Art Bell opens with a welcoming message to his global audience, highlighting the show’s reach from Guam to the Caribbean and beyond. He playfully refers to his listeners as “victims,” setting a light-hearted yet mysterious tone for the evening. The show, dedicated to ghost stories, is aptly named “Ghost to Ghost,” a play on its usual title. Art underscores his belief in the existence of ghosts, a sentiment he feels is shared by most of his audience.
Art then guides listeners to view a webcam photo he took moments earlier, suggesting it reflects his mood and sets the tone for the show. He welcomes a new radio station, WTS-LA M in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and prepares the audience for a night of sharing real, scary ghost stories. He lays out the rules for participation, emphasizing the need for genuinely frightening and interesting stories, and also invites listeners to send in quality ghost photographs. He discusses the standards for these photos, ruling out common fakes like cigarette smoke or camera strap blurs.
A particularly eerie photo on the show’s website captures Art’s attention: an image of a lady with an arm emerging from a television. This photo, he notes, is either an excellent fake or a manifestation of everyone’s nightmare. Art goes on to discuss the nature of ghosts, pondering whether they are trapped human souls or mere memories left behind. He speculates on the possibility of humans having more components than previously thought, such as a soul and a separate lingering memory.
One caller narrates an intriguing encounter with a man he suspects might be a ghost or a time traveler. This man, riding an old Indian motorcycle, shared controversial opinions such as the Americans never landing on the moon and Apollo 13 being a staged event for morale during the Vietnam War. The caller, intrigued by the man’s stories and odd disappearance, wonders if he encountered a supernatural entity.
Another caller shares a perplexing incident from a 7-Eleven store, where he heard a mysterious voice saying, “only fools pay,” despite no one being around. Art humorously speculates whether this could be the caller’s inner voice, symbolizing the internal conflict between good and bad impulses.
The segment concludes with a chilling story from Frank in Orlando, who recalls a haunting childhood experience. He describes seeing an apparition of a woman with a compassionate expression in his bedroom window. Years later, his sister revealed she had seen the same figure in their house. This revelation adds a mysterious layer to the story, as it suggests the presence was not a mere figment of his imagination but something more pervasive and possibly linked to the house itself. Frank’s account raises questions about the nature of ghosts and whether they are tied to specific locations or people.
Art Bell discusses various supernatural experiences with his callers. One conversation revolves around the lingering presence of ghosts, particularly those of individuals who have committed suicide, and the ethical considerations of disclosing such histories when selling a property. Art muses on the legal implications of known hauntings and the reluctance of homeowners to share such information.
The show takes a more ominous turn with a caller who doesn’t believe in ghosts but in demonic manifestations and familiar spirits, aligning with a conservative religious viewpoint. The caller posits that these entities could be interdimensional beings, adding a layer of complexity to the discussion. He shares a personal experience of waking up to find a large, horned entity at the foot of his bed with bright red eyes. In a moment of fear, the caller uses a religious invocation to banish the entity, which then fades away. This incident sparks a debate about the power of belief and the nature of such encounters.
Interestingly, the caller reveals that a friend had a similar experience, strengthening the notion that these encounters might not be mere hallucinations. They discovered they shared a great-great-great-great-grandfather from Ireland, adding an intriguing ancestral connection to their experiences.
A caller shares an unusual story involving a ghostly figure with Viking-like attributes. This entity, characterized by its intimidating presence and glowing red eyes, was seen by the caller and a friend in different locations and circumstances. Both had used a verbal invocation to make the entity disappear, suggesting a shared, interdimensional experience linked to their ancestral lineage.
Another caller recounts a bizarre experience where he was supposedly haunted by the ghost of a murdered cheerleader. He describes a surreal and disconcerting scenario during his time in the Air Force, which involved him dressing as a cheerleader. The story takes an even stranger turn with the claim that his commanding officer, associated with Chuck Yeager, took interest in his case. The story, however, seems implausible to Art, who expresses skepticism.
The conversation shifts to another caller, a retired Air Force member, who shares a chilling encounter with a Buffalo soldier’s ghost at Warren Air Force Base. The ghost, appearing solid and real, vanished right in front of the caller’s eyes. This experience leads to a discussion about the prevalence of ghosts on battlefields. Art contemplates the moral implications of such hauntings, questioning the idea of a just god who would trap the souls of soldiers on Earth. He speculates whether these apparitions are indeed trapped souls or some other residual presence left behind.
A caller from Harrisburg, Oregon, recounts a frightening incident that occurred after watching “The Amityville Horror.” She describes a sense of evil presence in her room at night, feeling as if something ran fingers across her feet and hearing a hiss, despite having no pets. Her fear was momentarily alleviated after saying a prayer, which she believes drove the presence away. She also mentions her husband seeing a large figure in their bedroom doorway on two separate occasions, with the entity once stating, “I want you.”
The caller further reveals that their house contained numerous witchcraft books left by the previous tenants. Her children had also experienced paranormal occurrences, including sightings of ‘white ladies’ dancing in a closet and making growling sounds. Interestingly, after a fire destroyed the upper part of their house, which they subsequently remodeled, all paranormal activities ceased. This led the caller to wonder if the haunting was tied to the physical structure of the house.
Another caller from Plymouth, New Hampshire, shares an eerie experience in an apartment above an accounting office. She heard loud noises at night, like doors slamming and papers being rifled through in a file cabinet, even though there was no one else present.
A caller from New Hampshire shares a hair-raising story about hearing noises in the apartment building where she lives. One night, she heard sounds like someone slamming doors and rifling through files in the accounting office below her apartment. Concerned, she called the police, who arrived quickly but found no one there. The next day, her landlord, who ran the accounting office, mentioned feeling like someone was holding the door shut that morning, adding to the mystery. The landlord found no evidence of a break-in or any files out of order, further deepening the enigma of the previous night’s events.
Following this, another caller named Andrew from Castro Valley, California, recounts a spooky experience from his high school days in 1980. As an aspiring filmmaker, he got permission to shoot a film in the abandoned Auburn courthouse, a large, old stone building with a grand rotunda. While filming, Andrew and his friends heard banging noises coming from the upper floors, which were empty when they investigated. The courthouse, with its dark varnished wood and old safes, provided a lavish yet eerie backdrop for their amateur film. The ongoing mysterious noises added an unplanned and unsettling element to their exploration.
The climax of their experience occurred when they found themselves locked in an old cell, with the door slamming shut behind them. They managed to escape, only to witness a chilling event: the statues of justice on the building, typically with eyes closed, appeared to open and close their eyes as they looked at them. This eerie sighting was the final straw, prompting them to leave the courthouse and not return. These stories, shared with Art Bell, contribute to the night’s theme of unexplainable and often chilling paranormal encounters.
A caller from Long Island, Russ, recounts multiple eerie events from his childhood home. He describes a mysterious incident when he was four years old, where he chased his sister into the basement only to find her outside, leaving him puzzled about who was laughing in the basement. As he grew older, his father would often hear him walking around at night, although Russ was asleep. These strange occurrences led him to believe that their house was haunted.
Russ also shares a terrifying encounter when he saw a woman in a long white gown standing at the edge of his parents’ bed. After informing his mother, they found no one in the room. This experience left him so unsettled that he avoided looking into that room ever again. Another night, thinking his mother was home because the TV was on, he discovered the house was empty, intensifying his sense of unease.
One of the most disturbing incidents Russ describes is seeing two dark figures with hats at his doorway, which seemed like shadows about three feet tall. As he lay in bed, something grabbed his feet, causing him to leap up in fear. Art Bell notes that physical interaction, like something grabbing your feet, indicates a strong manifestation of a paranormal entity, capable of exerting physical force in our world.
A caller from Indiana, a private in the US Army, shares a personal account similar to previous calls about paranormal experiences. The caller recounts a time when living in an army base in Fort Meade, Maryland, where his sister frequently experienced terrifying nights. She would often run into the bathroom in fear, claiming something was scratching and grabbing at her feet. The caller himself recalls being woken up by a breathing presence in his face and feeling as though he was lifted and floated down the hallway, though he questions whether it was an out-of-body experience or a dream.
Another caller, JD from San Diego, narrates an incident from his youth in Hollywood. He describes visiting a mansion in the Hollywood Hills that had been empty for years. On his first visit, he felt an overwhelming sense of panic while swimming in the mansion’s overgrown, black-bottomed pool. Later, he and his girlfriend used a Ouija board in the mansion, where they reportedly communicated with two young boys named Beth and Steve. The spirits revealed they had drowned in the pool many years ago, leading to a palpable sense of dread and unease.
The next day, they were shocked when the girlfriend’s sister independently mentioned the pool’s tragic history, confirming their Ouija board conversation. The caller also recounts a frightening incident where he believes one of the boy’s spirits tripped him, leading to an injury.
Another caller describes living in a house with active paranormal phenomena, including moving objects and burning smells. He recounts an alarming incident where his brother’s hair spontaneously caught fire while reading. The caller feels targeted by the entity in the house, experiencing disturbances even when staying in hotels. He also notes that the entity interacts with his music equipment, turning it off and on and changing settings.
A caller from Florida discusses a glowing tombstone in a Michigan cemetery, known to glow during a full moon on clear nights. He recounts his visit to the cemetery, describing an unsettling encounter with an old man standing near the glowing tombstone. The caller also mentions that college students once took a piece of the tombstone to analyze it, but it was found to be ordinary granite.
Another caller shares a story similar to the legend of the haunted railroad tracks in San Antonio, Texas, where a car supposedly gets pushed off the tracks by unseen hands, leaving handprints on the vehicle. He relates an incident in Clarksville, Tennessee, with a similar story, suggesting a universal nature of such ghostly legends.
The last caller narrates a poignant story about his brother’s funeral. His brother had believed in astral travel and out-of-body experiences and had promised to communicate from the afterlife. During the funeral, in a room with vending machines, the lights and the coke machine flickered for several minutes, which they interpreted as a sign from the brother. This experience left a deep impression on the caller and those present, reinforcing the belief in communication from beyond the grave.
The brother’s old pickup truck, which hadn’t worked for over a year, suddenly played his favorite song on the radio as they left the funeral home, then stopped working again permanently. The caller also mentions experiencing light flickering in various places after his brother’s death, including a light flickering across from his apartment and eventually the light in his own apartment. His mother receives phone calls at exactly one minute past midnight on her birthday each year, but only hears a dial tone, leading the family to believe these events are signs from his deceased brother.
Another caller talks about a visit to the Santa Barbara Mission where she asked Saint Michael to allow spirits to appear in a photograph. When the film was developed, a giant light appeared around her in the photo, with her hands looking like they were on fire and a giant form radiating above her. A friend, a graphic artist, found two faces in the photo, one of which resembled the image of Jesus on the show’s website.
The topic then shifts to graveyards, with Art expressing his unease about the idea of consciousness being trapped near a graveyard. He mentions that electronic voice phenomena (EVP) researchers, who record voices in graveyards, will soon be guests on the show. This leads to a reflection on the nature of death and the afterlife.
A caller from Oklahoma City recounts a chilling experience on a road where he appeared to hit an elderly man and his dog with his car while driving with two friends. However, there was no impact felt, leading them to believe they had encountered a ghost.
A caller from outside Chicago recounts a disturbing experience of hitting what appeared to be a man and his dog on a road, but there was no physical impact. The caller and his passengers, two teenage girls, were shocked and confused by the event. Later, at a family Christmas party, the caller learned from a neighbor that a man and his dog had indeed been hit by a car and died on that same road years ago.
Another caller, Brad from Rancho Santa Fe, near the site of the Heaven’s Gate incident, shares a story from the 1970s. He recalls how representatives of a group practicing transcendental meditation visited his high school on career day, promoting meditation as a way to improve grades. The story takes a mysterious turn as the caller is about to reveal more details, but is interrupted by a commercial break.
A caller describes a harrowing experience at home with his wife. He suddenly felt a sense of dread and envisioned a pit of hell with people in agony. This vision was followed by seeing a figure move from their bathroom to the doorway, and then down the hallway. Believing someone was in the house trying to harm his children, he reacted by chasing after the figure, only to find nothing.
A caller recounts a terrifying encounter where a small figure, resembling his son, ran across a doorway in his home. Upon checking, he found his children asleep, leaving him baffled and frightened. His wife, sensing something amiss, prayed and subsequently felt that the presence had left. This incident left them questioning the nature of the entity they encountered.
Another caller from Lorain, Ohio, speaks from a haunted house, detailing a history of unexplainable phenomena experienced by his family and guests. These include seeing shadowy figures, hearing voices, and physical interactions like being slapped in the face. A parapsychologist suggested that the disturbances might be caused by a childlike spirit fond of playing games. The caller expresses his intention to create a documentary about his haunted house and seeks the help of a psychic to bring peace to the restless spirit.
One caller describes setting up a camera in a haunted location, only to see a silhouette of a shadow figure behind him, which mysteriously vanished when he turned around. Art Bell warns about the dangers of seeking out ghosts and advises listeners to be cautious.
Another caller from Seattle recounts a trip to an old plantation house in Alabama with a gruesome history involving the massacre of slaves. Upon approaching the slave quarters, he and his friends heard terrifying screams and banging, causing them to flee in terror. The noises seemed to follow them, intensifying their fear.
A caller from Florida shares his experience with a theatrical haunted house event in Vermont. He explains how it was an annual production designed to entertain and scare visitors.
A caller involved in a haunted house project for Halloween reveals that the old building they used was actually haunted. The project, started as a fundraiser by the local Jaycees, utilized an old abandoned school building. The caller, a makeup artist, described the eerie Victorian-style building, setting the scene for uncanny events.
Another caller, Marie from Spokane, tells the story of a ghostly woman in white seen in her home. Both she and her husband have seen this figure, who appeared to be guarding their baby daughter. Interestingly, when they moved houses, the ghost moved with them. Marie likened the figure to a stern librarian or nurse, watching over the baby protectively.
The segment concludes with a caller who shares a touching story about his grandfather. After the caller’s brother was believed to have been killed in Vietnam and their grandfather later passed away, the caller experienced his grandfather’s spirit visiting him, reassuring him that his brother was still alive.
A caller involved in setting up a haunted house attraction shares that the old building they used was actually haunted, enhancing the authenticity of the experience. The caller, a makeup artist, was initially drawn into the project due to his skills in creating special effects makeup. He describes the venue as an old, Victorian-style school building, adding a creepy ambiance to their haunted house.
Another caller recounts a chilling experience of feeling a presence sit next to him on his bed and speak to him, claiming to be his deceased grandfather. The apparition informed him that his brother, believed to be dead, was actually alive and trapped somewhere. Following this, the caller made several trips, eventually finding his brother alive in a coma in a Greek Orthodox mission hospital. The story takes another emotional turn when the caller describes caring for his brother at home and experiencing further paranormal incidents, including a hot cup of grape Kool-Aid mysteriously appearing on his brother’s nightstand.
A caller describes a recurring nightmare where he is chased by red eyes. He wakes up screaming at 3:15 am, the same time mentioned in the movie “The Amityville Horror,” which had previously scared him. The caller also recounts another incident where he saw red eyes while lying in bed, further intensifying his fear.
A caller describes a haunting experience while working as a custodian at a research center. On his first night, he drove a colleague home via a back road, where he was warned of a ghostly presence. At a stop sign, he encountered a black car with a driver who had a grotesque, wrinkled face resembling a dead person. His colleague couldn’t see the car or the woman, leaving the caller shaken. Despite this, he returned to the same spot the following night and saw a house with a red light in a window. He again saw the woman’s face, this time in the window. After investigating with his colleague, they found an old man living alone in the house, who denied having a dark room or the light being on. While walking back to their car, they saw a light in the orchard and found a note that read “Nice to meet you.”
One caller recounts an eerie experience while camping with friends. They heard a fourth person laughing with them, and upon investigation, they saw a man who looked like a hiker. However, this figure disappeared right in front of their eyes, leading them to move their campsite closer to other people due to growing fear.
Another caller from the former Panama Canal Zone shares a haunting experience with a Ouija board. After contacting a spirit who claimed to be from Culebra, a historical town in Panama, the spirit indicated it would present itself through a clock. Shortly after, the caller’s sister’s cats began acting erratically, and they noticed a clock in the house had turned at a 45-degree angle. Following this unnerving event, they never used the Ouija board again.
The segment concludes with a caller from Iowa describing waking up to see a spectral figure in a black hat and red shirt standing over her bed. The figure then walked through her window and vanished, prompting her to look outside, only to find no one there.
A caller from Pahrump, Nevada, shares a haunting experience involving a house he lived in with his girlfriend. His girlfriend’s four-year-old daughter would frequently report seeing a man in her closet. Additionally, they would hear voices outside the house and experience other unexplained phenomena, such as objects moving and lights flickering. The caller describes seeing someone or something running back and forth across the house, which was visible through the windows.
Art Bell reflects on the fact that haunted houses are not uncommon, even in his own town of Pahrump. He notes that there are references to such houses on the internet. The caller, who has since moved back to Nebraska, concludes the conversation by discussing his adjustment from driving a truck to a smaller vehicle, marking the end of his long journey.