A voice calling the caller’s name and a mismatched phone alarm
A caller who gives their name as [name withheld], from south Texas, tells Art Bell that while they were off work with a back injury, they were woken several times by what they took to be someone calling their name. On the last occasion, a voice said it was time to get up. They say their phone alarm was due within about a minute, but the phone’s clock was wrong. Art Bell offers explanations based on medication and disturbed sleep. The segment ends with him saying the caller can look at it either way.
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 2001-3.mp3”, starting at 1:46:17). 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] and says they are calling from south Texas, begins by noting that Art had recently taken calls and emails about people being awakened by someone calling their names. They say they had a minor back injury and had been off work, spending a lot of time in bed. During that time, they say, they were woken on several occasions by what they describe as somebody calling their name. They say they thought it was probably the medication. They then describe the last event, on the last evening before they were due to return to a night shift. While sleeping, they say, they were awakened by a voice calling their name and saying [quote withheld] The caller says their alarm clock was broken, so they had been using their cell phone as an alarm. They got up, looked at the phone, and say the alarm was within about a minute of the time they needed to go to work. They then turned on the light, got ready, picked up their watch, and realized that the time shown on their cell phone was not correct. They say the point is that the voice told them it was time to get up by the incorrect time. Art Bell responds that there are two ways to look at it. Medication may disturb the brain and cause someone to hear something false, or it may open doors that let a person hear what they otherwise would not. He adds that the same applies to sleep deprivation or disturbed sleep patterns. He says the caller can take the experience as drug-induced or as a product of poor sleep, or imagine those things opening doors. The caller does not state a final cause of their own.
Reported events, in order
- 0:21
[name withheld] says they had a minor back injury and had been off work, spending a lot of time in bed.
- 0:30
The caller says they were woken on several occasions by what they perceived to be somebody calling their name, and thought it was probably the medication.
- 0:50
On the last evening before returning to a night shift, the caller says, they were awakened by a voice calling their name and saying [quote withheld]
- 0:58
The caller says their alarm clock was broken, so they were using their cell phone as an alarm.
- 1:05
The caller got up, looked at the phone, and says the alarm was within about a minute of the time to go to work.
- 1:14
The caller turned on the light, got ready, picked up their watch, and says the time on their cell phone was not correct.
- 1:22
The caller states that the voice told them it was time to get up by the incorrect time.
- 1:36
Art Bell offers two readings: medication or disturbed sleep causing the caller to hear something false, or such states opening doors.
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· 0:30
The caller was woken on several occasions by what they took to be someone calling their name.
- observation· 0:50
The caller was awakened by a voice calling their name and saying it was time to get up.
- observation· 0:58
Their alarm clock was broken, and they were using their cell phone as an alarm.
- observation· 1:05
The phone’s alarm was set to within about a minute of the time they needed to go to work.
- observation· 1:19
The time shown on their cell phone was incorrect.
- interpretation· 1:22
The voice told them it was time to get up according to the incorrect time.
- interpretation· 0:36
The caller first blamed the earlier episodes on their medication.
- host statement· 1:36
Art Bell says medication may cause a person to hear something false, or may open doors to hearing something otherwise unheard.
- host statement· 1:59
Art Bell says disturbed sleep patterns may likewise produce vivid dreams or open doors.
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, brief firsthand story with a coherent sequence and concrete everyday detail. But it has no specifics that can be checked, and ordinary explanations fit easily. The caller does part of the weighing by saying they took the earlier episodes as medication-related.
Evidence for and against
- The caller is the direct experiencer of the reported awakenings.
- The sequence is ordered: back injury, time in bed, several awakenings, the last event before returning to night shift, checking the phone and watch.
- The caller marks perception rather than fact: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- The caller states their own ordinary explanation for the earlier episodes.
- The story is very short, with no names of places, doctors, or employers and no dates.
- Medication and disturbed sleep are easy explanations for a voice heard on waking.
- The apparently matched alarm time rests on the caller’s own reading of a phone whose clock they say was wrong.
- No one else backs up the story.
- The labels showing who is speaking are partly garbled in the transcript, so who said some lines is uncertain.
- Some words are flagged as low confidence, including where the phone time is described.
- It is not stated how many awakenings occurred or over what exact period.
- 0:30
- 0:34
- 1:22
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component scores are the scorer’s own: high source proximity (firsthand) and moderate specificity, offset by low scores on alternative explanations and on details that can be checked. The closest example in the scoring guide is a clear but brief firsthand report that nobody else backs up.
Nothing in the story can be checked independently: no documents, recordings, photographs, or second witness on air. The only support is the caller’s word, and no one else is described as examining the phone whose time is central.
Evidence for and against
- A first name and a broad region are given.
- Physical objects are named (a broken alarm clock, a cell phone, a watch) that could in principle be checked.
- No device, record, or document is produced or examined on air.
- No second witness is claimed or speaks.
- No date, address, or institution is given that could be looked up.
- The caller does not say whether they had any way to confirm the phone’s clock setting.
- 1:19
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is in the lowest range because the support is word alone. Naming objects does not raise it without any examination or checking.
A bodiless voice using the caller’s name in their own bed is mildly unsettling, and the mismatch between the voice’s message and the phone’s wrong clock adds a small twist. There is no threat, harm, growing activity, or vivid imagery.
Evidence for and against
- The voice calls the caller by name while they are asleep.
- The voice gives an instruction to get up that the caller links to an incorrect time.
- The story is short and matter-of-fact.
- No figure is seen, nothing is touched, and no harm is reported.
- The host’s response moves quickly to ordinary explanations, ending the segment on a neutral note.
- The caller does not say whether the awakenings frightened them.
- 0:50
What the model inferred (not said on air): The rating reflects the “mildly eerie” level: an unseen voice in the bedroom, without ill will, contact, or escalation.
The core element, a voice calling a sleeper’s name, is a common motif. But the phone alarm whose clock is said to be wrong gives it a modestly distinctive detail. The provisional score is in the middle range, and the comparison with the rest of the archive carries little weight at this stage.
Evidence for and against
- The reported voice did not just call the name but gave a specific instruction to get up.
- The story hinges on the caller’s claimed discovery that their phone’s clock was set wrong.
- Being woken by a voice calling one’s name is a stock motif.
- The caller presents it as one of several similar “name called” reports the host had recently received.
- Originality is provisional. The comparison with the rest of the archive is not yet meaningful.
- 0:09
- 1:22
What the model inferred (not said on air): A familiar frame (name called in sleep) plus a distinctive detail (the mismatch with a phone clock) places it just below the midpoint of the originality scale.
Scoring confidence 0.55 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story on a live call; No documents, recordings, or photographs claimed or examined; No second witness on air. The originality score blends the model's score (47) 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.
- Side effects of medication or altered sleep could produce the impression of a voice on waking. · The caller was off work with a back injury and says [quote withheld] The host raises the same possibility.
- Waking in a drowsy state, with disturbed sleep patterns, could produce a vivid heard name or phrase. · The caller describes being asleep and being woken by the voice, and the host notes [quote withheld]
- Expecting an alarm, together with a phone whose clock was set wrong, could explain the apparent match between the voice’s message and the alarm time. · The caller says the alarm clock was broken and they were using the cell phone as an alarm, and that the phone’s time was incorrect.
What stands out
The story turns on a timing mismatch rather than a sighting. The reported voice matched the time a phone alarm was set for, while the phone’s own clock is said to have been wrong. It is also presented as one of a run of similar “name being called” calls the host had recently received.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.