Poltergeist activity in a shared Fargo house and a butcher knife in bed
[name withheld], calling from Bismarck, North Dakota, on KFYR 550, tells Art Bell that in the early 1970s they lived with friends in a house in Fargo, North Dakota, while attending college. They say they and their housemates had poltergeist-type events daily. They report lights turning on, doors opening, a pantry curtain flying out, a hall curtain catching fire, footsteps on the attic stairs, possessions thrown during lightning storms, and a dog reacting. The caller ends with finding a butcher knife beside them in their locked bedroom, and their roommate’s reaction on seeing the caller carrying it. The call ends with Art’s own comments on the story.
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 2003.mp3”, starting at 27:30). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], calling from Bismarck, North Dakota, on KFYR 550, tells Art Bell that in the early 1970s they were attending college and living with friends in a house in Fargo, North Dakota, which they describe as haunted. The caller says everyone in the household experienced what they call the mischievousness of [quote withheld] Lights turned on unexpectedly every day. The entrance door opened and closed with no visitor present. A kitchen pantry curtain would fly straight out as if something were pulling it. The caller reports that on one occasion the hall curtain burst into flames and that someone doused them. The caller says their bedroom was in the attic of the old house, and on many nights they heard someone walking up the stairs but found no one when they turned on the light. During lightning storms, the caller says, their possessions, such as shoes and books, were thrown across the room and sometimes directly at them as they lay in bed. Asked by Art, the caller says they both saw and felt them. Their dog, a golden lab, growled or whined at something in their bedroom. The caller then describes waking refreshed one morning, feeling something cold beside them, and finding a butcher knife in their bed. They say they first thought a roommate had pranked them but ruled that out because they always locked their bedroom door at night. As they carried the knife back toward the kitchen, they say, they passed a roommate’s bedroom just as the roommate and the roommate's girlfriend were coming out. The roommate [quote withheld] at the sight of the knife. At this point there is a gap in the transcript. When it resumes, the caller notes the girlfriend had slept through it all, and that the roommate said the bedroom door was locked to protect their intimacy. Asked by Art whether they had ever had thoughts of murder, [name withheld] says they had not, and that the roommate is still a good friend. Art closes by remarking that the story [quote withheld] and saying the roommate “dreamed it.”
Reported events, in order
- 0:13
[name withheld] says they were attending college and living with friends in a house in Fargo, North Dakota, in the early 1970s.
- 0:23
The caller says everyone in the house experienced what they call poltergeist activity.
- 0:31
The caller reports lights turning on unexpectedly every day.
- 0:35
The caller reports the entrance door opening and closing with no one there.
- 0:46
The caller reports the pantry curtain flying straight out as if pulled.
- 0:54
The caller reports the hall curtain bursting into flames, which someone doused.
- 1:01
The caller says they heard someone walking up the attic stairs and found no one when they turned on the light.
- 1:14
The caller reports possessions thrown across the room and at them during lightning storms, which they say they saw and felt.
- 1:28
The caller reports their golden lab growling or whining at something in their bedroom.
- 1:52
The caller woke one morning and found a butcher knife beside them in bed.
- 2:04
The caller says they first suspected a roommate prank but ruled it out because they always locked their bedroom door.
- 2:23
Carrying the knife out, the caller says, a roommate turned [quote withheld] on seeing it.
- 2:59
After a gap in the transcript, the caller notes the roommate’s girlfriend had slept through it and that the roommate said the door was locked to protect their intimacy.
- 3:13
Asked by Art about thoughts of murder, the caller says they had none and that the roommate remains a good friend.
- 3:35
Art remarks the story sounds like one you’d tell a defense attorney and says the roommate “dreamed it.”
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· 0:31
Lights in the shared house turned on unexpectedly every day.
- observation· 0:35
The entrance door opened and closed with nobody present.
- observation· 0:46
A kitchen pantry curtain flew straight out as if being pulled.
- observation· 0:54
The hall curtain burst into flames and was doused.
- observation· 1:01
Footsteps were heard coming up the attic stairs with no one there.
- observation· 1:14
Shoes and books were thrown across the room and at the caller during lightning storms.
- observation· 1:28
The caller's golden lab growled or whined at something in their bedroom.
- observation· 1:52
A butcher knife was lying beside the caller in their bed when they woke.
- interpretation· 0:23
The caller attributes the events to one or more poltergeists in the house.
- interpretation· 2:08
A roommate prank is ruled out because the caller locked their bedroom door at night.
- hearsay· 2:23
A roommate reportedly turned pale on seeing the caller holding the butcher knife.
- host statement· 3:21
The host states the roommate saw the caller with the butcher knife and that the knife ended up in the caller’s bed.
- host statement· 3:42
The host states that the roommate “dreamed it” (about the butcher knife).
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 from a named caller who supplies a place, a decade, and a sequence, and who raises and addresses one ordinary possibility (a prank). Against it, a common explanation (sleepwalking to account for the knife) fits easily, and there is a gap in the transcript at the key point.
Evidence for and against
- A first-person story with place and period: [quote withheld]
- The caller addresses the prank explanation: [quote withheld]
- The caller says which senses were involved when asked: [quote withheld]
- [quote withheld] A sleepwalking explanation for the knife is readily available, and the caller does not address it.
- A 12-second stretch of the key exchange with the roommate is missing from the transcript.
- The only support for the roommate’s side is the caller’s report. The roommate never speaks.
- What the roommate actually said during the gap is not captured.
- One line is labeled as the host but reads like the caller, so the labels showing who is speaking are unreliable here.
- 0:23
- 2:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): The overall score and the modest deduction for an easily applied ordinary explanation and the transcript gap are my own judgments, not statements in the transcript.
Only the caller’s word is present. Details that could be checked (Fargo, North Dakota, the early 1970s, a station and call-in name) are given, but nothing was checked. The claimed second witnesses do not speak on air.
Evidence for and against
- A named town and decade.
- Claimed multiple witnesses: “We all experienced.”
- No object, photograph, document, or recording is offered or examined.
- The roommate whose reaction anchors the final scene is reported secondhand only.
- Whether the caller had any documentary record is not stated.
- 0:23
- 2:23
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placing this in the score range of 11 to 25 reflects that details exist but were not verified and no second witness appears on air.
The story includes something entering a locked bedroom, a knife beside the sleeper, a roommate who reportedly woke in alarm, and a curtain catching fire. But it is told as a matter-of-fact list, with no reported injury and a matter-of-fact ending.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld]
- [quote withheld]
- The roommate turning [quote withheld] at the sight of the knife.
- [quote withheld] The caller reports no harm and no lasting rupture.
- [quote withheld]
- What the roommate reportedly dreamed is not in the transcript except through the host’s remark.
- 1:52
- 1:01
What the model inferred (not said on air): The creepiness score weighs the bedroom intrusion and the weapon, lowered by the absence of reported harm and the calm ending.
Most elements are stock poltergeist motifs: flickering lights, self-opening doors, footsteps, thrown objects, a reacting dog. The distinct elements are the hall curtain catching fire and, above all, the butcher knife appearing in a locked room with the roommate’s reaction mirroring it.
Evidence for and against
- The hall curtain fire.
- The butcher knife in the bed inside a locked room.
- Lights, doors, footsteps, and thrown objects are standard poltergeist fare.
- The comparison with the rest of the archive is provisional while the archive is small.
- 1:52
- 0:54
What the model inferred (not said on air): Rated above pure stock because of the fire detail and the knife-in-a-locked-room pairing, but not higher because the framing motifs are common.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.65 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story; Claimed second witnesses (roommates) who do not speak on air; No photograph, recording, or document offered or examined. The originality score blends the model's score (48) 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.
- Sleepwalking or another sleep disorder could account for the knife being in the bed. The caller says they [quote withheld] and the roommate reportedly reacted as though the caller had approached the roommate with the knife. · The caller says, [quote withheld] There is also the roommate’s reaction and the host’s remark.
- Drafts or air movement in an old house could account for the pantry curtain flying out and a door that opens and closes. The caller themselves describes it as “this old house.” · The caller's description of the curtain, of [quote withheld] and of the door.
- A prank by housemates is a possibility the caller raises themselves, though they rule it out because they locked their door. · The caller says, [quote withheld] and then gives their locked-door reasoning.
What stands out
The story mixes routine poltergeist motifs with two distinctly odd details. A hall curtain reportedly caught fire while people were present. A butcher knife reportedly appeared in a locked bedroom, and the roommate reacted on seeing the caller carrying it.
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