Dream of an elevator operator identified as Satan in a strange city
A caller the host introduces as [name withheld] from Texas describes a dream they say they had about ten years earlier, while living and working in Phoenix. They found themselves in an unfamiliar city, something like New York, climbed the stairs of a high-rise, and were drawn to a bank of elevators. In the second elevator stood a sharply dressed operator whom the caller says they immediately took to be Satan himself. When the caller asked whether they were going up or down, the operator said there was [quote withheld] for them. They say they woke up sweating and still do not know what it means. They say the experience has [quote withheld] but do not explain. The host closes by calling it a dream.
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 1:21:08). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The host introduces a caller from Texas named [name withheld]. The caller says the experience happened to them and was [quote withheld] but occurred [quote withheld] The caller says that at the time they were [quote withheld] In the dream they found themselves awake in a city unknown to them, [quote withheld] with crowds of people in suits heading downtown. They say they were [quote withheld] roughly twenty to forty stories, unsure what they were doing there. They headed toward the elevators because that was where they felt pulled. They describe a bank of about half a dozen elevators. The first opened and filled with people carrying briefcases and purses. They decided it was too crowded and waited. The next opened empty, with them the only person waiting, and inside stood [quote withheld] in a sharply tailored vest, holding his hands and smiling. The caller says the man had [quote withheld] and that they [quote withheld] who he was. In an exchange with the host, they describe him as Satan himself. Asked by the host whether this was all a dream, the caller said yes, adding [quote withheld] Standing outside the open doors, they asked whether they were going up or down, meaning heaven or hell. They say they had the feeling that they might have died in their sleep. They say the operator replied [quote withheld] after which they woke wide awake and sweating. They say the question has stayed with them. The host remarks that, since the caller made no choice, it is “purgatory” for them, and that [quote withheld]
Reported events, in order
- 0:23
The caller says the experience happened in a dream while they were living and working in Phoenix about ten years earlier.
- 0:35
In the dream they found themselves in an unfamiliar city that they describe as New York or Chicago style, with crowds in suits heading downtown.
- 0:50
They climbed the stairs of a high-rise, roughly twenty to forty stories, unsure of their purpose there.
- 1:05
They headed toward a bank of about half a dozen elevators, saying they were drawn there.
- 1:28
The first elevator opened and filled with people carrying briefcases and purses. They chose to wait for the next one.
- 1:43
The next elevator opened empty, with them the only person waiting to board.
- 1:56
They saw an elevator operator standing in the corner, sharply dressed in a vest, holding his hands and smiling at them.
- 2:11
They report the man had a sense or aura about him that “wasn't natural.”
- 2:25
They say they [quote withheld] who the figure was: Satan himself.
- 2:40
They confirm to the host that this was all in a dream.
- 2:51
They say it has [quote withheld]
- 3:11
Still standing outside the open doors, they were asked by the operator whether they were getting in.
- 3:16
They asked whether they were going up or down, meaning heaven or hell, and say they felt they might have died in their sleep.
- 3:44
The operator replied that there was [quote withheld] for them.
- 3:55
They woke wide awake and sweating, and say the question has stayed with them since.
- 4:02
The host closes this part of the broadcast by suggesting purgatory and remarking that it was a dream.
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· 0:50
The caller dreamed of an unfamiliar city, climbing the stairs of a high-rise, and being drawn to a bank of elevators.
- observation· 2:11
The caller says an elevator operator was standing inside the elevator, sharply dressed, with an aura that was not natural.
- interpretation· 2:25
The caller says they immediately recognized the elevator operator as Satan himself.
- observation· 3:33
The caller says their question about whether they were going up or down meant they were asking whether they were going to heaven or to hell.
- interpretation· 3:39
The caller says they had the feeling they might have died in their sleep.
- interpretation· 2:51
The caller says the experience has shown up in real life, without describing what that was.
- observation· 3:44
The caller says the operator told them there was not much difference for them between up and down.
- host statement· 4:02
The host says that because the caller made no choice, it amounts to purgatory for them.
- host statement· 4:10
The host says the story was a dream.
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 coherent, fairly orderly firsthand dream story with some concrete imagery. But it is told entirely as a dream, which is an obvious ordinary explanation, and it has no specifics that can be checked beyond [quote withheld] The caller repeatedly calls it a dream but also claims an unexplained real-life effect.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld] This gives a partial anchor in fact.
- An orderly sequence with attention to detail: the elevator bank, the crowded first elevator, the empty second one, the operator’s dress.
- They answer the host’s clarifying questions without changing the story: [quote withheld]
- They clearly label the story as a dream rather than an encounter.
- The dream setting is itself the ready ordinary explanation.
- [quote withheld] This is a claim that things went further, with no detail.
- No date, address, employer, or any other element that can be independently checked.
- The labels showing who is speaking shift and some host lines seem misattributed, which makes it less clear who says what.
- Whether “the Satan himself” is spoken by the caller or by the host.
- What the caller means by its having [quote withheld] which is never described.
- Whether any later experiences were mentioned elsewhere in the broadcast.
- 0:23
- 2:40
- 2:51
What the model inferred (not said on air): It is scored as a firsthand story with an easy ordinary explanation (dreaming) and no way to verify it. The caller gets only partial credit for calibration, because they label it a dream but also claim a real-life element with no evidence.
The story rests solely on the caller’s word. There is no photograph, recording, document, named institution, or second witness on air. The only specific details are a city and a rough time frame, which cannot be checked as given.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld] This gives only a vague time and place.
- No physical or documentary evidence is claimed or examined.
- No second witness speaks on air.
- No named building, employer, date, or record to check.
- The core experience happened in a dream, leaving no trace to examine.
- Whether the caller has any documentation of the claimed real-life effect. None is described.
- 0:23
- 2:51
What the model inferred (not said on air): A score of 0 to 10: assertion only. The Phoenix and time details are too vague to count as specifics that can be checked.
The story builds a quiet dread: a figure with an unnatural aura waiting in an empty elevator, a question about heaven versus hell, the suggestion that the caller may have died in their sleep, and a closing line implying nothing differs for them. It ends unresolved, with the caller waking in a sweat. But it lacks threat, harm, or sustained escalation.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld]
- [quote withheld]
- [quote withheld]
- [quote withheld]
- [quote withheld]
- No physical contact, injury, or threat is reported
- Everything happens in a dream, which the host and caller both acknowledge
- A brief, single scene without escalation
- Whether the “Satan himself” identification was spoken by the caller or supplied by the host, which affects how much menace is attributed
- 2:11
- 3:44
What the model inferred (not said on air): Placed mid-range: a memorable, ominous dream full of symbols rather than a described attack or haunting.
A familiar dream-encounter setup is given a distinctive setting and staging: an elevator bank in a big city, an operator in a vest standing for the choice between heaven and hell, and the reply that it makes no difference for the caller.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld]: the staging of a dream city
- [quote withheld]: an unusual figure for the archive’s typical ghost-story cast
- [quote withheld] with the heaven and hell reading
- A choice between heaven and hell and dream temptation are longstanding story motifs
- A demonic figure with an unsettling presence is a stock element
- How new the story is compared with the rest of the archive cannot be assessed from this one story
- 1:56
- 3:16
What the model inferred (not said on air): A familiar setup plus a distinctive, specific staging. Scored above the stock-elements anchor but well below the “unlike anything common” anchor.
Scoring confidence 0.60 · analysis confidence 0.70 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand story (a dream, about four minutes of airtime); A claimed real-life effect, not described and not examined.
Ordinary explanations to consider
These are possibilities only. None is a finding about what happened.
- An ordinary vivid dream or nightmare. The caller says all the imagery came while they were asleep, and the sequence has dream-like features: a city they cannot name, a task with no purpose, and a choice full of symbols. · [quote withheld]; [quote withheld]
- Waking suddenly from sleep: they say they woke “wide awake” and sweating right after the dream’s climax. · [quote withheld]
- Naming the figure as Satan is an interpretation made after waking, applied to a dream character described only as a well-dressed man with an unsettling “aura.” · [quote withheld]; [quote withheld]
What stands out
The story stages a choice between heaven and hell in an ordinary office building. The figure who decides is a sharply dressed elevator operator whom the caller identifies as Satan. It is told throughout as a dream, yet the caller also says it has [quote withheld] without saying how. Both the caller and the host note that no choice was made, so the matter is left openly unresolved.
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