Teen and mother reportedly held down at the same moment in a Missouri home
A first-time caller tells Art Bell that at about age 14, in a small two-bedroom house in a small town in Missouri, they and their mother were each held down and unable to move at the same moment in the middle of the night. The caller says neither of them saw anything and that it lasted perhaps 15 to 20 seconds. They learned it had happened to both of them only when they ran to their mother’s room afterward. They add that the house was only six or seven years old but that other strange things happened there, including Ouija-board use and a priest’s visit. The family later moved about an hour and a half away. The caller says they are not a “true believer” and that there must be some explanation.
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 1:16:06). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, who says they are a first-time caller and are “in Senegal, California,” describes an experience from when they were about 14, in a small town in Missouri. The caller says they lived with their sister and mother in a small two-bedroom home, with their own room and their mother and sister sharing another room down the hall ([quote withheld]). In the middle of the night, the caller says, [quote withheld] Each tried to get up, but [quote withheld] and the caller could not move any part of their body. Asked by the host whether both the caller and their mother were “paralyzed virtually,” the caller answers yes. The caller says nothing was visible, and that the episode [quote withheld] seconds. The caller describes their mother hollering and sounding horrified while they tried and failed to move. When they were released, the caller says, they popped up from the effort and ran to her room. Their mother, upset and scared, asked why they hadn’t come when she called. [quote withheld] She had not known the caller was also held down. The caller says the house was only six or seven years old but that [quote withheld] The family used a Ouija board and stopped because strange things began occurring. They had a priest come out, and afterward the board was disposed of, though [quote withheld] They later moved to a town about an hour and a half away. The caller says they are [quote withheld] but that enough has happened to them that they know there is something. They try to be realistic and assume [quote withheld]
Reported events, in order
- 0:18
The caller says the events happened when they were about 14, in a small town in Missouri, where they lived with their mother and sister in a small two-bedroom home.
- 0:41
In the middle of the night, the caller says, their mother called out for them and they called out for her at the same time.
- 0:49
The caller reports that both tried to get up but were held down by something and could not move any part of their bodies.
- 1:00
The caller says nothing was visible, and the episode seemed to last forever though it was probably only about 15 or 20 seconds.
- 1:14
The caller says their mother was hollering and they could tell she was horrified while they tried without success to move.
- 1:24
When released, the caller says, they popped up and ran into their mother’s room, where she was upset and asked why they had not come when she called.
- 1:37
The caller says they then found out the same thing had happened to both of them.
- 1:53
The caller notes the house was only six or seven years old but that a lot of strange things happened there. They used a Ouija board and stopped. A priest came out, after which the board was gotten rid of, and several incidents followed.
- 2:22
The caller says the family moved to a town about an hour and a half away from where it started.
- 2:28
The caller says they are not a true believer in ghosts but have had enough happen to know there is something, and that there has to be some explanation.
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· 0:41
The caller and their mother called out for each other at the same time in the middle of the night.
- observation· 0:49
Both were held down by something and could not move any part of their bodies.
- observation· 1:00
Nothing was visible during the episode.
- observation· 1:00
The episode seemed to last forever but was probably about 15 or 20 seconds.
- observation· 1:37
The caller learned afterward that the same thing had happened to their mother.
- observation· 2:01
The family used a Ouija board, stopped because of strange occurrences, had a priest come out, and got rid of the board, though incidents continued.
- interpretation· 2:38
The caller says they are not a true believer in ghosts but that there must be some explanation for what happened.
- host statement· 2:46
The host calls this a second case of two people being paralyzed and held down, and refers to a separate case in which a head was slammed against a pillow.
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.
A firsthand story with a coherent order of events and a self-described skeptical stance. But it is brief, has no names, dates, or checkable places, and has an obvious ordinary fit (sleep paralysis) for the core experience.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand witness to the paralysis they report.
- A coherent order of events: simultaneous calls, being held still, release, running to the mother’s room, comparing stories.
- Concrete detail on how long it lasted (about 15 to 20 seconds) and on the absence of anything visible.
- The caller separates what they perceived from what they concluded and says there must be some explanation.
- No names, exact place, or date are given.
- The second witness (their mother) is only reported, not heard.
- Sleep paralysis is a strong ordinary fit for the core symptom.
- The stated location “Senegal, California” is likely a transcription error and cannot be used.
- The simultaneous episodes in separate rooms are the unusual element and cannot be checked.
- 0:49
- 2:38
What the model inferred (not said on air): My reasoning: scores by part of roughly closeness to events 22, specific detail 10, consistency 17, other explanations 7, and calibration 11, adjusted downward for brevity and the easy sleep-paralysis fit.
Only the caller’s word is present. No documents, recordings, or photographs are mentioned, and the claimed second witness does not speak on air.
Evidence for and against
- The caller gives a firsthand report of the event, including the timing of the release and the comparison with their mother.
- No checkable specifics such as names, exact town, or date.
- The second witness is claimed but not on air, so nobody backs up the story on air.
- Whether any attempt was ever made to check the story is not stated.
- 1:37
What the model inferred (not said on air): My reasoning: this falls in the lowest band (the caller’s word only), with a claimed but absent second witness.
The core image of being unable to move while hearing a frightened parent call out, with no visible cause and no explanation, is truly unsettling. But no figure, threat, or harm is reported, and the episode is brief.
Evidence for and against
- A total inability to move with no visible cause.
- A second person in another room reportedly held still at the same time.
- The mother’s reported distress and the household’s later reported disturbances.
- Nothing visible or threatening is reported.
- The caller is calm and openly skeptical about a supernatural cause.
- The episode is described as brief.
- The mother’s own description is not available.
- 1:14
What the model inferred (not said on air): My reasoning: rated in the upper-middle range for an intrusion into a sleeping household, but limited by the lack of any threat, harm, or presence.
Being unable to move in bed is a stock motif. But the claim that two people in separate rooms were held down at the same moment, and compared notes only afterward, is a distinctive twist.
Evidence for and against
- Two people in different rooms held still at once, discovered only after the fact.
- The earlier Ouija-board use and priest’s visit add a distinctive piece of back story.
- Paralysis and being unable to move at night is one of the most familiar motifs in the genre.
- No unusual figure, sound, or object is tied to the event itself.
- How original the story is compared with the rest of the archive cannot be judged from a single transcript.
- 1:37
- 2:01
What the model inferred (not said on air): My provisional automatic score of about 52 treats this as a familiar frame with one distinctive detail. The comparison with the rest of the archive does not apply here.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.72 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story (live call); A claimed second witness (their mother) who does not speak on air; No documents, photographs, recordings, or other physical evidence claimed. The originality score blends the model's score (52) 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.
- Sleep paralysis, or the state between waking and sleeping, in one or both sleepers. This commonly involves a brief inability to move on waking in the night. · The episode happens [quote withheld] involves a total inability to move, and is reported as lasting only about 15 or 20 seconds.
- Expectation, or heightened attention in the household after earlier reported disturbances, which could shape how a night-time episode was interpreted. · The caller says the family had already had [quote withheld] happen and had used a Ouija board before stopping.
What stands out
What sets this story apart is the claim that two people in separate rooms were held still at the same moment and only compared notes afterward, rather than one sleeper’s paralysis. The caller also describes themselves as a skeptic and does not name a cause.
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Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.