A deceased neighbor's chest stored in a boy's bedroom—Part 1
A caller the host addresses as “[name withheld]” begins a story from his childhood in an apartment building about 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He says an elderly Italian couple in the building asked his father to store belongings while they moved after the wife died. A chest from those belongings was put in his bedroom, with the instruction not to open it. He says he opened it that night and looked through a wedding dress, dishes, and pictures. He hid it again when his father came down the hall. The host cuts the call short for a station break before any activity by a spirit is described.
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 2006.mp3”, starting at 1:38:47). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
Introduced by the host as “[name withheld],” the caller tells Art Bell he has called in to describe a story about an angry spirit. He says he is [quote withheld] He says he was about eight years old at the time and that his family lived in an apartment building about 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. According to the caller, they lived there for some time and got to know other residents, including an elderly Italian couple who lived on the first floor. He reports that his father became good friends with the couple's son and that some family birthday parties were held at the couple's apartment. The wife then died. After that, the couple decided to move and asked his father whether they could store some of their belongings in the family's apartment for a while. The caller says a chest from those belongings was placed in his bedroom and that all he was told was [quote withheld] which, he says, [quote withheld] That night, as soon as he was sent to bed, he says he opened the chest and looked through it. He found [quote withheld] including a wedding dress, dishes, and pictures. He reports that he heard his father coming down the hall, hurriedly stuffed everything back into the chest, jumped into bed, and pretended he had been there all along. The host then stops him for a break. No activity by a spirit and no outcome are described in this part of the broadcast.
Reported events, in order
- 0:04
The caller tells the host he has called to describe a story about an angry spirit.
- 0:11
He says he is not a person who has seen a lot of such things.
- 0:16
He says he was about eight years old at the time.
- 0:20
He says the family lived in an apartment building about 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- 0:33
He says they got to know other residents, including an elderly Italian couple on the first floor.
- 0:39
He reports his father became friends with the couple's son and that some birthday parties were held at the couple's apartment.
- 0:47
He says the wife died.
- 0:52
He says the couple decided to move and asked his father to store some belongings in their apartment for a while.
- 1:04
He says a chest was placed in his room.
- 1:11
He says he was told only not to get into the chest.
- 1:20
He says that after being sent to bed he opened the chest and looked through it.
- 1:28
He says he found a wedding dress, dishes, and pictures.
- 1:38
He says he heard his father coming down the hall.
- 1:41
He says he hurriedly put everything back, jumped into bed, and pretended to have been there all along.
- 1:57
The host stops the caller for a station break before the end of the story.
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).
- interpretation· 0:04
The caller announces a story about an angry spirit. No event involving a spirit is described in this part of the broadcast.
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 firsthand childhood memory with a specific place and a consistent sequence. But it is only the opening of the story. No strange event or outcome is described, so the claim of something supernatural cannot be assessed, and the cap for fragments applies.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand story: [quote withheld]
- Concrete setting: [quote withheld]
- A consistent sequence of the chest being placed and then opened.
- No strange event described. The “angry spirit” is announced but never told.
- Interrupted by a station break before the end of the story.
- Whether the later part of the story backs up or contradicts this setup is unknown.
- No date or era is given. The couple and building are unnamed.
- 0:04
- 0:16
- 0:20
What the model inferred (not said on air): My judgment rests on how close the caller is to the events and on the order of events in the setup. The cap for fragments is applied because this is an incomplete part 1 with no reported strange event to evaluate.
Nothing beyond the caller's spoken word is present: no document, photograph, recording, or second witness on air. The details that could be checked are limited to a general area and an approximate age.
Evidence for and against
- The caller's stated plan to describe an “angry spirit” is only his word.
- General location named: [quote withheld]
- No physical evidence claimed or examined.
- No named couple, building, or date that could be independently checked.
- The later part of the story may contain evidence not present in this part of the broadcast.
- 0:04
- 0:20
What the model inferred (not said on air): Bottom range because this part of the broadcast offers only the caller's word. No outside check was done, and none is possible from the transcript.
This part of the broadcast is a quiet setup: a dead neighbor, a forbidden chest in a boy's bedroom, and a child sneaking a look. It produces mild unease rather than fear. No threat, contact, or vivid horror is described.
Evidence for and against
- A chest of a dead woman's belongings is placed in a young boy's bedroom.
- He is warned, [quote withheld]
- The items found are ordinary: [quote withheld]
- No threatening or intrusive event occurs in this part of the broadcast.
- The announced “angry spirit” part may be more unsettling but is absent here.
- 1:11
- 1:28
What the model inferred (not said on air): Creepiness is judged on the story as told. Here the effect comes only from hints and setup.
A familiar setup: a deceased neighbor, an old container, and a child's nighttime curiosity. It has one moderately unusual detail, the chest placed in the child's own bedroom. No developed strange event is present, so the story cannot yet be told apart by unusual events.
Evidence for and against
- A forbidden chest of a dead neighbor's belongings placed in the caller's childhood bedroom.
- Stock ghost-story setup: deceased neighbor, old belongings, nighttime curiosity.
- No unusual event described in this part of the broadcast.
- The score compared with the rest of the archive cannot be worked out from this part of the broadcast alone.
- 1:04
- 1:15
What the model inferred (not said on air): The model score reflects the familiar setup plus one concrete detail. How new the story is compared with the rest of the archive is left to the pipeline.
Scoring confidence 0.35 · analysis confidence 0.65 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's spoken firsthand memory (setup portion only); No strange event, outcome, document, photograph, or recording described. The originality score blends the model's score (35) with how rare the story's details are across the archive. This method is still provisional.
What stands out
This part of the broadcast contains only the setup of a ghost story: a deceased neighbor's chest placed in a child's bedroom with a warning not to open it. It is interrupted before anything strange is reported. The announced “angry spirit” is never described here.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.