Recurring evening thump at the door and a cat watching something in the room
A caller the host introduces as [name withheld], on Skype, describes an unexplained thump at their front door. The caller says it has happened every evening between about seven and nine o'clock for the twelve years they have lived in the house, with nothing ever visible through the peephole. The caller says they once sat outside until about 9:30 to check whether children were responsible, went back inside, and got another thump. The caller also reports that three weeks earlier they told the host their cat watches something flying around the room. The host advises the caller to keep an eye on their cat.
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 1:59:04). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
A caller the host introduces as [name withheld], speaking by Skype, says they moved into their house twelve years before the broadcast. Every evening between about seven and nine o'clock, they say, there is a thump at their door. The caller describes it as being like someone hitting the door rather than knocking. Over the years they have gone to the door, looked through the peephole, and found nothing there. The caller came to dismiss it as “my ghost.” On one occasion the caller decided to sit outside to see whether children were responsible. They stayed out until about 9:30, came back inside and sat down, and got a thump again. The caller says this has gone on for twelve years and they do not know what it is. The caller also says they telephoned the host about three weeks earlier and told the host that their cat sees something flying around the room. The caller recalls the host telling them that they did not want to know what it was, because if it got hold of them it would tear them up. The caller says that remark has haunted them since. The host closes the call by telling [name withheld] to keep an eye on their cat. Afterward the host remarks that cats see these things.
Reported events, in order
- 0:33
[name withheld] says they moved into the house twelve years before the broadcast.
- 0:36
The caller reports a thump at the door every evening between about seven and nine, like someone hitting the door rather than knocking.
- 0:40
The caller says that over the years they have gone to the door, looked through the peephole, and found nothing there.
- 0:54
The caller says they dismissed it as “my ghost.”
- 0:54
On one occasion the caller decided to sit outside to see whether children were responsible.
- 1:09
The caller says they stayed outside until about 9:30, came back in, sat down, and got a thump again.
- 1:16
The caller says they do not know what it is and that it has been going on for twelve years.
- 1:20
The caller says they telephoned the host about three weeks earlier and reported that their cat sees something flying around the room.
- 1:34
The caller recalls the host telling them they did not want to know what it was, because if it got hold of them it would tear them up. The caller says that has haunted them since.
- 1:45
The host tells [name withheld] to keep an eye on their cat and thanks the caller for the call.
- 1:52
After the call, the host remarks that cats see these things.
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· 0:36
The caller says a thump occurs at their door every evening between about 7 and 9 p.m.
- interpretation· 0:40
The caller describes the sound as like someone hitting the door rather than knocking.
- observation· 0:40
The caller says they have repeatedly looked through the peephole and seen nothing.
- observation· 1:14
The caller says that after sitting outside until about 9:30 and returning inside, they got a thump again.
- interpretation· 0:54
The caller says they came to treat the thumping as “my ghost.”
- observation· 1:20
The caller says they told the host about three weeks earlier that their cat sees something flying around the room.
- host statement· 1:40
The caller recalls the host telling them that they did not want to know what it was, because if it got hold of them it would tear them up.
- host statement· 1:52
After the call, the host asserts that cats see these things.
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, internally coherent story with a concrete recurring time window and a described attempt to test one ordinary explanation, which raises it above a vague report. It stays in the middle range because it is short, gives no location or checkable specifics, and an ordinary recurring evening sound at a door remains an easy fit.
Evidence for and against
- Firsthand: the caller describes their own house and their own actions.
- Concrete recurring detail: [quote withheld]
- The caller separates what they perceived from what they concluded: [quote withheld]
- The caller tested one explanation. They sat outside until about 9:30 to see [quote withheld]
- No location, date, or identifying detail that could be checked.
- No second human witness and no documentation.
- A routine recurring household or neighborhood sound in the same evening window fits the report easily.
- The labels showing who is speaking are unreliable. Nearly all of the caller's speech is labeled as the host, so attribution rests on content.
- No location or date is given, and the call is brief (about two minutes).
- The wording of the earlier warning the caller recounts is garbled.
- 0:40
- 1:09
- 1:16
What the model inferred (not said on air): Component scoring: source proximity 22 (firsthand); specificity 10 (time window, twelve years, peephole, an attempt to watch outside, but no location, date, or description of the door or sound source); internal consistency 16 (coherent, no contradictions, answers fit); alternative explanations 7 (routine evening household or building noise fits easily, though the caller tested one ordinary idea); calibration 10 (says they do not know, considered “the kids”). The total is 65.
The story rests entirely on the caller's word. No document, recording, photograph, or mark is claimed, and no other person is said to have experienced the thumping. The cat is a claimed animal reaction, not checkable evidence.
Evidence for and against
- The caller gives a specific recurring time window and describes an attempt to check by looking through the peephole.
- The caller gives a duration: twelve years.
- Nothing physical or documentary is offered.
- No second human witness is claimed.
- No location or date is given that could be checked.
- No location, no date beyond the twelve-year span, and no record is given.
- The only other witness is a cat, which cannot be examined or speak.
- The host's alleged earlier warning is reported secondhand, and its wording is garbled in the transcript.
- 0:40
- 1:20
What the model inferred (not said on air): Classification: the caller's word only. A claimed animal witness is not backing from another person, and no documentation is claimed.
A nightly unexplained bang at one's own front door, recurring for twelve years with nothing ever there, is quietly unsettling. The recounted warning that the thing [quote withheld] adds an implied threat. No physical contact, attack, or escalation is reported, which keeps the score in the middle range.
Evidence for and against
- The sound recurs at the caller's own door in a fixed evening window.
- Nothing is ever visible through the peephole.
- The caller says the host's remark [quote withheld]
- No harm, contact, or attack is reported.
- The caller treats the matter fairly lightly, calling it “my ghost.”
- The phrase [quote withheld] is quoted by the caller as the host's words. The transcript is garbled, and it is unclear whether the object is “me” or “you.”
- 0:40
- 1:40
What the model inferred (not said on air): This is an editorial judgment about the effect on a listener. The repeated, unresolvable knock in a home and the implied threat raise it above a merely mild story. The lack of any described confrontation keeps it below the “frightening” range.
A recurring unexplained knocking at a door, with an animal apparently tracking something unseen, uses familiar motifs. The specific evening window and the multi-year duration give it some distinctiveness. The score is provisional, since a comparison with the rest of the archive is not available here.
Evidence for and against
- [quote withheld] This is a recurring, time-bound sound rather than a one-off.
- [quote withheld] This is a long duration.
- Unexplained knocking and animals reacting to unseen things are among the most common motifs in this genre.
- No new strange event is described beyond the knock and the cat's behavior.
- No comparison with the rest of the archive is available in this story, and the published value is provisional.
- The only distinctive details are the fixed evening window and the twelve-year duration.
- 0:36
- 1:20
What the model inferred (not said on air): Model judgment: a recurring unexplained knock and an animal tracking something unseen are common motifs. The unusual regularity of the time window and the twelve-year span lift the score slightly.
Scoring confidence 0.55 · analysis confidence 0.60 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: The caller's firsthand story in a live call; The caller's report of their own cat's behavior (not independently verifiable); The caller's recollection of a previous call to the host about three weeks earlier. The originality score blends the model's score (42) 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 routine recurring household or building sound in the same evening window, for example plumbing, heating, an appliance, or a door or wall settling, heard from inside the house. · The caller says the thump comes [quote withheld] and that after sitting outside until about 9:30 and coming back in they [quote withheld] A fixed daily window and a sound reported when they are inside fit a recurring mechanical or household source.
- A neighbor, passerby, or animal striking the door outside the brief moments the caller is watching. · The caller raises this possibility, saying they sat outside [quote withheld]
- The cat is tracking an insect, a reflection, dust, or a light source rather than something unseen. · The only supporting detail is the caller's report that [quote withheld] “Flying” fits an insect or reflected light.
What stands out
The distinctive features are the fixed daily window (roughly 7 to 9 p.m.) and the twelve-year persistence of a single repeating sound that produces nothing at the door. The caller also reports that the sound came again after they had sat outside through the usual window. The story includes the caller's recollection that the host warned them three weeks earlier about the thing the cat appeared to watch.
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