Screaming, shaking, and red eyes at an Alabama plantation slave cabin
A first-time caller who identifies themselves as [quote withheld] tells of a trip they say they and some friends made in about 1988 or 1989 to a decrepit old plantation house and its fallen-down slave quarters in Alabama. The caller had heard the site was the scene of a mass killing. They say that when they touched the door of one cabin, screaming and banging broke out and the whole shack shook “like an earthquake.” The noise seemed to stay right over their heads as they ran, and the caller saw big bright red eyes looking out the cabin window at them. They say the group drove off and never returned to the area.
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 1:37:18). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
Calling themselves [quote withheld] the caller says it happened about 1988 or 1989, when they were in high school and growing up in Alabama. The caller describes an old plantation house an hour and a half’s drive from their hometown, [quote withheld] reached by a long dirt road. They repeat a story they say “everybody had heard” about the place. When one of the northern generals was coming through freeing slaves (they think it was Sherman), one plantation family decided to kill their slaves rather than see them freed. They chained the slaves to the walls and slaughtered them. Some slaves freed themselves, seized weapons, and killed the family. Something like 50 or 55 people were murdered in all, the caller says. They add, [quote withheld]
One Saturday afternoon, the caller says, they and some buddies who had had a couple of beers decided to go look at the house. They walked around it, then out to the fallen-down slave cabins. Approaching one cabin, which the caller says they assume was where the killing happened, they put their hand on the door and the noise began: screaming, banging on the walls, and the whole shack shaking “like an earthquake.” The caller says the group ran the roughly 100 yards back to the cars, but the noise did not get farther away. It seemed to be right over their heads. Looking back, the caller says, they saw big bright red eyes looking out the cabin window at them. They sped away, and the caller says they never went back. Asked by the host whether the beers stopped the caller suggesting such trips, the caller replies that they were [quote withheld]
Reported events, in order
- 0:02
The caller identifies themselves as [name withheld] in Seattle, listening on KOMO.
- 0:11
The caller says the events took place about 1988 or 1989 while they were in high school, and that they grew up in Alabama.
- 0:24
The caller describes an old, decrepit plantation house about an hour and a half from their hometown, down a long dirt road.
- 0:42
The caller recounts the local story: a plantation family killed their slaves rather than free them, and were killed in turn. They say something like 50 or 55 people were murdered.
- 1:39
One Saturday afternoon, the caller and some buddies, after a couple of beers, decided to investigate the house.
- 1:58
They looked around the house, then went to the fallen-down slave quarters cabins.
- 2:29
The caller put their hand on the door of one cabin and says the noise began: screaming, banging on the walls, and the whole shack shaking like an earthquake.
- 2:46
The group ran back toward the cars, about 100 yards away.
- 2:55
The caller says the noise did not fade as they ran. It seemed to be right over their heads.
- 3:12
The caller says they looked back and saw big bright red eyes looking out the cabin window at them.
- 3:40
They drove out of the area, and the caller says they never went back.
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).
- hearsay· 0:50
A local story held that a plantation family killed their slaves rather than see them freed, and were in turn killed by slaves who freed themselves.
- hearsay· 1:18
In all, something like 50 or 55 people were murdered at the site.
- interpretation· 2:23
The caller assumes the particular cabin they approached was where the killing happened.
- observation· 2:40
When the caller touched the cabin door, screaming and banging on the walls began and the whole shack shook like an earthquake.
- observation· 2:55
The noise did not get quieter with distance. It seemed to stay right over them as they ran.
- observation· 3:15
The caller saw large bright red eyes looking out of the cabin window at them.
- interpretation· 1:31
The caller blames the activity on the spirits of the people killed there.
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 clear sequence and some detail about the scene. It names no towns, roads, or site, and there is no documentation. Ordinary explanations (a decrepit structure, animal eyeshine) fit fairly well, and the caller does not address them. Components: closeness to the source 22, specificity 11, internal consistency 16, alternative explanations 6, calibration 7.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand presence at the event: [quote withheld]
- A consistent, ordered story, with the host’s questions answered consistently.
- The caller hedges their own inference: [quote withheld]
- No details that can be checked for the site: only [quote withheld]
- The setting described is physically run down, offering easy natural sources for noise and vibration.
- Companions who could back the caller up do not speak on air.
- Several lines are split between the labels for the host and the caller, including “when the Sherman,” so wording and who said it are uncertain.
- The caller gives no town, road, or cabin name, and no date beyond “about 88, 89.”
- 0:11
- 2:03
- 3:15
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component weights are my judgment. The transcript supplies the quotes, but it does not establish whether the site exists or whether anyone else saw the events.
The only support is the caller’s own telephone word, plus a claimed group of companions who do not speak on air. Some specifics that could be checked are given (Alabama, roughly 1988 or 1989, a plantation site down a dirt road), but no town, road, or site name, and nothing was examined.
Evidence for and against
- A caller who gives their name, and a station: [quote withheld]
- Claimed companions present: [quote withheld]
- No photographs, recordings, documents, or marks are claimed to exist.
- No second witness speaks on air.
- Details that would identify the site are missing, so the story cannot readily be checked.
- It is not stated how many companions there were or whether any of them ever told the story separately.
- 0:02
- 1:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placed in the 11 to 25 band on the basis of specifics that could be checked but were not, and merely claimed witnesses. No outside check was done.
The story includes a violent mass-killing backstory, sudden screaming and banging, a building reported to shake, a noise that seems to chase the group, and eyes watching from a window, in a sustained and unresolved sequence. It is eased by the afternoon setting and the briefly jokey tone of the setup.
Evidence for and against
- Screaming and banging on the walls with the shack shaking.
- The noise reported to keep pace overhead while they ran: [quote withheld]
- Eyes looking out at them from the window, with no resolution afterward.
- The visit is described as a Saturday afternoon, in daylight.
- The host’s aside and the caller’s setup include light humor about [quote withheld]
- Whether the eyes were part of a whole figure or only points of light is not stated.
- 2:40
- 3:01
- 3:15
What the model inferred (not said on air): The rating is my assessment of the story’s effect on a listener, not a claim about what happened.
The setup, teenagers visiting a rural plantation site tied to a massacre legend, is a familiar one, with stock elements (a decrepit old house, banging, red eyes at a window). The distinctive element is the report that the noise kept pace overhead rather than staying at the building.
Evidence for and against
- Uncommon detail: [quote withheld]
- Red eyes reported in daylight rather than at night.
- Familiar components: a local massacre legend attached to an abandoned plantation house.
- Banging walls, a shaking building, and glowing eyes are recurring ghost-story motifs.
- The published originality score is compared with the rest of the archive and is provisional for this story.
- 2:55
- 0:34
What the model inferred (not said on air): The 45 figure is a provisional model estimate from the content. The comparison with the rest of the archive carries little weight in this pilot.
Scoring confidence 0.65 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story by telephone; Claimed companions present, none of whom speak on air; No documents, photographs, recordings, or physical traces claimed. The originality score blends the model's score (45) 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.
- An old, partly collapsed building could produce banging and shaking from wind, settling timber, or an animal moving inside. · The caller twice describes the house and cabins as [quote withheld]
- The red eyes could be eyeshine from an animal (raccoon, cat, opossum) looking out of the window, which would brighten and appear to follow a viewer. · The caller describes eyes seen [quote withheld] rather than a body, and the building is abandoned and rural.
- Prior knowledge of a well-known local story about the site could shape how the group perceived unclear noises and lights. · [quote withheld] which the caller recounts in detail before describing the visit.
What stands out
The story combines a fairly stock [quote withheld] setup with the less common detail that the noise is reported to keep pace with the group overhead as they run, rather than staying behind at the building. The reported sighting of eyes at the window happens in daylight, on a Saturday afternoon.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.