Security guard reports a following sound and orange orbs at the Yorktown Victory Center
A caller who gives their name as [name withheld], from Hampton, tells Art Bell about a night on their security-guard shift at the Yorktown Victory Center. They say they glimpsed a figure they took to be George Washington inside the museum. Then, outdoors behind the camp, they heard a sound following them and saw two glowing orange orbs. They say they then traced both to ordinary causes: a turkey feather caught in a spider web dragging behind them, and lights reflecting from a black powder musket firing range and the maintenance area. The story ends with the host agreeing that everything had an ordinary 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 2005.mp3”, starting at 2:04:23). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, [name withheld], who says they are calling from Hampton, tells Art Bell they were a security guard at the Yorktown Victory Center. The caller refers back to an earlier call about [quote withheld] The caller describes one night on shift. After finishing a walk-through of the inside museum area, they say they glanced over and saw what they thought was George Washington. When they glanced back they saw nothing. A few moments later they were outside, going into the forest area behind the camp, where they began to hear a sound about six feet behind them. The caller says they took a few more steps and the sound came again behind them. Glancing up a hill, they saw two glowing orange orbs. The caller looked behind them and saw nothing, but the sound and the orbs continued. They stopped, went back a few steps and forward again, and heard the sound once more. The caller says they were [quote withheld] Looking at the ground, they say, they found a turkey feather caught in a spider web they had walked through, hooked to their leg and dragging along, making the sound. The caller still saw the orange orbs and wondered if there was a small fire on the hillside. Moving closer, they found a firing range set up for black powder muskets, and say the orbs were the reflection of light from the maintenance area. The caller says the episode [quote withheld] Bell responds that it “was nothing” and that there was [quote withheld]
Reported events, in order
- 0:02
The caller introduces themself as [name withheld], calling from Hampton, and refers to [quote withheld] at the Yorktown Victory Center.
- 0:11
The caller says they worked there as a security guard.
- 0:29
After a walk-through of the inside museum area, the caller says they glanced over and thought they saw George Washington. On a second glance they saw nothing.
- 0:40
A few moments later the caller was outside, going into the forest area behind the camp.
- 0:43
The caller says they began hearing a sound about six feet behind them. It came again as they walked on.
- 1:01
Glancing up the hill, the caller says, they saw two glowing orange orbs. Looking behind them, they saw nothing there.
- 1:16
The caller says the sound and the orange orbs continued as they kept moving.
- 1:26
The caller stops, steps backward and forward again, and hears the sound again.
- 1:55
The caller says they had become [quote withheld]
- 2:01
Looking at the ground, the caller says, they found a turkey feather caught in a spider web they had walked through, hooked to their leg and being dragged behind them. This was the source of the sound.
- 2:23
The caller still saw the orange orbs and wondered whether there was a small fire on the hillside.
- 2:34
Moving closer, the caller says, they found a firing range set up for black powder muskets, and the orbs were the reflection of light from the maintenance area.
- 2:54
The caller says the episode scared them even though it turned out to have an explanation. The host closes by saying it was “nothing” with [quote withheld]
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· 0:02
The caller states their own name and the town they are calling from.
- hearsay· 0:02
The caller says they had previously told the host about ghosts appearing from time to time at the Yorktown Victory Center.
- observation· 0:29
While walking through the inside museum area, the caller says, they glanced over and believed they saw a figure they took to be George Washington, and saw nothing when they looked again.
- observation· 0:43
Outdoors, behind the camp, the caller says they began hearing a sound about six feet behind them.
- observation· 1:01
The caller says they saw two glowing orange orbs up the hill.
- interpretation· 1:55
The caller says they became convinced something was behind them.
- interpretation· 2:10
The caller says the sound was a turkey feather caught in a spider web they had walked through, hooked to their leg and dragging behind them.
- interpretation· 2:41
The caller says the two orange orbs were a reflection of light from the maintenance area near a black powder musket firing range.
- observation· 2:54
The caller says the experience frightened them even though it had an ordinary explanation.
- host statement· 2:49
The host says the whole episode amounted to nothing.
- host statement· 2:57
The host says there was an appropriate explanation for both the sound and the lights.
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 consistent, specific, firsthand story in which the caller finds ordinary causes for both the sound and the lights. That strongly favors the [quote withheld] and “calibrated claims” parts of the score. It lacks any detail that could be checked, so I place it just below the top range despite a total of roughly 80.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand story from a person on duty at the site: [quote withheld]
- Concrete detail of place and order: [quote withheld] [quote withheld] the hilltop orbs, the forest area behind the camp.
- The caller supplies and accepts the ordinary explanations: the feather [quote withheld] dragged behind the caller and the orbs as [quote withheld]
- The caller separates what they perceived from what they concluded ([quote withheld]) and never escalates the claim.
- No date, season, or checkable detail of when the shift took place. The events cannot be checked.
- The museum figure is left unexplained, so part of the story remains open.
- Only the caller’s own word supports the sequence. Nobody backs it up.
- Some lines of the telling are labeled as the host (or the host with a question mark) in the automatic transcript, so the exact wording that belongs to the caller is uncertain in places.
- No information is given about when the shift took place.
- 0:11
- 0:43
- 0:29
- 2:41
What the model inferred (not said on air): Judgment by part: closeness to the source about 22 of 25 (firsthand, direct, a witness on shift); detail about 13 of 20 (a rich sequence and setting, but no date and nothing independently checkable); consistency about 17 of 20 (a coherent order, though several transcript lines are mislabeled as the host); ordinary explanations about 18 of 20 (the ordinary causes fit almost perfectly and were found by the caller); calibration about 13 of 15 (a clear line between what they perceived and what they concluded). No cap in the scoring guide applies. The final value is my editorial placement rather than a strict sum.
The only support is the caller’s word, with one place name that could be checked in principle but no records, witnesses, or objects produced. This falls in the [quote withheld] range, near its bottom.
Evidence for and against
- A named location is given, [quote withheld] which could in principle be identified.
- The caller gives a job (“security guard”) that could in principle be documented, though no records are cited.
- All support is the caller’s own spoken word.
- No physical evidence is offered. The feather and spider web are described, not produced.
- No other witness is named or heard.
- Nothing was checked, on air or otherwise.
- The caller does not state dates, employment records, or any detail that has actually been verified.
- 0:02
- 0:11
What the model inferred (not said on air): No cap applies beyond the limit of 50 for stories without an outside check. The score reflects that there is no backing object and no second witness on air.
The story builds mild unease from a pursuing sound and lights, but it explains itself and involves no threat, harm, or intrusion into a safe space, so it sits in the lower third.
Evidence for and against
- A nighttime setting behind a camp and in a forested area.
- A repeated sound following close behind the caller.
- Glowing orange orbs seen up the hill and the caller’s belief that something was behind them.
- The caller says it [quote withheld]
- The caller explains the sound and the lights within the same telling.
- The host closes by calling it “nothing” with [quote withheld]
- No threat, contact, injury, or intrusion into a home or bedroom is reported.
- The initial “George Washington” glance is unexplained, but it is described so briefly that it adds little lasting dread.
- 1:16
- 2:54
What the model inferred (not said on air): It is placed near the “mildly eerie” mark (30) rather than higher because the explanation comes inside the story and no menace is reported.
This is a familiar ghost-story setup (a guarded site at night, lights, a following sound) with an unusually specific and ordinary double explanation. That places it above stock but not unique.
Evidence for and against
- A distinctive pair of explanations: a turkey feather snagged in a spider web dragging behind the caller, and orange orbs traced to a black powder musket firing range and maintenance-area light.
- The specific setting (a colonial-era museum and camp with a black powder firing range) is unusual for the genre.
- Familiar elements: a night security guard, a figure glimpsed briefly in a museum, unexplained lights, a sound following the witness.
- The overall shape, an eerie build-up followed by an explanation, is a recurring radio-call pattern.
- Originality is scored from the content alone and not from vocal delivery or the host’s reactions.
- 2:10
- 2:37
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a provisional model estimate only. The published value is computed by the pipeline compared with the archive and is labeled provisional while the archive is small.
Scoring confidence 0.72 · analysis confidence 0.82 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s single firsthand story by telephone, told live on air; No photograph, recording, document, log, or physical trace is offered or examined; No second witness speaks on air, and no outside check was done.
Ordinary explanations to consider
These are possibilities only. None is a finding about what happened.
- The following sound was caused by the feather and web snagging on their clothing and being dragged, not by anything unseen. · The caller describes finding a turkey feather hooked into a spider web that they had walked through, attached to their leg and dragging along behind them.
- The two orange lights were reflections or glare from artificial lighting or the musket firing-range area on the hillside, seen from a distance. · The caller says they got closer and found a firing range used for black powder muskets, and that the orbs reflected light from the maintenance area.
- The “George Washington” figure may have been a museum display or mannequin, or a brief misperception in low light. · The figure was seen only in a brief glance inside a museum area and was gone on a second look.
What stands out
The story is unusual mainly because it is resolved on air in the same telling. The following sound is traced to a turkey feather in a spider web dragging from the caller’s leg, and the orange orbs to light reflecting from a black powder musket firing range. The brief “George Washington” sighting inside the museum is left unexplained.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.