Painting of a chained figure and disturbances in an 1800s San Francisco house
A caller who identifies themself only as calling from the Bay Area, San Francisco, tells Art Bell that they grew up in a house built in the late 1800s, where they felt a presence as a teenager. They say poltergeist-like disturbances (overturned furniture, thrown magazines, dishes out of cupboards) began after their mother's artist boyfriend hung a painting of a chained humanoid figure. A medium known to their mother and several friends tried to make contact by holding a pencil by the eraser. The paper produced “chained,” the name “[name withheld],” and the age “10.” The caller says their mother's later lookup at the Historical Society found that the house's builder had a son named [name withheld] who died of “rheumatoid fever,” and that removing the painting ended the events.
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 2:33:02). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who gives no name, says they are [quote withheld] The caller reports that they grew up in a house built in the late 1800s and that as a teenager they [quote withheld] sometimes glancing up the stairway and seeing something. They say their mother, described as [quote withheld] had an artist boyfriend who brought a new painting into the house and hung it on the wall: [quote withheld] After that, they say, [quote withheld] Furniture was overturned and magazines thrown overnight, dishes were out of the cupboard, and [quote withheld] happened. Their mother knew a medium, who came with “several” of her friends. They held a pencil by the eraser while the medium asked questions, and the paper was written on with the word “chained,” then the name “[name withheld],” then the age “10.” The caller says their mother later went to the Historical Society, looked up who built the house, and found the builder had a son named [name withheld] who had died of “rheumatoid fever.” The caller says they took the painting out of the house and [quote withheld] The host then ends the broadcast.
Reported events, in order
- 0:03
The caller identifies themself only as calling from the Bay Area, San Francisco.
- 0:07
They say they grew up in a house built in the late 1800s where they always felt a presence as a teenager.
- 0:21
They describe glancing up the stairway and seeing something.
- 1:03
Their mother's artist boyfriend brought a new painting into the house and hung it: a humanoid figure chained to abstract buildings.
- 1:15
They report that activity began: furniture overturned and magazines thrown, found in the mornings.
- 1:21
On other nights dishes were out of the cupboard, and further events followed on later nights.
- 1:40
A medium known to their mother came, and several people tried to contact the spirit they believed was causing the problems.
- 2:02
Holding a pencil by the eraser, the group asked questions, and the word “chained” was written across the paper.
- 2:08
Asked for a name, the writing gave “[name withheld].” Asked how old he was, it gave “10.”
- 2:24
The caller's mother went to the Historical Society and looked up who built the house. The caller says she found the builder had a son named [name withheld] who died of “rheumatoid fever.”
- 2:39
They removed the painting from the house and, the caller says, nothing happened after that.
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· 0:07
A presence was felt in the house during the years the caller was a teenager.
- observation· 0:21
They describe glancing up the stairway and seeing something.
- observation· 1:15
Furniture was found overturned and magazines thrown around in the mornings.
- observation· 1:21
On other nights dishes were found out of the cupboard, and further events followed on later nights.
- observation· 2:02
During a contact attempt in which the group held a pencil by the eraser, the word “chained” was written on the paper.
- observation· 2:08
Asked its name, the writing produced “[name withheld].”
- observation· 2:21
Asked how old he was, the answer given was 10.
- hearsay· 2:32
The caller reports that their mother's later research at the Historical Society turned up the builder's son, named [name withheld], who died of “rheumatoid fever” (evidently rheumatic fever).
- interpretation· 1:40
The caller presents the disturbances as caused by a ghost, “our entity,” that the medium and friends tried to contact.
- interpretation· 2:39
The caller presents the painting's removal as the end of the events ([quote withheld]).
- host statement· 0:37
The host asserts that a person can feel the presence of someone staring at them from behind.
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, consistent firsthand story with a concrete sequence of reported events. But there are no names, dates, address, or document, and the two central links (the writing matches the painting; the name matches a historical record) have easy ordinary readings. It is anchored near [quote withheld] (55) and adjusted slightly upward for consistency, giving about 58.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand story from someone who says they lived in the house ([quote withheld]).
- Concrete, ordered detail: the painting's imagery, the specific words produced, and the stated check at the Historical Society.
- The story is consistent, and the caller answers the host's question about “chained” without changing details.
- No names, address, or dates are given; the house and the Historical Society record are not identified.
- The physical disturbances are reported as morning discoveries rather than movement anyone watched, so an ordinary household cause fits easily.
- The writing was produced by participants holding a pencil, a setting in which unconscious muscle movement is a common ordinary explanation for the words obtained.
- Several lines in the contact session are fragmentary in the transcript, so the exact procedure cannot be fully recovered.
- “rheumatoid fever” is likely the automatic transcript's version of “rheumatic fever”; the exact wording of the record is unknown.
- 0:07
- 1:15
- 2:29
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component judgment: source proximity about 20 (firsthand, though the poltergeist events are reported as discovered rather than watched); specificity about 11; internal consistency about 16; alternative explanations about 5 (unconscious muscle movement and ordinary household disorder fit readily); calibration of claims about 9 (the caller generally states events and lets the medium's session speak, and presents the spirit as what “they thought”). The sum is about 61, adjusted to 58 given the brevity and the unchecked research claim.
There is only the caller's own word, a claimed historical lookup said to rest on records, and claimed additional witnesses. Nothing is checked or examined. This sits in the 11 to 25 range, and a cap well below 50 applies without an outside check.
Evidence for and against
- Details that could be checked are named: a San Francisco Bay Area house built in the late 1800s, a name “[name withheld],” an age “10,” a death from “rheumatoid fever,” and a Historical Society lookup.
- Multiple witnesses are claimed (the medium and “several” of the mother's friends).
- No document, photograph, recording, or article is produced or examined on air.
- No second witness speaks; the medium, mother, and friends are all reported secondhand.
- The Historical Society result is relayed by the caller, not demonstrated.
- The exact institution, the date of the lookup, and the record are not stated.
- The transcript is uncertain around “rheumatoid fever” and around the fragmented contact-session lines.
- 2:32
- 1:40
What the model inferred (not said on air): The name “[name withheld]” among a builder's children is in principle checkable, which is why this is not scored at 0 to 10. No check occurred, so it stays at the low end of the next range.
This is unsettling household poltergeist material with a dead-child identification and a disturbing painting. But there is no threat, harm, or escalation, and the ending is resolved. It sits roughly in the middle of the [quote withheld] range.
Evidence for and against
- Intrusion into a family home, including a spirit reported as 10 years old and dead.
- Vivid, repeated intrusion: overturned furniture, thrown magazines, dishes out of the cupboard on successive nights.
- The image of a chained humanoid figure and the single written word “chained” give the story an unresolved, slightly ominous feel.
- No injury, threat, ill will, or physical contact is reported.
- The story ends resolved, with the events stopping after the painting is removed.
- The disturbances described are household disorder rather than menace.
- The transcript does not say whether the caller felt frightened or threatened at the time.
- 1:21
- 1:03
What the model inferred (not said on air): Rated on the effect on a listener, not on truth. The child identification and the chained-figure link raise it above a purely neutral story. The resolution and absence of menace keep it below the “frightening” range.
A familiar poltergeist-plus-medium frame, carried by a distinctive link to an object: the painting, the word “chained,” and the removal ending the events. This is [quote withheld] rather than a wholly new kind of event.
Evidence for and against
- The hinge of the story is unusual: a painting of a chained humanoid figure brought into the house, a contact attempt producing the single word “chained,” and removal of the painting said to end the events.
- The identifying answers are spare: one word, a first name, and an age.
- The core elements are familiar: a presence in an old house, a stairway glimpse, poltergeist disorder, a medium, and a contact attempt.
- The [quote withheld] ending is a stock ghost-story device.
- Originality is judged compared with the rest of the archive, and this archive sample is small, so the published score carries little weight.
- 2:02
- 2:44
What the model inferred (not said on air): The model's score is set near the middle because most of the structure recurs widely in the genre. The painting and “chained” match is the distinctive element. The published score compared with the rest of the archive is provisional for this pilot.
Scoring confidence 0.62 · analysis confidence 0.68 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story (live telephone call); A claimed secondhand research result (mother's lookup at the Historical Society), described but neither shown nor quoted; No photograph, recording, or document examined on air; No second witness speaks on air. 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.
- The writing on the paper could be unconscious muscle movement by the participants rather than a message from an outside source. No independent check on the writing is described. · The caller describes holding a pencil by the eraser while a medium asked questions. The words “chained,” “[name withheld],” and “10” followed the content of the painting already hanging in the room.
- The overturned furniture, thrown magazines, and displaced dishes could be the result of ordinary household activity, animals, children, or people overnight, later seen as strange. · The physical disturbances are all reported as discoveries made in the morning ([quote withheld]), not as events seen while they happened.
- The apparent match between the written name and age and the house's history could be coincidence, or a loose match in a record no one checked. · The only link between the medium's answers and the house is the mother's lookup at the Historical Society, whose records were neither shown nor quoted on air. “[name withheld]” is a common name.
What stands out
The story turns on a link to an object. Disturbances are said to begin after a painting of a chained humanoid figure is hung. The contact attempt produces the single word “chained,” and the events are said to stop when the painting is removed. The identifying answers are unusually minimal: one word, one first name, and an age.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.