Out-of-body experience and light while drowning at Jones Beach
A caller named [name withheld], speaking from Richmond, Virginia, tells Art Bell they nearly drowned at Jones Beach on Long Island at age 16, around 1969, during a church beach party. They report going too far out while jumping waves, being thrown around in the water, and then watching themselves drown from outside their body. They then had an experience of light and music that they describe as beautiful. They say they told no one at the time. They later found a description of the music in Betty Eadie's book Into the Light. They are now 51 and have no fear of death.
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 1:59:49). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], calling from Richmond, Virginia, says an earlier caller who described a waterfall or tunnel experience prompted them to call, and says theirs was similar. They place the event at age 16, “about 69,” at Jones Beach on Long Island, New York, where they had gone with their church to a beach party. They report jumping the waves, going a little too far out, and the sand seeming to fall away so that they fell into what they describe as possibly a hole or “whatever,” then being thrown around in the water. They say the next thing they knew they were watching themselves drown (“an out-of-body experience”) in which they were standing next to themselves, totally detached, seeing their hair going around and their eyes bulging, and that they were “freaking out.” The caller describes a light that they were a part of rather than separate from, [quote withheld] and music that was very clear and beautiful. They say they never talked about it at 16 because [quote withheld] and that they could not put it into words until they read Betty Eadie's Into the Light, recalling Eadie's idea that each drop of water is a note of music and that an ocean of them would be the most beautiful sound. They add that they were a terminal cancer patient 12 years ago, are 51 now, think about the experience often, and would love to experience it again. Asked by Art whether they had a choice about coming back, they say they were not thinking about it at the time and that once back on shore they wanted to go through it again. They state they have no fear of death and know [quote withheld] Art says he will see what he can find out about support groups.
Reported events, in order
- 0:24
[name withheld] says the experience happened when they were 16, about 1969, at Jones Beach on Long Island, New York.
- 0:35
The caller reports going with their church to a beach party and jumping the waves.
- 0:46
The caller says they went a little too far out, the sand seemed to fall away, and they fell into what they call possibly a hole or whatever.
- 0:59
The caller reports being thrown around in the water.
- 1:05
The caller says the next thing they knew they were watching themselves drown, an out-of-body experience.
- 1:24
The caller reports seeing their hair going around and their eyes bulging.
- 1:35
The caller describes the sensation as totally detached, standing next to themselves.
- 2:14
The caller describes a light that they were part of rather than separate from, and music that was clear and beautiful.
- 2:35
The caller says they could not put it into words until reading Betty Eadie's Into the Light.
- 3:21
The caller says at 16 they did not talk about it to anybody because they would have been put away.
- 3:39
Asked about a choice to return, the caller says they were not thinking about it then, and once back on shore they wanted to go through it again.
- 3:52
The caller says they are 51 now, think about the experience often, and have no fear of death.
- 4:53
Art says he will see what he can find out about support groups for people with such experiences.
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· 0:35
[name withheld] reports that they were at Jones Beach on Long Island at age 16, roughly in 1969, with their church at a beach party.
- observation· 0:46
The caller reports that the sand seemed to fall away and they fell into what may have been a hole.
- observation· 1:05
The caller reports watching themselves drown from outside their body.
- interpretation· 1:10
The caller describes the episode as an out-of-body experience.
- observation· 1:24
The caller reports seeing their own hair moving around and their eyes bulging.
- observation· 2:14
The caller reports a light they were part of rather than separate from, and music that was clear and beautiful.
- observation· 2:28
The caller reports music during the experience.
- hearsay· 2:42
The caller reports that the author Betty Eadie wrote of each drop of water being a note of music.
- observation· 3:21
The caller says they kept the experience secret at the time.
- interpretation· 4:13
The caller states that they have no fear of death and that there is more beyond this life.
- interpretation· 4:05
The caller states a belief that there is more to existence than the present life.
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 firsthand story with a concrete place, an approximate date and age, and a coherent sequence. It says little about ordinary explanations, and the obvious physical explanation (near-drowning and low oxygen) is not considered. That keeps the score in the middle range.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand testimony of the person who reports the experience.
- Specific setting: [quote withheld]
- The sequence is ordered and answers Art’s questions about detachment and choice consistently.
- The caller admits uncertainty about the cause of the fall: [quote withheld]
- No one else backs up the out-of-body perception.
- The episode happened while the caller was being thrown around underwater, a setting in which an obvious physical explanation fits readily, and the caller does not address it.
- The caller gave the story roughly three decades after the event, by their own dating.
- The date is approximate (“about 69”), not exact.
- The labels showing who is speaking are garbled near the end of the segment, so a few lines cannot be securely assigned to the host or the caller.
- 0:24
- 0:46
- 1:35
- 3:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component judgments: source proximity is high (firsthand). Specificity is moderate (a named beach and approximate date, but no record that can be checked). Internal consistency is high. Alternative explanations are low, because a near-drowning and low-oxygen explanation fits the reported circumstances and is not discussed. Calibration is moderate, because the caller separates what they saw from their later beliefs about death.
The story rests entirely on the caller’s own word. No photograph, recording, document, or other witness is offered, and no second person speaks on air about the experience.
Evidence for and against
- A named place and approximate date are given, so in principle they can be located ([quote withheld]).
- The caller cites a published book they say matched their experience (Into the Light).
- No physical evidence is claimed to exist.
- No other witness is claimed for the out-of-body experience itself, and none speaks on air.
- No outside check is recorded.
- Whether anyone else at the church beach party could confirm the near-drowning is not stated.
- 1:05
- 3:21
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is in the lowest range because the only support is the caller’s own report. The named place and date are not, by themselves, checkable evidence of the reported experience.
The drowning imagery is truly unsettling: watching their own body, hair moving, eyes bulging. But the story turns warm and comforting with the light and music, and the caller presents the experience as something they want, not something threatening.
Evidence for and against
- A reported view of their own drowning body and bulging eyes.
- A reported feeling of being thrown around in water after the sand fell away.
- The caller reports being frightened during the episode: [quote withheld]
- The light and music are described as beautiful and wonderful.
- The caller says they have no fear of death and would like to experience it again.
- The ending is calm and thoughtful, not ominous.
- It is unclear how much of the experience the caller perceived at the time and how much they rebuilt in the retelling.
- 1:24
- 2:23
- 4:13
What the model inferred (not said on air): Creepiness is judged on what happens in the story. The drowning raises it, and the comforting light-and-music frame lowers it.
The core is the familiar near-death pattern of out-of-body viewing, a light, and music. The distinctive elements are narrower: the sand falling away beneath the caller, and the comparison of the music to Betty Eadie's writing about water drops as notes.
Evidence for and against
- A distinctive detail: the sand seeming to fall away beneath them.
- A specific comparison to Eadie's description of water drops as music.
- Light and music during a near-death experience are among the most common motifs in this genre.
- Watching oneself from outside the body is a stock out-of-body element.
- The comparison with the rest of the archive carries little weight in this pilot, so the published originality score is provisional.
- 2:28
- 2:42
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is an estimate from the content: a familiar near-death frame with a couple of specific personal details.
Scoring confidence 0.75 · analysis confidence 0.80 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story in a live call; A reference to a published book the caller says matched their experience (not examined); No photographs, recordings, or documents offered; No second witness on air. The originality score blends the model's score (30) 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.
- Low oxygen to the brain and the stress of nearly drowning could produce detachment, imagined imagery, and altered perception of light and sound. · The caller reports being thrown around in the water and watching themselves drown, which would mean a period without air. The caller reports the light and music as part of that same episode.
- Hard exertion, panic, and adrenaline while jumping waves in the surf could add to a memory that was later rebuilt with imagery from reading. · The caller says they could not put the experience into words until they read Betty Eadie's Into the Light, and the caller links their memory of the music to that book’s description.
What stands out
This is a near-drowning out-of-body experience, not a haunting. The caller reports watching their own body underwater and then describes light and music. The caller presents the event as something they want, not something frightening. They compare the music to Betty Eadie's writing about water drops as musical notes, a specific reference to a book.
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