caller reports the grandmother died in the late 1980s, after which the caller and their girlfriend decided to move into the house.
- 0:55
The caller describes the house as built by cement masons and repeatedly added onto, with the caller’s father and uncle making bricks by hand.
- 1:16
The caller says they moved in, were a nurse working at night, and lived in South Sacramento.
- 1:26
The caller says things started to happen when they first moved in, beginning with a light switch.
- 1:32
The caller describes distinctive light switches and says the lights would go click, click.
- 1:46
The caller says the light in the back bathroom would come on.
- 1:49
The caller says the door would jar and then the toilet would flush.
- 1:57
The caller says small things went on and that they would get cigar smoke, noting their grandfather was an avid cigar smoker.
- 2:02
Art Bell interrupts the story to finish it after the break.
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· 0:37
The caller reports seeing their grandfather after coming home and talking with him on the night he passed away.
- observation· 0:44
The caller reports talking with their grandfather on the night he passed away.
- observation· 1:32
The caller reports that the lights would go click, click.
- observation· 1:46
The caller reports that the light in the back bathroom would come on.
- observation· 1:49
The caller reports that a door would jar and the toilet would flush.
- observation· 1:57
The caller reports cigar smoke in the house.
- interpretation· 1:57
The caller links the cigar smoke to their grandfather by noting he was an avid cigar smoker.
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 brief and interrupted before it is finished, and the reported events have easy ordinary explanations in an old house that was added onto repeatedly. It is firsthand and reasonably coherent, but the incompleteness triggers the scoring guide’s cap for a fragment too short to assess fully.
Evidence for and against
- The caller, speaking in the first person from Sacramento, describes living in the house personally.
- Specific details include the 1930s purchase, the deaths in the late 1970s and late 1980s, distinctive switches, back bathroom, toilet, and cigar smoke.
- The sequence is consistent: grandparents die, caller and girlfriend move in, small events begin.
- The story is interrupted partway and has no conclusion.
- No exact names, address, dates, records, or documentation that could be examined are given.
- Old wiring, military-surplus switches, plumbing, drafts, and leftover tobacco smell could fit the reported events.
- The labels showing who is speaking are inconsistent, and some lines labeled as the host appear to be the caller.
- The phrase [quote withheld] is garbled, making the detail of seeing the grandfather uncertain.
- It is unclear whether the girlfriend directly witnessed the described events.
- 0:09
- 1:26
- 2:02
What the model inferred (not said on air): I treat this as a partial firsthand story. The score of 40 is an editorial cap for an incomplete, very short part of the broadcast, not a judgment about the caller’s truthfulness.
There is only the caller’s word, with a second witness implied by “we” but not speaking on air. Some specifics that could be checked are given, such as Sacramento, the 1930s, and the late 1970s and 1980s, but nothing is documented or examined.
Evidence for and against
- The caller gives a city name and broad dates that could in principle be checked.
- The story describes specific household details, such as the back bathroom light and cigar smoke.
- No physical evidence, photograph, recording, document, or mark is claimed.
- No second witness speaks on air.
- No names, address, or exact dates are provided.
- The plural “we” may refer to the caller and girlfriend, but the girlfriend does not confirm this on air.
- The missing part of the story may contain more evidence.
- 0:50
- 1:26
What the model inferred (not said on air): This stays in the range for the caller’s word alone. The scoring guide’s hard cap of 50 applies because no outside check was made.
The reported events are domestic and not threatening: light switches click, a bathroom light turns on, a toilet flushes, and cigar smoke appears. The link to a dead grandfather’s habits gives a mildly eerie feel, but there is no malevolence or physical threat.
Evidence for and against
- Cigar smoke is linked to the dead grandfather, who was an avid cigar smoker.
- A door jars and a toilet flushes with no person said to be doing it.
- The caller mentions talking with their grandfather on the night he passed away.
- The events are small household happenings rather than frightening encounters.
- There is no reported threat, attack, or menacing figure.
- The story is interrupted before any escalation.
- The conversation on the night of the death is unclear and may not be paranormal.
- The caller’s tone of voice is not considered for this score.
- 1:49
- 1:57
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score reflects the story’s mild, unresolved household eeriness rather than any open horror.
The story uses a familiar haunted family home with lights, a toilet, and a phantom smell. But it includes distinctive details such as the grandfather’s handbuilt cement house, military-surplus switches, and cigar smoke tied to him.
Evidence for and against
- The house was handbuilt by the grandfather in the 1930s with cement masons.
- The grandfather was a scrounger and got items from a military base.
- Cigar smoke is specifically linked to the grandfather’s habit.
- Haunted homes with unexplained lights and smells are common ghost-story motifs.
- The story has no visible figure or unusual event beyond the household happenings.
- The calculation of novelty compared with the rest of the archive is not available in this analysis, which used the transcript only.
- The missing part of the story after the break may contain more distinctive material.
- 0:17
- 1:32
What the model inferred (not said on air): I set the first-pass score to 45: a familiar pattern with a few distinctive personal details. The published originality score, compared with the rest of the archive, would require the archive calculation.
Scoring confidence 0.45 · analysis confidence 0.60 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: the caller’s firsthand story; claimed second witness implied by the plural “we,” but not speaking on air; no physical evidence, documentation, or recording examined. 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.
- Old or repeatedly added-on wiring and military-surplus switches could produce clicking sounds and lights turning on or off unexpectedly. · The caller says the house was added onto repeatedly and that their grandfather was a scrounger who got items from a military base. They also mention distinctive light switches and the lights going click, click.
- Plumbing, settling, or drafts in an old house could account for a door jarring and a toilet flushing. · The caller reports, [quote withheld]
- A cigar smoke smell could be left over from the grandfather’s smoking or from objects left in the house. · The caller says they would get cigar smoke and that their grandfather was an avid cigar smoker. Earlier they mention [quote withheld]
What stands out
This is only part one of a story interrupted partway, so it has no conclusion. The reported strange events are mostly domestic (switches, a bathroom light, a toilet, and cigar smoke) and are tied to the grandfather’s building habits and smoking rather than to a visible figure.
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