Animals reacting
A black form, the family cats, and a brother’s hypothermia in an Edison, New Jersey, farmhouse
A caller who says they are calling from Fairborn, Ohio, tells Art Bell that around 1970, when they were nine or ten, their family lived in an old farmhouse on 12 acres in Edison, New Jersey. They report waking at 3 or 4 a.m. and seeing a black, indistinct oval form in the hallway that “slammed into” them and told them “don’t go in.” They then found their younger brother being enveloped by it in their shared bedroom while the family’s cats attacked it. The story ends with their father, described as a police officer, running in with a gun as the thing slid through a window. The brother was reportedly kept overnight in the hospital for hypothermia the next morning.
San Jose apartment with occult remains and blue light pillars
A letter read on air, with the writer’s name withheld, describes working for an apartment-management company in East San Jose, California, in 1971. The writer reports being sent to clean a second-floor unit after an eviction. They say they found black walls, red bulbs, a pentagram, altars, and animal remains. After warnings from two strangers, they say they saw two pillars of blue light at the foot of their bed at about 2 a.m. The letter ends with the writer saying they never returned to the address.
Dog growls and dark figure at foot of bed after wife's ex-husband dies
A caller who gives no name, from west of the Rockies, asks Art Bell whether dogs can see ghosts. The caller then says that since their wife's ex-husband was killed in a car wreck last December, their little dog has barked and growled at the air. The caller reports that the other night, lying upstairs next to their wife, they felt a tap on their shoulder. They saw a big dark figure at the end of the bed that seemed to be trying to pull their soul out. The host interrupts for a break before the story is resolved.
Woman in black, locked doors, and a priest's blessing in a Dodge City rental
A caller who gives their name as [name withheld], from Sumner, Washington, describes a house their family moved into in Dodge City, Kansas, about fifteen years earlier. The caller reports flooding, a woman in a black dress seen by their daughter, doors that shut and locked family members in, whispering, a fetal-position stain on the carpet, and footsteps on the stairs. After researching records, the caller and their sister concluded that an elderly former resident was earthbound. A priest blessed the house and fell ill. The caller says they later blessed it themselves and believes the woman went to the light.
Ghost drums at a reenactor rendezvous at Fort Ouachita
[name withheld], calling from the Springfield, Missouri Ozarks, says they are a Cherokee historic reenactor. They describe an eleven-day rendezvous in 1994 at Fort Ouachita, Oklahoma, an old Confederate fort and cemetery. After most camps left on Sunday, the caller and their husband stayed overnight. The caller reports fear, birds screaming at midnight, ghost drums, waves of ghosts, dress jingles, a moved teepee door, and a fire that went out cold. The host closes with comments, and the story ends without resolution.
Gray-eyed man on a friend’s couch after a Ouija session
A caller from Colorado says a high school friend, with whom they had once used a Ouija board, phoned them at about 3:30 a.m. in December. The friend was crying and standing outside their own house in the snow. The friend said they had come home to a smell of sulfur and found a well-kept man sitting on their couch with entirely gray eyes. The friend had broken their bedroom window to escape. The caller and their mother later entered the wrecked house and had priests bless it.
Waking paralysis, chest pressure, and moving curtains in upstate New York
A letter read on air by Art Bell describes a listener's experience of waking in an old upstate New York home, unable to move or speak. The writer felt as though a person were kneeling on their chest while their husky-Shepherd dog barked and growled. They say the pressure eased when they concentrated on the dog. The room's curtains were then shoved aside although the window was closed. They stayed with friends for several nights afterward.
Laughing woman on the bed and a head that comes off in the caller’s hand
A caller who gives their name as [name withheld], from Juneau, Alaska, describes a bedroom experience the caller says happened about twenty years earlier during a difficult divorce, when the caller had been given sleep medication. The caller reports a heavy weight settling on the bed, an inability to turn over, a raspy female laugh, and something that flung itself on top of them. The caller says they grabbed its hair and the head came off in their hand. The caller reports fainting, waking to their dog whimpering, and finding a few strands of hair that were gone the next morning. The caller was left frightened.
Disturbances in a rented upstairs apartment above an old store
A caller who gives their name as [name withheld], from Portland, Oregon, describes living with their wife and mother in an upstairs apartment above a store they call the Liberal Store, north of a town they pronounce Malala. The caller reports a room that stayed cool in extreme summer heat, their mother being touched and smelling lilac, dishes found dumped in the sink, a dog refusing to enter a bathroom, Bibles found on the floor open to passages about King David, and knocking on the upstairs door and windows. The caller says the family moved out and that their wife and mother still will not enter the store.
Childhood home in Granite City, Illinois, with flying plates and slamming doors
A caller who gives their location as Granite City, Illinois, says they were raised in a house from birth to age thirteen. The caller says plates and cups flew and smashed there, cold spots and strange smells occurred, footsteps and slamming doors were heard, and a dog watched unseen things. The caller says their parents brought about four people to drive out ghosts and that someone said a man had hanged himself in the basement. The caller says the activity went on until the family moved out after thirteen years. The caller says they were a child with no choice and would not live in such a house now.
Black figure at foot of bed in a Redlands home
A caller describes living in Redlands, California, when they were first married to a husband who flew C-141s at Norton Air Force Base. The caller reports a period of uneasiness and cold in their new home. A moving garage-door doorknob made their dog bark and led them to call police. One night they woke in bed and saw a black figure at the foot of the bed that cast no reflection in a mirror. The caller says they were paralyzed and prayed the Lord’s Prayer. The figure disappeared, and the house warmed. The caller adds that they thought they imagined it and did not share it for a while.
Furnished apartment of a deceased tenant and a door held shut
A caller who says only that they are calling from Texas tells Art Bell that at nineteen they rented a furnished apartment. The previous tenant, an elderly woman, had died with nobody to inherit her belongings. The caller reports that cleaning supplies and dirty dishes vanished whenever the phone rang, their cat went berserk, and windows and the front door were found open despite the bolts. Finally, a door would not open against two people until they spoke a phrase they had been using. They say they packed up their cat and left.
37 more stories
- Weight, spinning sensation, and a barking dog behind a closed door2 min
- A girl's laughter and a slamming door in a rented trailer in Cookville, Tennessee2 min
- Blind caller reports a warm presence guiding their dog around a country road corner2 min
- Footsteps on the roof while the caller's husband was at his shop3 min
- Red eyes in the woods across from a rural Louisiana house3 min
- Floating light over a hill during a night hike in Babler State Park3 min
- Dog appears to be petted at a late husband's chair, then watches the kitchen3 min
- Ghost called Charlie reported to follow a family through moves4 min
- Night vision goggles, an upside-down man, and a sheep on a Colorado farm4 min
- Transparent figure rocking upstairs in an old Hawaiian plantation home4 min
- Deputy draws his pistol on a translucent elderly woman in his kitchen4 min
- Near-death experience in sleep ended by a neighbor's barking dog2 min
- Orbs, a freight-train rumble, and a shadow orb in a former chicken coop5 min
- Feeling a cat walk on the bed when the cat was elsewhere3 min
- Haunted family house in Lorain, Ohio: Slapping, shadows, and something on the bed4 min
- Ouija board spells “Clock” and a Panama-shaped clock turns in Gamboa3 min