A moving cold spot and a self-operating elevator in a suburban restaurant
A caller who gives their name as [name withheld], president of the Ghost Hunter Society in Schaumburg, Illinois, describes an early “hands-on” ghost-hunting visit to an unnamed restaurant in the northwest suburbs. A night manager they knew arranged the visit. The caller says they were shown the basement elevator shaft area, where the elevator came down toward the group. Later, in the dark upstairs dining room, they felt a moving cold spot that backed them and their friend [name withheld] against a wall. The wall turned out to be the elevator doors, and they opened. The caller says the owners and tenants later left, and the property stayed on the market.
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The story as told
[name withheld] says they are president of the Ghost Hunter Society in Schaumburg, Illinois. The caller tells Art Bell the story comes from shortly before they founded that group. A night manager they knew invited them and a friend, [name withheld], to a restaurant in the northwest suburbs after closing. The manager told them of pushes and pinches felt by waitstaff, temperature swings, malfunctioning computers, a grand ballroom chandelier that swung by itself, and an elevator that ran between floors only at night. The manager then took them through the basement to the elevator shaft service area and the wine cellar. The manager, their assistant manager, the caller, and [name withheld] stood inside the service shaft. The elevator began coming down toward them, so they left the shaft and regrouped. The caller then went upstairs alone, even though the manager had said a ghost had been seen on that stairway. After about five minutes the caller felt a cold spot in the middle of the dining room. Footsteps on the stairs turned out to be [name withheld], who joined them. It was a July evening, about 82 to 83 degrees outside. They judged the spot to be about 20 degrees colder than the surrounding air. A lighter held at the air-conditioning vents showed no flicker. The cold spot moved along the dining room and seemed to pass through them. Then it backed the caller against a wall, which was actually the elevator doors, and they opened. The caller concluded the elevator had moved by itself, since it had been below and no one downstairs could have pressed the call button. The caller rode it down, and [name withheld] took the stairs. On leaving, they saw a second-floor window near the elevator frosted over. The caller later reports that the manager quit and the owners moved out. Another business moved in and left after two months, and the property was left on the market.
Reported events, in order
- 0:02
Caller gives their name as [name withheld], president of the Ghost Hunter Society, Schaumburg, Illinois, on the first-time-caller line.
- 0:33
Says the story took place at a restaurant in the northwest suburbs, whose location they will not give. The night manager invited them and a friend to stay after closing.
- 1:04
Says the night manager told them that waitstaff felt pushes and pinches, temperatures swung, computers malfunctioned, and the grand ballroom chandelier swung on its own.
- 1:28
Says the manager claimed an elevator traveled between floors by itself, only at night.
- 1:36
The manager takes them on a tour of the basement and shows them the elevator shaft service area.
- 2:02
As they stand inside the service shaft area, the elevator begins coming down toward them. They head out of the shaft and regroup.
- 3:20
The caller goes upstairs alone into the unlit upper level. The caller notes the manager had told them a ghost was seen on that stairway.
- 3:57
About five minutes in, they feel a cold spot in the middle of the dining room. Footsteps on the stairway turn out to be their friend [name withheld].
- 4:18
The caller says it was a July evening, about 82 to 83 degrees outside, and the cold spot felt about 20 degrees cooler than the surrounding air. A lighter held at the air-conditioning vents showed no flicker.
- 4:48
The cold spot moves along the length of the dining room and appears to pass through them.
- 5:19
The cold spot backs the two men against a wall. It turns out to be the elevator doors, which then open.
- 5:50
The caller concludes the elevator had moved between floors by itself, since it was below before and no one downstairs could have pressed the call button.
- 5:56
The caller rides the elevator down while [name withheld] takes the stairs. Downstairs, everyone was in the back room.
- 6:24
On leaving, they notice a frosted-over window on the second floor near the elevator.
- 6:39
Epilogue: the night manager quit, the owners moved out, and another business moved in and left two months later. The property was on the market. A realtor reportedly told them it was haunted.
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).
- hearsay· 1:04
The night manager told the caller that waitstaff at the restaurant reported being pushed and pinched by nothing visible.
- hearsay· 1:14
The night manager told the caller that computers malfunctioned and that the grand ballroom chandelier swung on its own.
- hearsay· 1:28
The night manager told the caller the restaurant elevator traveled between floors by itself at night.
- observation· 2:02
The caller says that while they and three others stood inside the basement elevator service area, the elevator began coming down toward them.
- hearsay· 3:43
The night manager told the caller that a ghost had been seen on the stairway the caller was about to climb.
- observation· 3:57
The caller says they felt a cold spot in the middle of the upstairs dining room, about 20 degrees below the surrounding temperature on a July evening.
- observation· 4:48
The caller says the cold spot moved along the length of the dining room and passed through them, and that they tracked it.
- observation· 5:19
The caller says the cold spot backed them to a wall that turned out to be the elevator doors, and the doors then opened.
- interpretation· 5:50
The caller concluded the elevator had moved between floors by itself, since it had earlier come down and no one downstairs could have called it.
- observation· 6:24
The caller says that on leaving, they saw that a second-floor window near the elevator had frosted over.
- interpretation· 7:09
The caller's overall conclusion was that the restaurant property was haunted.
- host statement· 7:34
The host said that some states have laws about ghosts in property disclosure.
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 detailed, consistent firsthand story with concrete numbers and one ordinary check (a lighter at the air-conditioning vents). But the key location is withheld, and the unusual claims rest on the caller's own perception and inference.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand participation throughout the main sequence (basement, upstairs, elevator).
- Concrete numbers and conditions: four people present, a July evening, 82 to 83 degrees outside, a cold spot about 20 degrees below the surrounding air, and a lighter test at the air-conditioning vents.
- The sequence hangs together, and their answers to the host's follow-up questions fit the story.
- The restaurant's location is deliberately withheld ([quote withheld]), so nothing in the story can be checked.
- The most vivid supporting details (the cold spot and the elevator movement) were not measured. The caller had no equipment ([quote withheld]).
- Several elements are secondhand, from the night manager, rather than the caller's own observation.
- The restaurant, a central setting, is unnamed, so the story cannot be verified.
- The sentence about the night manager quitting is garbled in the automatic transcript.
- 0:43
- 4:27
- 4:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score reflects how consistent and specific the content is, and nothing else. It does not consider the caller's manner of speaking. Points come off for the withheld location, the lack of measurements, and the secondhand material.
The story rests on the caller's word plus witnesses who are claimed but silent. There is no object, record, or independent confirmation on the air.
Evidence for and against
- Witnesses are claimed and named by role (night manager, assistant manager, friend [name withheld]), including a second person present during the cold-spot episode.
- Checkable-looking specifics are given (July, 82 to 83 degrees outside, a difference of about 20 degrees), but they remain unverified.
- No equipment was used. The caller says they would have brought gear had they known.
- The location is withheld, and no date or business name is given, so nothing can be traced.
- No second witness actually speaks on the air.
- Whether [name withheld] or the night manager would back up the story cannot be tested from this part of the broadcast.
- 4:36
- 1:46
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score falls in the 11 to 25 band because witnesses are claimed and some specifics are given, but none have been checked.
The story offers real dread in a confined space (an elevator coming down a shaft), an intrusive moving cold spot, and an unresolved ending, without physical harm or lasting malice.
Evidence for and against
- An elevator coming down on people standing in a shaft is a confined, potentially deadly situation.
- A cold area that moves and seems to pass through the caller is a vivid, invasive physical sensation.
- The wall the caller is backed against turns out to be elevator doors that then open behind them.
- The frosted window and the unresolved fate of the property leave an ominous ending.
- The encounter ends without injury or pursuit. The caller leaves and simply plans to return.
- The caller treats the episode as a professional exercise and jokes about buying the property.
- No threatening or hostile presence is described.
- The transcript does not show whether the caller meant to convey dread or whether it comes from the setting.
- 2:02
- 5:35
- 6:24
What the model inferred (not said on air): The rating is about the story's effect on a listener, not whether it is true.
A familiar haunted-building story with a distinctive centerpiece: a service elevator that moves by itself and opens unexpectedly behind the investigator.
Evidence for and against
- The self-operating elevator that comes down on the investigators and later opens behind the caller is an unusual, specific combination.
- The caller's method of tracking the cold spot with a cigarette lighter at the air-conditioning vents is a distinctive detail of procedure.
- A moving cold spot and a haunted restaurant are familiar themes.
- Pinches, pushes, and self-swinging chandeliers are stock poltergeist material.
- The setup (a night visit to a building, a tour of the basement) is conventional.
- The published originality score is computed against the rest of the archive and is labeled provisional.
- 5:50
- 4:56
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a provisional score compared with the rest of the archive. With a small pilot archive, the similarity part carries little weight.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.75 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: Caller's firsthand testimony only (live phone call); Claimed witnesses (night manager, assistant manager, friend [name withheld]) who do not speak on the air; No equipment used: caller says they had only a friend's cigarette lighter for a draft test; No photographs, recordings, documents, or measurements produced 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.
- Air-conditioning or building ventilation could explain the cold area and the frosted glass, rather than a paranormal source. · The caller describes a cold spot about 20 degrees below the surrounding temperature in an air-conditioned building on a July evening, and a frosted second-floor window near the elevator.
- The elevator movement could be a mechanical fault, a stray call signal, or a maintenance cycle rather than something deliberate or strange. · The caller says the elevator came down while the group stood in the service shaft, and later that it was at the upper floor. The caller notes they had no equipment.
- At least one reported event (the footsteps) had an ordinary explanation. This shows how ambiguous sounds in a dark building get attributed. · The caller says the footsteps on the stairway turned out to be their friend [name withheld] coming up.
What stands out
The story stands out for its investigative approach. The caller tracks a moving cold spot with a cigarette lighter to test the air-conditioning vents, and the encounter ends with an elevator that comes down on the group and later opens behind them. The caller is a self-described ghost-hunting society president treating an unplanned visit as a case.
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