Shadow figures running past a bed and blinking clock radios in an Atlanta apartment
A caller named [name withheld], from Atlanta, Georgia, describes dark figures running in front of their bed toward a lit bathroom after they fell asleep very late. Later they found clock radios blinking and the date on their computer changed. They call the figures “angels” and connect the events to a recent broadcast. The host offers an electromagnetic explanation, then takes the next call.
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The story as told
[name withheld] calls on the first-time caller line from Atlanta, Georgia. They tell Art Bell they had “an extraordinary evening” the night after a show featuring Dr. Evelyn Pagrini/Paglini. They say they went to bed between 4:30 and 5:00 in the morning, very tired. They say their consciousness was alerted while they were still in a sound sleep. What Art’s website calls shadow people, dark figures, were running in front of their bed and into their bathroom, which was lit. They say this has happened before and they have always called them angels. They add that they do not [quote withheld] They say they could not wake up. They were frightened because they thought a human being was in their small apartment. They say the figures were [quote withheld] and say [quote withheld] They say they eventually woke, got a kitchen knife and put it on their nightstand, then went back to bed. They woke the following afternoon between 12 and 12:30. They say they normally wake at that time without an alarm and work evenings. That afternoon they noticed the clock radio in their kitchen blinking, then the clock radio next to their computer blinking, while the clock on their nightstand was not blinking. Their computer was in safe mode, and the date had changed from Friday to Saturday. They link the events to the night of Art’s experiment with Rush Limbaugh, saying they had not focused or meditated like that in a good three years. Art tells them the experiment and lack of sleep left them “open” and that such things “open a door,” and speculates that a ghost appearance produces electromagnetic effects that would affect electrical circuits.
Reported events, in order
- 0:15
[name withheld] says they had an extraordinary evening the night after a show with guest Dr. Evelyn Pagrini/Paglini.
- 0:31
They say they went to bed between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m., very tired.
- 0:57
They say their consciousness was alerted while they were in a sound sleep, and dark figures they call shadow people ran in front of their bed into their bathroom.
- 0:50
They say this has happened before and they have always called them angels.
- 2:25
They say they could not wake up and were frightened, thinking a human being was in their small apartment, where they live alone.
- 2:41
They say the figures were [quote withheld] and that the figures did not want them to wake up.
- 2:44
They say they eventually woke, got a kitchen knife, put it on their nightstand, and went back to bed.
- 2:48
They say they woke the following afternoon between 12 and 12:30.
- 3:33
They say the clock radio in their kitchen was blinking, then the clock radio next to their computer was blinking, while their nightstand clock was not.
- 4:14
They say their computer was in safe mode, which they say is rare for it.
- 4:47
They say the date on their computer had changed from Friday to Saturday.
- 4:59
They say [quote withheld] was the night of Art’s experiment with Rush Limbaugh, and that they had not focused or meditated like that in about three years.
- 5:20
The host says the experiment, the guest, and lack of sleep left them “open,” and that such things “open a door,” and offers an electromagnetic explanation for the electrical oddities.
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· 0:57
Dark figures (what the website calls shadow people) ran in front of their bed and into their lit bathroom.
- observation· 0:55
They have had this experience before.
- interpretation· 0:50
They have always called these figures angels, not shadow people.
- observation· 2:25
They could not wake up while the figures were present.
- observation· 2:25
The figures seemed to be having a party in their apartment.
- interpretation· 2:41
They say the figures did not want them to wake up.
- observation· 3:05
They thought there could be a human intruder in their apartment.
- observation· 3:33
The clock radio in their kitchen was blinking.
- observation· 3:56
The clock radio next to their computer was blinking.
- observation· 4:01
The clock on their nightstand was not blinking.
- observation· 4:14
Their computer was in safe mode.
- observation· 4:47
The date on their computer had changed from Friday to Saturday.
- interpretation· 4:59
They link the events to the night Art did an experiment with Rush Limbaugh.
- host statement· 5:11
The host says such activity “opens a door.”
- host statement· 5:27
The host says the experiment, the guest, and their lack of sleep left them open to this sort of thing.
- host statement· 5:54
The host says a large electromagnetic event would affect surrounding electrical circuits.
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 detailed firsthand story with concrete times, places, and a sequence of strange events. But the figures were seen in a half-asleep state, and common explanations (imagery while falling asleep, a power interruption) easily fit the details.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand story told by the witness themselves.
- Concrete times and sequence: they went to bed between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. and woke between 12 and 12:30.
- A room-by-room account of the blinking clocks and the nightstand clock that was not blinking.
- They saw the figures while going to bed very tired and in a “sound sleep,” with trouble waking.
- They themselves raise a power outage as the reason for the blinking clocks.
- They first say the figures ran “across my bed” and then correct it to [quote withheld]
- The labels showing who is speaking shift around the caller’s lines.
- Several words in the automatic transcript are marked low-confidence.
- 0:57
- 2:25
- 4:01
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score balances the story’s detail and coherence against two facts: the main sighting happened in a drowsy state, and the caller themselves supplies part of an ordinary electrical explanation.
The story rests on the caller’s word alone. No other witness speaks on air, and no photograph, recording, or document is examined.
Evidence for and against
- Several details are checkable in principle, such as the city, the broadcast night, and the room-by-room clock behavior.
- No documentation or physical evidence is produced or described.
- They live alone and report no second witness.
- The broadcast does not say whether any of the device behavior could be confirmed.
- 4:47
- 1:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): With no outside check and no backing from anyone else on air, the scoring guide caps this at the level of the caller’s word alone.
Dark figures moving through a bedroom toward a bathroom, an inability to wake, the sense of a possible intruder, and the caller taking a kitchen knife to bed make the story unsettling. Their gentle view of the figures as angels softens it.
Evidence for and against
- Dark figures running in front of the bed at night.
- They could not wake up and felt the figures did not want them to wake.
- They got a kitchen knife and put it on their nightstand.
- They consistently call the figures angels, not threatening presences.
- The later part of the story shifts to clock radios and a computer, which is less frightening in tone.
- The broadcast does not describe the figures’ shape or movement beyond their direction.
- 0:57
- 2:44
What the model inferred (not said on air): The bedroom intrusion and the knife push the score up. The electrical oddities are more puzzling than frightening.
Shadow figures and blinking clocks are familiar ghost-story elements. But the caller’s insistence on calling the figures angels, plus the computer date change, gives this version a distinctive mix.
Evidence for and against
- The “shadow people” label and the caller’s opposite reading of the figures as angels.
- The computer date changing from Friday to Saturday along with the safe-mode restart.
- Dark figures in the bedroom and electrical interference are common themes in this genre.
- A bedroom encounter followed by odd behavior of appliances is a familiar pattern.
- Originality compared with the rest of the archive cannot be judged from a single story.
- 0:50
- 4:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): The model score reflects a familiar setup with a couple of distinctive details. It is provisional and not adjusted against the rest of the archive.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.75 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand word.; No second witness on air.; No photograph, recording, or document examined.. 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.
- Imagery while falling asleep: they saw figures and had trouble waking while going to bed very tired at 4:30 to 5:00 a.m. · They say they were in a sound sleep, [quote withheld] and went to bed very tired between 4:30 and 5:00.
- A local power interruption reset the clock radios and forced the computer to restart in safe mode, and possibly changed its date. · They themselves say [quote withheld] after seeing the blinking kitchen clock radio, and they say the computer was in safe mode and its date had changed.
- Expectation or suggestion after the broadcast, and their reported part in an experiment, shaped how they interpreted the night’s events. · They say [quote withheld] was the night of the experiment, and the host says the combination left them “open.”
What stands out
The caller recasts a classic report of shadow people as angels and explicitly declines the dark reading. They pair it with a cluster of electrical oddities (blinking clock radios, a computer in safe mode, a changed date) that they and the host connect to their taking part in a broadcast experiment.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.