Stove glass bursts after a request for a sign; a toddler waves at an empty room
A caller from a town given as “Napomo, California,” says their brother disappeared and was later found dead. While cleaning out the brother’s desert property, the caller asked for an unmistakable sign. Within seconds, the glass front of a wood-burning stove reportedly blew out. The caller also reports that a renter’s two-year-old daughter later waved and spoke at the empty room. Art Bell cuts the call short.
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 1:20:31). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, located only as “Napomo, California,” tells Art that their brother was murdered on October 24 of the previous year, having disappeared on October 19. That was about three days after the caller had been on air discussing Taylor Kramer’s purported suicide, a Forbes article, and a stolen microchip. The caller says they took evidence in that case to their brother’s newly bought property, [quote withheld] and that a day and a half later the brother disappeared. [quote withheld] The caller says they think the death was a murder cover-up. As background, the caller recalls that they and their brother practiced telepathy as children, once calling twenty-four playing cards in a row by suit and rank. The caller says the brother was [quote withheld] After the death, the caller says they cleaned out the desert place alone. While warming it with a wood-burning stove, the caller asked the brother for [quote withheld] and asked whether he was “still here” and could help. The caller says that [quote withheld] later the front plate glass of the stove “just blew out.” Renters later moved in, and the caller says they stayed with them thirty days and told them of the brother’s death and their cover-up suspicion. The caller says the renters had prior ghost experiences and had a two-year-old daughter. A week or two after they moved in, the caller says, the daughter looked into the empty room where the stove glass had blown out. She began waving “bye-bye” and said it, though [quote withheld] Around Christmas, the caller adds, she said “Mommy, he's hungry,” identifying and pointing at the same room. Art then ends the call. He remarks on the stove-glass detail and says [quote withheld]
Reported events, in order
- 0:18
The caller says their brother was murdered on October 24 of the previous year after disappearing on October 19, and that the brother’s girlfriend found the body.
- 1:48
The caller recalls childhood telepathy games with their brother, guessing twenty-four playing cards in a row.
- 2:49
While cleaning the brother’s desert property alone, the caller asks for an unambiguous sign. The caller says the wood-burning stove’s front glass blew out within 15 seconds.
- 3:01
Renters move in. The caller stays with them thirty days and tells them of their brother’s death and their suspicion of a murder cover-up.
- 3:47
A week or two after the renters move in, their two-year-old daughter waves and says “bye-bye” into the empty room where the stove glass had blown out.
- 4:04
Around Christmas, the daughter says “Mommy, he's hungry,” identifying and pointing at the room.
- 4:01
Art Bell ends the call.
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· 1:26
The caller’s brother disappeared and was found dead, the body discovered by his girlfriend.
- observation· 1:48
The caller and their brother once guessed twenty-four playing cards in a row, by suit and rank.
- observation· 2:53
After the caller asked for a sign, the front glass of the wood-burning stove blew out within about 15 seconds.
- interpretation· 2:46
The caller takes the burst glass as a response or sign from their dead brother.
- observation· 3:47
A renter’s two-year-old daughter waved “bye-bye” at the empty room where the stove glass had blown out.
- observation· 4:04
Around Christmas the same child said “Mommy, he's hungry” and pointed at the room.
- interpretation· 3:14
The caller believes their brother’s death was a murder cover-up.
- host statement· 4:29
Art Bell remarks on the stove-glass detail and cautions about asking for signs.
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 firsthand story with concrete dates, a named location, and a tight time claim for the stove event. But the key physical event has an easy ordinary explanation, and the call is cut short, so it lands in the middle band.
Evidence for and against
- Specific dates and sequence: brother disappeared October 19, [quote withheld]
- Concrete place and quantity: [quote withheld]
- Tight timing claim for the stove glass: [quote withheld]
- Stove glass has a plausible heat explanation while the stove was in use.
- The child element rests on a toddler’s behavior.
- The host cuts the call short.
- The labels showing who is speaking are tangled between the host and callers.
- The place name rendered as “Napomo” may be mistranscribed.
- 1:20
- 2:53
- 2:58
What the model inferred (not said on air): Source proximity is high (direct participant) and specificity is moderately high. But the scores for alternative explanations and calibration pull the total down. I treat the cut-short call as a modest deduction.
Only the caller’s word supports the events. Some specifics that could be checked (names, dates, a place) are given but were not checked.
Evidence for and against
- Specifics that could be checked: Taylor Kramer, a Forbes article, Mojave, October dates.
- No physical evidence examined on air.
- No second witness speaks on air.
- No documentation of the broken stove glass.
- Whether the details of the referenced case are accurate is not established in the transcript.
- 0:35
- 1:26
What the model inferred (not said on air): Named and dated but unverified content places this at 11 to 25 on the scoring guide.
The sudden stove-glass burst after a request for a sign is moderately unsettling. So is a toddler addressing and feeding an unseen presence. The tone stays conversational, though, and the story is brief.
Evidence for and against
- Glass reportedly blowing out seconds after a request for a sign.
- Child waving “bye-bye” at an empty room.
- “Mommy, he's hungry” spoken to nothing visible.
- No threat or harm reported.
- The host keeps the exchange light.
- The call is cut off before further detail.
- 3:47
- 4:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): A child caught up in something unseen in a home raises unease, but the absence of malevolence and the short length keep it mid-range.
A familiar [quote withheld] setup, with a distinctive detail: a toddler saying the unseen presence is hungry. A named real-world case is also woven in.
Evidence for and against
- A request for a sign followed by a physical event is a common motif.
- “he's hungry” is an unusual, specific detail.
- Glass breaking and children seeing figures are stock elements.
- The weighting of novelty compared with the rest of the archive is provisional in the pilot.
- 2:49
- 4:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): A familiar setup plus one distinctive detail fits the mid-range originality model.
Scoring confidence 0.50 · analysis confidence 0.55 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story; Secondhand or background references to a named case (Taylor Kramer, Forbes article). 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.
- The stove glass may have shattered from heat stress while the stove was being used to warm the place. · The caller says the stove was one [quote withheld] when the front plate glass blew out.
- A toddler pointing and speaking at an empty room could reflect ordinary imaginative play or a misperception. · The child is described as two years old, and the room was reported to be empty when the adults looked.
- The timing of the glass breaking after the request for a sign may be coincidence. · The caller’s own telling is that it happened [quote withheld]
What stands out
The story mixes a named real-world case (Taylor Kramer, a Forbes article, a supposed stolen microchip) with the request for a sign. The toddler’s specific remark that the presence is “hungry” is a distinctive detail.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.