A banishing ritual and candles that ping and catch fire
A caller named [name withheld], in Oakville, Canada, describes a banishing ritual a friend performed the year before. The friend dabbles in the occult, and the ritual was meant to clear bad dreams troubling [name withheld]’s visiting uncle. During the ritual, [name withheld] says, one candle pinged repeatedly and the flames of two others jumped onto their cases. The caller says their uncle’s nightmares stopped afterward.
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 2013.mp3”, starting at 1:11:53). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
Art Bell takes a Skype caller who gives their name as [name withheld] and says they are in Oakville, Canada. [name withheld] says that “last year” their uncle was staying at their house, and one night the uncle told them about horrible dreams he had been having. The next day [name withheld] mentioned this to a friend who [quote withheld] The friend suggested a banishing ritual: they would summon negative energies and then banish them from the uncle’s life and from anyone in the house. [name withheld] says they told their uncle, who was “down for it,” and the next day the friend came over. The friend set up four candles in the north, east, west, and south corners of the house and went outside, under the deck by the basement, to do their part. [name withheld] and their uncle sat in the living room, told to stay silent. [name withheld] says they grew concerned that a candle might catch fire and walked around now and then to check them. Returning to the room where they sat, [name withheld] says, the candle on the south side began making a “ping ping ping” sound, which they and their uncle both heard. A couple of minutes later it pinged again. Checking the other candles, [name withheld] says, everything was fine. But then, within their range of vision, the east candle’s fire [quote withheld] [name withheld] says they blew out the fire around the rim but kept the wick going. Then they went to check the west side, where the fire jumped out of the candle onto the dryer it was resting on, and they blew that out too. When the friend came up and said the ritual was over, [name withheld] told the friend what had happened. The friend explained that to begin they had to summon the energies from the east, so the fire might have jumped, and banished them to the west, so it jumped again. Asked about the south candle’s pinging, the friend said they had no idea. [name withheld] adds that after the banishing ritual their uncle stopped having the nightmares.
Reported events, in order
- 0:07
The caller gives their name as [name withheld] and their location as Oakville, Canada, and says they have a story from last year.
- 0:25
Their uncle, staying at the house, tells them one night about horrible dreams he has been having.
- 0:33
The next day they mention it to a friend who dabbles in the occult. The friend suggests a banishing ritual to summon and banish negative energies.
- 0:55
They tell their uncle, who agrees to it.
- 1:00
The friend comes over and sets four candles in the north, east, west, and south corners of the house.
- 1:09
The friend goes outside under the deck. [name withheld] and their uncle sit in the living room in silence.
- 1:36
[name withheld] walks around now and then to check the candles.
- 1:47
The south candle starts making a pinging sound, which they and their uncle both hear. It repeats a couple of minutes later.
- 2:20
The east candle’s fire jumps from the wick to its case.
- 2:34
They blow out the fire around the rim but keep the wick going.
- 2:52
They find the west candle’s fire has jumped out onto the dryer it rested on, and they blow it out.
- 3:08
The friend comes up, says the ritual is over, and explains the east and west fires as summoning and banishing energies.
- 3:32
Asked about the south candle’s pinging, the friend says they have no idea why it did that.
- 3:49
They say their uncle stopped having the nightmares after the ritual.
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· 0:25
The caller says their uncle had been having horrible dreams before the ritual.
- observation· 0:37
The caller says a friend who dabbles in the occult proposed a banishing ritual to summon and banish negative energies.
- observation· 1:47
The caller says the candle on the south side began making a pinging sound.
- observation· 2:20
The caller says the fire on the east candle jumped from the wick to the case.
- observation· 2:52
The caller says the west candle’s fire jumped out onto the dryer.
- hearsay· 3:18
The friend explained the east fire as summoning energies from the east and the west fire as banishing them to the west.
- hearsay· 3:39
The friend said they had no idea why the south candle pinged.
- observation· 3:51
The caller says their uncle stopped having the nightmares after the ritual.
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 firsthand story with concrete staging (four candles in the four corners, a friend working under the deck, specific flames and sounds). However, the strange events have simple ordinary explanations (a candle case ticking as wax melts, flames reaching cases and a dryer), and no one backs the story up in a way that can be checked.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand story of events the caller says they witnessed.
- A concrete sequence and setting: [quote withheld] plus details about directions.
- The uncle is described as a second person who heard the same pinging.
- The pinging and jumping flames fit ordinary candle behavior and do not require an unusual cause.
- No documentation, no name for the friend, and no dates beyond “last year.”
- The labels showing who is speaking mostly mark the caller’s lines as the host, so attribution rests on what the lines say.
- Some final words are marked as low confidence.
- 1:47
- 2:20
- 2:52
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score reflects a specific firsthand story that no one else backs up, whose central strange events could easily be ordinary. It is not a judgment of the caller’s honesty.
The story rests on the caller’s assertion plus a claimed second witness (the uncle) who is not on air. A named town and a relative timeframe are given, but nothing is documented or can be checked.
Evidence for and against
- The caller gives a location ([quote withheld]) and a timeframe (“last year”).
- A second participant, the uncle, is said to have heard the pinging.
- No photograph, recording, or document is presented or examined.
- The uncle and friend do not speak on air.
- There is no way to verify any of the described details from the transcript.
- 0:07
- 2:03
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is the usual assertion-only case, slightly above the floor because a named place, a rough date, and a claimed witness are given.
The scenario is mildly eerie: a ritual in the house, a candle pinging in the dark, and flames unexpectedly spreading. But there is no threat, presence, or harm, and the story ends on a positive note.
Evidence for and against
- Unsettling candle behavior during a ritual: [quote withheld]
- Flames spreading onto a case and a dryer, causing alarm.
- No malevolent presence or physical harm occurs.
- The story ends with the nightmares stopping after the ritual.
- Tone and mood cannot be judged from the transcript alone.
- 1:47
- 2:59
What the model inferred (not said on air): Creepiness is judged from the content of the story, not from any claim that it is true.
This is a familiar occult-ritual setup, made somewhat distinctive by the specific logic of directions (summon from the east, banish to the west) applied after the fact to two candle fires, plus an unexplained pinging candle.
Evidence for and against
- A specific setup with candles in four corners.
- The friend’s explanation of the two fires by direction.
- The core elements, a ritual, candles, and odd flames, are common ghost-story material.
- The comparison with the rest of the archive is provisional with so few stories.
- 1:00
- 3:18
What the model inferred (not said on air): The provisional model score reflects a familiar setup with a couple of distinctive details.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.75 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story; A claimed second witness (the uncle), not on air; No physical evidence or documentation presented. The originality score blends the model's score (50) 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.
- A candle in a metal or glass case can make ticking or “pinging” sounds as wax melts and the container expands or cools. · The caller describes the south candle repeatedly making a “pinging sound” while burning in a case.
- Flames reaching the edge of a candle or its case, helped by a draft or a wick burning low, can set the case alight. · The caller says flames jumped [quote withheld] and “onto the dryer” where the candle rested.
- The end of the uncle’s nightmares could reflect an ordinary change over time, or the expectation set by the ritual, rather than the ritual itself. · The caller credits the banishing ritual with ending the nightmares without describing any other change.
What stands out
The story turns on small physical oddities during a staged four-candle banishing ritual: a pinging candle and flames that jump onto their cases and a dryer. It does not involve a ghost. The ritual’s stated design (east to summon, west to banish) is offered as an explanation for two of the fires.
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