Car reportedly pushed off railroad tracks at a Clarksville, Tennessee, crossing
A caller tells Art Bell that a restaurant customer of theirs recently returned from Clarksville, Tennessee, and reported the same [quote withheld] story that Bell had already told about San Antonio, Texas. The caller relays the customer’s account of buttering and powdering the bumper to reveal the prints. The caller also relays the local backstory of a 1930s school bus struck by a train, and says the customer’s wife was badly shaken. The story ends unresolved, with the caller voicing disbelief and Bell commenting on the idea of children’s souls remaining to push cars.
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 2001-1.mp3”, starting at 1:11:01). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who does not give a name, begins by reminding Art Bell of a story Bell had told about a car that stops on railroad tracks and shows handprints when powder is applied. Bell confirms the San Antonio, Texas, version. The caller then says a table the caller waited on at their restaurant had recently vacationed in Clarksville, Tennessee, where the customer’s uncle lives. The caller says they had told the caller [quote withheld] According to the caller, the customer described spreading butter on the rear bumper and dusting powder so it would stick. The customer said they had never heard of the San Antonio incident or of Bell’s show. Asked by Bell whether they went to railroad tracks, the caller says yes, the car was parked there and was pushed off. The caller adds that the road is not on an angle, that they actually saw the handprints, and that the local backstory is a 1930s school bus hit by a train, in which a number of children were killed. The caller states their own disbelief, saying a car would not start moving by itself on a flat road. The caller adds that the customer’s wife was badly shaken and is still bothered by it. Bell replies that it would bother him too and reflects that children are the last souls one would expect to remain on Earth pushing cars. No one else who was present speaks on air, and nothing is produced or examined.
Reported events, in order
- 0:00
The caller says they have one more quick story that the host will appreciate, and refers to the host’s earlier story of a car that stops on railroad tracks and shows handprints when powder is applied.
- 0:09
The host confirms the San Antonio, Texas, version of that story.
- 0:13
The caller says a restaurant customer’s table recently vacationed in Clarksville, Tennessee, where the customer’s uncle lives, and told the same story and scenario.
- 0:25
Per the caller, the customer described spreading butter on the rear bumper and dusting powder on it so the powder would stick.
- 0:37
The caller says the Tennessee tellers had never heard of the San Antonio incident or of the host’s show.
- 0:50
In answer to the host’s question, the caller says there was a railroad track, the car was parked there, and it was pushed off.
- 0:55
The caller says the road is not on an angle and the car had handprints on it. The caller gives the local backstory of a 1930s school bus struck by a train, with children killed.
- 1:05
The caller states their own doubt that a car would move by itself, saying there is no way and that the road is flat.
- 1:11
The caller says the customer actually saw the handprints and that the customer’s wife was so freaked out by it that it still bothers her.
- 1:25
The host comments that children are the last souls one would expect to remain on Earth, and that he cannot grasp a God who would let them push cars.
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).
- hearsay· 0:13
A restaurant customer’s table told the caller they had gone to Clarksville, Tennessee, where the customer’s uncle lives, and that the same car-on-the-tracks story happened there.
- hearsay· 0:25
The customer said the group spread butter on the back bumper so that powder would stick to it, a way to reveal prints on the vehicle.
- hearsay· 0:50
The customer said the car was parked at a railroad track and was pushed off it.
- hearsay· 1:11
The caller says the customer and the customer’s wife saw handprints on the car.
- hearsay· 0:37
The caller says the Tennessee tellers had never heard of the San Antonio incident.
- hearsay· 0:40
The caller says the Tennessee tellers had never heard of the radio show.
- hearsay· 0:55
The local backstory given to the caller is that a 1930s school bus was hit by a train and a number of children were killed.
- observation· 0:55
The caller says the road is not on an angle, which the caller treats as ruling out a slope as an explanation.
- interpretation· 1:05
The caller states their own conclusion that a car would not move by itself and that this cannot be ordinary mechanics.
- host statement· 0:09
The host states that the San Antonio, Texas, version of the story is true.
- host statement· 1:36
The host states his own view that he cannot accept a God who would leave the children’s souls on Earth pushing cars.
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 short, consistent secondhand story with a named town and a described test method. The source is an unnamed restaurant customer, nothing is documented, and the story is identical to a legend the caller had just heard, which the caller notes.
Evidence for and against
- A specific town and relationship are named: [quote withheld]
- A concrete method is described: butter on the rear bumper and powder dusted so it would stick.
- The story is consistent, and the caller answers the host’s clarifying questions about the track, the parking, and the prints.
- The story is explicitly the same as one the caller had just heard told ([quote withheld]), which fits a circulating story rather than an independent event.
- No names, dates, contact details, or documentation are given for the Tennessee tellers, who are an unnamed restaurant customer and the customer’s wife.
- It is not clear whether the customer personally saw the car move or only repeated what the uncle’s household told the customer.
- One line in the story carries a different label showing who is speaking, so who said that detail is uncertain.
- 0:13
- 0:20
- 0:50
What the model inferred (not said on air): The closeness-to-source and alternative-explanation parts lean toward a legend being passed along. Specificity is moderate because a town and a method are named but no people or dates that could be checked are offered.
The story rests on the caller’s retelling of a third person’s claim. A town name and a claimed physical trace are mentioned, but nothing is produced, examined, or independently verified. It sits in the band for [quote withheld]
Evidence for and against
- A place name that could be checked is given (Clarksville, Tennessee).
- Claimed physical traces are described: handprints on the car revealed with butter and powder.
- No photograph, document, recording, or printed surface is produced or examined in the segment.
- The named secondhand witnesses do not speak on air, and no outside check is recorded.
- Whether the customer has any photograph or physical evidence is not addressed.
- 0:25
- 1:11
What the model inferred (not said on air): Because claimed traces are described but not shown, this is scored at the low end of the 0 to 25 band rather than higher in it.
The image of unseen hands leaving prints on a car and the backstory of children killed give the story a genuinely unsettling feel. But it is short and secondhand, and it contains no threat to the caller.
Evidence for and against
- The reported handprints on the vehicle are an intrusive physical trace left by something unseen.
- The backstory involves children killed by a train, and the customer’s wife is said to be lastingly disturbed by the experience.
- The story is brief and secondhand, and the caller’s own stance is disbelief (“Come on”).
- There is no threat, escalation, or sensory horror directed at anyone in the telling.
- How vivid the customer’s own description was to the caller cannot be recovered from the transcript.
- 1:11
- 1:17
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is judged as a story for listeners rather than a claim of danger. The unresolved ending and the legend of the children’s deaths supply most of the effect.
The core motif (a ghost pushes a car off a crossing and leaves handprints) is a stock legend. The described print-lifting method and the same story in a second place give this version a somewhat distinctive frame.
Evidence for and against
- The distinctive detail is the butter-and-powder method used to make prints visible on the bumper.
- The frame is a caller offering a same-plot parallel from a different part of the country, with claims that the Tennessee tellers had never heard of the San Antonio case or the show.
- The central event is already familiar within the broadcast itself: the caller and host both refer to the San Antonio version told earlier ([quote withheld]).
- How novel this is compared with the rest of the archive is unknown. This score is a provisional judgment of the content.
- 0:25
- 0:37
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a model estimate only. The published originality score depends on a comparison with the rest of the archive, which is not available here.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.65 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s secondhand story (as relayed to the caller by a restaurant customer, who is said to have been present). The originality score blends the model's score (40) 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 story is a folklore motif ([quote withheld]) passed along by word of mouth and attached independently to several railroad crossings. · The caller notes the Tennessee story is [quote withheld] as the San Antonio story the host had just described. That points to a widely told legend rather than two independent sightings.
- The “handprints” could be prints left by living people who handled the parked vehicle, rather than evidence of something unseen. · The reported method is butter smeared on the bumper and powder dusted on it. Such a lift records the prints of any hand that touched the surface.
- A slight slope no one noticed, or a car left out of park, could allow a vehicle to roll at such a spot. · The caller asserts “The road's flat” from their own reasoning, with no measurement reported. The car’s gear and the grade at a road and rail crossing are not stated.
What stands out
The caller does not claim the experience personally. The caller offers a secondhand parallel to a story the host had just told, complete with a described method (butter and powder on the bumper) for making the handprints visible. The story is framed as the same legend recurring at a different railroad crossing, with the Tennessee tellers said to be unaware of the earlier version or of the show.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.