A deceased man at the foot of the bed in a family funeral home
The host reads a letter from [name withheld] in Morris Plains, New Jersey, describing the writer's childhood in a family funeral home during World War II. The writer says they felt watched by an older man's body in the casket showroom, and later woke to see him standing at the foot of their bed. The letter ends with the writer's theory that the man was a child molester who could not adjust to death and their hope that he stays buried.
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 2007.mp3”, starting at 1:38:06). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The host introduces a letter from [name withheld] in Morris Plains, New Jersey. In it, [name withheld] says that during World War II they and their mother stayed with their grandparents because their father was drafted when they were nine months old and did not return until they were about five. Their grandfather owned and managed a funeral home on the first floor of a large Victorian mansion. They say they and their mother lived on the third floor with an aunt and an uncle who was in the Air Force. Their grandparents' apartment was the entire second floor, which the grandparents shared with the writer's youngest aunt. They say their grandfather told them when they were very young that the dead people were nice folks, would not hurt the writer, and would not have hurt the writer when they were alive. They say they believed this until they were about eleven. Then the writer walked through the casket showroom where an older man was being prepared for his family's visit. They say all the hair on their head and body stood up and they “just knew” the man was staring at them. They whistled, ran out, and went upstairs to their grandmother. That night, they say, they awoke in the very early morning hours and saw the man standing at the foot of their bed, staring at them. They pulled the covers over their head, did not sleep, and listened all night. They say they were terrified, barely able to breathe, with their heart pounding. His funeral was held at 10 a.m., and he was taken to the cemetery. Now sixty-four, they say they have always wondered what his problem was. They theorize he was a child molester who could not figure out how to work with his new situation, death. They hope he stays planted. They say they would never again agree to sleep over another person who had passed over, calling it “too risky.”
Reported events, in order
- 0:05
[name withheld] says they and their mother stayed with their grandparents during World War II because their father was drafted when they were nine months old and returned when they were about five.
- 0:16
They say their grandfather owned and managed a funeral home on the first floor of a large Victorian mansion.
- 0:22
They say they and their mother lived on the third floor with an aunt and an uncle stationed locally in the Air Force.
- 0:30
They say their grandparents' apartment was the entire second floor, along with the writer's youngest aunt.
- 0:36
They say their grandfather told them the dead people were nice folks and would not hurt them.
- 0:54
At about age 11, they walked through the casket showroom where an older man was being readied for his family's visit.
- 1:01
They say they felt all their hair standing up and knew the man was staring at them.
- 1:09
They whistled, dashed out of the room, and ran upstairs to their grandmother.
- 1:15
That night, they say, they awoke in the very early morning hours and saw the man standing at the foot of their bed, staring at them.
- 1:23
They pulled the covers over their head, did not sleep, and listened all night for him to make his move.
- 1:36
They say they were completely terrified, barely able to breathe, with their heart pounding.
- 1:42
They say his funeral was held at 10 a.m. and he was taken to the cemetery.
- 1:54
They say they are now sixty-four and have always wondered what his problem was. They theorize he was a child molester who could not work with his new situation, death.
- 2:04
They say they hope he stays planted.
- 2:06
They say their second-floor bed was directly above his first-floor casket.
- 2:10
They say they would never again agree to sleep over another person who had passed over, calling it too risky.
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· 1:01
In the casket showroom, the writer felt all the hair on their head and body standing up and knew the older man's body was staring at them.
- observation· 1:15
That night the writer awoke in the early morning hours and saw the man standing at the foot of their bed, staring at them.
- interpretation· 1:54
The writer theorizes the dead man was a child molester who could not adjust to death.
- hearsay· 0:36
Their grandfather told the writer the dead people were nice folks, would not hurt the writer, and would not have hurt the writer when alive.
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 specific first-person letter with concrete details of place, age, and sequence. But it comes secondhand as a letter read on air, it contradicts itself about which floor the writer's bed was on, and an ordinary explanation is easy: a child's dream or half-asleep vision after seeing a body in the funeral home.
Evidence for and against
- It is first-person written testimony: [quote withheld]
- The details are concrete: [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- The sequence hangs together: the daytime casket-showroom experience, followed by the reported early-morning bedroom sighting.
- The letter contradicts itself. The writer says [quote withheld] but later says [quote withheld]
- Nobody backs it up, and there is no second witness on air.
- A vivid dream or half-asleep vision fits the bedroom event after the daytime sight of the body.
- The host reads the letter rather than [name withheld] speaking it.
- The exact year of the encounter is not stated.
- The transcript does not make clear whether the floor mismatch is a transcription error, a lapse of memory, or a real inconsistency.
- 0:16
- 1:15
- 0:22
- 2:06
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score reflects my judgment of the story as testimony: firsthand but written and read aloud, specific yet not backed up by anyone else, with a plausible ordinary explanation that the writer does not address.
The broadcast contains only [name withheld]'s written word, read by the host. No photograph, recording, document, or witness on air is presented or examined.
Evidence for and against
- The letter gives checkable specifics such as the writer's name, town, era, and family funeral home: [quote withheld]
- It gives an approximate age at the event: [quote withheld]
- No physical evidence is claimed or examined.
- No additional witness speaks on air.
- The letter itself is not independently verified.
- The host reads the letter, so even who wrote it is known only as stated.
- No records, names of the dead man, or exact dates are provided.
- 0:00
- 0:47
What the model inferred (not said on air): Because the only support is the writer's word, the score stays in the bottom range. The named place and era could in principle be checked but were not checked here.
The story puts a child alone in bed with a staring figure at the foot of the bed, after the same man's body was seen in the funeral home. It ends with an unresolved, ominous theory that he was a child molester.
Evidence for and against
- A dead man is reported at the foot of the child's bed: [quote withheld]
- The writer reports intense fear and a racing body: [quote withheld]
- The ending is unresolved and ominous: [quote withheld]
- There is no reported physical contact or injury.
- The event is presented as a single night, not a haunting that grows worse.
- The writer's idea about the man's character is explicitly a theory, not a reported event.
- No other witness describes the figure in the bedroom.
- 1:20
- 1:39
- 2:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): The high score comes from the combination of a child in bed, a staring figure of a dead man, and an unresolved ending with an implied threat.
The core image, a figure at the foot of the bed, is a familiar ghost-story motif. But the funeral-home setting, the child living above the casket showroom, and the detail that the writer's bed was directly above the casket give the story a distinctive frame.
Evidence for and against
- Unusual setting: [quote withheld]
- Distinctive detail: [quote withheld]
- The central event, a figure at the foot of the bed, is a common motif.
- The overall shape, in which a child sees a dead person and later sees the ghost in bed, is a familiar ghost-story pattern.
- The published originality compared with the rest of the archive is not computed here. This is a provisional model score.
- The story is brief, which limits how many distinctive motifs are present.
- 0:16
- 2:06
What the model inferred (not said on air): I placed it in the range for a familiar setup with a distinctive detail because the funeral-home and above-the-casket details are uncommon, while the ghost in the bedroom is stock.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.80 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The writer's firsthand written story, read on air.; No physical evidence or documentation.; No second witness on air..
Ordinary explanations to consider
These are possibilities only. None is a finding about what happened.
- A vivid dream or half-asleep vision after seeing the older man's body in the casket showroom during the day. · The writer says they saw the body during the day at about age 11, then awoke in the very early morning hours and saw him at the foot of their bed. No other witness is described.
- Imagination in a dark bedroom, or seeing a face or figure in shadows, shaped by the funeral home setting and their grandfather's earlier reassurances about the dead. · The writer reports a figure at the foot of the bed with no sound, touch, or other physical trace described. This came after living above a funeral home and being told the dead “are nice folks” and “wouldn't hurt you.”
- Suggestion from the nearness of the casket showroom and the funeral below, especially for a child in the household. · The writer says their second-floor bed was directly above his first-floor casket and that the funeral was held the next morning.
What stands out
The setting is a family funeral home in a large Victorian mansion, with the writer's bed later said to be directly above the casket of the man the writer says they saw. The story combines a child's bedroom ghost with the unusual detail of growing up among the dead and hearing their grandfather's reassurance about them.
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