Faceless woman in period clothing walking on a snowy road near Yellowstone
An unnamed caller says that in 1975 they were driving with their girlfriend toward Yellowstone Park in a small yellow Volkswagen. It was around midnight, and snow was falling. The caller saw a woman walking in the center of the road in old-fashioned clothing. The caller’s girlfriend told them not to stop or look in the mirror and said the woman was a ghost with no face. They drove past and found the park gate closed by snow. They spent the rest of the night at a nearby motel.
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 2000-1.mp3”, starting at 52:48). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller says the story goes back to 1975, when they and their girlfriend were driving back to Idaho, where they were going to school. They were headed toward Yellowstone Park and the Montana East Gate, driving a little yellow Volkswagen around midnight in falling snow. The caller describes a two-lane road with tall trees, no moon, and only their headlights. The caller says they saw a figure walking in the center of the road in the same direction they were traveling, with her back to them. The caller says it was a woman. They asked their girlfriend whether she saw what they saw. It was probably about 30 degrees. As they drew closer the caller made out more detail. The caller says she wore very old, 19th-century clothing, hobnail boots, and a long shawl, with long brown hair reaching below her shoulder blades. The caller says they were about to roll down their window to offer help when they noticed her hair was completely dry, not wet as they would have expected in a snowstorm. The caller says their girlfriend then told them not to stop, not to look, that she was a ghost, and not to look in the mirror because she had no face. The caller says they slowly moved to the right to avoid hitting her and drove on. At the gate, the caller says, the ranger told them the path was closed for the night because of snow and directed them to a small motel down the path. The caller says they were scared out of their wits, took a room, locked the door, and put a chair against the wall. The rest of the night was uneventful, though they could not sleep. The host thanks the caller and remarks that a ghost would not be affected by weather conditions.
Reported events, in order
- 0:00
The caller says the story goes back to 1975.
- 0:04
The caller and their girlfriend were driving back to Idaho, where the caller was going to school.
- 0:09
They were headed toward Yellowstone Park and the Montana East Gate.
- 0:17
They were in a little yellow Volkswagen around midnight, with snow falling.
- 0:23
The road was two lanes with tall trees and no moon, lit only by their headlights.
- 0:35
The caller saw a figure walking in the center of the road, in the same direction, with her back to them.
- 0:41
It was a woman. The caller asked their girlfriend if she saw it. It was about 30 degrees.
- 0:54
Closer up the caller could make out more detail and was going to roll down the window to offer help.
- 1:04
She was wearing very old, 19th-century clothing, hobnail boots, and a long shawl, with long brown hair below her shoulder blades.
- 1:29
The caller noticed her hair was completely dry, not wet as expected in a snowstorm.
- 1:36
The caller’s girlfriend told them not to stop or look, said she was a ghost, and said not to look in the mirror because she had no face.
- 1:58
The caller moved slowly to the right to avoid hitting her and drove on.
- 2:03
At the gate, the ranger said the path was closed for the night because of snow.
- 2:12
The ranger directed them to a small motel down the path.
- 2:19
The caller says they were scared out of their wits and got a room at the motel.
- 2:30
They locked the door and put a chair against the wall.
- 2:36
The caller says the rest of the night was uneventful, but they could not sleep.
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· 0:35
The caller says they saw a figure walking in the center of the road at night in falling snow.
- observation· 0:41
The caller says the figure was a woman walking with her back to them in about 30-degree weather.
- observation· 1:04
The caller says she was wearing very old, 19th-century clothing.
- observation· 1:14
The caller describes hobnail boots, a long shawl, and long brown hair below the shoulder blades.
- observation· 1:29
The caller says her hair was completely dry despite the snowstorm.
- hearsay· 1:36
The caller reports that their girlfriend told them not to stop or look and said the woman was a ghost.
- hearsay· 1:50
The caller reports that their girlfriend said the woman had no face and that the caller should not look in the mirror.
- observation· 2:19
The caller says they were scared out of their wits after the encounter.
- host statement· 3:00
The host remarks that a ghost would not be affected by weather conditions.
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 clear, reasonably detailed firsthand story with concrete but unchecked details. It is coherent, though its most striking element, the facelessness, rests on the girlfriend’s reported glance in the mirror, and no other explanation is considered.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand story from the person who says they were driving and saw the figure.
- Concrete details: 1975, Idaho, Yellowstone Park, Montana East Gate, a little yellow Volkswagen, around midnight, about 30 degrees.
- The sequence is ordered and answers the host’s prompts (weather, helping her, what happened at the gate).
- A second person in the car is said to have reacted with a specific instruction ([quote withheld]).
- No one backs up the story, and the girlfriend does not speak on air.
- The caller does not claim to have seen the facelessness firsthand.
- The caller raises no ordinary possibilities.
- The labels showing who is speaking are unreliable in this transcript, with lines of the story attributed to the host.
- It is not stated how the girlfriend came to see the face (only that she warned the caller not to look in the mirror).
- The exact location of “Montana East Gate” is unclear from the transcript.
- 0:00
- 0:17
- 1:50
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component sum is driven by closeness to the source (firsthand), moderate specificity, and a coherent sequence. The deduction comes from the absence of anything checkable that someone else backs up, and from the key “no face” detail being secondhand within the story. Conditions such as snow, darkness, and a glance in a mirror leave ordinary explanations open, and the caller does not address them.
Only the caller’s word, plus a claimed but silent second witness, with some unchecked details that could be checked (year, route, vehicle). No physical evidence is claimed or examined.
Evidence for and against
- Details that could be checked in principle are given: 1975, a route toward Yellowstone Park and Montana East Gate, a yellow Volkswagen.
- A second witness in the car is claimed.
- The claimed witness does not speak on air.
- No photograph, recording, document, or physical trace is mentioned.
- Nothing was independently checked.
- No names or dates beyond the year are given that could be traced.
- The transcript wording is automatic and partly garbled.
- 0:41
- 2:03
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placed in the 11 to 25 band because checkable details and a claimed witness exist, but nothing is verified and no physical evidence is claimed. Well below the cap of 50.
A figure walking away from the car on a dark, snowy road at midnight, a warning not to look in the mirror, and an announced facelessness make for a truly unsettling story that is not graphic. The tension eases once they reach the motel.
Evidence for and against
- The setting: midnight, snow, no moon, only headlights on a tree-lined two-lane road.
- Details build as they approach: old clothing, then dry hair, then the girlfriend’s warning.
- The “no face” revelation and the instruction not to look in the mirror.
- The gate being closed, forcing them to turn back and stay in a motel where they barricade the door.
- No threat, contact, or harm is reported.
- The encounter ends quickly. They drive past without stopping.
- The rest of the night is described as uneventful, though they could not sleep.
- The facelessness is conveyed secondhand through the girlfriend, which may reduce or increase its impact depending on the listener.
- 1:58
- 2:30
What the model inferred (not said on air): Creepiness is judged from the content of the story (isolation, darkness, a faceless figure), not from the caller’s delivery, which is not considered.
A woman in old clothing on a road at night is a familiar ghost-story setup. But the dry hair in a snowstorm, and the facelessness reported only through a warning about the mirror, give it a distinctive turn.
Evidence for and against
- A specific, less common detail: her hair was completely dry in the snowstorm.
- The facelessness is delivered as a warning not to look in the mirror, not as a direct sighting.
- The snow closure of the park gate and the motel stay shape an unusual ending.
- The core element, a woman in period dress beside or on a road at night, is a recurring motif.
- No unusual mechanism, object, or history of the place is offered.
- Novelty compared with the rest of the archive cannot be computed here. This is a provisional judgment based on content.
- 1:29
- 1:50
What the model inferred (not said on air): A familiar setup (roadside figure, period dress, night) with a distinctive detail (dry hair; the face withheld through a mirror warning) places this near the middle of the scale.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand testimony; A claimed second witness (the girlfriend) who does not speak on air. The originality score blends the model's score (48) 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.
- A living person walking along the road at night in cold weather, whose face was hidden by long hair, a shawl, and darkness. · The caller describes her walking in the same direction with her back to them and notes long hair down below her shoulder blades.
- Poor sight through a car mirror and windshield in falling snow at night, where a face may not be clear. · The “no face” detail is reported only as the girlfriend’s instruction not to look in the mirror.
- A roadside object or figure misread during a long night drive in poor visibility. · The caller stresses midnight, snow, no moon, and only their headlights.
What stands out
The story turns on one small detail, the woman’s hair being completely dry in a snowstorm, and on the facelessness, which is reported only through the girlfriend’s instruction not to look in the mirror. The park gate being closed by snow turns the drive into a forced overnight stop instead of the usual ending, where the car simply drives past.
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