Gray figure and male scream in a rented Union, Missouri house
A caller who gives their name as “[name withheld],” from Union, Missouri, tells Art Bell that the previous June their family moved into an older rented house. The caller says they saw a smoky gray figure of a man and heard a scream from the house. The family left that night but returned about a week later for financial reasons. They reportedly experienced a rattling door, a second scream from the basement, and a sudden cold before moving out about two weeks later.
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 1:16:51). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller gives their name as [name withheld] and their location as Union, Missouri. [name withheld] says that “last June” the caller and their family moved into an older house they rented. About a week in, [name withheld] was sitting in the living room at night with a view toward the kitchen door. [name withheld] says they looked up and saw a smoky gray figure of a man. They looked down and told themselves it would be gone when they looked again. Instead, [name withheld] says, the figure walked into the room, stood for a couple of seconds, and dissipated. [name withheld] says they did not want to run out screaming, so they calmly collected the children. As they closed the front door, a horrible scream, which [name withheld] describes as a male scream, came up from the house. They left that night. [name withheld] was away about a week on a business trip and says they talked themselves out of it because they did not believe in such things.
Art asks why [name withheld] would return after the scream. [name withheld] cites financial reasons and says they went back in. [name withheld] says that on about the second evening there, while on the telephone, the door started rattling as if someone were rattling it. [name withheld] thought the children were playing, though they had been sent to bed. [name withheld]’s daughter said she was not doing anything and that her brothers were asleep. [name withheld] says the scream then started coming again from the basement and it became very cold. [name withheld] confirms to Art that the cold came on suddenly. The daughter was speechless when [name withheld] reached her, and [name withheld] got the children out. That, [name withheld] says, was the last night they spent there. They moved again about two weeks later at some financial loss, which [name withheld] says was outweighed by peace of mind. [name withheld] does not state a cause for the events.
Reported events, in order
- 0:07
“Last June” the caller and their family moved into an older house they rented in Union, Missouri.
- 0:27
About a week later, sitting in the living room at night, the caller says they looked up and saw a smoky gray figure of a man at the kitchen door.
- 0:42
The caller looked down and told themselves it would be gone. Looking up again, the caller says, the figure walked into the room, stood a couple of seconds, and dissipated.
- 1:07
The caller calmly gathered the children to leave. As they closed the front door, a horrible scream, which the caller describes as male, came from the house.
- 1:15
The family left the house that night. The caller was away about a week on a business trip and talked themselves out of the experience.
- 1:32
They returned to the house, citing financial reasons.
- 2:17
On about the second evening back, while the caller was on the phone, the door started rattling as if someone were rattling it.
- 2:35
The caller thought the children were playing. The caller’s daughter said she was not doing anything and her brothers were asleep.
- 2:41
The scream started again from the basement, and it got very cold. The caller reached their daughter, found her speechless, and got the children out.
- 3:08
That was the last night they spent there. About two weeks later they moved again, at some financial loss.
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· 0:27
The caller says they looked up from the living room and saw a smoky gray figure of a man standing at the kitchen door.
- observation· 0:42
The caller says that when they looked up again, the figure walked into the room.
- observation· 0:49
The caller says the figure stood in the room for a couple of seconds and then dissipated.
- observation· 1:07
The caller says that as they were closing the front door to leave, a horrible scream came up from the house.
- observation· 1:13
The caller describes the scream as a male scream and repeats this when Art questions them.
- observation· 2:21
On a later evening, the caller says, the door started rattling as if someone were rattling it.
- observation· 2:41
The caller says the scream started coming again from the basement.
- observation· 2:45
The caller says it got very cold at that point and confirms to Art that the cold came on suddenly.
- observation· 1:03
The caller says they did not run out screaming but gathered the children and tried to leave calmly.
- interpretation· 1:47
The caller says no cause is identified for any of the events. The caller describes themselves as someone who did not believe in ghosts.
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 clear, specific, firsthand story with a coherent sequence and no visible self-contradiction. Nobody else backs it up, and it does not take on easy ordinary explanations, so it sits in the upper middle of the scoring guide, not higher.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand, direct account ([quote withheld]).
- Concrete details: the caller’s name and town, “last June,” a rented older house, and a stated sequence across several evenings.
- The story is told in order, and the caller answers Art’s questions consistently, including repeating that it was a male scream.
- No address or checkable detail about the house is given. Nothing beyond the town and name could be checked in principle.
- Common ordinary sources for a scream, a sudden cold, and a rattling door in an older house are not addressed by the caller.
- The details of the second night ([quote withheld]) are approximate, and the children who are said to be present never speak on air.
- It is not clearly stated whether the children heard or saw anything.
- The transcript has some crossed labels showing who is speaking and a garbled exchange, so parts of the question and answer are uncertain.
- 0:07
- 0:27
- 2:21
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component sum: source proximity 20, specificity 14, internal consistency 16, alternative explanations 5, calibration of claims 7, for 62. The deductions for alternative explanations and calibration are my editorial judgment, not part of the broadcast.
This is essentially the caller’s word plus a name, a town, and a rough date. Claimed family witnesses do not count as independent backing, and no documentation exists, so it falls in the low band for checkable details.
Evidence for and against
- Somewhat checkable details are given: the caller’s name, “[name withheld],” and “Union, Missouri,” and a time frame, “last June.”
- A family is claimed to have been present at various points.
- No physical evidence (photograph, recording, marks, documents) is claimed or examined.
- No second witness speaks on air. The children are only mentioned in the caller’s telling.
- Nothing beyond a name and town could be checked in principle, and even that was not checked.
- It is not stated how many children were present or exactly when.
- 0:07
- 2:35
What the model inferred (not said on air): A cap of 50 applies without an outside check. My score of 14 reflects a named town and date plus claimed but silent witnesses.
A figure in a family home with children, an unexplained scream, and a second escalation make this unsettling, though the events are brief and not violent.
Evidence for and against
- A gray figure that lingers, moves, and then vanishes in a room at home.
- A “horrible” male scream from the house, and again from the basement.
- The children are present and sent to bed, and the daughter is reportedly left speechless.
- Escalation and a sudden intense cold, ending with the family abandoning the house at financial cost.
- The experience is short and heard rather than touched. No injury, contact, or chase is reported.
- The caller’s own tone is matter-of-fact, and the caller describes keeping calm and getting the children out.
- The sound of the scream and what the daughter experienced are not described beyond the caller’s summary.
- 1:07
- 2:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placement at 60, not higher, reflects the lack of threat, harm, or physical contact and the fairly short duration.
A familiar setup with a few distinctive touches (a specifically male scream, a recurring source in the basement, a smoky gray figure), so mid-range rather than stock only.
Evidence for and against
- The distinct mix here is a male scream that recurs from the basement, together with a smoky gray male figure seen across the kitchen doorway.
- The core elements, a gray or misty figure that vanishes, a scream, a cold spot, and a rattling door, are all recurring ghost-story themes.
- The setup (a family moves into an older rented house and strange events follow) is a standard one.
- Originality is not computed from the transcript alone. The score compared with the rest of the archive may shift it.
- 1:13
- 2:41
What the model inferred (not said on air): Provisional model score. The published value will be adjusted by the score compared with the rest of the archive, which currently carries little weight in the pilot.
Scoring confidence 0.72 · analysis confidence 0.82 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand word.; Claimed presence of family members (children) who do not speak on air.; No photograph, recording, document, or physical trace described or examined.. The originality score blends the model's score (42) 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 trick of lighting or shadow, or seeing a face or figure in random shapes, in an unfamiliar older house. · An older, unfamiliar rented house and a brief first-night glimpse of a gray shape seen across rooms and through a doorway. Suggestion and poor night lighting in an unfamiliar layout are common sources of mistakes in seeing.
- Ordinary household or building noise (wind, plumbing, heating, an animal) for the scream and the sudden cold. · A scream heard from the house and basement. The basement and cold are described together, which a draft, plumbing, heating, or an animal could produce in an old building.
- Air pressure, a loose latch, or a child out of bed causing the door to rattle. · A door [quote withheld] in a rented older house while the children were supposedly in bed.
What stands out
The story pairs a gray male figure that lingers briefly with a scream the caller says was male. The caller places a second scream in the basement, after the family had already left and returned for financial reasons.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.