Black butterflies and a face image in a bedroom window after a husband’s death
A caller introduced by the host as [name withheld] from Texas says that years ago, shortly before their husband died, he told them to watch out for black butterflies. Since his death the caller sees black butterflies [quote withheld] wherever they go. The caller also reports a [quote withheld] in their bedroom window that frightened them, and asks the host for guidance on what it might have been. The caller says they do not know whether it was their husband visiting. This part of the broadcast ends with the request for help and does not include a reply.
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 2010.mp3”, starting at 51:12). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The host introduces the call by naming the caller as [name withheld] from Texas. [name withheld] says they have listened to the host for many years, then describes two things connected to their husband’s death. The caller reports that before he died, their husband told them to watch out for black butterflies. The caller says that since then, in the morning and “even today,” they see a black butterfly somewhere, [quote withheld] regardless of where they are. The host remarks that he does not think he has ever seen a black butterfly. The surrounding lines are mixed together, and who said what there is not reliable. [name withheld] then says there was a [quote withheld] which scared them, and specifies that it was [quote withheld] like a smashed face. The caller asks whether anyone can help them understand what that was about. The caller says they do not know whether it was their husband [quote withheld] and says they would appreciate some guidance. This part of the broadcast ends at that request, and no answer from the host is included. Lines after this point belong to a separate story about an elderly retired colonel and are context only.
Reported events, in order
- 0:17
[name withheld] says that before their husband died, he told them to watch out for black butterflies.
- 0:40
The caller says that since their husband’s death they see a black butterfly [quote withheld] wherever they are, including the morning of the call.
- 0:54
The caller reports a [quote withheld] in their bedroom window that scared them.
- 1:00
The caller asks for guidance and says they do not know whether the face was their husband visiting.
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).
- hearsay· 0:17
The caller’s husband told them before he died to watch out for black butterflies.
- observation· 0:40
The caller repeatedly sees black butterflies wherever they are, including the day of the call.
- observation· 0:54
The caller saw a [quote withheld] in their bedroom window.
- interpretation· 1:04
The face image may have been the caller’s husband visiting or trying to communicate something. The caller says they do not know.
- host statement· 0:32
The host states that he does not think he has ever seen a black butterfly (who said this line is uncertain).
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.
A brief but firsthand story with a couple of concrete details of the senses. It is consistent, and the caller explicitly holds back from a conclusion. But it lacks specifics that can be checked, and common ordinary explanations (ordinary butterflies; reflections or marks on window glass) fit easily.
Evidence for and against
- The caller describes their own recurring experience rather than repeating a story: [quote withheld]
- The caller places the second event concretely: [quote withheld]
- The caller separates what they saw from what they concluded: [quote withheld]
- Only vague dating is given: “years ago.”
- No town, address, date, or named witness is given; the location is only “texas” (stated outside the story itself).
- No sequence, length, or frequency is given for the window image, and there is no other detail that could be checked.
- Who said what is unreliable in one short passage, where lines appear mixed between the host and the caller.
- The phrase [quote withheld] is garbled in the transcript.
- It is not stated how often or over how long the face image was seen, or whether it came back.
- 0:17
- 0:40
- 1:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component scoring (source proximity 16, specificity 5, internal consistency 12, alternative explanations 2, calibration 11) is my judgment from the content of the broadcast. The caller was not asked to explain away natural possibilities and did not do so.
There is nothing beyond the caller’s own assertion: no documents, photographs, recordings, named witnesses, or records that can be checked, and no second witness speaks. Only the very general location “Texas” is given.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand testimony is present: [quote withheld]
- No physical evidence is claimed to exist.
- No witness other than the caller is named for these events.
- No date, address, or other record that can be verified is offered.
- It is not stated whether anyone else ever saw the butterflies or the window image.
- 0:54
- 0:40
What the model inferred (not said on air): The ranges are applied as the scoring guide sets them. With no object that could be checked and no support on air, this falls in the range of 0 to 10.
The story is mildly eerie rather than frightening: a deathbed instruction about black butterflies and an unexplained face-like image in a bedroom window, reported as frightening to the caller, with no threat, escalation, or physical contact described.
Evidence for and against
- The setting is a bedroom window: [quote withheld]
- The caller says the image [quote withheld]
- The story is left unresolved, with the caller asking for guidance.
- No threat, attack, harm, or lasting dread is described.
- The butterflies are described as non-threatening, and the question of the husband visiting is framed as uncertain.
- No escalation or repeated menacing episode is reported.
- The window image is described only as “a smashed face”; its appearance, lighting, and length of time are not stated.
- 0:58
- 1:04
- 1:00
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score reflects the story’s atmosphere and the intrusion into a safe space only, not any judgment about whether the events happened.
Butterflies as a sign connected to a dead person, and faces or images in windows, are familiar elements in this kind of story. The distinctive part is the combination of a deathbed instruction to watch for black butterflies with a “smashed” face image. Published originality is compared with the rest of the archive and is provisional with few stories.
Evidence for and against
- A deathbed instruction about a specific sign: [quote withheld]
- An unusual wording for the image: [quote withheld]
- Both core elements (signs after a death; a face at a window) are recurring motifs in ghost stories.
- The story is too short to develop the motifs, so there is little material on which to judge how distinctive it is.
- 0:17
- 1:04
What the model inferred (not said on air): The model score for originality is 45, my judgment from the content. The score compared with the archive cannot meaningfully differ in a pilot archive.
Scoring confidence 0.55 · analysis confidence 0.60 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story (spoken on air); No claimed photograph, recording, document, or other object; No second witness speaking on air. 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.
- Black butterflies are ordinary insects. After being told to watch for them, the caller may notice and remember such sightings more readily. · The caller reports their husband’s instruction to watch out for black butterflies and says they now see one [quote withheld]
- A face-like image in a window can come from reflections, streaks, dirt, or condensation on glass, or from seeing a face in an unclear shape. · The caller describes only [quote withheld] at the bedroom window, with no time, lighting, or length of time given.
What stands out
The story combines a deathbed instruction to watch for a specific natural sign (black butterflies) with an unrelated face-like image in a bedroom window. The caller asks the host to interpret it rather than offering their own conclusion.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.