A woman in 1800s dress, a boulder death, and a disturbed forest circle
Mary, calling from Salem, Oregon, tells Art Bell a story they call [quote withheld] about their brother-in-law, [name withheld]. Mary says that during a birthday party they went out for burgers and, waiting out front, saw a woman in 1800s clothing whose feet they could not see. When they looked back, the woman was gone. Mary reports that while they were away, [name withheld] was struck by a boulder on a forest trail and died. Months later, Mary says, an acquaintance said a ceremony [name withheld] had been performing was interrupted when the acquaintance stubbed out a cigarette in his circle and a growling, monster-like sound came down the hill. Mary says some of them think that whatever it was came and got him.
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 2001-2.mp3”, starting at 2:13:15). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
Mary, calling from Salem, Oregon, tells Art Bell a story they call [quote withheld] about their brother-in-law, [name withheld]. Mary says that during a birthday party they decided to go out for burgers with a friend. Mary was waiting out front, because someone had to move their car, at the place where they say they were living in the country. Looking over, they say, they saw a woman in an 1800s shirt waist and long skirt. They could not see past her. When the host presses them, they confirm they should have been able to see the woman’s feet but could not. They say they closed their eyes, looked back, and the woman was gone. Their friend came out, they told him, and they left for burgers.
Mary reports that while they were away, [name withheld] and others [quote withheld] While they were going down the trail, a boulder [quote withheld] and struck him. Mary first says it [quote withheld] and then clarifies it was the top of his head. Mary says a life-flight helicopter was landing and CPR was being performed when they returned, and that he died.
Six months later, Mary says, a person they knew came to them and apologized. A couple of days earlier, the person said, [name withheld], whom Mary describes as a Wiccan, had been in the forest doing some sort of ceremony with friends, and the person came up and put a cigarette out in the middle of their circle. They became upset, and the person said a [quote withheld] came from the top of the hill. They told the person to get out of the circle and tried but could not fix whatever it was. Mary says [name withheld] was worried and would not tell them why for two days before the party, and that [quote withheld]
Reported events, in order
- 0:04
Mary, calling from Salem, Oregon, says their story concerns their brother-in-law, [name withheld], during a birthday party.
- 0:22
Mary goes out for burgers with a friend and waits out front while someone moves their car, at the place where they say they were living in the country.
- 0:33
Mary reports seeing a woman in an 1800s shirt waist and long skirt.
- 0:46
Mary says they could not see past the woman and could not see her feet, and they confirm to the host that they should have been able to.
- 1:01
Mary says they closed their eyes, looked back, and the woman was gone. Their friend then came out and they told him about it.
- 1:08
They leave and go for burgers.
- 1:15
Mary reports that while they were away, their brother-in-law and others decided to go off into the woods.
- 1:19
Mary says that while going down the trail, a boulder [quote withheld] and struck him. Mary says it took off the top of his head.
- 1:27
They return to find a life-flight helicopter landing, an ambulance, and CPR being performed. Mary says he died.
- 1:51
About six months later, Mary says, a person they knew came to them and apologized.
- 2:02
According to that person, the brother-in-law, said to be a Wiccan, had been in the forest a couple of days earlier performing a ceremony with friends.
- 2:11
The acquaintance says they came up and put a cigarette out in the middle of the group’s circle.
- 2:17
The group became upset and, Mary says, a [quote withheld] came from the top of the hill.
- 2:30
They told the acquaintance to get out of the circle and tried but could not “fix” whatever it was.
- 2:36
Mary says he was worried and would not tell them why for about two days before the party.
- 2:47
Mary says some of them think whatever it was came and got him. The host comments that the circle was desecrated.
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· 0:33
The caller says they looked over and saw a woman dressed in an 1800s shirt waist and long skirt.
- observation· 0:46
The caller says they could not see the woman’s feet, though they should have been able to.
- observation· 1:01
The caller says they closed their eyes, looked back, and the woman was gone.
- interpretation· 0:19
The caller calls the whole matter a premonition.
- hearsay· 2:11
According to an acquaintance who later apologized, they put a cigarette out in the middle of the brother-in-law’s ritual circle in the forest.
- hearsay· 2:17
The acquaintance is said to have described a growling, monster-sounding thing coming from the top of the hill after the circle was disturbed.
- interpretation· 2:47
The caller says they and others blame the brother-in-law’s death on whatever came out of that event.
- host statement· 2:56
The host says that the circle was desecrated and that this is “bad news.”
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 brief but coherent firsthand sighting, and the caller separates what they perceived from what they concluded. It loses points for vague settings and because an ordinary explanation (the blocked lower body of a person in costume) fits easily. The ritual material that supplies the cause is hearsay.
Evidence for and against
- The core sighting is presented as the caller’s own direct experience with specific detail ([quote withheld]; [quote withheld]).
- The caller’s answers to the host’s probing fit the story. The caller confirms they should have been able to see the feet.
- The caller marks their conclusions as such rather than as observations: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- The ritual and growling element is entirely secondhand, relayed from an unnamed acquaintance ([quote withheld]).
- No names, dates, exact locations, or records are given that could be checked. The setting is only “in the country” and “the woods.”
- An ordinary explanation fits the ghost well: a living person in costume or period dress with the lower body blocked from view.
- The time of day and calendar date of the events are not stated.
- It is not clear whether the “premonition” framing is the caller’s reading in hindsight or their view at the time.
- 0:33
- 1:51
- 2:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): Closeness to the source and calibration are credited on the caller’s own word. The ritual framework cannot be credited to the caller as firsthand experience.
The caller’s word plus a few names and a claimed confidant who did not witness the sighting and does not speak. Nothing is independently checkable and nothing is examined on the air. It fits the 0 to 10 range, with a slight nudge for the named location and relative.
Evidence for and against
- A named caller location ([quote withheld]) and a named relative (“my brother-in-law don”).
- A claimed witness is reported ([quote withheld]), though he neither saw the figure nor speaks on the air.
- No photograph, recording, document, or physical trace is claimed or examined.
- No second witness to the ghost speaks on the air. The friend was only told about it.
- The ritual and growling claims are at least secondhand or thirdhand.
- The claimed confidant’s identity is not given and he is not on the air, so his report cannot be weighed.
- 0:04
- 1:01
What the model inferred (not said on air): Estimated low because the archive has no outside evidence for this story. The hard cap of 50 is nowhere near approached.
Unsettling rather than sustained dread: a figure whose feet cannot be seen, a graphic death by boulder, and an implied vengeful presence tied to a broken ritual. The story escalates from eerie to violent, then ends unresolved.
Evidence for and against
- A figure whose feet cannot be seen, described as disappearing when looked at again.
- A violent death reported in vivid terms ([quote withheld]), followed by a life-flight helicopter and CPR.
- A growling, monster-sounding thing descending from the hill after a ritual circle is disturbed, and the implication that it [quote withheld]
- The story is short and delivered as a sequence of facts rather than dwelled upon.
- The ghost itself is passive and does nothing. It simply vanishes.
- The caller’s own label for it is mild (“It was scary”).
- It is not spelled out whether the caller linked the boulder event and the ritual at the time or only afterward.
- 1:27
- 2:17
What the model inferred (not said on air): My rating weighs the graphic death imagery and the cause implied at the end. It does not rely on the caller’s tone, which I ignore.
A familiar setup (a woman in period dress before a death, a desecrated circle) with one or two distinctive concrete details (the cigarette in the circle, the boulder death). A provisional model score around the middle of the scale.
Evidence for and against
- The manner of death, a boulder on a forest trail taking off the top of the head, is unusual and concrete.
- The interruption is a specific, almost anticlimactic act: an outsider stubbing out a cigarette in the middle of a Wiccan circle.
- The “monster sounding thing” arriving from the top of the hill immediately afterward is a distinctive combination of animal and non-human cues.
- A figure in old-fashioned dress who vanishes when looked at twice is a stock ghost-story element.
- A ghost read as a sign of a coming death is a long-standing folk pattern (the crisis ghost or banshee type).
- A disturbed ritual followed by retribution is a familiar occult-story frame.
- With few archived stories, the comparison with the rest of the archive carries little weight, and the published originality should be treated as provisional.
- 2:11
- 1:27
What the model inferred (not said on air): How new the story is compared with the rest of the archive cannot be worked out here. This is a provisional judgment from the content only.
Scoring confidence 0.68 · analysis confidence 0.72 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand word (the ghost); A secondhand story relayed by the caller on behalf of an unnamed acquaintance (Wiccan ceremony and growling sound); No photograph, recording, document, or named record; No second witness speaks on the 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 in period or costumed dress standing partly behind an obstruction (a vehicle, vegetation, or the lay of the ground), so the caller’s line of sight did not include her feet. · The caller gives a very specific description of the clothing ([quote withheld]) and says her lower body was blocked from view ([quote withheld]) while standing out front of a rural property where cars were being moved.
- A falling or dislodged rock on a wooded slope, a natural hazard on trails, rather than anything directed. · The caller says the brother-in-law and others went down a forest trail and that [quote withheld]
- An actual animal (a dog or other) on the hillside, heard at a distance and interpreted in the context of the disturbed ceremony. · The caller describes the reported sound as [quote withheld]
What stands out
The story couples a passive ghost with a very concrete, ordinary cause of death, a boulder on a trail, and then supplies a secondhand ritual explanation for it. That chain, plus the specific detail of an outsider stubbing out a cigarette inside a Wiccan circle, sets it apart from a plain [quote withheld] story.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.