Felt presences and an unseen couch sitter in a Mackinac Island house
A caller the host identifies as [name withheld], calling from Colorado, tells Art Bell that as a boy of about 12 he stayed one summer at a great aunt’s and uncle’s place on Mackinac Island, Michigan. He reports feeling “something weird” on entering and having to step around unseen people on the stairway. He felt someone sit down beside him on a couch while he watched television. He also had a constant sense of not being alone, including “eyes glaring” at him in the bathroom. The telling is cut off when the host takes over, and the story ends with no stated resolution.
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 37:31). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, whom the host addresses as [name withheld] and places [quote withheld] says he wants to tell a ghost story and notes his birthday is in two days. He says that when he was about 12 years old he went up to Mackinac Island, which he describes as part of Michigan, because a great aunt and uncle who had a place there and in Florida invited the family to stay. His sister, mother, and father all came. He says he went there one summer knowing nothing about the house, and that [quote withheld] He says he kept quiet because [quote withheld] He adds that he has always had some sense of that and has lived in old houses most of his life. He reports two main events. Walking up the stairway, he would find himself stepping around people the way one does in a crowd, feeling someone was standing there although he could see no one. And while watching TV in another room, he felt someone sit down on the couch right next to him. He looked over to see who it was and saw that the cushion did not go down, yet he says he can state that someone sat down next to him. He adds that he never felt alone in the house, and that in the bathroom there were [quote withheld] comparing this to what an earlier caller had said. The host then responds with remarks about a human “danger sense,” and the segment ends.
Reported events, in order
- 0:23
The caller says he wants to tell a ghost story and that his birthday is in two days.
- 0:32
He says that at about age 12 he went to Mackinac Island, Michigan, to stay at a great aunt’s and uncle’s place, with his sister, mother, and father.
- 1:02
He reports that as soon as he walked into the house he “felt something weird,” and that he did not say so for fear of being thought crazy.
- 1:30
He reports that walking up the stairway he would step around people as if in a crowd, feeling someone there without seeing anyone.
- 2:06
He reports watching TV in another room and feeling someone sit down on the couch beside him. He looked over and noted the cushion did not go down.
- 2:28
He says he never felt alone in the house, and that in the bathroom there were “eyes glaring” at him.
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· 1:02
On entering the house he immediately felt something strange.
- observation· 1:43
Walking up the stairway he felt people present and stepped around them, though he saw no one.
- observation· 2:23
He felt someone sit down on the couch next to him while he watched TV, though the cushion did not sink.
- observation· 2:39
He never felt alone in the house and felt eyes glaring at him in the bathroom.
- interpretation· 1:11
He treats the house as containing “something,” which he frames as a ghost story.
- hearsay· 2:28
He refers to another caller who said they felt eyes glaring at them.
- host statement· 2:42
The host says that sensing a nearby presence is an old human “danger sense” shared with animals.
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 story from the person who reports the experiences, with a named location and a clearly stated age and family setting. But the events are felt-presence sensations with few checkable specifics, and the caller does not address ordinary explanations (an unfamiliar house, expectation, his own stated lifelong sensitivity). The story holds together well, with one notable self-check: the cushion not sinking.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand: the caller places himself at the events ([quote withheld]).
- Concrete setting details: Mackinac Island, Michigan; a great aunt’s and uncle’s place; family members present; age about 12.
- A coherent sequence, and one check the caller made himself that could in principle be verified ([quote withheld]).
- All reported events are inner sensations of presence, with no visible figure and no stated duration.
- No date, address, or house identification is given.
- The caller does not consider ordinary explanations, and he says he is already familiar with such feelings and with old houses.
- The labels showing who is speaking alternate between the host and the caller in ways that look garbled, so a few lines credited to the host may belong to the caller.
- The telling is cut off before any conclusion or aftermath is described.
- 1:02
- 2:23
- 1:21
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component estimate from content only: source proximity about 20 (firsthand but brief and vague); specifics about 9; internal consistency about 16; alternative explanations about 7 (an easy ordinary reading fits and is not addressed); calibration about 8 (he separates sensation from observation in the cushion detail but asserts the presence firmly). The total is about 60, adjusted down toward the 55 example for a clear firsthand story that no one else backs up.
Nothing beyond the caller’s own word is presented. A place name and family relationships are given, but no names of the owners, no address, and no documentation. No second witness speaks on air, and no physical evidence is claimed.
Evidence for and against
- A named place (Mackinac Island, Michigan) and a stated trip with family.
- The caller reports a check he made at the time ([quote withheld]).
- No names, dates, or records that could be checked are provided.
- No other witness is said to have experienced anything, and none speaks on air.
- No photograph, recording, or physical trace is claimed.
- The great aunt and uncle and their house are unnamed, so even the location cannot be traced.
- The year of the visit is unstated.
- 0:32
- 2:23
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placed in the lowest range because the only support is the caller’s word. The location is a place name, not a traceable address or date.
The story produces a mild, lasting unease: an unseen presence on the stairs, a felt body sitting close on a couch, and a constant sense of being watched, including in the bathroom. There is no threat, no harm, no escalation, and no resolution, which keeps it well below the frightening range.
Evidence for and against
- Intrusion into a home and into private moments such as watching television and being in the bathroom.
- An unresolved sense of never being alone ([quote withheld]).
- No visible figure, threat, injury, or escalating activity is reported.
- The host’s response calms the tension by framing it as an ordinary “danger sense.”
- The telling ends abruptly, so any later or more disturbing development may simply not have been reached.
- 2:39
- 2:28
What the model inferred (not said on air): Rated as a story effect only. A presence with no appearance and an intrusion into the home are moderately eerie, but the lack of menace or vivid imagery holds the score near the “mildly eerie” example.
The frame is familiar: a haunted old house, felt presences, being watched. But the specific image of stepping around invisible people on a stairway as if in a crowd, and the felt couch sitter combined with a cushion that does not sink, give it a distinctive detail within a stock frame.
Evidence for and against
- Stepping around people on the stairway as in a crowd, an unusual way of describing a felt presence.
- A clear mismatch between the felt sitting down and the cushion not sinking.
- Feeling watched, a sense of presence in an old house, and unexplained dread are very common themes.
- No visible figure, description of a being, or historical research to set the story apart.
- The comparison with the rest of the archive is a first estimate, and this excerpt is short.
- 1:30
- 2:15
What the model inferred (not said on air): A first estimate set around the [quote withheld] example. The comparison with the rest of the archive cannot be judged from a single excerpt.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.65 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story by live call, as transcribed; The host’s remarks about a human “danger sense”. The originality score blends the model's score (45) 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.
- An unfamiliar old house, plus expectation and a habit of paying attention to such feelings, produced a lasting sense of presence. The caller himself says he has [quote withheld] · He reports [quote withheld] immediately on entering, and says [quote withheld] and that he has lived in old houses.
- The “stepping around people” feeling on the stairway reflects an ordinary habit of judging space, and an expectation of seeing something at the edge of vision in a narrow space, not an outside presence. · He compares it directly to moving through a crowd and reports that he then looked and saw no one.
- The couch feeling was a bodily sensation driven by expectation, not a physical body. This fits the caller’s own report that the cushion did not sink. · He checked the cushion and reports [quote withheld] while still maintaining someone sat down.
What stands out
The story is built entirely on felt presence, not a sighting. Its most concrete detail is a negative one: the caller felt someone sit beside him, yet reports that the couch cushion did not go down. Stepping around people on a stairway is an unusual image for a haunting report.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.