Vision of hellfire, a figure in the doorway, and a child-sized shape in the hallway
A male caller who does not give his name tells Art Bell about a night at home in bed with his wife. He felt something was in the room, then had what he calls a vision of [quote withheld] He says he then saw a figure move from the bathroom into the doorway. He also saw a small, child-sized figure run from the bathroom into his son’s room, where both children were asleep. He reports that his wife afterward described to him the same person he had seen. The host closes by commenting on prayer and on whether such a thing is “erased” or merely “released.”
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 1:25:37). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller says he was at home in bed with his wife, “messing around” and “lost in thought,” when he [quote withheld] He says he had never felt that before and immediately knew something was wrong. He then reports a brief, frightening vision: [quote withheld] with [quote withheld] He says he stood bolt upright in bed and [quote withheld] He adds that it was summer.
He says he turned to his left and saw something flash out of the corner of his eye. He then turned right, swung his feet out of the bed, and saw [quote withheld] He says he jumped up, stood in the doorway, and saw a figure running down the hallway, which he at first took to be his wife’s son. He says he then pushed his wife off the bed, shouted that there was somebody in the house, and ran down the hallway, thinking someone was trying to harm the children. At the point where his son’s room faces the bathroom and his daughter’s room, he says he saw [quote withheld] run from the bathroom into his son’s room. He went in, he says, and both children were sound asleep.
The caller says his wife then came out and asked what he had seen. She began to get scared, appeared to pray for a moment, calmed down, and said “okay, it's gone.” Asked what “it” was, he says she [quote withheld] The host responds by saying he does not dismiss the idea that prayer can make something go away, but he questions whether that means it is erased or merely released.
Reported events, in order
- 0:16
The caller says he was at home in bed with his wife and got a feeling that something was in the room with him.
- 0:41
He reports a brief mental vision of [quote withheld] with screaming and pain.
- 0:57
He says he sat up in bed and suddenly became very cold, noting that it was summer.
- 1:56
He says he turned left and saw something flash out of the corner of his eye.
- 2:03
He reports seeing a figure move from their bathroom into the doorway.
- 2:16
He says he jumped out of bed, stood in the doorway, and saw a figure running down the hallway, which he first thought was his wife’s son.
- 2:29
He says he pushed his wife off the bed, shouted that there was somebody in the house, and ran down the hallway, fearing for the children.
- 2:50
He says he saw a small figure about three or four feet tall run from the bathroom into his son’s room. Entering, he found both children asleep.
- 3:26
He says his wife came out, asked what he had seen, seemed to pray, then said “okay, it's gone.”
- 3:39
He says his wife then described to him, exactly, the person he had seen.
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· 0:16
Something was present in the room with him, felt rather than seen.
- observation· 0:41
He had a sudden mental “vision” of a hell-like place with many people in agony.
- observation· 0:57
He became suddenly very cold, in summer.
- observation· 2:03
A figure moved from the bathroom into the doorway and then ran down the hallway.
- observation· 2:50
A small figure, three or four feet tall, ran from the bathroom into his son’s room.
- observation· 3:04
Both children were asleep when he entered the room.
- hearsay· 3:39
His wife, a second person, afterward described the same figure he had seen.
- hearsay· 3:29
His wife prayed and then said the thing was gone.
- host statement· 3:47
Prayer can make such a thing go away, and the caller’s experience supports that.
- host statement· 4:20
The host suggests that whatever it was may still exist somewhere rather than being erased.
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 firsthand story with a consistent sequence and some concrete layout detail (bathroom, hallway, room layout, a figure three to four feet tall). It is weakened as testimony because the key content is an inner “vision” and glimpsed shapes that cannot be made out. It is also weakened by an easy explanation from sleep or dim light that the caller does not address.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand telling of a single night. The caller answers the host’s questions without changing the sequence.
- Concrete detail: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- Physical detail that could in principle be checked in the house layout: [quote withheld]
- The central event is introduced explicitly as something that [quote withheld] rather than something seen in the room.
- Two of the sightings are of motion that is not resolved: [quote withheld] and a figure he first took for a household member.
- No names, dates, address, or other details that can be verified are given anywhere in the story.
- Roughly 38 seconds of the broadcast are not transcribed, during which the host appears to play an audio clip.
- The line [quote withheld] appears garbled in the automatic transcript.
- 0:16
- 0:41
- 2:50
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component estimate: closeness to the source 22 (firsthand), specificity 10, internal consistency 14, alternative explanations 6 (a drowsy, in-bed, dim-light reading fits easily), calibration of claims 8 (he separates feeling, vision, and sighting, but then asserts [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]).
The story rests on the caller’s own word, with a second witness (his wife) only claimed and not speaking on air. No names, dates, places, records, or physical evidence are offered, and no outside check was done.
Evidence for and against
- A second person is claimed to have described the same figure: [quote withheld]
- The wife does not speak on air. Her account is relayed by the caller.
- The caller presents no documentation, recording, or physical trace.
- Nothing that can be checked (names, address, date) is given.
- It is unclear what audio clip the host played during the gap, or whether it is the caller’s own material. It is not examined here.
- 3:39
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placed in the 11 to 25 band because a witness is claimed but nothing that can be checked is supplied. It is scored toward the bottom of that band to be cautious.
The story intrudes into the bed and the children’s rooms, includes a described scene of mass suffering, and ends with a figure apparently heading for a sleeping child. The ending with prayer and the lack of any reported harm keep it from being more frightening.
Evidence for and against
- A vision of “people in agony” and [quote withheld]
- The caller runs down the hall [quote withheld]
- A small figure runs into the room where the children are asleep.
- Nothing is reported as harmed or touched.
- The story ends with the wife saying “okay, it's gone.”
- The story’s emotional tone cannot be judged reliably, and the host’s commentary is left out of this judgment.
- 1:04
- 2:37
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a judgment about the effect on a listener, not a claim about what happened.
The setup is familiar: a presence felt in a bedroom, a shape in a hallway, a cold sensation. The combination with a hell-like vision and a small figure vanishing into a sleeping child’s room is a distinctive detail.
Evidence for and against
- An unusual pairing of a [quote withheld] vision with the hallway sighting.
- The small figure is described as about child-sized and runs into the son’s room, where the children are asleep.
- The individual motifs (a feeling of a presence, cold, a figure in the hallway) are common ghost-story elements.
- The comparison with the rest of the archive is provisional here. This part of the broadcast is short and has a gap in the transcript.
- 0:41
- 2:57
What the model inferred (not said on air): I set the originality score at 50. The published originality score will be blended with a comparison with the rest of the archive.
Scoring confidence 0.50 · analysis confidence 0.60 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand spoken story only; A second witness (his wife), claimed but not speaking on air; An on-air audio clip that is not in the transcript, which the host appears to play during the gap. The caller says it was [quote withheld] The clip is not available or examined here.. The originality score blends the model's score (50) 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.
- Images and a sense of a presence arising in a drowsy, relaxed state in bed (the kind of image people see while falling asleep), rather than an outside event. · The caller says they were in bed, “lost in thought,” and describes the hell scene as something that [quote withheld] as a vision rather than something seen in the room.
- A brief misreading of a moving shape in the hallway in dim light, including false motion seen [quote withheld] · He reports seeing [quote withheld] and a “figure” that he could not make out, at first taking it for his wife’s son.
- Another person moving in the house, since the caller at first identified the running figure as a household member and the house was occupied by a family at night. · He says [quote withheld] before deciding it was not.
What stands out
The story pairs a vivid mental “vision” of a hell-like scene of suffering with an immediately following sighting of a small, child-sized figure that runs into a room where the caller’s children are found asleep. A second witness, the caller’s wife, who does not speak on air, is said to have described the same figure afterward. The host also appears to play an audio clip that is not in the transcript, which the caller says resembled what he saw, heard, and felt.
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