Doll moves its arm; a dark figure at the mother's bedside
A caller named [name withheld], from Huntsville, Alabama, tells Art Bell that a large childhood doll they kept in their bedroom raised and lowered its arm while they read. They say the doll was passed to their mother. Their mother then reported a dark figure beside her bed and a potted plant that shook by itself. The doll was eventually put out with the trash.
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 43:19). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
[name withheld], who gives their location as Huntsville, Alabama, and says they are 58 years old and a nurse, tells Art Bell about a large doll. [name withheld] says their mother and father bought it for them and that it was the last doll they ever bought [name withheld], [quote withheld] Many years later, they say, they had the doll standing in the corner of their bedroom while they read a book. Out of the corner of their eye, they saw it raise its arm and lower it. Startled, they say, they broke out in a cold sweat and carried the doll to the den. They say they told their family the next day and that some believed them and some did not. Their mother, they say, asked them not to get rid of the doll for sentimental reasons and took it to her own apartment. [name withheld] reports that things then started happening at their mother's apartment. Their mother told them she woke from a deep sleep to see a dark figure standing beside her bed. Their mother compared it to Darth Vader, and [name withheld] says they regarded it as demon-like. [name withheld] adds that their mother also said a potted plant on a stand shook by itself. [name withheld] says they considered contacting Ed and Lorraine Warren about the doll. When they later married, they say, their husband put the doll out with the trash and it was picked up. [name withheld] says they do not know where the doll is now and hope no child has it. Bell does not question [name withheld]'s story and briefly mentions keeping a cursed object sent to him, which he says was “a mistake.”
Reported events, in order
- 0:21
[name withheld] says their parents bought them a doll, the last one they bought, the size of a three-year-old child.
- 0:30
Years later, they say, the doll stood in the corner of their bedroom while they read a book.
- 0:52
They report seeing the doll raise its arm and put it down.
- 1:38
They say they broke into a cold sweat and carried the doll to the den.
- 1:56
They told their family the next day. They say some believed them and some did not.
- 2:05
Their mother asked them not to get rid of the doll and took it to her apartment.
- 2:15
They report their mother said she woke from a deep sleep to a dark figure standing beside her bed.
- 2:54
They say their mother reported a potted plant on a stand shook by itself.
- 3:14
They say they thought about contacting Ed and Lorraine Warren about the doll.
- 3:26
After they married, they say, their husband put the doll out with the trash and it was picked up.
- 3:31
They say they do not know where the doll is now.
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· 0:52
The doll raised its arm and lowered it while the caller was reading.
- observation· 1:26
The doll was a plain, non-electronic doll the size of a three-year-old child.
- hearsay· 2:22
The caller’s mother told them a dark figure stood beside her bed.
- hearsay· 2:54
The caller’s mother's plant shook by itself.
- interpretation· 2:42
The caller believes the doll brought the dark figure to their mother.
- interpretation· 2:22
The caller regarded the dark figure as demon-like.
- host statement· 4:34
Bell says he has kept a cursed object and calls it a mistake.
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 clear, coherent firsthand story of a single odd observation. But the second strand is relayed from the mother, and easy ordinary explanations (seeing something at the corner of the eye, seeing a figure on waking, a draft) are not addressed.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand core event: [quote withheld]
- Concrete detail: a doll [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- The caller’s answers to the host's questions fit the story: they confirm it was “a plain doll” and do not remember a name.
- No date, place of the event, or other checkable specifics are given.
- The dark figure and shaking plant are secondhand, from the caller’s mother.
- Common causes fit easily and are not ruled out: misseeing at the corner of the eye, seeing a figure on waking, drafts.
- No year or date of the events is stated.
- The mother's incidents are relayed, not witnessed by the caller.
- 0:52
- 0:38
- 2:15
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component scores (proximity about 18/25, specificity about 10/20, consistency about 15/20, alternative explanations about 7/20, calibration about 7/15) are an editorial judgment, not taken from the broadcast.
There is nothing beyond the caller's word and a claimed but silent second witness. No physical object survives to be examined because the doll was thrown out.
Evidence for and against
- A second person (the caller’s mother) is said to have experienced related events.
- A name and city are given: [quote withheld]
- The mother does not speak on air. The claim is only relayed.
- The doll was [quote withheld] and its whereabouts are unknown, so nothing can be examined.
- No recording, photograph, or document is offered.
- Whether any object or list of witnesses exists outside the broadcast is unknown.
- 3:30
- 3:31
What the model inferred (not said on air): The band (assertion only, plus a claimed but silent witness) is an editorial judgment under the scoring guide.
A large doll apparently moving on its own, and a dark figure standing beside a sleeping person in the dark, are both intrusive, unsettling images. There is no threat, injury, or sustained escalation.
Evidence for and against
- The doll is [quote withheld] and is said to move unaided in the bedroom.
- A “dark figure” is reported standing “beside her bed” on waking.
- The caller's own reaction is described: [quote withheld]
- No harm, threat, chase, or physical contact is reported.
- Bell's closing remarks are light in tone about the doll [quote withheld]
- The look of the figure rests on a secondhand comparison (“like darth vader”) and the caller's own reading.
- 2:22
- 1:38
What the model inferred (not said on air): The creepiness score is a judgment of the effect on a listener, based on these described images, not a property of the events themselves.
A haunted doll is a familiar setup. But the non-mechanical doll of unusual size, and the Star Wars and demon description of the bedside figure, add some distinctive color.
Evidence for and against
- Strange-doll stories are common. Here the doll is stressed as ordinary: “a plain doll.”
- Distinctive details: the doll's child-size scale and the “like darth vader” comparison for the figure.
- The core motifs (a moving doll, a dark bedside figure, a shaking object) are stock ghost-story elements.
- Published originality is provisional; no comparison with the rest of the archive is available here.
- 1:26
- 2:22
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is a provisional estimate based on content. The automated analysis may adjust it compared with the rest of the archive.
Scoring confidence 0.72 · analysis confidence 0.80 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story about the doll (live call).; Secondhand relay of the mother's reported experiences; the mother does not speak on air.; No physical evidence; the doll was thrown out and its whereabouts are unknown.. The originality score blends the model's score (48) 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.
- Seeing a still object wrongly out of the corner of the eye, plus expectation, could account for seeing the doll's arm move. · [name withheld] says they saw it [quote withheld] before looking up.
- Seeing something that isn't there on waking from deep sleep could account for the figure beside the mother's bed. · The caller reports their mother [quote withheld] and saw the figure immediately on waking.
- A draft, a vibration, or an animal that was not mentioned could account for the plant seeming to shake by itself. · The plant is described only as [quote withheld] and “shaked by itself.” No cause is offered.
What stands out
The doll is described as a large, non-electronic doll [quote withheld] not a commercially animated one. The second reported figure is described through a Star Wars comparison (“like darth vader”) alongside the caller's own reading of it as a demon. The strange events are said to move with the doll, not stay fixed to one house.
Related stories
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