Secondhand story: Security guard hears a child laughing at a mansion alarm panel
A caller who says they are calling from Finland (the host addresses the caller on air as “Aku” and “Roswell”) tells a story the caller plainly labels secondhand. It is about a friend who works as a security guard at a nearby mansion. The caller says the friend repeatedly hears a child laughing when they enter their code at the alarm panel. The friend finds nothing inside when they check, and the laughter stops after one more try. The host closes by remarking that it is either a bad alarm system or [quote withheld]
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 1:43:44). Is this you, or someone you know? Ask for a correction or removal.
The story as told
The caller opens by stating, [quote withheld] so the caller does not have a firsthand story. The caller says they have a friend who works as a security guard and has to walk around a nearby mansion “very often,” roughly once a day, checking all the rooms. The guard carries an electronic clock or checkpoint device and enters a code at the alarm panel. Entering the correct code puts the alarm into “on” mode. If anyone were inside, it would alert the local police.
According to the caller, when the guard enters the right code, they get the usual green light but also hear a child laughing. The guard then disables the alarm to check whether someone is really inside. The caller says it is “totally dark,” and the guard can see nothing and hear nothing. So the guard goes back out and re-arms the system. They again see the green light and wait, and again hear the child laughing. The caller says no one was inside, so there was nothing else to do but arm the system again and check again. After the guard went outside and put the code in again, the caller says, [quote withheld] The host notes that if it happens again and again, it is either a bad alarm system or something the guard probably does not want to know about.
Reported events, in order
- 0:59
The caller states that the story is secondhand, not the caller's own experience.
- 1:10
The caller says a friend works as a security guard and patrols a nearby mansion about once a day, checking all the rooms.
- 1:39
The guard enters a code on an electronic checkpoint and alarm device. The correct code arms the alarm and would alert the police if someone were inside.
- 2:28
According to the story, entering the correct code produces the usual green light plus the sound of a child laughing.
- 3:05
The guard disables the alarm and goes inside. It is totally dark, and they see and hear nothing.
- 3:20
The guard goes back out and re-arms the system. The green light shows and they wait, then again hear the child laughing.
- 3:41
No one is found inside. The caller says there is nothing else the guard can do but re-arm and check again.
- 3:56
After the guard goes outside and enters the code again, the caller says the laughter did not appear again.
- 4:13
The host comments that it is either a bad alarm system or something the guard probably does not want to know about.
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).
- hearsay· 2:28
A security guard heard a child laughing while entering the correct alarm code, alongside the normal green light.
- hearsay· 3:05
When the guard went inside to check, the building was dark, and they saw and heard nothing.
- hearsay· 3:20
After re-arming the alarm, the guard again waited and heard the child laughing.
- hearsay· 3:56
After the guard went outside and entered the code again, the laughter did not occur again.
- observation· 0:59
The caller states that the story is secondhand and not something the caller experienced.
- host statement· 4:13
The host says the repeated event is either a bad alarm system or something the guard probably does not want to know about.
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.
Evidence for and against
Evidence for and against
Evidence for and against
Evidence for and against
Scoring confidence 0.50 · analysis confidence 0.50 · checked against outside sources: no · evidence available: A secondhand 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.
- A fault, feedback, or audio glitch in the alarm or checkpoint panel could account for an unexplained sound at the moment of arming. It would also explain the repeat on re-arming and why it stopped. · The caller places the laughter exactly at the code-entry and arming step, and the host himself raises [quote withheld]
- A person (for example, a child) could have been inside the mansion and evaded a brief check. · The guard searched after hearing the laughter, but the caller describes the inside only as “totally dark” and the search as a walk-through where [quote withheld]
- Expectation or a patrol routine could make a faint or unclear sound at the panel be reported as laughter. · The panel is used on a fixed daily route in a large empty building. This concerns the reported event, not the caller's character.
What stands out
The reported strange event is tied to a security system rather than to a room. The child's laughter is said to come at, or through, the alarm panel just after a correct code is entered and a normal green light appears. It reportedly repeats on re-arming before stopping.
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