Retired guard’s story of Ted Bundy’s ghost in the Florida electric chair
On the broadcast the host reads an account he attributes to a retired Florida state prison guard, unnamed at the guard’s own request, who is said to have told his story to a Tampa newspaper reporter in April 2001. According to the host’s reading, after Ted Bundy’s execution guards would enter the electric chair room and find Bundy sitting there smiling. He vanished when they approached or spoke to him. Other guards also reported seeing him near his former cell, where he was said to repeat [quote withheld] The guard further said the warden threatened to fire any guard who reported the activity, that several guards quit, and that Ted was not the only ghost haunting the prison.
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 41:48). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The host tells listeners about an account he attributes to a man who retired from a Florida state prison in April 2001. The man told his story to a Tampa newspaper reporter on the condition that no one reveal his name. According to the host’s reading, the retired guard said that shortly after Ted Bundy was put to death in the Florida electric chair, guards, including himself, would go into the room where the chair was and find Bundy sitting in it, not strapped in. He was smiling at whoever came in [quote withheld] When someone approached the chair or spoke, he would simply vanish. The guard said it got so bad that nobody could get a guard to go into the room. He said other guards reported seeing Ted in the area of his former cell, where he had spent the last hours of his life. Some guards claimed he spoke to them, and all reportedly gave the same words: [quote withheld] The retired guard said the warden and the warden’s staff went from guard to guard warning that anyone who reported what was going on would be fired. He said several guards quit after seeing Ted once or twice. The story closes with the guard’s statement that Ted was not the only ghost haunting the prison. No caller or witness speaks. The host supplies only the framing and calls the item strange and spooky.
Reported events, in order
- 0:02
The host introduces the story: an unnamed former Florida State Prison guard, retired in April 2001, told his story to a Tampa newspaper reporter on condition his name not be revealed.
- 0:42
The guard is said to have stated that shortly after Ted Bundy was put to death in the Florida electric chair, guards, including himself, would enter the chair room and find Bundy sitting in the chair.
- 0:59
Bundy is described as not strapped in, sitting and smiling at whoever entered [quote withheld]
- 1:08
On approaching the chair or speaking, the figure would vanish.
- 1:13
The guard said it got so bad that nobody could get a guard to go into the room.
- 1:21
Other guards reportedly saw Ted near his former cell, where he spent the last hours of his life.
- 1:29
Some guards claimed he spoke to them, all reportedly giving the same words: [quote withheld]
- 1:40
The guard said the warden and the warden’s staff went from guard to guard warning that anyone reporting the activity would be fired.
- 1:55
Several guards reportedly quit after seeing Ted once or twice.
- 2:00
The guard said Ted was not the only ghost haunting the prison.
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· 0:49
The retired guard said that shortly after Ted Bundy was executed, guards, including himself, would enter the electric chair room and find Bundy sitting in the chair.
- hearsay· 0:59
The guard described Bundy as not strapped in, sitting and smiling at whoever entered [quote withheld]
- hearsay· 1:08
Approaching the chair or speaking caused the figure to vanish.
- hearsay· 1:18
The guard said the situation reached the point that nobody could get a guard to enter the room.
- hearsay· 1:21
Other guards reported seeing Ted in the area of his former cell, where he spent the last hours of his life.
- hearsay· 1:29
Some guards claimed Ted spoke to them, and all reportedly said he gave the same line: [quote withheld]
- hearsay· 1:40
The guard said the warden and the warden’s staff warned guards that anyone reporting what was happening would be fired.
- hearsay· 1:55
Several guards reportedly quit after seeing Ted once or twice.
- hearsay· 2:00
The guard said Ted was not the only ghost haunting the prison.
- host statement· 0:32
The host frames the story as being about the ghost of Ted Bundy sitting in the electric chair, and calls it “strange” and “spooky.”
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 story is consistent and gives a concrete setting, a stated date, and the route by which it reached the host. But it reaches the listener at two removes (guard to newspaper to host), the source is deliberately unnamed, and no ordinary explanation is considered. Components: source proximity 8 of 25 (secondhand and distant, not a close named source), specificity 9 of 20, internal consistency 15 of 20, alternative explanations 6 of 20, calibration 4 of 15. That totals 42, adjusted to 40 because the story is wholly secondhand. The cap for secondhand stories (60 or less) applies and is not reached.
Evidence for and against
- A concrete setting is given: [quote withheld]
- Consistent sequence: sighting in the chair, vanishing, sightings at the former cell, guards’ reaction.
- A specific detail about behavior that could in principle be checked: [quote withheld]
- The source is unnamed and unavailable: [quote withheld]
- Delivered entirely as a newspaper item read on air; no firsthand witness is present.
- The host does not address any ordinary explanation, and no viewing conditions are described.
- No sighting dates, times, or individual witnesses are given.
- Some words in the transcript are garbled (for example, [quote withheld] and “Stark”).
- 0:20
- 0:49
What the model inferred (not said on air): The component weighting and the shift from 42 to 40 are my editorial judgment. The quotation and the secondhand route come from the broadcast.
Only assertions are present, but some could in principle be checked (a dated newspaper interview with a named institution). That places the story in the second range rather than at the floor. Claimed second witnesses do not count as backing, and nothing was examined on air.
Evidence for and against
- Specifics that could in principle be checked are stated: a Florida state prison, April 2001, and a Tampa newspaper article.
- Several witnesses are claimed, though none independently.
- No document, article text, photograph, or recording is produced or examined on air.
- No witness speaks on air, and the guard’s identity is withheld by condition.
- The article itself is not identified by name, author, or exact publication.
- Whether any such article exists is not established on air.
- 0:20
- 1:29
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placing it in the 11 to 25 range rather than 0 to 10 rests on the stated article and date. That judgment is mine.
Unsettling rather than frightening. The setting, the taunting line, and the staff reaction (refusing to enter, resignations, an apparent cover-up) carry real dread, while the absence of threat or harm keeps it below the higher scores.
Evidence for and against
- An execution chamber setting and the figure of a serial killer seated in the chair.
- Intrusion into a guarded workplace; guards reportedly refusing to enter and quitting.
- The taunting content of the reported line and the smile [quote withheld]
- An ominous closing note that other ghosts also haunt the prison.
- The figure causes no harm and disappears when approached: “he'd simply vanish.”
- No threatening behavior, injury, or pursuit is reported.
- No description of the atmosphere, sound, or lighting in the room is provided.
- 0:59
- 1:29
What the model inferred (not said on air): Whether the host’s framing affects a listener is a judgment about the story’s effect, not about the events. The quoted elements come from the broadcast.
The provisional model score is for a familiar haunting with a small number of truly distinctive details: the smiling, unbound figure in the execution chair and the taunting line. With few stories in the archive, the published value compared with the rest of the archive would be labeled provisional.
Evidence for and against
- The distinctive detail of the figure seated unbound in an execution chair [quote withheld]
- A specific reported line attributed to the figure: [quote withheld]
- The staff reaction, the warden’s threats of firing and guards quitting, as part of the story.
- The core motif, a figure that appears and vanishes when noticed, is a standard ghost-story element.
- A haunting of a prison or execution site is a familiar idea.
- Novelty compared with the rest of the archive cannot be worked out meaningfully in the pilot.
- 0:59
- 2:00
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score is my comparison against common ghost-story motifs. The details cited come from the broadcast.
Scoring confidence 0.55 · analysis confidence 0.66 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The host’s reading of a newspaper story attributed to an unnamed retired guard; secondhand only; No firsthand witness speaks on air; no caller testimony; No photograph, recording, document, log, or article text produced or examined on air; Specifics that could be checked (Florida State Prison, April 2001, a Tampa newspaper article) stated but not verified. The originality score blends the model's score (60) 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.
- Rumor and expectation among staff in a charged institutional setting. · The story describes the sightings spreading among staff ([quote withheld]; [quote withheld]) in a closed, high-stress workplace. Expectation and story-sharing could plausibly shape what staff reported seeing. This is a guess about the reported events, not about any person’s character or mental state.
- A misidentified ordinary sight or figure in the execution chamber under poor conditions. This cannot be evaluated from what was said on air. · The story comes secondhand through a newspaper ([quote withheld]). So no direct observation, lighting, or viewing conditions at the chair room are described, and they cannot be assessed from the broadcast.
What stands out
The story is presented as an unnamed guard’s account relayed through a newspaper. Its distinguishing detail is a figure found sitting unbound in an execution chair, smiling, before vanishing. The staff reaction is also notable: threats of firing and resignations.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.