A white cat and unseen footsteps at Charleville Castle, Ireland
[name withheld], calling from Traverse City, Michigan, tells Art Bell about a visit the caller and their wife made to Charleville Castle in Ireland. They slipped away from a wedding party and wandered into the dungeon. There they heard construction noises and footsteps with no apparent source while a white cat followed them. About 6 p.m. on a Friday they left as the only car in the lot. On a return trip in September 2005, the castle’s owner reportedly told them the white cat had been dead since 2001. The caller says that a year later they saw two ghostly cat figures and orbs in their digital photographs.
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 2005.mp3”, starting at 1:32:01). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], calling from Traverse City, Michigan, tells Art Bell that the caller and their wife have made four trips to Ireland, three in the last four years, and enjoy hunting out castles. On a Friday afternoon they visited Charleville Castle. The caller describes it as a Gothic castle built about the mid-1700s near the center of Ireland and reputedly one of the most haunted in Ireland. They drove a one-mile tree-lined driveway, found no one at the door, walked the perimeter, and saw sawhorses and construction material, which they took to mean renovation. A horn sounded and people in suits and tuxedos arrived for a wedding. The caller says they were ignored when they asked what was going on, and they followed the party inside.
They split off and climbed a rickety spiral staircase that the caller compares to the one in “The Haunting.” The caller turned around and their wife was gone. The caller found her, and they descended other stairs into the dungeon. All this time, they say, a white cat followed them, rubbing against their legs and purring, up the stairs, through the grand hallway, and into the dungeon. In the dungeon, with their senses heightened because they feared being caught, they heard construction and remodeling noises: saws, sawhorses being moved, tools dropped, and people walking. The noises moved away from them. The dungeon was a long, narrow hallway with alcoves the caller calls little black tunnels. They heard boots coming down the square spiral steps one at a time. The caller's wife leapt into an alcove and the caller froze. The cat sat on the landing, looked at the caller, looked up the steps, hissed, and arched its back, and the noise stopped. They kept walking but could never find the noises. Outside, about 6 p.m. on a Friday, they were the only car. The caller says Irish workers would not be doing construction then. They say they never figured it out.
In September 2005 they returned and met the American owner, who had been there about fifteen years and gave them a tour. When they asked about the white cat, the owner said “what cat?” After they described it, the owner said the cat had been dead since 2001 and was the owner's kitten. A year later, the caller says, they looked at their digital photos and could see two ghostly cat figures and orbs. Art Bell says he has not made up his mind about orbs.
Reported events, in order
- 0:05
The caller gives their name and location as [name withheld] in Traverse City, Michigan, and says they are [quote withheld]
- 0:23
The caller says they and their wife have made four trips to Ireland, three in the last four years, and like to hunt out castles.
- 1:04
They go to Charleville Castle. The caller describes it as a Gothic castle built about the mid-1700s near the center of Ireland and reputedly one of the most haunted in Ireland.
- 1:22
They arrive on a Friday afternoon after a one-mile driveway through oak groves.
- 1:42
They knock at the door, get no answer, walk the perimeter, and notice sawhorses and construction material, which they take to mean renovation.
- 1:56
A car horn sounds and people in suits and tuxedos arrive for a wedding. The caller says they were ignored when they asked what was happening, and they followed the group inside.
- 2:41
They split off from the wedding party and climb a rickety spiral staircase that the caller compares to the one in “The Haunting.”
- 3:01
The caller turns around and the caller's wife is gone. The caller finds her, and they come back down.
- 3:16
They take a stairway down and end up in the dungeon.
- 3:19
Throughout the visit a white cat follows them, rubs against their legs, is petted, and purrs. It follows them up the stairs, through the grand hallway, and into the dungeon.
- 3:51
In the dungeon, with their senses heightened by fear of being caught, they hear construction and remodeling noises: saws, sawhorses moving, tools dropped, and people walking.
- 4:09
The dungeon is a long, narrow hallway with alcoves like little black tunnels.
- 4:23
They hear boots coming down the square spiral steps one at a time. The wife leaps into a dark alcove and the caller freezes.
- 4:42
The cat, on the bottom landing, looks at the caller, looks up the steps, hisses, and arches its back, and the noise stops.
- 4:54
They keep exploring and hear more noises but can never find the source.
- 5:02
Leaving the castle about 6 p.m. on a Friday, they find they are the only car in the lot. The caller asks what the noises came from and says they never figured it out.
- 5:25
In September 2005 they return, meet the American owner, who has been there about fifteen years, and are given a guided tour.
- 5:55
When they ask about the white cat, the owner says “what cat?” After hearing their description, the owner says the cat has been dead since 2001 and was the owner's kitten.
- 6:08
A year later they say they can see two ghostly cat figures and orbs in their digital photos. The host then comments on orbs.
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· 0:05
The caller identifies as [name withheld] in Traverse City, Michigan.
- observation· 3:22
A white cat followed the caller and their wife through the castle, rubbing against their legs, purring, and going with them up the stairs and into the dungeon.
- observation· 3:51
In the dungeon the caller heard construction and remodeling noises: saws, sawhorses being moved, tools dropped, and people walking.
- observation· 4:30
The caller heard boots coming down the square spiral steps, one step at a time, with no visible person.
- observation· 4:42
The cat looked at the caller, looked up the steps, hissed, and arched its back, and then the noise stopped.
- interpretation· 5:14
The caller reasons the noises could not have been real construction work because it was about 6 p.m. on a Friday, and they say Irish workers would not be working then. They say they never worked out the source.
- interpretation· 6:08
Looking at their digital photographs a year later, the caller says, two ghostly cat figures and orbs are visible.
- hearsay· 5:53
According to the caller, the castle owner said “what cat?” After the caller described it, the owner told them the white cat had been dead since 2001 and had been the owner's kitten.
- hearsay· 5:59
The owner is reported as saying the cat had been dead since 2001.
- hearsay· 6:02
The owner is reported as saying the cat was their kitten.
- host statement· 6:18
The host says he has not made up his mind about orbs.
- host statement· 6:29
The host notes that most photographic analysts would blame orbs on lens flashes or sunlight in the lens.
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 detailed, consistent firsthand story from a named caller at a named site. But it leaves easy ordinary explanations open (real workers or wedding-party members, a live cat, photographic artifacts), and nothing was verified. It scores toward the middle, in line with the scoring guide’s [quote withheld] description.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand story with a named site, day, rough time of day, and a described route through the building.
- The sequence holds together across the broadcast break and answers the host’s interjections without changing details.
- The caller separates what they heard and saw from what the owner later told them, and says of the noises that they never figured it out.
- Ordinary explanations remain open and are not ruled out. The caller saw sawhorses and construction material at the castle, and a wedding party with cars had arrived the same afternoon.
- The claim that the cat was a ghost rests on a secondhand statement by the owner, not on anything the caller saw, and the photographs were not examined.
- The remark [quote withheld] sits awkwardly beside the arrival of the wedding party in cars that same afternoon.
- The labels showing who is speaking are scrambled in the opening lines, so a few sentences cannot be firmly assigned to the host or the caller.
- Some passages are marked low-confidence (“footballs” for footsteps; [quote withheld]) and are uncertain transcripts.
- Parts of the exchange fall on either side of a station break, and small details may be lost.
- 0:05
- 5:14
- 5:59
What the model inferred (not said on air): Judgment by part: closeness to the source is high (firsthand, 22), detail is high (17), consistency is good (16), and ordinary explanations are readily available (5). The caller hedges on the noises but asserts ghostly cat figures in the photos (8). The total is 68, lowered to 62 because the cat’s death is unverified and the empty car lot is awkward.
The story offers only the caller’s word, plus claimed photographs and a claimed statement by the owner, none of them examined. That puts it in the scoring guide’s range for claimed but unexamined physical evidence, at the lower end.
Evidence for and against
- Photographs are claimed to exist showing two ghostly cat figures and orbs, though they were not produced or examined on air.
- A named site and a return visit that can roughly be dated (September 2005) provide details that could be checked.
- A second claimed witness, the caller’s wife, is said to have shared the experience.
- No witness speaks in support on air. The wife is reported present but never speaks.
- The host did not examine or describe the digital photographs or any castle records.
- No outside check was done.
- It is unknown whether the photographs exist as described and what they actually show.
- It is unknown whether the owner’s quoted statement is reported accurately.
- 6:08
- 4:42
What the model inferred (not said on air): Claimed photos would normally qualify for the 26 to 40 range. But nothing was produced and no second witness speaks, so I keep it near the bottom of that range.
Unsettling rather than frightening: an enclosed dark space, approaching unseen footsteps, and a pet revealed to be long dead, with no violence or escalation. It fits the “genuinely unsettling” range at the lower end.
Evidence for and against
- The dungeon is a long, narrow hallway with alcoves likened to little black tunnels, walked in fear of being caught.
- Footsteps come down the spiral steps one at a time toward the caller while their wife hides in a dark alcove and they freeze.
- The cat reacts to something unseen and the noise stops. The story ends with the owner’s statement that the cat had been dead since 2001.
- No threat, injury, or pursuit is reported. The couple were trespassing tourists afraid mainly of being caught.
- The story has light asides (“we’re busted,” the “deer-in-the-headlight” freeze) and includes an ordinary wedding and renovation setting.
- The climax is a single hiss and a stopped noise rather than sustained menace.
- Tone and emotional delivery are not used in this judgment.
- It is not fully clear from the transcript whether the couple’s fear lasted through the whole episode.
- 4:14
- 4:42
- 5:59
What the model inferred (not said on air): The strongest chill comes from the order of the reveal (a dead cat, then cat shapes in the photos) rather than from any reported harm. This judges entertainment value from the content only, not the delivery.
A familiar haunted-building story with an unusually specific turn: a pet-like cat whose death the owner confirms only afterward, plus a claimed photographic ending. The score is provisional, since novelty compared with the rest of the archive is not computed here.
Evidence for and against
- The white cat behaves like a live pet (rubs against legs, purrs, is carried) and the owner then reports it was dead since 2001.
- The unseen footsteps stop at the moment the cat hisses and arches its back, tying the animal to the strange events.
- The reveal comes through the owner’s puzzled “what cat?” and through claimed cat shapes in later digital photographs.
- A haunted castle, a spiral staircase, a dungeon with dark alcoves, and footsteps with no visible source are standard ghost-story furniture.
- A ghostly animal accompanying visitors is a recurring motif.
- The published originality score is compared with the rest of the archive and is provisional for a small pilot archive.
- Transcription errors may distort textual details, which could affect how rare a motif seems.
- 5:53
- 3:22
What the model inferred (not said on air): The model’s estimate is around 55 to 60. The setting is standard and the motifs are sound, but the combination of the dead-cat companion and the hiss that ends the footsteps is distinctive.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story, told live on air; A claimed second witness (the caller’s wife), who is reported present but does not speak on air; Claimed digital photographs showing two ghostly cat figures and orbs, not examined on air; A claimed statement by the castle owner about the cat’s death in 2001, not verified; The host’s own general remarks about photographic orbs (not an examination of the caller’s photos).
Ordinary explanations to consider
These are possibilities only. None is a finding about what happened.
- Real workers, castle staff, or wedding-party members moving about the building could have made the construction-type noises, footsteps, and tool sounds in the dungeon. · The caller says they saw sawhorses and construction material around the castle and assumed renovation. A wedding party with cars also arrived that afternoon, so other people may have been elsewhere in the building.
- The orbs and apparent cat shapes in the digital photographs could be flash reflections, dust, or lens flare rather than a ghost. · The host himself says that in photography these are usually blamed on lens flashes or sunlight entering the lens.
- A live white cat at or near the castle could account for the animal the caller and their wife saw. The statement that the owner's kitten died in 2001 was not verified. · The cat is described as physically present, rubbing against legs, being picked up, and purring.
What stands out
The standout detail is a pet-like white cat. It rubs against the visitors’ legs and purrs throughout the visit, and it hisses and arches its back at unseen footsteps coming down the stairs. Only afterward does the castle owner say it died years earlier. The story is also unusual in being told across a station break and in mixing a travel anecdote, a trespass into a dungeon, and a claimed photographic ending.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.