Smell of perfume or flowers
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.
Voice in the kitchen, a loosened bulb, and a face in a burnt furnace
A caller who gives the name [name withheld], from Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, describes several events in an old farmhouse they shared with their husband and two small children. A voice in the kitchen said the caller's name. A range-hood bulb had to be tightened again every night for a month, the caller says. A garbage bag moved, with a smell of perfume. After a January 1996 house fire, the caller says, a face was burned into the furnace. The story ends with Art Bell asking the caller to send photographs of the furnace face.
Attic noises and a presence in a family’s Victorian house
A caller tells Art Bell about an old Victorian house they and their mother moved into, which they had been told was haunted. They heard dragging noises in the attic. The caller and their friend [name withheld] went up to investigate, both flashlights failed, and they fell down the stairs. The caller later made the attic their bedroom. They had keys disappear, smelled flowers, and felt an oppressive presence, and they moved back downstairs.
An 1880 house with chairs moving, a door opening, and rose and tobacco scents
A caller who gives their name as [name withheld], from Kinsman, Ohio, tells Art Bell that their house was built in 1880 and that odd things have happened since they moved in. They say kitchen chairs move at night while they lie in bed, and a bedroom door opens by itself. The caller and their husband have also seen a gray-and-white outline of a person in the barn and upstairs. They say a clairvoyant reassured them that the presence was a spirit trying to get their attention and was not harmful. Art says he would move out.
Cigar smoke, a cement mixer, and moved chairs in a grandfather’s house
A caller (addressed by a companion as “[name withheld]”) continues a story about their grandparents’ self-built house. Smells, lights, sounds, and moved objects were reported there after the grandparents died. The caller describes cigar smoke, their grandmother’s perfume, a cement mixer heard running in an empty shed, overturned chairs, a hand felt on their girlfriend’s back in the bath, and two of their father’s childhood toy cars reappearing on a cleared shelf. The caller concludes the grandparents are “still there” and “not happy” about the sale of the property, though they say the presence was not evil.
Doorbell rings and scent of roses after a son's death
An unidentified caller tells the host that her 19-year-old son, who used to pick roses for her, said he had a premonition that he did not have long to live. He asked her to send him roses if anything happened. She says that a year later he died in a car accident around Christmas. Two days afterward, in their old farmhouse, an unconnected doorbell rang, jammed doors flew open, and roses could be smelled. She takes this as her son returning to say goodbye. The host thanks her and comments on similar stories.
Caller recounts her mother smelling flowers before her sister's death
A caller who gives her name as [name withheld], in Las Vegas, tells a story about her mother. She says that in 1976, while they were talking on the telephone, her mother suddenly said she smelled flowers, strong, like stock or carnation. Her mother identified the smell as her sister [name withheld]'s flower. About an hour later, she says, her mother got a call that [name withheld] had died. The story ends there. Afterward, outside this part of the broadcast, the caller goes on to describe her own recurring flower smells.
Recurring sweet pea scent after mother's death
An unidentified caller tells Art Bell that since their mother died, they have repeatedly smelled sweet peas, their mother's flower. They describe it as a scent confined to one spot, which they call a “bubble” around their head. It usually happens in doorways and lasts about five minutes. They say two of their sons have also smelled it, and they see it as their mother's “little visitation.” The host says he believes the caller and comments that he has heard similar stories about spirits and flowers.
Deceased neighbor’s voice and rose scent reported to warn caller twice
A caller who gives their location as Connecticut and their birth date as December 25, 1957, describes an elderly next-door neighbor the neighborhood called “Miss Pree” (given as Preamula Abuhak). She read to the caller from the Quran, rubbed their head when they had severe headaches, and was said always to smell of roses. The caller reports hearing her voice and smelling roses just before two dangers: running up a hill that turned out to be a cliff, and a car ride in which a truck raced past after they told the driver to stop. Art Bell tells the caller she is “watching over” them. The call then moves to a different topic.
Scent of carnations in a van on Highway 99 after a grandmother's death
A caller who gives their name as [name withheld] and says they are calling from Reno describes a car trip about ten years earlier. The caller and their mother were driving along Highway 99 to clear out the apartment of their grandmother, who had just died. The caller reports that an overwhelming smell of flowers filled the van, that their mother smelled it too, and that the smell was not present outside. The call ends with the host remarking that other callers have described presences making themselves known by odor.
Perfume smell aboard a Navy ship at the reported time of an aunt’s death
[name withheld], a caller from Manhattan Beach, California, describes a wartime experience aboard a Navy attack transport near Okinawa. The caller woke suddenly around 3 a.m. to a sweet floral powder smell that they recognized as their Aunt [name withheld]’s. They say they later learned by letter that she had died that day. They say that after a time conversion, her death matched the moment they woke. The story ends with the host’s comments on visits from the dying.