Glowing figure and face in a photograph at Santa Barbara mission graveyard
A caller describes walking out of a Santa Barbara graveyard in the late afternoon after feeling a wonderful love. The caller then asked St. Michael to let “them” appear in a photograph their husband took. The caller says the film was developed about a year later and showed a giant white glow around the caller, hands that looked on fire around two St. Michael’s medallions, and a face. A friend who is a graphic artist later found another face above the cross on the mission steeple. The story ends with another friend’s reported panic at the same graveyard.
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 1:16:25). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives no name, says they had been in a graveyard and felt [quote withheld] before the caller and their husband walked out. The caller reports the time as probably about 3, 4, or 5 o’clock in the evening. As they walked into the yard, the caller says, they were still feeling those sensations. While their husband went to take a picture, the caller thought the beings might show up. The caller says they then asked St. Michael to allow them to appear in that particular photograph. The caller did not tell their husband, and says they got the film back about a year later. Asked by the host why the caller would not tell their husband, the caller says they do not share such things often, but later did tell their husband. When the film was developed, the caller reports, there was a giant white glowing around the caller. The caller says they had two St. Michael’s medallions, one in each hand, because they planned to give them as gifts, and put one in each pocket. In the photograph, the caller’s hands look as if they are on fire. The caller also reports a giant form radiating above the caller and a visible face. A friend who does graphic-artist and editorial layout work looked for faces in the photograph. The caller says they refused to say where the faces were. The friend found another face directly above the cross in the steeple of the mission of Santa Barbara. The caller compares it to a picture of Jesus at the Vatican on the host’s web page. The caller says the image was overwhelming. The caller says another friend later said they never believed about the caller’s ghost until they visited the Santa Barbara graveyard and had to leave, panicking.
Reported events, in order
- 0:00
The caller says they felt a wonderful love come through them.
- 0:04
The caller and their husband walked out of the graveyard.
- 0:05
The caller reports the time as probably about 3, 4, or 5 o’clock in the evening.
- 0:12
The caller’s husband went to take a picture. The caller thought the beings might show up.
- 0:17
The caller asked St. Michael to allow them to show up in that particular photograph.
- 0:26
The caller says they did not tell their husband and that they got the film back about a year later.
- 0:34
Asked by the host why the caller would not tell their husband, the caller says they do not share such things often.
- 0:51
When the film was developed, the caller reports a giant white glowing around the caller and two St. Michael’s medallions, one in each hand or pocket.
- 0:59
The caller reports that in the photograph the caller’s hands look as if they are on fire.
- 1:02
The caller reports a giant form radiating above the caller and a visible face.
- 1:08
A friend who is a graphic artist looked for faces in the photograph without being told where to look.
- 1:17
The friend reportedly found another face directly above the cross in the steeple.
- 1:43
A friend reportedly said they never believed about the caller’s ghost until they visited the Santa Barbara graveyard and had to leave, panicking.
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· 0:00
The caller says they felt a wonderful love come through them while at the graveyard.
- interpretation· 0:12
The caller says they thought the beings might show up in a photograph their husband was about to take.
- host statement· 0:23
The host asserts that the beings did appear in the photograph.
- observation· 0:51
The caller reports that after developing the film they saw a giant white glowing around the caller.
- observation· 0:59
The caller reports that in the photograph the caller’s hands looked as if they were on fire.
- observation· 1:02
The caller reports a giant form radiating above the caller in the photograph, with a face visible.
- observation· 1:05
The caller reports that a face can be seen in the photograph.
- hearsay· 1:17
The caller reports that a friend who is a graphic artist found another face directly above the cross in the mission steeple.
- hearsay· 1:36
The caller reports that a friend said they never believed the caller about the ghost until visiting the Santa Barbara graveyard.
- hearsay· 1:43
The caller reports that the friend walked to the graveyard and had to leave, panicking.
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.
The story is firsthand and consistent, and it contains details that could in principle be checked, such as the Santa Barbara mission, an approximate time, and the medallions. However, the central strange thing is a photograph no one examined, which has easy explanations in photographic flaws and seeing faces in patterns. This part of the broadcast also begins mid-story.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand story with a named site, an approximately stated time, and concrete objects.
- The caller reports a consistent sequence from graveyard to photograph to later development.
- The caller answers the host’s questions about why they did not tell their husband and about the delay in developing the film.
- The central strange thing is a claimed photograph that is not examined on air.
- The film was developed about a year later, which leaves room for doubt about processing and memory.
- A friend was asked to look for faces after the caller already believed faces were present.
- The start of the story is missing.
- The word “they” is never defined.
- No camera, film type, or viewing conditions are described.
- The host does not describe seeing the photograph.
- 0:00
- 0:05
- 0:51
- 0:26
What the model inferred (not said on air): I weigh firsthand specificity and internal consistency against the lack of any examined evidence and the strong ordinary alternatives. This is not a probability that the event occurred.
The only support is the caller’s word plus a claimed photograph that is not examined on air. Specifics that could be checked are given, and other witnesses are claimed, but none is independently verified in the transcript.
Evidence for and against
- The caller claims a physical photograph exists and was developed.
- The caller gives a named location and specific objects that could in principle be checked.
- The caller claims a friend who is a graphic artist examined the photograph and found another face.
- No photograph, negative, or digital file is produced or examined on air.
- No second witness speaks on air.
- The claimed examination by the friend is reported by the caller and not independently confirmed.
- Whether the photograph still exists is not stated.
- Whether Art Bell or the show ever examined the photograph is not shown.
- The friend’s examination is reported secondhand.
- 0:26
- 1:17
- 1:36
What the model inferred (not said on air): I place this in the 11 to 25 band because there is claimed physical evidence and there are claimed witnesses, but no actual examination on air and no independent confirmation.
The graveyard, glowing form, face, and panicking friend are eerie. But the caller’s emphasis on wonderful love and St. Michael lowers the fear level. The story is unsettling rather than frightening.
Evidence for and against
- The setting is a graveyard and mission.
- A giant white glowing form and a face are reported in the photograph.
- A friend reportedly had to leave the graveyard in a panic.
- The caller stresses a wonderful feeling of love.
- St. Michael and the medallions give the story a religious or protective frame.
- No injury, threat, or hostile behavior is reported.
- The friend’s panic is only reported, not described in detail.
- The missing beginning of the story may contain more threatening material.
- 0:51
- 1:05
- 1:43
- 0:00
What the model inferred (not said on air): This score is about the story’s effect as entertainment, not its truth or the caller’s state of mind.
The story uses a familiar ghost-photo setup. The medallions, the reported hands-on-fire effect, and the face above the mission steeple cross give it a distinctive combination of details. A comparison with the rest of the archive is not available for this part of the broadcast.
Evidence for and against
- The St. Michael medallions held in each hand and the hands appearing on fire are distinctive.
- A face is reportedly found above the cross on the mission steeple, linking the image to a named religious site.
- The caller’s silent request to St. Michael before the photograph is a specific detail of the story.
- Strange faces in photographs and ghost photographs taken in graveyards are familiar motifs.
- A friend searching for faces in an unclear image is a common case of seeing faces in patterns.
- The originality calculation compared with the rest of the archive is not available here.
- This part of the broadcast begins mid-story, so earlier distinctive details may be missing.
- 0:59
- 1:17
- 1:23
- 1:08
What the model inferred (not said on air): I treat this as a familiar setup with distinctive details rather than a wholly stock story.
Scoring confidence 0.62 · analysis confidence 0.68 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story; A claimed photograph and film, not examined on air; A claimed examination of the photograph by a friend; No witness who backs it up on air. The originality score blends the model's score (55) 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 reported glow and “fire” effect are photographic flaws rather than anything unseen. · Overexposure, glare, lens flare, film age, or a processing error could produce a white glow, especially around shiny medallions.
- The faces reported in the photograph are faces seen in patterns after searching for them. · People tend to see faces in unclear images (pareidolia). A friend was explicitly told to look for faces in an unclear image.
What stands out
The story combines a felt sense of love in a graveyard with a requested appearance in a photograph, and the graphic artist reportedly finds a second face above the mission steeple cross. The medallions in the caller’s hands appearing on fire are a distinctive detail.
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