October 30, 1993: Ghost to Ghost
Art Bell sets the tone with a newspaper account of spectral sightings at the U.S. Capitol Building and the haunted Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada, where a murdered woman known as the Lady in Red reportedly activates disconnected Keno boards and appears to guests as a headless apparition. Callers deliver a remarkable procession of stories: a Victorian house in Provincetown, Massachusetts, built from shipwreck lumber that harbors restless poltergeist activity; a Marine sniper in Grenada visited by his Civil War-era ancestor who mysteriously freezes his shattered leg on the battlefield; a woman in Alameda, California, whose household discovers a shared haunting tied to a deceased brother no one knew had died. Art Bell reflects on each account as potential evidence of life after death and warns against Ouija board experimentation after multiple callers describe disturbing consequences.
A foundational episode that launched one of the most beloved annual traditions in late-night radio history.
Key Moments
Mizpah Hotel Lady in Red read up top: Art reads the Pahrump Gateway Gazette feature on the haunted Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, including the murdered prostitute story, the Keno board lighting up despite being unwired since 1979, the headless woman walking through walls, and the macho security guard Otis who refused to go to the fifth floor alone.
Alameda mom's brother dies, then haunts the family: An Alameda mother of five describes escalating activity in their old rambling house - footsteps, a presence in the shower, mud footprints staring at her, a shadow at noon - that ended only after a second priest blessed the house, and a voice told her 'your brother', whom she tracked down and learned had died two months earlier.
Provo woman's biological father appears in the mirror: A woman in Provo, Utah, describes a bright light growing in her bedroom mirror until the solid form of her biological father - whom she had not seen since age three - emerged into the room, told her not to be afraid, and asked her to kiss the children for him.
Marine sniper saved by a Civil War ancestor in Grenada: An Alaska caller, a Marine sniper shot through the knee on Grenada in 1983, says the apparition of a great-great-grandfather in a Civil War uniform appeared, froze his leg cold rather than cauterized, told him 'everything will be okay, boy,' and that his spotter independently felt the unexplained cold while finishing the enemy sniper.