Electrical faults and a voice in TV static in a Tucson college house
A caller the host introduces as [name withheld], calling from California, describes living in a rented house near the University of Arizona about ten to twelve years before the broadcast. They report repeated electrical failures and an electric can opener that started by itself. Then came an occasion when they and a woman with them heard a voice through the static on a TV with no cable, saying there were no ghosts there. The story ends with the two of them running out of the house.
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 1:15:56). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller, introduced by the host as [name withheld] from California, says they are thirty-three. They say that about ten to twelve years earlier, at about age twenty, they moved into a rented house with roughly three roommates, two blocks from the University of Arizona campus. They say the house had been built for the president of the Tucson Electric Power Company. They report that within a week of moving in, odd things began: [quote withheld] and someone had to walk to a breaker outside the house to restore power. They say three or four different electricians were called over the year they lived there, and all reported the system was fine. On one occasion, they say, they were using an ordinary can opener when the electric can opener started running by itself. They describe one afternoon or evening when they knew their roommates were out and brought a woman back to the house to watch a movie. They had no cable, so the television showed static snow. They say there was a bang from the far side of the house that sounded like dishes crashing, and the woman asked what it was. They told her they did not know but that something was very wrong with the house and that it was haunted. They then report that a voice came from the static on the TV and said there were no ghosts there. They say they turned the TV off and asked the woman whether she had heard it. She said yes and repeated that it had said there was no ghost there. They say they ran out of the house. The host observed that voices are often heard in white noise like the static they had been watching.
Reported events, in order
- 0:12
The caller says they are thirty-three, and that about ten to twelve years earlier, at about age twenty, they moved into a house with roughly three roommates.
- 0:23
They say the house was about two blocks from the University of Arizona campus and had been built for the president of the Tucson Electric Power Company.
- 0:41
Within a week of moving in, the electricity reportedly began cutting out, and someone had to walk to the outdoor breaker to restore power.
- 0:52
Over the year they lived there, they say, three or four electricians inspected the system and found nothing wrong.
- 1:08
They report that on one occasion, while they were using a regular can opener, the electric can opener started by itself.
- 1:22
They say they knew their roommates were out, so they brought a woman back to the house to watch a movie on the TV, which had no cable and showed static.
- 1:51
A loud bang, described as sounding like dishes crashing, came from the far side of the house. The woman asked what it was.
- 1:59
They told her there was something weird with the house and that it was haunted.
- 2:03
They report a voice coming out of the TV static saying there were no ghosts there.
- 2:30
They say they switched off the TV and asked the woman if she had heard it. She said yes and repeated the phrase.
- 2:42
They ran out of the house, according to the caller.
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· 0:41
Reported observation: the house’s power repeatedly cut out and had to be reset at an outside breaker.
- observation· 1:02
Reported observation: three or four electricians checked the wiring over the year and reported nothing wrong.
- observation· 1:08
Reported observation: while the caller was using an ordinary can opener, an electric can opener started running by itself.
- observation· 1:51
Reported observation: a loud bang from the far side of the house, described as sounding like dishes crashing.
- observation· 2:03
Reported observation: a voice came out of the TV's static, saying [quote withheld]
- interpretation· 2:03
The caller’s conclusion, stated to their companion at the time, that the house was haunted.
- hearsay· 2:40
A claimed second witness (an unnamed woman present) is said to have independently heard the same phrase from the TV.
- host statement· 2:16
The host says that voices are often heard in white noise, offering an ordinary reading of the TV voice.
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 with fair detail, an ordinary reading that is never addressed, and no one backing it up on air. That places it just above the [quote withheld] anchor. Parts: source proximity about 21, specificity about 14, internal consistency about 16, alternative explanations about 5, calibration of claims about 7.
Evidence for and against
- The caller reports the events as their own direct experience, with a place, timeframe, and sequence: [quote withheld]
- Concrete specifics that could in principle be checked: a house two blocks from the University of Arizona, built for the president of the Tucson Electric Power Company, and electricians who inspected the wiring.
- No contradiction in the sequence. Their companion’s reported answer matches their own telling.
- The climactic event, a voice in TV static, is exactly the kind of thing the host notes people commonly hear in white noise.
- The electrical failures have an easy ordinary explanation that the caller does not address.
- Several lines that are plainly the caller’s speech carry the label for the host, so who said individual sentences is uncertain.
- The age and condition of the house and the exact state of the wiring are not stated.
- 0:12
- 1:02
- 2:03
What the model inferred (not said on air): The points taken off for alternative explanations reflect my judgment that hearing a voice in white noise and faulty wiring fit the reported events easily. The transcript does not itself weigh these options.
This sits in the range for [quote withheld] No physical evidence is presented or examined, so it stays well below the 26 to 40 range and far below the range for outside checks.
Evidence for and against
- Specifics that could in principle be checked are given: a house two blocks from the University of Arizona, built for the president of the Tucson Electric Power Company.
- A second person is claimed to have heard the same phrase from the TV.
- Nothing is examined on air: no recording, photograph, electrician’s report, or other document.
- The only claimed backing is the caller’s paraphrase of what the woman said. She never speaks on air.
- It is unclear whether the electricians’ assessments were documented. The caller does not say.
- 2:37
- 0:23
What the model inferred (not said on air): I treat the woman’s reported confirmation as a claimed witness only. Under the scoring guide it does not count as independent backing, because she does not appear on air.
The story is unsettling rather than frightening: a growing haunting at home, with one vivid, paradoxical moment in the TV static, ending with both people running out. It has no threat, physical contact, or malice, which keeps it near the middle of the scale.
Evidence for and against
- A crash from the far side of the house leads directly into the TV incident.
- A disembodied voice speaks out of static in the caller’s own home, and both people then flee.
- The voice contradicts the caller’s stated belief, which reverses the expected reassurance.
- Most of the story is ordinary household nuisance (a tripping breaker, a can opener, an electrician’s visit).
- The caller tells the TV voice part with some wry humor, and the phrase itself is a denial rather than a threat.
- The time of day of the TV incident is not stated, which affects how the scene reads.
- 1:51
- 2:42
What the model inferred (not said on air): Creepiness is an entertainment judgment about the story as heard, not a claim about what happened.
This is a familiar “haunted rental house” setup with one truly distinctive turn: the static voice contradicting the caller’s own claim. The provisional model score is in the [quote withheld] range. The comparison with the rest of the archive is provisional at pilot scale.
Evidence for and against
- The distinctive detail is what the TV voice says: a denial, [quote withheld] rather than a warning or a name.
- The detail that the house was built for a utility company’s president ties the electrical theme to the claimed haunting.
- Repeated electrical trouble in a house and a frightening bang are stock haunted-house elements.
- A voice heard in radio or TV static is a familiar motif, close to the idea of voices in recordings.
- The comparison with the rest of the archive is provisional with a small pilot archive.
- 2:03
What the model inferred (not said on air): My score is a judgment about how the motifs are arranged, not about whether the story is true.
Scoring confidence 0.62 · analysis confidence 0.72 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller’s firsthand spoken story (no written material).; A claimed second witness (an unnamed woman present in the room) is quoted by the caller but does not speak on air.; No photograph, recording, document, or physical trace is presented or examined in the story.. 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.
- Faulty or overloaded wiring in the house with an over-sensitive outdoor breaker, plus an appliance (the electric can opener) with a sticky switch. · The caller reports the power cutting out and having to reset a breaker outside, and says electricians found nothing. An old or overloaded circuit with a breaker that trips easily is an ordinary possibility for the electrical part.
- A phrase heard in random TV snow, with the caller’s earlier suggestion (“It's haunted”) possibly shaping what they and their companion heard. · The host himself points out that what the caller heard came out of TV static (“white noise”). Voices are commonly reported as heard in random noise.
- An ordinary household noise from elsewhere (something falling or shifting), blamed on the house. · The bang is described only as sounding like dishes crashing. The caller does not say they found a source or saw anything disturbed.
What stands out
The reported voice from the TV is a denial rather than a warning. It contradicts the caller’s own statement that the house was haunted. The story also links the claimed haunting to a house built for an electric utility’s president and to repeated electrical faults.
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