Woman in black, locked doors, and a priest's blessing in a Dodge City rental
A caller who gives their name as [name withheld], from Sumner, Washington, describes a house their family moved into in Dodge City, Kansas, about fifteen years earlier. The caller reports flooding, a woman in a black dress seen by their daughter, doors that shut and locked family members in, whispering, a fetal-position stain on the carpet, and footsteps on the stairs. After researching records, the caller and their sister concluded that an elderly former resident was earthbound. A priest blessed the house and fell ill. The caller says they later blessed it themselves and believes the woman went to the light.
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 1:43:02). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], calling from Sumner, Washington, says that about fifteen years earlier they moved with their husband and two daughters from California to Dodge City, Kansas, where their sister and brother-in-law already lived. A realtor showed them a refurbished two-story house on Elm Street. The caller says they and their sister, whom they describe as psychic, both had a funny feeling but said nothing to each other. They moved in. Within about a week, the caller reports, water was running and flooding the kitchen at night, there was black matter in the downstairs toilet, and a daughter said a woman in a long black dress with a lace collar sat on the end of her bed. Their other daughter's door would shut, and she would bang and scream. The family stacked bricks and books to keep it open, but the caller says the objects moved and the door still shut. The caller reports whispering behind them while bathing, waking to see their husband's face looking like an old woman's, water spraying from the upstairs bathroom sink, being locked in the basement during laundry, and lights going out. Their husband, a trucker, left at 2 or 3 a.m., and the caller heard someone walking up and down the stairs. The caller took to sleeping in the sunroom, which they called the safest room. The caller describes a form like a person curled in a fetal position, shown by a black stain on the new carpet, which later went away. The caller and their sister checked the Hall of Records and say they learned that an elderly woman had bought and refurbished the house. Her husband had died there, and her son had been found on the living-room floor in that position. The woman had been taken to a home, kept trying to escape, and eventually died. They concluded an evil was in the house and the old woman was earthbound. A priest blessed the house, sweated, became ill, and fainted at Mass. The priest later avoided them. The caller says they and their sister then blessed the house themselves, and the caller believes the woman went to the light and the grave settled. The caller adds that a baby would cry in the house.
Reported events, in order
- 0:16
The family moves from California to Dodge City, Kansas, and finds a refurbished two-story house on Elm Street. The caller and their sister both have a “funny feeling” at the showing.
- 1:41
About a week after moving in, water is heard running at night, the kitchen sink fills and floods the kitchen, and black matter appears in the downstairs toilet.
- 2:10
A daughter says a woman in a long black dress with a lace collar sits on the end of her bed.
- 3:31
The other daughter's bedroom door shuts at night and she cannot get out. The family stacks bricks and books to keep it open, but the objects move and the door still shuts.
- 3:57
While taking a bath downstairs, the caller reports someone coming up behind them and whispering.
- 4:05
At night the caller wakes and reports their husband's face looking like an old woman's face. Water sprays from the upstairs bathroom sink and runs into the hallway.
- 4:29
Doing laundry in the basement, the family is shut in and locked down there. They stop doing laundry at night after the lights go off.
- 5:15
The husband, a trucker, leaves at 2 or 3 a.m., and the caller hears someone walking up and down the stairs. The caller begins sleeping in the sunroom, which they call the safest room.
- 5:39
A form like a person lying in a fetal position, shown by a black stain, appears on the new carpet and later goes away.
- 5:56
The caller and their sister check the Hall of Records and report learning about the previous occupants, including deaths and the old woman being taken to a home.
- 7:05
They conclude there is an evil in the house and that the old woman is earthbound.
- 7:31
A priest comes to bless the house. The priest sweats, becomes ill, blesses it as best they can, and leaves. The priest later faints at Mass and is ill for two or three weeks.
- 8:05
The caller and their sister bless the house themselves. The caller believes they sent the old woman to the light and that the grave settled.
- 8:33
The caller adds that a baby would cry in the house and that it was horrible.
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· 1:55
Water ran and flooded the kitchen at night.
- observation· 1:55
Black matter appeared in the downstairs toilet.
- observation· 2:10
A daughter reported a woman in a black dress sitting on the end of her bed.
- observation· 3:31
A daughter's bedroom door shut and she could not open it.
- observation· 3:57
Someone whispered behind the caller while they bathed.
- observation· 4:05
The caller woke to see their husband's face appearing as an old woman's face.
- observation· 4:13
Water sprayed from the upstairs bathroom sink and ran into the hallway.
- observation· 4:33
The basement door shut and locked family members in.
- observation· 5:20
The caller heard footsteps on the stairs when their husband left early for work.
- observation· 5:39
A form like a person in a fetal position, shown by a black stain, appeared on the new carpet, then went away.
- observation· 7:40
The family's cats and dogs would not go upstairs.
- observation· 7:49
The priest who blessed the house sweated heavily and became ill.
- observation· 7:56
The priest fainted at Mass and was ill for two or three weeks afterward.
- observation· 8:33
A baby was heard crying in the house.
- interpretation· 7:05
The caller and their sister concluded there was an evil in the house.
- interpretation· 7:23
The caller concluded the old woman's soul could not go to the light and was earthbound in the house.
- interpretation· 8:05
The caller believes they and their sister sent the old woman to the light.
- hearsay· 5:56
The Hall of Records showed that the old woman had bought and refurbished the house.
- hearsay· 6:18
Records indicated the old woman's husband had died in the house and her son had been found on the living-room floor in the fetal position.
- hearsay· 6:47
The old woman would not leave the house and was taken to a home, where she tried to escape.
- hearsay· 8:21
The caller believes that an unsettled grave mound means the spirit is earthbound.
- host statement· 0:37
The host says that Dodge City is an eerie place.
- host statement· 7:35
The host compares the story to Amityville.
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, mostly consistent firsthand story with concrete setting and sequence. But ordinary explanations are not addressed, and the interpretation goes well beyond what was perceived.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand witness throughout, with place, house layout, and approximate timeframe given.
- The sequence is ordered and answers the host's questions consistently.
- The caller sometimes marks uncertainty, for example [quote withheld]
- No ordinary explanation for the water, doors, or noises is considered or tested.
- The caller moves from observations to a confident conclusion about evil and an earthbound soul.
- Everything is not backed up by any independent source on the air.
- The transcript is heavily fragmented in places, so some detail may be lost.
- The caller gives no independent verification for the records research.
- 5:56
- 8:28
What the model inferred (not said on air): I total the components as closeness to the source 22, specifics 15, consistency 13, other explanations 7, and caution 9. The lack of any engagement with ordinary causes and the caller's strong conclusion keep it below the 70 anchor.
The caller's assertions, plus claimed family witnesses and a claimed Hall of Records check. No document, photograph, or recording is produced or examined, and no second witness speaks on the air.
Evidence for and against
- Specifics that could be checked in principle are given: Dodge City, Elm Street, a Hall of Records search, a Catholic church, and a priest.
- Several family members are claimed as witnesses to the events.
- Everything rests on the caller's testimony. No physical evidence is presented.
- The records research is reported secondhand and was not examined on the air.
- No documentation or witnesses are examined on the air.
- The Hall of Records check is described only in the caller's words.
- 5:56
- 7:40
What the model inferred (not said on air): Claimed witnesses and a claimed records check place this in the 11 to 25 band. Nothing was actually examined during the broadcast, so it cannot rise higher.
Lasting intrusion into children's bedrooms, a family locked in a dark basement, an ill priest, a stain matching a death position, and an unresolved crying baby make for a strongly unsettling story.
Evidence for and against
- Children are affected: a daughter reports a figure on her bed, and another is shut in and screams.
- Family members are locked in a dark basement and the lights go out.
- The story ends with an unexplained crying baby.
- The ghost is described as doing nothing and simply sitting on the bed.
- No physical injury to the family is reported.
- Some lines are garbled, which slightly reduces the vividness that comes through.
- The final crying-baby detail is abrupt and unexplained.
- 4:33
- 8:33
What the model inferred (not said on air): Children trapped in bedrooms and a dark basement, plus an unresolved crying baby, push the score toward the “frightening” anchor of 70.
A familiar haunted-house setup (woman in black, water, slamming doors, priest's blessing) with a few distinctive details such as the fetal-position stain and the grave-mound belief.
Evidence for and against
- The fetal-position stain on new carpet is an uncommon, specific image.
- The grave mound settling as a sign of an earthbound spirit is an unusual way to frame it.
- The caller calls it [quote withheld]
- Water, doors, a ghost in the bedroom, and a priest's blessing are recurring ghost-story elements.
- Newness compared with the rest of the archive cannot be computed from this one part of the broadcast. The score is provisional.
- Several elements (woman in black, water, doors, priest's blessing) are stock haunted-house themes.
- 5:39
- 8:21
What the model inferred (not said on air): The familiar Amityville-style setup dominates, so I place it mid-range. The fetal-position stain and the grave-mound test are the distinguishing details.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.65 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: Caller's firsthand testimony; Claimed family witnesses, none speaking on the air; Claimed Hall of Records research, not examined; Claimed priest's blessing and later illness, not documented; No photograph, recording, or physical evidence presented. The originality score blends the model's score (52) 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.
- Recurring water in the kitchen and upstairs bathroom and black matter in the toilet could be plumbing, drainage, or sewage problems in an old refurbished house. · The caller reports water filling the kitchen sink and flooding, black matter in the downstairs toilet, and water spraying from the upstairs sink.
- Doors that shut and would not open, and lights going out, could come from ordinary door latches, warped frames, drafts, or electrical faults in an old house. · The caller describes a daughter's door shutting so she could not get out, and later being locked in the basement when the lights went off.
- The nighttime experiences (a figure at the end of a child's bed, whispering, a face seeming to change) could be dreams or experiences in the dark while falling asleep or waking up. · All of these are described as happening at night in bedrooms or while bathing in the evening, with no repeat in daytime reported.
What stands out
The story pairs a familiar haunted-house setup with a distinctive detail: a black stain on new carpet said to have formed the shape of a person lying in a fetal position, matching the position in which the former occupant's son was reportedly found. It also ties the resolution to whether the old woman's grave mound had settled.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.