Skip to content
DRAFT ARCHIVE · every story is an AI draft not yet checked by a personHow they are made →
December 21, 2001 (probable)·Caller's story·7 min·at 2:09:39 in the broadcast

Agnostic caller’s near-death experience and beings they call alien-like

A caller named [name withheld] tells Art Bell that they were clinically dead in their twenties after a heart attack. They say they experienced a light-filled dimension with telepathic beings who refused to let them stay. They report waking in an ambulance and a life afterward of lost looks, career, and money. They remain agnostic. They describe the beings as not angels but something like aliens playing a game.

Story statusAI draft, not yet checked
Start and end pointsNot yet checked · confidence 0.75
How it was toldFirsthand · Live call
0:00 / 7:06
Play
0:04 · The caller identifies themselves as [name withheld], says they were dead, and says they are agnostic.0:25 · The caller describes being in their twenties, a successful model and singer, and a born-again Christian.0:42 · The caller states they had a heart condition then and still do, and that they are Art's age now.0:47 · The caller reports feeling very ill at night, going to a telephone booth for help, and sweating.1:05 · The caller says they had a heart attack or stoppage while trying to cross the street and did not go through a tunnel or see any light.1:28 · The host asks if the caller collapsed on the street. The caller says yes, at the curb.1:37 · The caller reports their heart stopped.1:44 · The caller describes being in a dimension with beautiful beings like lights and communicating telepathically.2:03 · The caller says the beings told them many things they cannot remember.2:14 · The caller says the beings told them they could not stay. The place was like a very light room, not blue, like an operating room. The caller did not feel their body and did not think of their parents, boyfriend, or career.2:51 · The caller begged and pleaded to stay and remembers seeing a door the beings would not let them go through.3:00 · The caller calls the beings mean and not very nice, but says the place was beautiful and they wanted to stay.3:23 · The caller came to in an ambulance with their lip hanging off. They lost their looks, hair, and money, and report thirty years of bad luck, no marriage, and no children.4:11 · Asked how they can be agnostic, the caller says the beings were not angels but something almost like aliens playing a game, and that it was almost like torture because they were shown a beautiful place.4:43 · The host suggests the caller took the down escalator. The caller replies that the place was beautiful and telepathic, but the beings were stern and insensitive.5:07 · The caller says coming alive in the ambulance was horrible, they were disappointed to return in that condition, their mission had never been fulfilled, and they lost their singing voice.5:48 · Asked how they feel about death now, the caller says they are indifferent and think it will be nothing, but allow there might be something.6:44 · The host says it is bound to get better. The caller notes they came to with no teeth and chipped teeth.
clip start● reported events: click one to jump thereclip end

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 2:09:39). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.

The story as told

[name withheld] tells Art Bell that they were dead and are agnostic. They say that in their twenties they were a successful model and singer, a born-again Christian who went to church, did charity work, and made records. They state that they had a heart condition then and still do, and that they are now Art's age. They report feeling very ill at night and going to a telephone booth to get help. They were sweating and had a heart attack or stoppage. They say they tried to cross the street, did not see a tunnel or any light, and collapsed at the curb, where their heart stopped. They describe being instantly in a dimension with beautiful beings that were like lights, communicating telepathically. The beings told the caller many things the caller cannot remember. The beings told the caller they could not stay. They say it was like a very light room, not blue like a star but like an operating room. They did not feel their body and did not think of their parents, boyfriend, or career. They begged and pleaded to stay, and remember seeing a door the beings would not let them go through. They call the beings mean and not very nice, though the place was beautiful and they wanted to stay. They say they came to in an ambulance with their lip hanging off. They lost their looks, their hair, and their money, and had thirty years of bad luck, never marrying or having children. “It's been hell,” they say. Asked how they can still be agnostic, they say the beings were not angels but something almost like aliens playing a game, and that being shown a beautiful place they could not stay in was almost like torture. They say they have an indifferent feeling toward death, think it may be nothing, but allow there might be something. The host suggests they took the down escalator. They reply that the place was beautiful and the beings were stern and insensitive. The call ends with the host saying it can only get better, and [name withheld] noting they came to with no teeth and chipped teeth.

Reported events, in order

  1. 0:04

    The caller identifies themselves as [name withheld], says they were dead, and says they are agnostic.

  2. 0:25

    The caller describes being in their twenties, a successful model and singer, and a born-again Christian.

  3. 0:42

    The caller states they had a heart condition then and still do, and that they are Art's age now.

  4. 0:47

    The caller reports feeling very ill at night, going to a telephone booth for help, and sweating.

  5. 1:05

    The caller says they had a heart attack or stoppage while trying to cross the street and did not go through a tunnel or see any light.

  6. 1:28

    The host asks if the caller collapsed on the street. The caller says yes, at the curb.

  7. 1:37

    The caller reports their heart stopped.

  8. 1:44

    The caller describes being in a dimension with beautiful beings like lights and communicating telepathically.

  9. 2:03

    The caller says the beings told them many things they cannot remember.

  10. 2:14

    The caller says the beings told them they could not stay. The place was like a very light room, not blue, like an operating room. The caller did not feel their body and did not think of their parents, boyfriend, or career.

  11. 2:51

    The caller begged and pleaded to stay and remembers seeing a door the beings would not let them go through.

  12. 3:00

    The caller calls the beings mean and not very nice, but says the place was beautiful and they wanted to stay.

  13. 3:23

    The caller came to in an ambulance with their lip hanging off. They lost their looks, hair, and money, and report thirty years of bad luck, no marriage, and no children.

  14. 4:11

    Asked how they can be agnostic, the caller says the beings were not angels but something almost like aliens playing a game, and that it was almost like torture because they were shown a beautiful place.

  15. 4:43

    The host suggests the caller took the down escalator. The caller replies that the place was beautiful and telepathic, but the beings were stern and insensitive.

  16. 5:07

    The caller says coming alive in the ambulance was horrible, they were disappointed to return in that condition, their mission had never been fulfilled, and they lost their singing voice.

  17. 5:48

    Asked how they feel about death now, the caller says they are indifferent and think it will be nothing, but allow there might be something.

  18. 6:44

    The host says it is bound to get better. The caller notes they came to with no teeth and chipped teeth.

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· 0:04

    The caller says they were dead and are agnostic.

  • observation· 1:05

    The caller reports a heart attack or stoppage after feeling ill in a telephone booth.

  • observation· 1:44

    The caller reports being instantly in a dimension with beautiful beings.

  • observation· 1:53

    The caller reports telepathic communication with the beings.

  • observation· 2:14

    The caller reports the beings told them they could not stay.

  • observation· 2:56

    The caller reports seeing a door the beings would not let them go through.

  • observation· 3:23

    The caller reports waking in an ambulance with their lip hanging off.

  • observation· 3:41

    The caller reports thirty years of bad luck after the event.

  • interpretation· 4:21

    The caller takes the beings to be not angels but something almost like aliens playing a game.

  • interpretation· 4:26

    The caller takes the experience to be almost like torture because they were shown a beautiful place.

  • interpretation· 5:48

    The caller says they have an indifferent feeling toward death.

  • host statement· 4:43

    The host suggests the caller took the down escalator.

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.

Believability
A rough guide to how credible the story is as told
65

This is a firsthand, ordered story with vivid sensory and personal detail, but no names, places, or documents that can be checked. A cardiac-arrest near-death experience fits a common physical explanation, and the caller does not address it.

Evidence for and against
For
  • The caller is a direct witness throughout. They say [quote withheld]
  • A concrete reported sequence: telephone booth, sweating, heart attack, collapse at the curb, ambulance.
  • The caller reports specific sensory and bodily details: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
Against
  • No location, hospital, date, or full name is given. The only name claimed is “[name withheld].”
  • The caller says the beings told them many things they cannot remember.
  • An ordinary explanation, low oxygen during cardiac arrest, fits the near-death experience, and the caller does not address it.
Uncertain or missing
  • The labels showing who is speaking are mixed in the automatic transcript.
  • Some passages are marked low confidence.
  • The thirty-year timeframe is approximate, and the decade of the events is inferred.
Passages cited
  • 0:04
  • 0:42
  • 1:28
  • 2:56

What the model inferred (not said on air): The component estimate: source proximity 22, specificity 13, internal consistency 15, alternative explanations 6, and calibration of claims 9.

Evidence strength
Support in the story that others could check
8

There is only the caller’s spoken word. No records, names, dates, or physical evidence are offered or examined, and no second witness speaks on air.

Evidence for and against
For
  • The caller gives firsthand testimony in their own voice.
  • The caller gives a first name and a broad thirty-year timeframe.
Against
  • No specifics that can be checked, such as a hospital, city, date, medical record, or documentation.
  • No physical evidence is claimed to exist, and none is examined.
  • No second witness speaks on air.
Uncertain or missing
  • First name only. Location unstated.
  • The automatic transcript may have errors in names and numbers.
Passages cited
  • 0:04
  • 3:41

What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is in the 0 to 10 range: the caller’s word alone, with no support that can be checked independently. The cap of 50 applies.

Creepiness
How unsettling the story is, for entertainment
55

The story is unsettling because a beautiful afterlife is controlled by stern beings who deny entry, and the caller describes the aftermath as torture-like and “hell.” There is no open physical threat or horror, which keeps it in the middle range.

Evidence for and against
For
  • The beings are described as “They were mean.” and [quote withheld]
  • The caller describes the experience as [quote withheld]
  • The caller says their life since has been “hell” and lists lost looks, money, and singing voice.
Against
  • The place is repeatedly described as beautiful and desirable: [quote withheld]
  • No physical attack, chase, or threatening figure in the usual ghost-story sense.
  • The host’s closing remarks soften the tone.
Uncertain or missing
  • Creepiness is a judgment of how a listener reacts and may vary.
  • The transcript’s low-confidence passages make the exact wording less certain.
Passages cited
  • 3:00
  • 4:26
  • 3:52

What the model inferred (not said on air): The middle-range score reflects being turned away from a beautiful place plus a bleak aftermath, but no explicit menace or harm.

Originality
How different it is from familiar recurring details
60

A cardiac-arrest near-death experience with light beings is a familiar frame. But the caller’s explicit no-tunnel, no-light detail, the beings’ refusal, and the caller’s reading of the beings as alien-like game-players are distinctive.

Evidence for and against
For
  • The caller says [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
  • The caller describes the beings as [quote withheld]
  • The beautiful place is combined with beings the caller calls mean, and the experience is framed as torture-like.
Against
  • Light beings, a threshold or door, and being told it is not yet time are common near-death motifs.
  • The overall structure follows a standard near-death story.
Uncertain or missing
  • The score adjusted by comparison with the rest of the archive is not worked out here.
  • The provisional score may shift as more stories are added.
Passages cited
  • 1:05
  • 4:21

What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a provisional content-based score of 58. The published score would depend on a comparison with the rest of the archive.

Scoring confidence 0.80 · analysis confidence 0.80 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand testimony only; No documents, recordings, photographs, or medical records presented or examined; No second witness speaks on air. The originality score blends the model's score (58) 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.

  • Too little oxygen or blood flow to the brain during cardiac arrest can produce vivid experiences of light, beings, and a threshold, with fragmented recall afterward. · The caller reports a heart attack or stoppage, says they cannot remember many things the beings told them, and reports waking in an ambulance.
  • Loss of consciousness on the street could produce dream-like imagery of a light room and a door before they regained awareness in the ambulance. · The caller reports collapsing at the curb and then coming to in the ambulance.
  • The later misfortunes and lost career may be separate life events and not results of the near-death experience. · The caller lists lost looks, hair, money, no marriage, and no children over thirty years.

What stands out

The near-death experience is negative. The caller says they did not go through a tunnel and did not see any light, and that beings they describe as stern or mean refused them entry. The caller later calls the beings alien-like game-players. The caller’s agnosticism lasts despite the experience.

Related stories

Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.