Childhood near-death experience under ether after a horse wreck
A caller, unnamed in the transcript, says they are near Yosemite National Park, California. They recount an operation in the 1950s after they were trampled in a horse-and-mule wreck at the age of six or seven. They say they were overdosed with ether, that staff called out “we've lost her,” and that they watched from above as a presence waited to their left. They were revived and put in a body cast. They end by saying they still have a scar on their arm from a dropped surgical instrument, and that they have discussed post-hypnotic regression with a hypnotherapist so they can look at whatever was with them.
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 1:34:58). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller tells Art Bell they were in a “horrendous horse”-and-mule wreck in the 1950s. They say they fell off the front horse and [quote withheld] leaving them with a shoulder injury. They report being taken to an operating room late at night, where staff were “stapling bones together” and using ether, dropped onto a mask over their face with no way to gauge the dose. They say they were [quote withheld] and that [quote withheld] The caller describes a drape over their chest and abdomen with instruments and scalpels resting on it, then someone saying [quote withheld] Staff flung instruments off the caller to reach their chest, and they say one of them dropped a scalpel that stabbed into their arm. They report that staff began pounding on their chest and that they watched from above ([quote withheld]) and realized the body below was their own. They say there was a presence on their left, hovering [quote withheld] away. They did not turn to look at it. They were not frightened, it was not threatening, and it imparted no information, only waiting. They say staff restarted them and put them in a body cast, and that they woke toward the end of the cast being applied. A day or so later, they say, they told their mother something had happened in the operating room, that something had been dropped on them and cut them. Their mother put it down to the ether. They say their mother later told them the doctor had come out of the operating room saying there had been [quote withheld] but that everything was okay. Still later, they say, the doctor described a “small mishap,” saying the caller [quote withheld] The caller says they still have that scar on their arm. They add that they have spoken to a hypnotherapist about post-hypnotic regression so they can return to that state and look to their left. They guess the presence might have been [quote withheld] Art Bell then reflects at length on what a waiting presence means.
Reported events, in order
- 0:53
The caller says they were in a horse-and-mule wreck in the 1950s and the whole herd ran over them after they fell off the front horse.
- 1:12
The caller says they were taken to an operating room late at night, where staff worked on their shoulder, stapling bones together, using ether on a mask.
- 1:57
The caller says they were six or seven years old and that staff overdosed them with ether.
- 2:19
The caller describes a drape over their chest and abdomen with instruments and scalpels set on it.
- 2:33
The caller reports someone shouting [quote withheld] and staff flinging instruments off the caller to reach their chest.
- 2:52
The caller says a scalpel was dropped onto their arm and stabbed into it during the scramble.
- 3:40
The caller reports watching from above as staff pounded on their chest, and realizing the body below was their own.
- 3:56
The caller reports a presence on their left, hovering 18 or 20 feet away. They did not look at it. It was not frightening and imparted no information.
- 4:29
The caller says staff restarted them and put them in a body cast, and that they woke toward the end of the casting.
- 4:42
The caller says they told their mother a day or so later that something had happened and something had been dropped on them and cut them. Their mother blamed the ether.
- 5:09
The caller says their mother later told them the doctor had come out saying there had been a few problems but everything was okay.
- 5:53
The caller says the doctor later told their mother there had been a small mishap, that the caller was nicked by an instrument and given one suture.
- 6:04
The caller says they still have the scar on their arm.
- 6:17
The caller says they spoke to a hypnotherapist about post-hypnotic regression and want to be in the air again and look to their left.
- 6:40
The caller guesses the presence might have been the death angel, the life creator, or the life force.
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· 3:45
The caller says that under the ether they watched the scene from above and realized the body being worked on was their own.
- observation· 3:56
The caller says a presence waited with them on their left while they were hovering above the operating table.
- observation· 4:11
The caller says they did not look at the presence and that it gave no information, only waited.
- interpretation· 2:00
The caller says the ether dose killed them.
- observation· 6:04
The caller says a dropped scalpel cut their arm during the scramble and that they still have the scar.
- hearsay· 5:55
The caller says the doctor told their mother there had been a small mishap in which the caller was nicked by an instrument and sutured.
- interpretation· 6:40
The caller guesses what the presence was, offering several possibilities.
- host statement· 8:18
Art Bell asserts after the call that such stories show there is something beyond death.
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 firsthand testimony about their own experience, with a coherent sequence and several concrete details (the ether drip mask, the drape, the shout, the dropped instrument, the body cast, the scar). The caller is careful to separate what they perceived from what they concluded. Against this, one ordinary explanation (ether anesthesia and low oxygen) fits the core experience fairly easily, and no names, dates, or records are given.
Evidence for and against
- Concrete detail about the procedure: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- Careful claims: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- The sequence answers the host’s questions directly (the host asks about the mask, the presence, and any information given).
- Ether anesthesia can plausibly produce floating and watching experiences, which fits the core out-of-body experience (see the ordinary explanations above).
- No hospital name, doctor’s name, exact year, or records are given. The doctor’s remark, which backs up part of the story, is secondhand through the mother.
- Part of the transcript is garbled word by word and cannot be relied on.
- The location “near Yosemite” is where they say they are calling from, not where the events occurred.
- 1:00
- 2:00
- 3:45
- 6:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is built from parts: source proximity 20 (firsthand), specificity 13 (concrete procedure but no names or dates), internal consistency 15, alternative explanations 6 (the anesthetic fits easily), and calibration 11, for a total of 65. This is a judgment of the testimony as recorded, not a probability that the events happened as described.
The story rests on the caller’s own word, with a few specifics that could be checked in principle (a hospital stay in the 1950s near Yosemite, the doctor’s reported remark, an existing scar). None has been checked, and none is documented in the transcript. No second witness speaks on air.
Evidence for and against
- A physical mark is claimed to exist: [quote withheld]
- A specific reported medical statement: [quote withheld]
- The scar is not examined and is not distinctive on its own.
- The doctor’s remark is relayed secondhand through the mother. There is no witness or document on air.
- No hospital, doctor, town, or date is named, so nothing can be traced independently from the transcript.
- Whether any hospital record exists is unknown and unstated.
- In one exchange, the labels showing who is speaking appear to swap host and caller lines.
- 6:04
- 5:55
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score falls in the 11 to 25 range because specifics are given but not checked, and a detail that backs up the story is claimed only through hearsay. No outside check was made, so the score cannot exceed 50.
The story is calm rather than menacing. A child is trampled and then reportedly declared lost during surgery, which is unsettling in itself. But the caller repeatedly stresses that they were not frightened and that the presence was not threatening. The caller’s unresolved wish to go back and look tempers it further.
Evidence for and against
- A child under ether reportedly declared lost during surgery: [quote withheld]
- A scalpel described as stabbing into the caller’s arm.
- The presence is described as harmless and silent: [quote withheld]
- The caller’s tone is thoughtful and good-humored, with no threat, escalation, or harm blamed on a presence.
- Listener reaction will vary. This score is about what happens in the story, not whether it is true.
- 4:15
- 2:33
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is toward the lower end of “mildly eerie” because the only dread-adjacent material is the medical emergency itself, while the reported encounter is plainly not threatening.
Seeing one’s own body from above and a waiting figure or presence are standard near-death motifs, so the frame is familiar. What is distinctive is the claim that a specific detail the caller perceived, the dropped instrument that cut their arm, was later matched by the doctor’s reported remark and by a scar they say they still have. So is the caller’s stated wish to revisit the state through hypnotic regression.
Evidence for and against
- A distinctive claim that backs up an out-of-body detail: [quote withheld] followed by [quote withheld]
- An unusual ending: wanting to return and look at the presence through regression, [quote withheld]
- The core elements, being above the scene, looking down at one’s body, and a presence, are the most commonly reported near-death features.
- A waiting companion figure with no message is also a familiar element of such stories.
- How the story compares with the rest of the archive cannot be judged from a single transcript. The score is provisional.
- Nothing is known about how the presence looked, since the caller says they never looked at it.
- 3:56
- 6:35
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a provisional estimate of about 58: a familiar near-death frame plus a distinctive, if unverified, physical detail that seems to back it up. The published figure will be blended with how the story compares with the rest of the archive.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story of their own experience; A reported secondhand remark by the doctor, relayed through the caller’s mother; A claimed physical mark (a scar on the arm), described but not examined. 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.
- The out-of-body imagery fits events reported with ether anesthesia and low oxygen, which can produce vivid, dream-like experiences of floating and watching. · The caller describes ether dropped onto a mask with [quote withheld] and says “they overdosed me.”
- The caller’s mother suggested the child’s talk about the operating room came from the ether. The caller repeats this ordinary explanation on air. · [quote withheld]
- Some of the operating-room detail may have come from what the caller says they heard at the time, or from the doctor’s reported remark afterward, rather than from viewing the scene from above. · The caller reports hearing [quote withheld] and the doctor’s reported description of the nick and single suture.
What stands out
The distinguishing feature is not the out-of-body view of their own body, which is a familiar near-death motif. It is the claim that the scalpel dropped onto the caller’s arm was later accounted for by the doctor’s reported remark about a nick and a suture, and by a scar they say they still have.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.