Child shoved from bed in a reportedly haunted guest room, Chinese Camp
In a letter read by Art Bell, Amy S. of Santa Cruz says that at age seven they stayed overnight with their aunt in Chinese Camp, California. Amy says they were shoved from the guest-room bed, could not find the door, and were found crying against the wall. They later learned that the original owner had hanged herself in the attic, whose door had been walled off.
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 2000-2.mp3”, starting at 2:13:17). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
Art Bell reads a letter that begins [quote withheld] and is signed Amy S. in Santa Cruz. According to the letter, Amy was seven when they stayed overnight with their aunt in a small house in Chinese Camp, California. Amy says they had never been there and did not know the house’s history. Amy’s aunt reportedly told them the guest bedroom was “very haunted.” The aunt described a previous guest waking and crying uncontrollably, saying a woman was standing over them and would not go away. The aunt reportedly saw nothing. The letter says Amy was tucked into that room and later awoke feeling uneasy. Amy reports that “without warning” they were shoved roughly from the bed onto the floor. Startled and disoriented, they say they went toward where they thought the door would be but could not find it. Afraid to look back at what had shoved them, they began crying and threw themselves against the wall. Amy’s aunt heard them and found them [quote withheld] Amy says they slept in their aunt’s bed for the rest of the night. The letter adds that only when they were older did they learn that the original owner, [quote withheld] had hanged herself in the attic. The attic steps had been walled off, and the guest bedroom was where the attic door used to be.
Reported events, in order
- 0:03
Art Bell begins reading a letter from Amy S. about a childhood ghost story.
- 0:12
The letter says Amy was seven and staying overnight with their aunt in Chinese Camp, California.
- 0:32
The aunt reportedly says the guest bedroom was very haunted and that a previous guest saw a woman standing over them.
- 0:56
Amy is tucked into the guest-room bed. Amy’s aunt and uncle go to their bedroom.
- 1:05
Amy says they awoke feeling uneasy and were suddenly shoved roughly from the bed onto the floor.
- 1:12
Amy says they could not find the door and were afraid to look back at what had shoved them.
- 1:27
Amy says they began crying and threw themselves against the wall.
- 1:33
Amy’s aunt heard them and found them trying to claw through the wall.
- 1:42
Amy says they slept in their aunt’s bed for the rest of the night.
- 1:47
The letter says they later learned the original owner, an unhappy old woman, had hanged herself in the attic.
- 2:00
The letter says the attic steps had been walled off and the guest bedroom was where the attic door used to be.
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· 0:12
The letter writer says they were seven when they stayed overnight with their aunt in Chinese Camp, California.
- hearsay· 0:41
According to the letter, the aunt said a previous guest woke crying and reported a woman standing over them.
- observation· 1:05
The letter writer says they awoke uneasy and were suddenly shoved roughly from the bed onto the floor.
- observation· 1:17
The writer says they could not find the way out and did not want to look back at what had shoved them.
- observation· 1:33
The letter says their aunt found them crying and trying to claw through the wall.
- hearsay· 1:47
The letter says they later learned the original owner, an unhappy old woman, had hanged herself in the attic.
- hearsay· 2:03
The letter says the guest bedroom was where the attic door used to be.
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 first-person childhood story with a specific town, age, room, and order of events. It is not backed up by anyone else on air and has no date. Sleep-related or unfamiliar-room explanations fit parts of the experience.
Evidence for and against
- First-person story attributed to the letter writer.
- Specific details include age seven, Chinese Camp, California, the guest bedroom, and a previous guest’s reported experience.
- The order of events is coherent: waking, being shoved, failing to find the door, crying, and being found.
- No date or year is given for the event.
- The only claimed witness to the figure in the guest room is a previous guest, reported secondhand.
- The aunt reportedly saw nothing.
- The later claim about the original owner and the walled-off attic is unverified.
- The story is a childhood memory recalled years later.
- The letter is read aloud by the host rather than told live by the writer.
- No one else backs it up.
- 0:12
- 1:05
- 1:17
- 1:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): The story has the shape of a specific firsthand account. But it has no date, only one witness, and sleep and disorientation explain it easily, so it stays in the middle range.
There are details that could be checked, such as a town, state, age, and claimed house history, but nothing is checked on air. No photograph, document, recording, or second live witness is presented.
Evidence for and against
- The letter names Chinese Camp, California, and gives the writer’s age at the time.
- It makes a claim about a previous owner and a walled-off attic that could in principle be checked.
- It describes a previous guest’s reported experience.
- All support consists of the letter’s own statements.
- The aunt reportedly saw nothing.
- No second witness speaks on air.
- No physical evidence is examined.
- The previous guest is not named and does not speak.
- The house and owner history are not independently verified.
- 0:12
- 0:32
- 1:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): The specific place and family details raise this slightly above word alone. Without an outside check or backing on air, it stays in the low range.
The story places a frightened child in an unfamiliar bed, with a sudden physical shove, a failed search for the door, and clawing at a wall. The later detail about the attic suicide adds an ominous frame.
Evidence for and against
- A child is shoved from bed without warning.
- Amy cannot find the door and is afraid to look back.
- Amy’s aunt finds them crying and trying to claw through the wall.
- The letter later links the room to an attic where the original owner reportedly hanged herself.
- The letter writer does not see anything themselves.
- The event ends when their aunt finds them and they sleep in the aunt’s bed.
- No injury or continuing threat is reported.
- The attic suicide claim is secondhand within the letter.
- How intense it is depends on how the childhood memory is reconstructed.
- 1:05
- 1:17
- 1:33
- 1:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): A child in bed, physical contact, disorientation, and a later suicide detail are unsettling without needing graphic description.
The story uses familiar haunted-guest-room elements: a figure standing over a sleeper, a disturbance in the bed, and a later suicide explanation. The walled-off attic door located in the guest bedroom is a distinctive linking detail.
Evidence for and against
- The haunting is tied specifically to a guest bedroom.
- A previous guest reportedly sees a woman standing over them.
- The later explanation involves an attic suicide and a walled-off attic doorway.
- A figure standing over a bed is a common ghost-story motif.
- Learning later of a death or suicide in the house is a familiar story pattern.
- The letter writer’s own experience is a single shove rather than an unusual event.
- This is a provisional originality judgment based on the transcript alone.
- How new the story is compared with the rest of the archive is not available from this part of the broadcast.
- 0:32
- 0:41
- 1:05
- 2:03
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a familiar haunted-room story with one memorable twist in the building, so it sits near the middle rather than at either end.
Scoring confidence 0.85 · analysis confidence 0.82 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: Letter read on air; First-person childhood story; Reported secondhand story of a previous guest; No physical evidence examined.
Ordinary explanations to consider
These are possibilities only. None is a finding about what happened.
- A sleep-related disturbance or a dream on waking in an unfamiliar room could account for the feeling of being shoved. · The letter says they [quote withheld] and then [quote withheld]
- Darkness and an unfamiliar room could explain why they could not find the door and ran into the wall. · Amy says they went toward where they thought the door would be but “couldn’t find it,” and then [quote withheld]
What stands out
The story connects a childhood shove in a guest bed to a later claim that the room occupied the former attic doorway, after the attic stairs had been walled off. The letter writer does not report seeing the figure the previous guest described.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.