Pool cues, an eight ball, and a front door that opened and slammed
A caller named [name withheld], speaking from Los Angeles, describes being home alone at about fourteen and hearing a crash from the family pool room late at night. The caller reports pool cues out of place, a ball rolling through the table’s chute, and the eight ball in the return. The front door would not open, then opened and pushed them back. It slammed shut behind them as they fled to a neighbor’s. The caller says they later learned their father and brother had also had strange experiences in the house.
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 2:11:39). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives their name as [name withheld] and says they are [quote withheld] tells Art Bell they were [quote withheld] and home alone when the events happened. The caller says the house had [quote withheld] and they were playing late, “like 1130.” After finishing, the caller put the balls, cues, and sticks back on a wall rack. The caller describes themselves as meticulous because [quote withheld] and [quote withheld] The caller then went to their room to sleep and heard [quote withheld] The caller ran through two other rooms to reach the pool room. The caller found one pool cue lying on the pool table and another on the ground, and heard the sound of a ball running down the table’s chute. The caller says the cue ball was [quote withheld] as though someone had just taken a shot and set the cue down. When they went to the front of the table to retrieve the ball, they saw it was the eight ball, which they called “kind of freaky” and associated with bad luck. The caller says they felt [quote withheld] But the front door, which they say was unlocked, well balanced, and normally easy to open, would not open. It then opened by itself and pushed them back. The caller says it was [quote withheld] The caller got out onto an enclosed porch, banged into a wall, and ran to the next-door neighbors to ask to wait there until their parents came home. As they left, the caller says, the door “slammed on itself” with a thud. When their parents returned, the caller says, the parents did not think much of the caller’s story. Years later, the caller says, they learned their father and brother had also experienced strange things in the house.
Reported events, in order
- 0:14
At about fourteen, home alone, the caller plays pool late at night (around 11:30) in a pool room in the house.
- 0:40
The caller carefully racks the balls, cues, and sticks because, they say, the house was haunted and things were always changing.
- 0:58
From their room the caller hears a large crash from the pool room.
- 1:07
The caller finds one cue on the pool table and another on the floor, and hears a ball running down the table’s chute.
- 1:31
The caller says the cue ball was banking off the felt edge as if someone had just taken a shot.
- 1:45
Retrieving the ball, the caller finds it is the eight ball, which unsettles them as bad luck.
- 2:06
The caller feels an urgent need to leave. The unlocked front door will not open.
- 2:23
The door opens by itself and pushes them back.
- 2:42
The caller gets out onto the enclosed porch, hits a wall, and runs to the next-door neighbors.
- 3:12
After the caller leaves, the door slams shut by itself.
- 3:22
The caller’s parents return and, the caller says, are not much impressed by the story.
- 3:34
Years later the caller learns their father and brother also experienced strange things in the house.
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· 0:14
The caller says they were about fourteen and home alone when the events occurred.
- interpretation· 0:40
The caller states the house was haunted and that things there were always changing.
- observation· 0:58
The caller heard a large crash from the pool room after going to their room.
- observation· 1:07
The caller found a pool cue lying on the pool table and another on the ground.
- observation· 1:16
The caller heard a ball running down the table’s chute.
- observation· 1:38
The caller reports the cue ball banking off the felt as if someone had just taken a shot and set down a cue.
- interpretation· 1:58
The caller identified the returned ball as the eight ball and regarded it as bad luck.
- observation· 2:03
The caller felt an urgent need to get out of the house.
- observation· 2:06
The unlocked, normally easy front door would not open.
- observation· 2:27
The door then opened by itself and pushed the caller back.
- interpretation· 2:32
The caller took the door’s movement as an attempt to fling them into the next room.
- observation· 3:12
After the caller got out, the door slammed shut by itself.
- hearsay· 3:34
The caller later learned their father and brother had also experienced strange things in the house.
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 first-person story with a concrete sequence and detail, but it has no specifics that can be checked and there are plausible ordinary readings of the crash and the door.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand testimony from the person said to have experienced it.
- Concrete detail: age, approximate time, layout of rooms, a table with chutes, the door’s behavior, the neighbor’s house.
- The story is consistent and answers the host’s follow-up questions.
- No names, address, dates, or records that could be checked.
- Doors and household noises have common physical explanations that the caller does not address.
- The caller already regarded the house as haunted before the events, which they say shaped their behavior.
- The labels showing who is speaking in the transcript are inconsistent, so some lines labeled as the host may be the caller’s.
- The family’s reported experiences are not described in detail.
- 0:14
- 1:38
- 2:27
What the model inferred (not said on air): Scored as a typical to somewhat above-typical firsthand story: specific and coherent but not backed up by anyone else, with easy ordinary explanations available for at least part of the sequence.
Only the caller’s own assertion is available. No documentation, recording, named address, or second witness on air is present.
Evidence for and against
- The story names a city (L.A.) and an approximate age and time, but nothing that can be independently checked.
- No physical evidence or records are offered or examined.
- The father and brother are said to have had experiences, but neither speaks and no details are given.
- The transcript does not establish whether any of the family members could back up the story.
- 0:09
- 3:34
What the model inferred (not said on air): Under the scoring guide, claimed family experiences without a witness on air or a document stay in the lowest range.
Being trapped behind a door that will not open, then pushed back by it, and then hearing the door slam behind the caller gives the story a truly unsettling shape.
Evidence for and against
- An unseen force is implied by cues moving and a ball still rolling.
- The caller describes needing to escape and being unable to open the door.
- The door slams by itself after the caller gets out.
- No injury, threat of harm, or lasting menace is described.
- The caller’s own telling includes a wry note about the eight ball and bad luck.
- The story is brief, and the later family experiences are not described.
- 2:06
- 2:32
- 3:12
What the model inferred (not said on air): Rated as unsettling rather than frightening: an intrusion and confinement in a familiar home, but no physical harm or lasting dread.
The haunted-house setup is familiar. But a pool table with a cue ball still moving and the eight ball in the return is a distinctive, less common combination.
Evidence for and against
- The activity centers on pool equipment rather than the usual doors, footsteps, or figures.
- The eight-ball detail links the event to the caller’s own reading of bad luck.
- The door that refuses to open and then pushes the caller back is a specific variation.
- A haunted childhood home, moving objects, and self-closing doors are stock ghost-story elements.
- Novelty compared with the rest of the archive cannot be judged here. The score is an estimate based on the content.
- 1:31
- 1:45
What the model inferred (not said on air): Provisionally mid-range: a familiar haunting with one distinctive mechanical detail.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.68 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story on a live call; Claimed but undescribed experiences of the caller’s father and brother, not on air; No documents, photographs, or recordings offered. The originality score blends the model's score (62) 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.
- House settling, vibration, or another person in the building could account for the crash and the displaced cues. · The caller heard a crash from another part of the house and found cues out of place. No other person is mentioned as being present, but the story does not rule one out.
- Door weight, balance, drafts, or a door closer could explain a stiff door that later swung and slammed. · The caller describes it as [quote withheld] that was “well-balanced” and easy to open, and says it pushed them back and later slammed shut.
- Heightened attention to household noises after dark, in a house the caller already regarded as haunted, could shape how the events were interpreted. · The caller says they were meticulous because [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
What stands out
The reported activity centers on a specific game: cues out of place and a cue ball apparently still in motion, with the eight ball in the return. It is followed by a heavy front door that refused to open and then pushed the caller back.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.