Caller describes a black shape in a NIST-released 9/11 video clip
A caller who goes by [quote withheld] tells Art Bell that shortly before the call they were browsing a large release of 9/11 video footage obtained from NIST. At “video 147,” the caller says, they saw a large black shape that they compare to a ghost. The caller describes the shape moving up and along one building, then down at a 45-degree angle to another building, wrapping around it, and descending again. Art says similar strange things were captured during the attacks and suggests the caller send the clip to Coast to Coast AM. The caller does not give a file name or link.
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 32:43). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, [quote withheld] says they were [quote withheld] about two hours earlier (later the caller says [quote withheld]). The caller came across an organization’s collection of material from 9/11 footage that had been obtained from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which the caller says happened [quote withheld] The caller describes the release as 6,500 video clips totaling 924 gigabytes. The caller says different groups are distributing it so people can look through it for “strange stuff.” The caller says they picked one clip of about two gigabytes containing [quote withheld] and worked through them until they reached “video 147.” There, the caller says, the footage begins with a large black shape that they liken to a ghost. It [quote withheld] slides along the side, descends at a 45-degree angle, crosses to the other building, wraps around it, and descends at 45 degrees again. The caller says the footage is “government footage.” Art replies that a number of strange things were captured during the 9/11 attack. He mentions animals [quote withheld] and odd lights, and says such things tend to occur around big tragedies. Asked what they have done with it, the caller says they found it only recently and have not yet done anything. Art advises the caller to send it to Coast to Coast AM. No clip identifier, link, or file is provided, and the footage is not examined on air.
Reported events, in order
- 0:09
The caller identifies as [name withheld] in Massachusetts.
- 0:37
The caller says that about two hours earlier, while on the computer, they came across an organization’s collection of 9/11 footage.
- 0:56
The caller says the organization obtained the material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, reportedly through the courts.
- 1:03
The caller describes the release as a collection of 6,500 video clips and 924 gigabytes of data, being distributed for people to search.
- 1:29
The caller says they picked a roughly two-gigabyte clip containing maybe a hundred videos.
- 1:36
The caller says they reached “video 147.”
- 1:44
The caller describes the clip beginning with a black shape they compare to a ghost.
- 1:54
The caller describes the black shape rising to a building, sliding along it, descending at 45 degrees, crossing to the other building, wrapping around it, and descending again.
- 2:12
The caller asserts that the footage is government footage.
- 2:16
Art says a number of strange things were captured during the 9/11 attacks and that such things tend to occur around big tragedies.
- 2:49
The caller says they came across the clip [quote withheld]
- 2:55
Art advises the caller to send the footage to Coast to Coast AM.
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· 1:44
The caller says the clip begins with a large black shape that looks like a ghost.
- observation· 1:54
The caller says the black shape shoots up to one of the buildings.
- observation· 1:57
The caller describes the shape sliding along the building and descending at a 45-degree angle.
- observation· 1:57
The caller says the shape crosses to the other building, wraps around it, and descends at 45 degrees.
- interpretation· 1:52
The caller says they have no other way to describe the object than as a ghost.
- hearsay· 0:56
The caller reports that an organization received the material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
- hearsay· 1:03
The caller says the release is a collection of 6,500 video clips and 924 gigabytes of data.
- observation· 2:12
The caller asserts that the clip is government footage.
- host statement· 2:16
Art states that a number of strange things were captured during the 9/11 terrorist attack.
- host statement· 2:42
Art states that such things tend to occur around really big tragedies.
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.
The caller claims to have watched a file themselves, and gives some concrete numbers. But no clip can be identified, the caller’s own timing of the discovery shifts, and an ordinary explanation (a compression flaw or debris) fits the described motion easily.
Evidence for and against
- The caller says they viewed the footage themselves on their computer: [quote withheld]
- The caller gives specific figures for the source collection: 6,500 clips, 924 gigabytes, a two-gigabyte clip, video 147.
- The described motion is a consistent sequence (up, along, down at 45 degrees, across, around, down again) rather than a vague impression.
- The caller’s answers to Art’s follow-up question about what they did with the clip fit a recent discovery that they have not yet acted on.
- No clip name, link, or file is offered, so the one strange moment cannot be found or looked at again.
- The caller says the material was found [quote withheld] and later [quote withheld] a discrepancy the caller does not resolve.
- “video 147” within a clip described as holding [quote withheld] is unexplained.
- The object’s described motion is the kind of thing video compression or distant debris can produce, and the caller does not address that possibility.
- The labels showing who is speaking switch back and forth within the call, so it is uncertain who said some individual lines.
- The buildings are never identified, nor are the camera angle and the source of the footage.
- The automatic transcript renders the caller’s account of distribution as “sparsing it out,” which is probably “parsing” but is uncertain.
- 0:37
- 1:36
- 1:57
- 2:49
What the model inferred (not said on air): Source proximity is graded as firsthand but brief, because the caller watched the file themselves but only once and briefly. Credit for alternative explanations is low because neither the caller nor Art raises or rules out a compression or debris explanation.
The caller’s assertion is the whole of it. But the caller does give specifics that could be checked, a named agency, a stated size for the collection, and a clip number, and none of them were checked on air. The recording the caller says exists was never supplied or examined.
Evidence for and against
- A named source is given for the footage: [quote withheld]
- Numbers that could in principle be matched against a public release: 6,500 clips, 924 gigabytes, video 147.
- Art treats the material as something that could be sent in: [quote withheld]
- No file, link, point in time within the clip, or clip identifier is provided.
- Nothing was examined on air, and Art offers no independent description of the footage.
- No second witness speaks on air, and none is claimed.
- The details given do not make it possible to tell whether the described release can be identified.
- The caller does not say exactly which organization obtained the material.
- 1:03
- 1:36
- 2:55
What the model inferred (not said on air): I place this in the 11 to 25 range rather than 26 to 40. A recording is claimed to exist, but no identifying detail lets anyone find or verify it, and the general figures for the collection can be checked only loosely.
Eerie rather than frightening: an unidentified black shape moving over the buildings of a well-known disaster. But there is no threat, no physical contact, and no personal intrusion, and the exchange ends in practical advice about sending the file in.
Evidence for and against
- The image is odd and slightly uncanny: [quote withheld]
- The described motion is unnatural and mechanical: [quote withheld]
- The setting is the 9/11 attacks, a distressing real event that serves as the backdrop of the footage.
- The caller describes watching a video rather than being present at anything.
- No danger, pursuit, contact, or escalation toward the caller is reported.
- This part of the broadcast closes with Art suggesting a practical action and moving to the next caller.
- The caller’s own reaction to what they saw is only partly transcribed (“Holy smokes” is labeled as coming from a speaker whose identity is unclear).
- 1:44
- 1:54
What the model inferred (not said on air): I rate this as mildly eerie rather than unsettling, because the horror is distant. It happens in archived footage from years earlier, not to the caller in a private space.
The core element, a strange dark mass appearing in a photograph or video, is a familiar one. But the particular setting is a distinctive combination: members of the public examining a NIST-released collection of 9/11 footage, and an object moving in 45-degree segments around two buildings.
Evidence for and against
- The setting is specific and uncommon: a described release of “6,500 video clips” and “924 gigabytes” opened for public scrutiny.
- The motion is described in unusual geometric terms: rising, sliding, descending at 45 degrees, wrapping a building.
- The caller notes the material is “government footage,” a framing not typical of ghost stories from the home.
- The underlying motif, a black shape likened to a ghost, is common in ghost lore and in reports of strange videos.
- The encounter has no personal history, attachment to a place, or repeating element to set it apart from other strange-footage reports.
- Novelty compared with the rest of the archive cannot be worked out here, so this is a provisional judgment from the content.
- 1:03
- 1:57
What the model inferred (not said on air): My provisional model score sits just above the midpoint: a familiar strange-footage motif attached to a very specific documentary setting.
Scoring confidence 0.65 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story about viewing a video file; Claimed video footage, not supplied, not identified, and not examined on air; No other witness and no supporting document. The originality score blends the model's score (58) 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.
- Flaws from digital video compression or encoding could produce a moving dark smudge against buildings and sky. · The caller says they were viewing files from a large downloaded collection and chose [quote withheld] containing [quote withheld] That means heavily compressed material viewed on a home computer.
- The caller may have misidentified airborne debris, smoke, or a bird in the footage, with its apparent movement exaggerated by camera motion. · The caller describes the object as moving fast along and between buildings (“shoots up,” [quote withheld]), and Art notes that footage from the attacks included [quote withheld]
What stands out
The story centers on a document set that can be identified from outside, a NIST release described as 6,500 clips and 924 gigabytes, rather than a personal haunting. But the caller offers no clip identifier or link, and the strange moment is described only in words on air.
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