Letter: Ceiling noises, a weeping ghost, and bones found in an attic
Art Bell reads a letter from a writer named [name withheld]. [name withheld] says that six years earlier, while recovering from a bad accident, they heard nightly noises from their bedroom ceiling and were visited by a crying ghost that floated through their window. They set up a video camera in the attic and found roof rats. Then an extermination crew cleaning the attic reportedly found the bones of a woman, which the writer links to the ghost. The writer says the visits stopped after the discovery. They offer their own view that the ghost was a murdered woman whose remains needed to be found.
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The story as told
In a letter read on air, [name withheld] writes that six years before writing, while recovering from a bad accident, they began to hear noises on their ceiling at night. [name withheld] told people, but they doubted anything was being heard, and [name withheld] says they began to doubt their own sanity. The noises continued for several months, waking [name withheld] every night in their bedroom. The writer then reports that a ghost began visiting every evening, and that they could not tell anyone because people thought the stress of the accident made them imagine things. [name withheld] says the ghost arrived with a bump in the night. They say they at first held onto a Bible in fear, and over months concluded it would not harm them and accepted it. [name withheld] describes a nightly routine of sleeplessness: going to bed, waiting for the bump, watching the ghost come through the window and float around the room, and hearing it cry softly and go through the ceiling for hours until dawn. In desperation the writer set up a video camera in the attic, feeding a TV in their bedroom, with their son’s help, though the son doubted them. On the first night the ghost appeared crying and weeping. [name withheld] switched on the camera and TV and says they saw large roof rats running everywhere in the attic. They forgot to record the first night, then did record the next evening and showed others the video of the rats. [name withheld] phoned extermination companies. They say the first two left after visiting the attic and refused the job. A company finally cleaned the attic and fixed a hole in the roof, and while cleaning reportedly found the bones of a woman. [name withheld] says they knew this was the ghost, because after the discovery they did not see it again. The writer reports that the woman’s children had believed she ran away twenty years earlier, but that her husband had murdered her and put her in the attic. The husband had since died. [name withheld] says the exterminators later told them they felt a presence in the attic but decided it was not bad. They note the previous owners left them a bundle of sage to burn before moving in, and they believe the ghost had visited the previous owners too. [name withheld] says it took two years to recover from doubting themself, that they decided to learn remote viewing, and that they believe ghosts put the hole in the roof so rats would get in and the attic would be investigated. Art Bell comments afterward that it was a good story and that [quote withheld]
Reported events, in order
- 0:11
[name withheld] writes that six years earlier, while recovering from a bad accident, they began hearing noises on their ceiling at night.
- 0:25
The writer told people about the noises, but they doubted anything was being heard, and the writer began to doubt their own sanity.
- 0:30
The noises continued for several months, waking the writer every night in their bedroom.
- 0:47
The writer reports a ghost began visiting every evening. They could not tell anyone because people thought the stress of the accident made them imagine things.
- 0:58
The ghost arrived with a bump in the night, which the writer describes as the signal of its arrival.
- 1:04
The writer says fear gripped them and they held onto a Bible, but over months they concluded it would not harm them and their fear faded.
- 1:19
The writer describes lying awake each night to watch the ghost come through the window and float around the room, crying softly and going through the ceiling for hours until dawn.
- 1:46
The writer set up a video camera in the attic, feeding a TV in their bedroom, with their son’s help despite the son’s doubts.
- 2:06
On the first night the ghost arrived crying and floating. The writer switched on the camera and TV and says they saw large roof rats running everywhere in the attic.
- 2:26
The writer sat on the floor crying, and says they felt the ghost touch them “as a brush” as dawn came.
- 2:41
The writer forgot to record the first night. The next evening they pushed record and called everyone to see the video of the roof rats.
- 2:57
The writer phoned an extermination company. They say the first two companies left after visiting the attic and refused the job.
- 3:07
A company cleaned the attic and fixed a hole in the roof, and while cleaning reportedly found the bones of a woman.
- 3:19
The writer says they knew this was the ghost, because after the discovery they did not see it again.
- 3:27
The writer reports that the woman’s children had thought she ran away twenty years earlier, but that her husband had murdered her and put her in the attic. He had since died.
- 3:45
The exterminators later told the writer they had felt a presence in the attic but decided it was not bad and kept working.
- 3:57
The writer notes the previous owners left them a bundle of sage to burn before moving in, and they believe the ghost had visited the previous owners too.
- 4:12
The writer says it took two years to recover from doubting themself and that they decided to learn remote viewing.
- 4:28
The writer says they believe ghosts put the hole in the roof so rats would get in and the attic would be investigated.
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· 0:30
[name withheld] reports hearing nightly noises from their bedroom ceiling for several months while recovering from an accident.
- observation· 1:22
The writer reports a ghost visiting every evening, coming through the window and floating around the room, then crying softly and going through the ceiling.
- observation· 2:26
The writer reports feeling the ghost touch them “as a brush” at dawn.
- observation· 2:18
The writer reports that on camera they saw large roof rats running everywhere in the attic.
- observation· 3:11
The writer reports that an extermination crew found the bones of a woman while cleaning the attic and fixing a hole in the roof.
- interpretation· 3:19
The writer says they knew the ghost was the dead woman, because they did not see the ghost again after the discovery.
- hearsay· 3:35
The writer reports that the woman’s husband murdered her and put her in the attic, and that her children had believed she ran away.
- hearsay· 3:45
The writer reports that the exterminators told them they had felt a presence in the attic but decided it was not bad.
- interpretation· 4:06
The writer believes the ghost had visited the previous owners, who left them sage before they moved in.
- interpretation· 4:28
The writer believes ghosts put the hole in their roof so rats would get in and the attic would be investigated.
- host statement· 4:40
Art Bell says it is obvious that the woman wanted her remains to be found.
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 written story with a coherent sequence, some concrete detail, and an unusual willingness to accept an ordinary explanation (roof rats). But it supplies no names, place, or dates that could be checked. It also moves from observed events to confident conclusions about the ghost’s intent without support.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand story of the writer’s own experiences, with a dated starting point (“six years ago”).
- A coherent, ordered story: ceiling noises, ghost visits, camera setup, rats, bones, end of visits.
- The writer accepts explaining the noise with roof rats rather than insisting on only a supernatural cause.
- No place, names, or dates for the discovery or the woman’s history are given.
- Certain conclusions (that the ghost made the roof hole, that the writer knew it was the ghost) are asserted, not shown.
- The host’s positive reaction is not evidence.
- No location or identifying details are stated.
- The report of bones and a murder history cannot be checked from the transcript.
- The letter writer cannot be questioned, since the letter is read on air.
- 0:11
- 2:18
- 3:11
What the model inferred (not said on air): Firsthand but written and unverifiable. I weight specifics and checkability down and credit the writer’s own ordinary explanation, producing a mid-range score.
The writer claims physical evidence exists (a video of the roof rats and bones found in the attic) and claims other witnesses (their son, exterminator crews). But none of it is examined on air, and no identifying details are supplied.
Evidence for and against
- A claimed video recording of roof rats exists but is not examined on air.
- Bones of a woman are said to have been found, but this is not verified in the transcript.
- Claimed witnesses: the writer’s son and the exterminator crews, none of whom speak on air.
- No document, recording, or sample examined during the broadcast.
- No names, place, or dates to allow independent checking.
- Witnesses are claimed, not on air.
- Whether any video or record of the bones exists is unknown from the transcript.
- 2:50
- 3:11
What the model inferred (not said on air): This falls in the range where physical evidence is claimed to exist but not examined, with no checkable specifics.
The story includes an intrusion into the bedroom, a weeping figure floating through the window, a touch, and the later discovery of a murdered woman’s bones in the attic. But the tone is more reflective than threatening, and the ghost is described as harmless.
Evidence for and against
- A ghost is said to come through the bedroom window and float around the room.
- Fear described early on ([quote withheld]).
- Bones of a murdered woman reportedly found in the attic.
- The ghost is repeatedly described as harmless and crying, not menacing.
- The ordinary roof-rat explanation weakens the tension.
- It ends with the writer describing themself as stronger and the ghost as [quote withheld]
- The tone of a letter read aloud is not evidence and was not considered.
- 1:22
- 3:11
What the model inferred (not said on air): The creepiness comes from the bedroom intrusion and the discovery of bones. The gentle framing tones it down.
The story uses familiar frames (ceiling noises, a weeping ghost, a figure through a window, bones in an attic). It combines them in a distinctive way with an ordinary roof-rat explanation and a closing claim that the ghost engineered the roof hole to trigger an investigation.
Evidence for and against
- A unique reversal: the ceiling noises are explained by roof rats caught on camera.
- The writer’s claim that the ghost created the roof hole to prompt the discovery.
- Sage left by the previous owners as a small distinctive detail.
- The core themes (a crying ghost, a disturbance in the bedroom, bones in the attic) are stock ghost-story elements.
- The comparison with the rest of the archive cannot be made from a single transcript.
- 2:18
- 4:28
What the model inferred (not said on air): A familiar frame plus one distinctive twist in the story places it in the middle range.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.75 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: A letter read on air by the host; The writer’s firsthand written story; A claimed video recording of roof rats, not examined; A claimed discovery of bones, not verified; Claimed witnesses (the writer’s son and the exterminators), none on air. The originality score blends the model's score (52) 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.
- Roof rats made the nightly ceiling noises, as the writer themself reports seeing on camera. · [quote withheld] after the ceiling noise was heard.
- The crying, floating figure seen at night could be a dreamlike experience while falling asleep, during a period when the writer says they could not sleep and lay awake in bed. · The writer describes lying in bed at night waiting for the noise and watching the ghost in the bedroom.
- The report of bones and the murder story may come from information about the house or earlier owners, but the transcript gives no details that could be checked. · No names, dates, or place are supplied for the discovery or the woman’s history.
What stands out
The story folds an ordinary finding (roof rats explaining the ceiling noises) into a ghost story. It then reverses again with the discovery of bones and a reported murder. The writer also claims that the ghost made the roof hole to bring in the rats and prompt an investigation.
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