A colonial-dressed luminous figure in a Boston apartment doorway
A caller tells Art Bell a story that they say happened while they and their fiancée [name withheld] lived in a Boston building for about two to three years during their grad school years. About a month before they moved back to Brooklyn, they say, they woke in bed with a sense of being watched. Then they saw a glowing, slightly see-through man in colonial dress in the apartment doorway. Their partner is said to have woken and also seen the figure, which then vanished. They say they could not sleep again that night. The host then reflects on the story before taking the next call.
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 49:36). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller says they and their fiancée [name withheld] lived in a building in Boston for about two to three years while they were in grad school. They say the events happened roughly a month before they moved back to Brooklyn, with the apartment already packed. They say they were asleep and lying in bed when they felt someone above them just looking at them. They say they told themselves, half-joking, that if someone was there they might not want to be there when they opened their eyes. Right after this, they say, they felt [quote withheld] They then sat up, looked over, and saw a man in their doorway, dressed in colonial clothes, with long stringy hair and bifocals, [quote withheld] According to the caller, the man was lit up, giving off his own light that did not reflect onto the door, floor, or walls. He was slightly see-through, so that the caller could see the bathroom light through him. The only light in the apartment was a bathroom door slightly ajar behind the figure. They say the figure looked at them with curiosity and no malice, and they felt only curiosity in return. They say they touched their girlfriend, and she woke up, looked at the door, and asked who the man in white at the door was. They describe this as confirmation. They say they turned to her, she went back to sleep, and when they turned back the man was gone. They say they woke her again and she told them exactly what she had seen, matching their own description. She went back to sleep, and they could not sleep for the rest of the night. Art Bell thanks the caller and then comments generally that a ghost might be as surprised as the witness.
Reported events, in order
- 0:09
The caller and their fiancée [name withheld] live in a Boston building for about two to three years while they are in grad school. The events happen about a month before they move back to Brooklyn, with the apartment packed.
- 0:35
Lying in bed asleep, they feel someone above them just looking at them.
- 0:41
They say to themselves, half-jokingly, that whoever is there might not want to be there when they open their eyes.
- 0:54
They report a gust of wind shooting to their left.
- 1:01
They sit up and see a man in colonial dress, with long stringy hair and bifocals, in the apartment doorway. He looks like a tall, thin Benjamin Franklin.
- 1:23
The figure is lit up, giving off its own light that does not fall on the door, floor, or walls. The only other light is a slightly ajar bathroom door behind him.
- 1:44
The figure is slightly see-through, with the bathroom light visible through him, and looks at them with curiosity and no malice.
- 1:57
They touch their girlfriend. She wakes, looks at the door, and asks who the man in white at the door is.
- 2:14
They turn to her, she goes back to sleep, and when they turn back the man is gone.
- 2:22
They wake her again. She tells them exactly what she saw, matching their story, then goes back to sleep. They do not sleep again that night.
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· 0:35
The caller felt someone above them looking at them while lying in bed.
- observation· 0:54
The caller felt a gust of wind shoot to their left right after their silent remark.
- observation· 1:01
The caller saw a man in colonial dress, with long stringy hair and bifocals, in the apartment doorway.
- interpretation· 1:12
The caller compares the figure’s appearance to a tall, thin Benjamin Franklin.
- observation· 1:33
The figure gave off its own light, and the light did not reflect on the door, floor, or walls.
- observation· 1:44
The figure was slightly see-through, with the bathroom light visible through him.
- interpretation· 1:44
The figure looked at them with curiosity and no malice.
- hearsay· 2:04
Their girlfriend, woken by them, looked at the door and asked who the man in white at the door was.
- observation· 2:14
When they turned back toward the doorway, the figure was gone.
- hearsay· 2:25
The caller says their girlfriend later described seeing exactly what they had seen.
- host statement· 2:41
Art Bell speculates that a ghost may be as surprised to be in another place or time as the witness is.
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 firsthand story that is orderly and fairly specific (city, life circumstances, timing relative to the move, a detailed description of the figure). But it has no names, address, or date that could be checked, it has a strong sleep-wake alternative, and the claimed second witness never speaks on air.
Evidence for and against
- A firsthand story of what they say they saw and did, with a clear sequence and physical description
- Concrete context: Boston, grad school, a two-to-three-year stay, about a month before moving back to Brooklyn
- They describe themselves as asleep in bed right before the experience, so a dream-like state while waking up fits easily
- No date, year, building name, or address is given, so nothing can be checked
- The second witness’s sighting is only reported by the caller, and she never speaks on air
- They link their silent remark to the gust of wind that followed, reading meaning into what may be a coincidence
- The host’s introduction, [quote withheld] is unclear and may or may not relate to the caller
- The caller says “fiancee gina” and later “my girlfriend.” It is not clarified whether these are the same person
- The girlfriend reportedly said [quote withheld] while the caller described colonial dress with long stringy hair and bifocals
- 0:35
- 1:01
- 2:25
What the model inferred (not said on air): The part scores are my judgment. Proximity is high because they present it as their own experience. Specificity is moderate because the setting is described in terms of their life, not in terms that can be checked. Alternatives are low because a sleep-wake explanation fits how the experience began. Calibration is moderate because they do not claim a cause but do link the gust of wind to their remark.
There is only the caller’s assertion plus a claimed second witness who does not speak. No documentation, recording, or specifics that could be checked are offered.
Evidence for and against
- The caller says a second person, their fiancée, saw the same figure and described it to them
- No photograph, recording, written record, or named building or date is offered
- The second witness never speaks on air. Her story reaches us only through the caller
- Whether the girlfriend’s story would match in detail cannot be judged from the broadcast
- 2:22
What the model inferred (not said on air): It is placed in the 11 to 25 range for “other witnesses claimed” and not higher, since no evidence is examined on air and the claimed witness is not heard independently.
A silent, glowing figure watching from a bedroom doorway at night, in a packed apartment about to be vacated, is truly unsettling. But the caller stresses no malice, no contact, and no threat, and the story ends quietly.
Evidence for and against
- A figure stands in the bedroom doorway at night while the caller lies in bed
- It gives off its own light that casts no reflection onto the room
- They say they could not sleep for the rest of the night
- The figure is described as curious and without malice
- No physical contact, harm, pursuit, or escalation is reported
- The story ends without further incident
- The timeline is compressed in the automatic transcript, so how long the sighting lasted is unclear
- 1:44
- 2:29
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is my judgment of how uneasy a listener would feel. I weighted the bedroom doorway setting and the unexplained disappearance more than the caller’s stated lack of fear.
A doorway figure seen from bed, with a second witness, is a familiar ghost-story setup. But the specific portrait (colonial dress, long stringy hair, bifocals, [quote withheld]) and the glowing figure that casts no light and is slightly see-through give it distinctive detail.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld]
- [quote withheld]
- A felt presence above the bed followed by a gust of wind
- A figure in the bedroom doorway and a second witness are common motifs
- The comparison with the rest of the archive is provisional given the small archive size
- 1:12
What the model inferred (not said on air): The score mixes the familiar setup with the unusual detail of a glowing figure that casts no light. I set it mid-range rather than high because the structure of the story is conventional.
Scoring confidence 0.70 · analysis confidence 0.75 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story; A claimed second witness (fiancée or girlfriend [name withheld]), not on air and not examined; No physical evidence or documentation offered. The originality score blends the model's score (55) 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 dream-like experience while waking up: the caller describes themselves as asleep and lying in bed just before the figure appears, a state in which vivid figures and a felt presence are commonly reported. · [quote withheld] and [quote withheld]
- Light spilling from the slightly ajar bathroom door behind the doorway could produce a lit or haloed figure and add to the impression of a figure giving off light. · [quote withheld]
- A draft (an open window or door, or air moving through the building) could account for the reported gust of wind, with the caller linking it to their own silent remark. · [quote withheld]
What stands out
The figure gives off its own light but casts no reflection, and the caller describes him as [quote withheld] This is a more specific picture than the usual doorway figure. The caller also says their own spoken challenge came right before a gust of wind. Another notable feature is the claim that a second person, who had just woken, independently named the figure before the caller said anything.
Related stories
Matched by shared recurring details, categories, and wording.