Figure at the foot of the bed
A deceased man at the foot of the bed in a family funeral home
The host reads a letter from [name withheld] in Morris Plains, New Jersey, describing the writer's childhood in a family funeral home during World War II. The writer says they felt watched by an older man's body in the casket showroom, and later woke to see him standing at the foot of their bed. The letter ends with the writer's theory that the man was a child molester who could not adjust to death and their hope that he stays buried.
Reported red-eyed funnel-shaped figure at the foot of a bed
[name withheld] from Florence, Alabama, tells Art Bell that when they were about 15 or 16 they woke around 3 a.m., felt watched, and saw a pair of red eyes attached to a black, spinning, funnel-like form at the foot of their bed. They report being unable to scream or move. When the form moved around the bed, they fled to their mother’s room. With the light on, nothing was there. Their mother called it a nightmare. [name withheld] says they still believe it was real and are still scared by the memory.
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.
A sensed presence with a tail and blunted nails during an out-of-body experience
A live caller, introduced by the host as being [quote withheld] says they have been a spiritual person since the age of two. They say an “essence” came around them about twelve years ago when their sister died and has come and gone since. They say the one time this presence turned angry and violent was as they were returning from an out-of-body experience in their bed. It disappeared into “some hole,” leaving a long, heavy, grayish tail in view. They say it still visits and presses long, sharp nails into their back at night. They report feeling only blunted pressure and take that as a sign they are protected.
A horned, red-eyed figure at the foot of the bed and a friend’s matching story
An unnamed first-time caller tells Art Bell that they woke to see a huge horned figure with bright red eyes at the foot of their bed and in their doorway. When they said “in the name” of Jesus, “be gone,” it walked back through the door and faded away. The caller reports that a friend later described the same figure, with “horns” like a Viking cap, and that the two discovered a shared ancestor in Ireland. The caller sees such figures as demonic manifestations rather than ghosts.
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.
Airman reports a translucent figure at the foot of his bed at Kunsan Air Force Base
The host reads a letter he introduces as a brief bio and story from a man who describes himself as a former US Air Force airman and later a police officer. The writer says that in the fall of 1977 he was stationed at Kunsan (transcribed “Kusan”) Air Force Base in Korea. He was woken at exactly 0100 on three nights in a row. On the third night he saw a small, stocky Korean male figure in shades of gray in his barracks room. He swung a knife through its throat without effect and watched it touch the blanket over his feet before rising into the air and vanishing. The letter ends with the writer saying he is withholding further detail for privacy and asking the host what he thinks the man saw.
Gateway Gazette article read on air: The lady in red at the Mizpah Hotel, Tonopah
Art Bell reads a newspaper piece he identifies as the Gateway Gazette of Thursday, October 28. The article, titled [quote withheld] is by staff writer [name withheld] and is about the Mizpah Hotel Casino in Tonopah, Nevada. It strings together a bar patron's remark about a “hologram” of a woman in the elevator, the legend of a “lady in red” said to have been murdered on the fifth floor, a keno board said to light up though it is not connected to power, and stories from several named employees. Bell stops reading partway through the article, saying there is more.
A child's voice and figure in a Las Vegas family home
A caller who gives their name as [name withheld], from Las Vegas, tells Art Bell a [quote withheld] from when they were about 17 and living in their parents' newly bought house. They report a little boy's voice in the backyard asking for his grandpa, a child figure their mother saw on the stairs, their son's folded laundry found unfolded, and a small figure at the foot of their bed that disappeared. After their infant son died in November, they say, the boy appeared beside the bed asking “where's the baby.” A neighbor later told them a boy who had stayed with his grandparents had been killed by a car in the road. They describe the boy as friendly, eight or nine years old, and still looking for his grandfather.
Figure at foot of bed, then a man in the laundry room five months later
A caller who gives their location as Wenatchee, Washington, tells Art Bell they woke from a nightmare to feel pressure on their bed. They saw a man from the waist up at the foot of the bed, in inverted light. The caller says that about five months later, while sitting in their dining room, they sensed someone behind them and then found a man in their laundry room. They say the police came and found his footprints around the house. They state they do not know what the first figure was.
14 more stories
- Figure at foot of bed walks through bedroom wall, father’s childhood story2 min
- Letter: Transparent old man and smell of dirt, rot, and alcohol in a Missouri house3 min
- Gray mist at the foot of the bed before a woman’s illness3 min
- Deceased father appears at the foot of the bed and speaks to his son2 min
- Host rejects bedside-ghost stories and recalls a loud bang on his door1 min