Near-death caller recalls watching their ER resuscitation from the ceiling
A caller on Art Bell's “clinical death line” gives their first name as [name withheld] and says they are in Montana. They describe a pulmonary embolism in 1987 and what they report as a near-death experience. They say they watched their own emergency-room resuscitation from the ceiling and heard a nurse say [quote withheld] and that they objected. They say they returned to their body as the doctor withdrew a needle from their heart. The story ends with the caller saying the experience changed their life, and the host moves to the next caller.
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 41:08). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
Calling on what the host calls his “clinical death line,” a caller who gives their first name as [name withheld] and their location as Montana describes a near-death experience they date to 1987. They say they went to the hospital feeling unwell, were found to have blood that was “too thick,” and were admitted for intravenous treatment. They say they then could not breathe. Their words at that point are partly unintelligible in the transcript. They say the next thing they remember is waking in the emergency room after dying. They say their records describe them as “clinically dead,” and that they do not know how long they had been gone. According to the caller, they remember being on the ceiling of the ER room, looking down at the doctor working on them, with two nurses at the foot of the bed. They say one nurse put a stethoscope on their feet and said, [quote withheld] and that they replied, [quote withheld] The caller says they slipped back into their body and opened their eyes as the doctor withdrew a large needle from their heart. Asked their age and how long ago this was, the caller answers only “this was 1987.” The caller tells the host the experience [quote withheld] and that they learned what they really value. The host asks how they account for it and speculates about whether a person is permitted to decide to come back. The caller offers no cause, and the host moves to the next caller.
Reported events, in order
- 0:32
The caller says they had a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot to their heart and lung, and that they were clinically dead.
- 1:02
They say they went to the hospital feeling unwell, their blood was found to be “too thick,” and they were admitted for intravenous treatment.
- 1:27
They say they could not breathe, said something unintelligible in the transcript (“go-to-die”), and next woke in the ER after dying.
- 1:43
They say their records state “clinical dead.” The caller does not know how long they were gone.
- 1:50
They say they were on the ceiling of the ER room, looking down at the doctor working on them.
- 2:02
They say two nurses were at the foot of their bed, and one placed a stethoscope on their feet.
- 2:14
They say the nurse said [quote withheld] and that they answered [quote withheld]
- 2:27
They say they slipped back into their body and opened their eyes as the doctor withdrew a large needle from their heart.
- 2:59
They say the experience changed their life and taught them what they really value.
- 3:10
Asked how long ago this was, they say it was 1987.
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· 0:32
The caller says they had a pulmonary embolism in which a blood clot reached their heart and lung, and that they were clinically dead.
- hearsay· 1:43
The caller says their hospital records describe them as “clinically dead.”
- observation· 1:50
The caller says they viewed the ER room from above, looking down at the doctor working on their body.
- observation· 2:06
The caller says a nurse placed a stethoscope on their feet and said the doctor had lost them.
- observation· 2:14
The caller says they heard a nurse say [quote withheld] and that they replied they were not done yet.
- observation· 2:27
The caller says they re-entered their body and woke as a needle was withdrawn from their heart.
- interpretation· 3:21
The caller's own interpretation is limited to the effect on their life and values. They offer no cause or being as an explanation.
- host statement· 4:07
The host says that accounts like this are a way to approach the question of life after 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.
The story is a clear, brief, consistent firsthand report with a few concrete anchors (year, state, medical setting). But no one backs it up, the caller is never named in full, and an ordinary physical explanation for near-death reports fits the cardiac-arrest setting easily, without the caller engaging with it.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand story from the person who says they experienced it.
- Concrete anchor points: 1987, Montana, hospital admission for thick blood, ER resuscitation, needle to the heart.
- The sequence is coherent, and the caller's answers to the host's questions stay consistent with it.
- Classic near-death content (a view from the ceiling, watching their own resuscitation, hearing staff) has well-known ordinary explanations, and the caller does not address any of them.
- A minor slip: the caller says of the ER [quote withheld] before correcting themselves.
- No hospital, city, doctor, or record is named, so nothing in the story can be checked independently.
- The labels showing who is speaking alternate and are unreliable, and some of the caller's lines are garbled (for example, “go-to-die”).
- The caller's exact age at the time is never stated.
- The story is short (about four minutes).
- The caller's two versions of their own reply differ: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- 1:50
- 3:10
- 2:27
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component scoring is my own editorial judgment. Proximity is high because the caller reports experiencing it themselves. The alternative-explanations component is scored low because a lack of oxygen and drug effects during resuscitation are a good fit and are not addressed anywhere in the transcript.
This rests on the caller's word, with a few details that could be checked (year, state, a claimed medical record) but have not been. No physical evidence or second witness on air is present. That places it in the low band.
Evidence for and against
- Details that could in principle be checked are stated: the year 1987, the state of Montana, and a medical record described as saying “clinical dead.”
- The story names a setting (an emergency room) and roles (a doctor and two nurses) that could in principle be located.
- No hospital, city, physician, or record is identified.
- The claimed records stating “clinical dead” are not produced or read out.
- No second witness speaks on air.
- It is not stated whether any record was ever requested, shown, or verified.
- 1:43
- 0:18
What the model inferred (not said on air): The band follows the scoring guide. Nothing here is independently verified, and no outside check was done.
The story has a truly uneasy center: hearing oneself declared lost while looking down at one's own body. But it is framed as a survival story and the ending is affirming, which lowers the overall creepiness.
Evidence for and against
- Watching one's own resuscitation from the ceiling is an intrusion of the self into a moment of medical crisis.
- The nurse's statement that the patient is lost, heard from above the body, is an unsettling moment.
- A needle being withdrawn from the heart is a vivid physical detail.
- The story ends with survival and a positive statement about values.
- No threatening, hostile, or malevolent element is reported.
- No physical contact or harm is described beyond the medical event itself.
- Delivery and tone are not considered for this or any score.
- 2:14
- 2:27
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a judgment about the story's effect on a listener, not about the events.
The setup is a familiar near-death sequence. But the story has two distinctive concrete details (the stethoscope on the feet and the needle at the heart at the moment of return) that lift it above the stock version. The published originality score is computed compared with this archive and is provisional while the archive is small.
Evidence for and against
- The specific detail of a nurse placing a stethoscope on the patient's feet before declaring them lost is distinctive.
- The detail that they re-entered their body as a needle was withdrawn from their heart is a concrete, unusual closing image.
- A ceiling view of one's own resuscitation, hearing staff declare death, and choosing to return are among the most widely circulated near-death motifs.
- The score for how new the story is compared with the rest of the archive is provisional at the pilot archive's size.
- 2:06
- 2:27
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a provisional model judgment only. How new the story is compared with the rest of the archive cannot be computed from this part of the broadcast alone.
Scoring confidence 0.62 · analysis confidence 0.72 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story on air; Claimed hospital records stating “clinical dead,” not produced or examined; Claimed presence of a doctor and two nurses, none of whom speak on air. The originality score blends the model's score (38) 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 lack of oxygen to the brain, or the effects of drugs, during the cardiac arrest could account for the ceiling view and for apparently hearing the room. · The caller describes cardiac arrest and resuscitation in an emergency room. In that setting, a lack of oxygen to the brain and the effects of drugs are recognized features of reported near-death experiences.
- Rebuilding the memory afterward, shaped by the expectation of a certain kind of story, with details of the ER scene partly put together from what the caller later learned happened. · The call is placed to a part of the program that the host himself calls the “clinical death line,” and the caller is asked directly about a near-death experience.
- Partly hearing, or later being told, what was said in the room during the resuscitation, instead of hearing it from above. · The caller says the nurse's line was spoken while the nurse was examining their feet, so it was audible speech in the room at that moment.
What stands out
The distinctive detail is medical, not supernatural. The caller pinpoints their moment of return, as a large needle was withdrawn from their heart, and they have a nurse put a stethoscope on their own feet. Otherwise the story follows a widely reported near-death pattern.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.