A pale woman in period dress, a ringing phone, and a heater in an apartment
A caller the host introduces as [name withheld], on air from Redding, California, tells what they call a “brief ghost story” about a small apartment they once lived in. They report that objects moved by themselves. They once saw a pale woman in period dress standing by their living-room door before she faded away. Their telephone and an old heater behaved oddly at night. They then say a female figure appeared in a dream and claimed responsibility for the “pranks.” They end by describing a local news report, about a year later, that a nearby Walmart construction site had been halted over a sacred Indian burial site. They say they think there might be a link to the woman.
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 1:50:12). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], on air from Redding, California (from the host's introduction), says they once lived in a very small apartment where “weird things” happened and objects moved by themselves. One night they walked into their living room and, right by the door, saw a female figure they describe as a ghost. She wore a dress “from another century” and looked ancient, pale, and white. She looked at them and slowly faded away. Some time later they describe a series of nighttime disturbances. They habitually switched off their phone ringer before bed, but the phone rang repeatedly, three times, and each time no one was on the line. They also turned off an old lever-operated heater. After wondering to themselves whether they would wake to find it on, they woke to find it on. They finally fell asleep and dreamed of an intense storm over their apartment complex. In the dream the female ghost appeared and said she was just passing by and had done “those pranks.” Later they asked the managers and maintenance men whether a graveyard had been in the area. The caller says they knew of none. About a year later they heard on local news that a Walmart was being built next to their apartment complex, in a field outside their bedroom window. Construction stopped because a sacred Indian burial site was found there. They say they do not know whether the woman was connected to it, but they think there might be a link.
Reported events, in order
- 0:11
In a small apartment they once lived in, they say “weird things” happened and things moved by themselves.
- 0:24
Walking into their living room one night, they saw a female figure by the door looking at them, in a dress they describe as from another century, pale and white.
- 0:40
The figure slowly faded away as they watched.
- 0:51
After switching their phone ringer off and going to bed, they woke to the phone ringing.
- 0:56
They answered and found no one there. It happened again, ringing three times in all with no caller.
- 1:14
They note they had also turned off an old lever-operated heater.
- 1:19
They wondered to themselves whether they would wake to find the heater on.
- 1:25
They woke and found the heater on, then went out and turned it off.
- 1:30
They dreamed of an intense storm over their apartment complex. In the dream the female figure appeared and said she was just passing by and had done the pranks.
- 1:49
They asked managers and maintenance men about any graveyard in the area. The managers and maintenance men, they say, knew of none.
- 2:05
About a year later they heard on local news that a Walmart was being built beside their apartment complex and was stopped because of a sacred Indian burial site found in the field outside their bedroom window.
- 2:28
They say they do not know whether the woman was connected to the graveyard but think there might be a link.
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· 0:11
Objects in the apartment moved on their own.
- observation· 0:25
They saw a female figure standing by the door of their living room looking at them.
- observation· 0:32
The figure wore a dress “from another century” and looked ancient, pale, and white.
- observation· 0:40
The figure slowly faded away while they watched.
- observation· 0:51
After switching the phone ringer off and going to bed, they woke to the phone ringing.
- observation· 0:56
Each time they answered, there was no one on the line. This happened three times.
- observation· 1:26
After they had turned off an old lever-operated heater and wondered about waking to find it on, they woke and found it on.
- interpretation· 1:37
In a dream they say the female ghost appeared and told them she was just passing by and had caused the pranks.
- hearsay· 2:03
Managers and maintenance men told them they knew of no graveyard in the area.
- hearsay· 2:14
They heard on local news that Walmart construction next to their apartment complex was stopped because a sacred Indian burial site was found there.
- interpretation· 2:28
They suspect a link between the female figure and the reported burial site.
- host statement· 2:37
The host remarks that the idea of spirits remaining near their bodies is unnerving.
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, consistent story with some concrete detail. But it is brief, no one backs it up, and there are simple ordinary explanations for the phone and heater events and for the dream. It also shows some caution, since the caller hedges their burial-site link.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand story from a single narrator with a clear sequence of events.
- Concrete detail of what they saw and did: the living-room door, period dress, pale appearance, lever-operated heater, dream of a storm.
- The caller volunteers the denial by the managers and maintenance men and plainly qualifies their own guess about a link.
- The small apartment and household appliances supply easy ordinary explanations (the ringing phone, the heater lever).
- The ghost's confession of the “pranks” comes inside a dream, where the caller's own expectations can shape the content.
- No dates, addresses, or names beyond the caller's own are given that could be checked.
- No date or address is given, so nothing about the apartment or the Walmart site can be checked.
- The dream blurs what they saw and what they inferred, so the line between the two is unclear.
- 0:32
- 1:14
- 2:28
What the model inferred (not said on air): The point totals for the parts (source proximity 20, specificity 11, internal consistency 15, alternative explanations 7, calibration 9, for 62) were lowered to 60 to stay cautious for a brief story no one backs up. This follows the scoring guide's advice to score toward the middle without verification.
This is essentially the caller's word, with a few details that could be checked (place, store, reported burial-site news item) that have not been checked, and no physical evidence or second witness on air.
Evidence for and against
- Details that could be checked in principle are given: Redding, California; a Walmart built next to the apartment complex; and a reported sacred Indian burial site found during construction.
- A figure in a dream is said to have described itself as “just passing by” and as the author of the pranks.
- No photograph, recording, document, or mark is claimed or examined.
- No second witness speaks on air, and the managers and maintenance men are said only to have denied knowing of a graveyard.
- No outside check was done, which caps evidence strength at 50.
- The name “[name withheld]” and the location “Redding, California” come from the host's introduction, not from the caller.
- The local news item is reported secondhand and cannot be confirmed from the transcript.
- 2:09
- 2:14
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placed in the 11 to 25 range because details that could be checked exist but nothing was verified. There is no object or witness to back it up.
Moderately unsettling: a silent pale figure appearing indoors at night and household devices starting by themselves. But there is no menace, escalation, or physical threat, and the ending is almost matter-of-fact.
Evidence for and against
- A pale, ancient-looking woman standing silently in the caller's living room by the door.
- Repeated unexplained phone ringing at night and an appliance switching itself on.
- The dream image of an intense storm over the apartment complex.
- No threat, harm, or physical contact is reported.
- The dream explanation is almost whimsical: the figure says she was “just passing by” and had done the pranks.
- The story ends with the caller and host discussing the idea rather than any continuing activity.
- A listener's response is personal. Following the scoring guide, how the story is delivered is not considered.
- 0:25
- 0:51
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placed in the mild-to-middle range (around 30 to 40) because the images are quiet and homey rather than aggressive, and the caller treats the events as pranks rather than danger.
A familiar haunted-apartment setup with a couple of unusual turns: a dream confession of responsibility for the pranks, and a later news report of a burial site found during a Walmart build next to the apartment.
Evidence for and against
- The ghost allegedly appears in a dream to claim credit for the household “pranks.”
- The ending ties the experience to a Walmart construction halt over a sacred Indian burial site in the field outside the caller's bedroom window.
- The core elements, a ghost seen by a door, objects moving, and a ghost that fades, are stock.
- A pale woman in old-fashioned dress is a familiar ghost-story figure.
- The score compared with the rest of the archive counts for little in a pilot-sized archive. The published originality is provisional.
- 1:37
- 2:14
What the model inferred (not said on air): Provisional model score placed in the middle because the setup is common but the dream confession plus the burial-site ending is an uncommon combination. A score compared with the rest of the archive was not worked out here.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.75 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story; No physical evidence or documentation offered or examined; No second witness speaks on air; Reported local news item about a burial site, not checked. The originality score blends the model's score (55) 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.
- Dream content: the meeting with the figure and her “confession” may be part of a dream rather than something seen while awake. · The ghost's statement that she did “those pranks” is reported as happening inside a dream after a night of disturbed sleep.
- Faulty or sticky household equipment: a defective ringer switch or heater lever could account for the ringing and for the heater being on. · The caller describes an [quote withheld] and a phone ringer they switched off.
- Household noise, drafts, or settling in a small apartment could account for objects seeming to move. The later news of a burial site nearby may have shaped how events were read. · The caller reports [quote withheld] in a “very small apartment.”
What stands out
The story pairs a household pattern of poltergeist-style disturbances with a dream in which the ghost reportedly takes credit for the “pranks.” It closes with a reported local news story about a burial site found beside the apartment. The caller says the link is uncertain rather than claiming it.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.