Reported music, elevator doors, and a rooftop push in a Saskatoon hotel building
A caller who identifies themself as [quote withheld] tells Art Bell they work in an old hotel building in Saskatoon that they call “the Haunted Hotel.” They report unexplained music and thumps, elevator doors that work by themselves, a shoulder grab felt by a coworker named [name withheld], smells of fresh bread and coffee at night, a push they felt while on the roof, and a name given through a Ouija board. They offer their own explanation, a psychic impression of the place, and the host ends the call for time.
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 2:15:33). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives their name as [name withheld] from Saskatoon, says they are speaking from a building they call “the Haunted Hotel,” built around the 1900s when the city [quote withheld] They say that from the 1940s on, the building housed a rough double-layer bar. It sat unused for about five years before the company they work for took it over about six years earlier. They say they have worked there three years. Asked what kind of haunting, they answer “You name it” and list thumps and unexplained music. In the old pool area and the former lounge they say they hear music [quote withheld] although the television is off and no radios are on. People who come in ask where the bar is. They say elevator doors open and close by themselves two or three times an hour. They describe their partner [name withheld], who they say never believed them, feeling a hand grip and squeeze the shoulder. [name withheld] turned with a Maglite and found no one, then felt it on the other shoulder. [name withheld] says that between about 3 and 4 a.m. they have smelled fresh baked bread and fresh brewed coffee in a kitchen and cafe that no longer produce them. Asked what this says about the soul, they say these events are [quote withheld] except for a few spirits who do not know they are dead or are forced to repeat something. They say they were told or found that a couple of people jumped from the roof in the 1920s and 1930s. While watching a concert on the roof, they say, they felt themself falling and being pushed, then pulled backward, while [name withheld] was 10 to 15 feet away. They say they asked a presence in the cafe its name on a Ouija board and could not pronounce it. The vacuum cleaner then stopped working in that room for three days. They add that a former resident they describe as a shaman died in one of the rooms. A young woman who moved into that room about two weeks later slept in the lobby for three months without knowing. Art Bell ends the call for time.
Reported events, in order
- 0:02
The caller introduces themself as [name withheld] from Saskatoon and says they are in “the Haunted Hotel.”
- 0:07
The caller says the building was built in the 1900s and was later a rough double-layer bar with fights and police paddy wagons.
- 0:21
Asked what kind of haunting, they answer “You name it” and report thumps.
- 1:31
They report hearing music like a giant party in the pool area and former lounge with the TV off and no radios on.
- 2:35
They say elevator doors open and close by themselves two or three times an hour.
- 2:48
They describe their partner [name withheld] feeling a hand grab and squeeze a shoulder, finding no one, then feeling it on the other shoulder.
- 3:31
They report smelling fresh baked bread and fresh brewed coffee around 3 to 4 a.m. in a kitchen and cafe that no longer produce them.
- 3:59
The caller tells Art their explanation: a psychic impression of the place, plus a few who do not realize they are dead.
- 4:13
They say a couple of people killed themselves by falling from the roof in the 1920s and 1930s.
- 4:33
While watching a concert on the roof, they say, they felt themself falling and being pushed, then pulled backward, while [name withheld] was 10 to 15 feet away.
- 5:08
They say they asked for a name on a Ouija board in the cafe and could not pronounce it. The vacuum cleaner then stopped working there for three days.
- 5:37
They say a resident they call a shaman died in a room, and a young woman who moved in about two weeks later slept in the lobby for three months.
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· 0:24
The caller hears unexplained thumps in the building.
- observation· 1:44
The caller hears music like a giant party in the pool and former lounge areas although the TV is off and no radios are on, and cannot locate the source.
- observation· 2:35
The elevator goes up to the fourth floor and comes down, and its doors open and close by themselves two or three times an hour.
- hearsay· 2:54
The caller’s partner [name withheld] felt a hand grab and squeeze a shoulder twice while alone and found no one there.
- observation· 3:31
Around 3 to 4 a.m. the caller smells fresh baked bread and fresh brewed coffee in a kitchen and cafe that no longer make them.
- interpretation· 3:59
The caller believes the events are a psychic impression of the place, except for a few spirits who do not know they are dead.
- hearsay· 4:13
The caller says a couple of people fell or jumped from the roof and died in the 1920s and 1930s.
- observation· 4:33
The caller felt themself falling and being pushed while crouched on the roof, then pulled backward, and says it was not a trip or stumble.
- observation· 5:08
A Ouija board spelled out the name of the presence in the cafe. The caller could not pronounce it, and the vacuum cleaner stopped working in that room for three days.
- hearsay· 5:37
A resident the caller calls a shaman died in one of the rooms, and a young woman who moved in about two weeks later slept in the lobby for three months without knowing about the death.
- host statement· 2:45
Art Bell says he heard a story just like the elevator-door story earlier in the broadcast. This is the host’s comparison, not independent confirmation.
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 first-person story from someone who says they work in the building. It has a coherent sequence, and they answer the host’s questions. But several parts are secondhand or can’t be checked, and ordinary mechanical, sound, and balance explanations fit parts of it.
Evidence for and against
- The caller reports many specific recurring events in one named workplace over three years.
- The caller gives concrete details such as 3 to 4 a.m., four and a half stories, and [name withheld] being 10 to 15 feet away.
- The caller admits uncertainty by offering their own theory rather than claiming certainty.
- No hotel name, no dates that can be checked, no documentation.
- [name withheld]’s experience and the reported rooftop deaths and tenant are not firsthand.
- An old building’s elevator, smells carried by ventilation, and a loss of balance on a roof are plausible ordinary explanations.
- Some lines are labeled as the host but read as the caller, so who said them is uncertain.
- The building is never named, so the story cannot be checked.
- 2:35
- 4:57
- 3:59
What the model inferred (not said on air): Source proximity was scored high for the caller’s own reports and lower for the parts that come from [name withheld] and from the building’s history. Credit for alternative explanations was given only for the rooftop event, where the caller addresses the trip explanation themself.
The story rests on the caller’s word plus a claimed second witness and a named city. There is no documentation, no backing on air, and no outside check.
Evidence for and against
- A named city (Saskatoon) and a named coworker ([name withheld]) are given.
- A second person is said to have had their own experience.
- The recurring events are described with times and a physical setting.
- No photograph, recording, document, or log is claimed or examined.
- [name withheld] does not speak on air.
- The building and employer are not named, so nothing can be traced.
- Whether the coworker named [name withheld] exists or spoke as described can’t be tested from the transcript.
- 2:48
- 2:45
What the model inferred (not said on air): A score of 11 to 25 was chosen because details that could be checked and a claimed witness exist, but nothing was verified. Art’s [quote withheld] is treated as a host comparison, not backing from someone else.
The story is mostly told in a matter-of-fact way about “nice ghosts.” But the shoulder grab, the party music no one can locate, and especially the feeling of being pushed on a four-and-a-half-story roof give it a truly unsettling core.
Evidence for and against
- A coworker reportedly felt a hand squeeze a shoulder and found nobody there.
- The caller says they felt themself falling and being pushed high on the roof.
- A tenant reportedly slept in the lobby for three months after moving into a room where someone died.
- The caller repeatedly describes the presences as harmless and mentions casual laughter.
- The bread-and-coffee smells are described as pleasant rather than frightening.
- No injury or lasting harm is reported.
- The tone is partly carried by wording that may reflect smoothing in the transcript.
- 4:39
- 2:54
- 5:58
What the model inferred (not said on air): The rooftop episode was weighted most heavily for creepiness because of the height and the caller’s claim of being physically moved.
The story is a familiar haunted-old-hotel collection of stock motifs: unexplained music, elevator doors that work by themselves, phantom footsteps, and a known death. A few details are more distinctive, such as the smell of bread and coffee in a defunct kitchen and a vacuum that fails in only one room.
Evidence for and against
- Elevator doors that work by themselves and party music no one can locate are common ghost-lore elements.
- The unpronounceable name from the Ouija board and the vacuum failure in a single room are less common details.
- Phantom food smells tied to a former kitchen are a specific twist.
- The story is a list of many strange events rather than one distinctive event.
- Deaths on the site and a later tenant who would not stay in her room are standard haunted-building material.
- How new the story is compared with the rest of the archive can’t be judged from a single excerpt.
- 3:31
- 5:18
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score sits just below the midpoint because the overall frame is familiar while a small number of details are uncommon.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.68 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story; A claimed secondhand story from a coworker named [name withheld]; Claimed hearsay about past deaths and a tenant; no documents or recordings. 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.
- A mechanical fault or door-sensor cycling in an old building’s elevator could make the doors open and close and the car travel between floors with no one in it. · [quote withheld]
- Faint music and food smells could reach the pool area, lounge, and kitchen from other parts of the building, nearby premises, or ventilation. The caller notes that only three people were living there at the time. · [quote withheld] and the cafe is described as closed at 7.
- The rooftop sensation could be a loss of balance, a gust of wind, or a startle response near a height. The caller themself rules out tripping. · [quote withheld]
What stands out
The story bundles several stock hotel motifs with a few specific details. One is the smell of fresh bread and coffee in a kitchen and cafe that no longer prepare them. Another is a vacuum cleaner said to fail in only one room after an unpronounceable name was spelled out. The report of a push felt on a rooftop above four stories, tied to earlier rooftop deaths, is the most serious claim.
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