Cyclist's blackout and a round mark on the wrist
A caller giving their first name as [name withheld], in Sun City, California, tells Art Bell that while riding their bicycle up a hill on the way home everything suddenly “stopped,” and that they next remember waking in their own bed, scabbed on the shoulder, with their bike neatly stowed in the backyard and the house locked. They describe a perfectly round circle on their wrist with a line near its center, which they say is not consistent with a fall. They offer no explanation, and the host says he is not sure what to attribute it to.
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 2004.mp3”, starting at 2:28:15). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives their first name as [name withheld] and says they are in Sun City, California, tells the host they are an avid bike rider. They say they were riding up the hill on their way home when [quote withheld] The caller states that they do not remember actually falling. The next thing they report is waking in their bed. They say they were scabbed on their shoulder, that their bike was [quote withheld] that they were in their house and in bed, that the door was locked, and that nothing was touched. The only other odd thing, they say, is a perfectly round circle on their wrist. They say everyone always asks them what it is and what happened. They say the mark is not consistent with a fall and that it has a line just to the right of its center, [quote withheld] The caller acknowledges that after it happened they [quote withheld] but say the more they think about it, the odder it seems for someone who rides as much as they do simply to fall. They repeat that they do not remember falling and do not remember any type of pain. They restate that they woke on their back in their bed, with the bike in its usual place and the circle on their wrist. They conclude, “Pretty weird.” The host replies that he is not sure what the caller could attribute it to. The caller had announced at the start that they had two stories and would be quick. Only the first is in this part of the broadcast before the host moves to another caller.
Reported events, in order
- 0:12
The caller says they are an avid bike rider and were in Sun City, California, riding up the hill on their way home.
- 0:24
They report that everything suddenly stopped and that they do not remember actually falling.
- 0:35
They say they woke in their bed, scabbed on the shoulder, with their bike stored in the backyard where they always put it, the door locked, and nothing touched.
- 0:51
They report a perfectly round circle on their wrist.
- 0:58
They say people ask them about the mark, that it is not consistent with a fall, and that it has a line just right of center as though something had been in it.
- 1:22
They say they forgot about it at the time but now find it extremely odd to have simply fallen, given how much they ride.
- 1:33
They restate that they do not remember falling or any pain, that they woke on their back in their bed with the bike in place, and that the circle is on their wrist.
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· 0:24
While riding their bicycle up a hill on the way home, everything suddenly stopped.
- observation· 0:28
They do not remember actually falling from the bicycle.
- observation· 0:35
They woke in their bed scabbed on the shoulder, with their bicycle placed in the backyard where they always put it, the door locked, and nothing touched.
- observation· 0:52
They had a perfectly round circle on their wrist.
- observation· 1:01
The mark has a line just right of center, as though there had been something in it.
- interpretation· 1:24
It is extremely odd for them, as much as they ride a bike, simply to fall.
- interpretation· 1:50
The whole matter is “pretty weird.”
- host statement· 1:51
The host says he is not sure what the caller could attribute the experience to.
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 fairly clear firsthand story with a few concrete details and no self-contradiction. But it is brief, and the obvious ordinary possibility of a bicycle fall is left mostly unaddressed.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand telling of their own experience
- Concrete details that could in principle be checked: the place (“Sun City, California”), the route ([quote withheld]), and a described mark and its location on the wrist
- The sequence given is coherent: ride, blackout, waking at home, noticing the mark
- A very short story with no time of day, date, or duration given
- The caller does not mention any ordinary possibility for the blackout other than saying a fall is unlike them
- Gaps in the transcript and overlapping host and caller lines make parts of the sequence hard to read
- No date or season is given, so the events cannot be pinned to a period
- Whether they sought medical attention or had the mark examined is not stated
- 0:18
- 0:52
- 1:24
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component reasoning: source proximity 17 (firsthand but brief); specificity 8; internal consistency 12 (coherent but with gaps in the transcript); alternative explanations 9 (a bicycle fall with amnesia fits partly; they say the mark does not); calibration 10 (they separate what they remember from what they conclude, without stretching). Total 56.
The only support is the caller's own word, a few place details that could be checked but were not, and a claimed mark on their body that was not examined on air.
Evidence for and against
- A named place is given (“Sun City, California”), which could in principle be checked
- A physical mark is claimed, though it is on the caller themselves and is described only in words
- No second witness speaks on air
- No photograph, record, report, or document is presented or examined
- The mark is described, not shown or measured
- Whether any record of the incident (accident report, medical note) exists is not stated
- 0:18
- 1:01
What the model inferred (not said on air): It falls in the 11 to 25 range because a place that could be checked is named and a mark is claimed. But nothing is documented, examined, or backed up by someone else on air. A cap of 50 applies without an outside check, and the score is set near the bottom of the range.
An unexplained loss of consciousness, followed by waking at home with a mark on the body, is unsettling. But there is no threat, no presence, and no lasting escalation.
Evidence for and against
- Blackout with no memory of the fall or of getting home
- Waking in bed with a scab and an unexplained circular mark
- Unresolved ending; the host offers no explanation
- No figure, voice, or sense of a presence is reported
- The caller's own view is that it is odd rather than frightening (“Pretty weird”)
- The tone and delivery are not treated as evidence of anything
- 0:28
- 1:50
What the model inferred (not said on air): Rated above a merely ambiguous single event because the setting shifts from an outdoor ride to waking in bed with a mark on the body, which is an intrusion into a safe space. It is well below the frightening range because nothing menacing is described.
The missing-time blackout frame is familiar. But the pairing of a bicycle found neatly put away with a round wrist mark with a central line is a distinctive detail. The score is provisional, since comparison with the rest of the archive is not meaningful at pilot scale.
Evidence for and against
- Round mark with a line [quote withheld] on the wrist
- Bicycle said to be [quote withheld] after the blackout
- A blackout or missing time followed by waking elsewhere is a recurring frame
- No other rare elements appear; the story is otherwise minimal
- A very short story limits how much distinctive content can be present
- The published originality score is computed compared with the rest of the archive and is provisional for the pilot
- 1:13
- 0:35
What the model inferred (not said on air): The model's own score is 55: a stock missing-time frame with one or two uncommon concrete details. The weight given to comparison with the rest of the archive is small, so the published value will track the model closely.
Scoring confidence 0.45 · analysis confidence 0.60 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story (live call); Claimed mark on the wrist, described only, not examined or photographed; No second witness on air. The originality score blends the model's score (55) 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.
- A fall from the bicycle, possibly with a blow to the head, could cause a period of amnesia during which they made their way home and to bed without later remembering it. · They say [quote withheld] report a scab on their shoulder, and say they do not remember any pain. The ride was up a hill.
- The round mark could be a pressure impression left by something worn or gripped, such as a watch, strap, or handlebar fitting. The described line would mark a buckle, pin, or edge. · Their description of [quote withheld] with [quote withheld] matches an object pressed against the skin.
What stands out
The story is unusually terse and is announced as the first of two, only one of which is in this part of the broadcast. What stands out is the combination of an unexplained blackout during a bicycle ride, the bicycle found neatly put away at home, and a round mark with a central line on the wrist. The caller themselves says the mark does not fit a fall.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.