Anniversary or significant date
Small sample: these figures describe only these 6 stories.
Letter: Thrashing in bed each September in a Phoenix apartment
A letter read on air and signed [quote withheld] says the writer is woken from daytime sleep by the feeling that someone is thrashing in bed with him, though the bed is empty. The feeling comes back each September and stops after September 21st. A neighbor later tells him that a young woman was found strangled in the same apartment in September 1981. The writer concludes it is her spirit and asks the host what to do. The host declines to advise.
Cyclist reports seeing their dead riding partner on the road at night
Art Bell reads a fax from a hospital emergency room worker. The writer says they were bicycling home at night, listening to the show, close to the one-year mark of a riding buddy's death on the same street. The writer reports hearing a tire sound behind them although there were no cars, and then seeing their dead friend [name withheld] beside them. The writer sped home. The letter ends with the writer saying they cannot tell whether they were having a ’60s flashback.
Letter: A shadow resembling the writer’s late father, popcorn and cigar
Art Bell reads a letter he attributes to [quote withheld] The writer describes watching his father’s shadow on the wall as a boy. He recalls a prediction by his father that he would join him in America on his 66th birthday, and an Ouija board spelling “DAD” years later. He then describes an apparent shadow of his father in his kitchen on that birthday, which he says came just before a heart attack. The letter ends with the writer’s claim that his wife later smelled popcorn and cigar smoke at home, and that he had never told anyone what he saw until now.
Annual funeral reported in the living room of a former funeral home
A caller tells Art Bell that their house used to be a funeral home. The caller says that every January 1, a funeral takes place in the living room and all the furniture is gone. The caller says they have gotten used to it and are not afraid of ghosts. The caller says they have talked to them and that the beings that do harm are demons. When pressed on how to tell the difference, the caller says you cannot really tell.
Deceased brother said to return each year on the caller’s birthday
An unidentified caller tells Art Bell they were born in April 1949 and that their older brother died on April 5, 1952, five days before their third birthday. They say their brother came back and spoke to them on that third birthday and has returned every April 10th since, wherever they have been. They say the brother appears as he did on the day he died and tells them everything will be okay. The host thanks the caller for the story and afterward tells the audience he does not believe it was a prank call.
Séance contact with a presence claiming to be John Dillinger
A caller from Monticello, Minnesota, who says they and a partner do semi-professional ghost work in the Twin Cities, describes a group gathering held about a year and a half earlier. It took place on the anniversary of John Dillinger's death. They say the group first invited whatever spirits wished to come, then called on Dillinger. Something claiming to be Dillinger answered questions aloud, through what they call psychic impressions, for roughly half an hour. They report that the tape of the first half of the evening recorded only room noise and conversation, while the tape of the Dillinger session went blank. Several people at the table believed the presence was lying about the fate of gang member Red Hamilton.