Art Bell's 10 Most Memorable Callers On 'Coast To Coast AM'

In 2002, Art conducted an interview with George Lutz, the man whose experiences in a Long Island home became the basis for 'The Amityville Horror'. George's account of supernatural terror had already been the subject of books, films, and debates, but his appearance on Art's show gave listeners a firsthand opportunity to hear his version of the events that allegedly took place in 1975.

George and his wife, Kathy, moved into 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York, just over a year after Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his entire family in the house. Within 28 days, the Lutzes fled, claiming to have been tormented by terrifying paranormal activity.

This unusual case emerged from a caller known only as “Bugs,” who phoned into the show in the late 1990s. Unlike typical Bigfoot encounters that end with a fleeting glimpse of the creature, Bugs claimed to have actually shot and buried two of them.

According to Bugs, the incident happened sometime in the early 1970s when he and a hunting partner encountered two large, hairy, humanoid creatures in a remote area of Texas. Mistaking them for bears, Bugs claimed they fired at the creatures, only to discover—upon closer inspection—that they were something else entirely. He described them as massive, covered in reddish-brown hair, and possessing disturbingly human-like facial features.

Faced with an ethical dilemma, Bugs and his companion ultimately decided to bury the bodies rather than report the incident to authorities, fearing legal repercussions and public ridicule. When asked on Art's show why he never returned to retrieve the remains as proof, Bugs insisted that he was worried about the legal repercussions of killing whatever they were.

The Trumbull County UFO encounter occurred in Trumbull County, Ohio, on the night of December 14, 1994. It was one of the best ever documented through official law enforcement channels. Despite this, it was a largely unknown case outside of UFO research circles before Art spoke to UFO researcher Kenny Young in 1999. Kenny shared recordings of the original 1994 police dispatch tapes with Art and his listeners.

The incident began just before midnight when multiple residents of Trumbull County started calling 911 to report a bright object hovering low in the sky. The calls described a luminous, pulsating craft that moved erratically and even seemed to respond to movement on the ground. Dispatchers at the Trumbull County 911 call centre initially dismissed the reports, assuming they were dealing with prank calls or misidentified aircraft.

However, the situation escalated when police officers themselves began witnessing the unidentified object. Officers were dispatched to investigate, and their radio transmissions were later obtained through public records.

One of the most well known guests ever to appear on Art's show was Bob Lazar, the man who first introduced Area 51 into mainstream UFO lore. Although Bob didn't first make his claims on 'Coast To Coast AM', he did talk to Art multiple times in detail about working on reverse-engineered extraterrestrial spacecraft at a secret government site.

Bob claimed to have worked at a facility known as S-4, located near Area 51 in Nevada. His job involved studying and attempting to reverse-engineer advanced propulsion systems from recovered alien spacecraft. His interviews with Art helped solidify Area 51 as a focal point for UFO conspiracy theorists.

One guest who was perhaps the most closely associated with Coast to Coast AM was Richard C. Hoagland, who became one of the most recognisable voices in the world of space conspiracies. Richard, a former science advisor to CBS News, built his reputation around controversial theories regarding extraterrestrial structures on Mars, hidden NASA secrets, and ancient civilisations in our solar system.

Hoagland's most famous claim revolved around the so-called "face on Mars", an unusual landform in the Cydonia region of the Red Planet. First spotted in images taken by NASA's Viking 1 orbiter in 1976, the formation resembled a human face, leading Hoagland to argue that it was an artificial structure created by an ancient Martian civilisation. He also claimed that nearby geological formations, such as the "pyramids of Mars," were also evidence of intelligent design.

In 1997, a frantic caller, claiming to be a former Area 51 employee, phoned into Art's show. What followed was a chaotic, panic-stricken conversation in which the caller claimed he was on the run and had limited time to speak. He told Art that the US government was aware of "extra-dimensional beings" that were already embedded in human society. He alleged that these beings were planning something catastrophic and that the government was fully aware but powerless to stop it.

Just moments into the call, the 'Coast To Coast AM' broadcast was suddenly knocked off the air. When the program resumed, Art was stunned, noting that in all his years on air, he had never experienced such an abrupt and unexplained outage. The timing of the disruption led many listeners to believe that the call had been shut down intentionally, either by the government or by some unknown force.

Dr. Jonathan Reed first appeared on Art's show in 1998, claiming to have encountered an extraterrestrial being two years previously. He backed up his claims with photos and videos that were sent to Art and subsequently published on the show's website.

While walking with his dog in a forest in Washington state, Jonathan stumbled upon a strange humanoid creature. According to his account, his dog attacked the being, which proceeded to kill the dog. In a panic, Jonathan struck the creature with a large tree branch, seemingly killing it. He then took the body home, storing it in a freezer. He described being targeted by shadowy government agencies as a result.

One of the most bizarre legends to emerge from Art's show was the story of Mel's Hole, a supposed bottomless pit located in Washington state. The tale first surfaced in 1997 when a man named Mel Waters called into Art's show, claiming he had discovered a hole on his property that defied explanation.

According to Mel, the hole was over 24km deep, far beyond any natural geological formation. He stated that he had tried lowering a fishing line with a weight attached, only to run out of line without ever hitting the bottom. Even more bizarre were the claims that the hole had unusual properties, like when objects were dropped in, they made no sound upon impact, and dead animals left near the hole were said to come back to life.

Art had multiple conversations with Mel over the years. Some listeners speculated that the hole was a secret government experiment, a natural anomaly, or even a gateway to another dimension. Mel eventually reported that unknown agents had seized his land and forbidden access to the site. Over time, Mel disappeared from public view, adding another layer of mystery to the tale.

One of the most enduring mysteries connected to Art Bell's 'Coast to Coast AM' is the story of John Titor, an alleged time traveler who captivated the show's audience in the early 2000s. Though John himself never called into the program, his legend spread through the show's discussions and listener speculation.

John first appeared in online forums in July 1998, claiming to be a time traveler from the year 2036. He shared details of his supposed mission: he had traveled back to 1975 to retrieve an IBM 5100 computer, a machine he claimed was crucial for debugging legacy systems in his timeline. Along the way, he stopped in the year 2000 and began posting detailed descriptions of a dystopian future ravaged by nuclear war and civil unrest.

John sent two faxes to 'Cost to Coast AM', where his claims became a frequent topic of discussion. Art and his listeners debated John's predictions, analysed his claims, and questioned whether he was a hoaxer or a genuine time traveler. This only fuelled John's notoriety, turning him into one of the most famous figures in modern internet folklore.

One of Art Bell's most memorable callers was Mike Marcum, often referred to as "Mad Man Marcum." He first called into the show in 1995, claiming he had accidentally built a time machine in his Missouri home. Aged just 21 at the time, Mike said he was using a modified Jacob's Ladder - a device that creates a continuous electrical arc - to experiment with electromagnetic fields. According to Mike, during one of his early tests, he noticed that small objects placed within the device seemed to vanish before reappearing a few seconds later. Intrigued, he wanted to upscale his experiments, but he needed more powerful components.

This is where the story took an unusual turn. Mike admitted on air that he had stolen six massive power transformers from a nearby power substation to aid his research. Unfortunately for Mike, his experiments were cut short when local law enforcement worked out he'd stolen the transformers. This led to his arrest and a 60-day stint in jail.

When he was released, he resumed his experiments and called 'Coast to Coast AM' again to update Art on his progress, which led to the donation of funding and equipment from listeners and even a warehouse to work out of. This allowed him to improve his design, and 18 months later he was able to test putting larger objects through the field. This time, the objects didn't vanish for a few seconds, they vanished for several minutes and reappeared over 100 metres away.

Eventually, Mike told Art that he planned to step inside it himself to test if time travel was possible. His ultimate goal, he said, was to move just a few seconds into the future. Then, Mike vanished. He stopped calling the show, and rumours swirled among fans of 'Coast to Coast AM.' Some speculated that he had succeeded in travelling through time and was now lost in another era. Others, including Art himself, believed he had come to an unfortunate end due to the massive amounts of power involved.

Mike eventually resurfaced two years later in the year 2000 and once again called Art's show. Mike told Art that his test resulted in him reappearing 800 miles away from his warehouse, two years into the future, and that he was suffering from memory loss as a result of the test. When Mike eventually made it back to his warehouse, the machine and all his research were gone.

Mike called Art again in 2015 and recounted the whole tale, cementing his place in paranormal radio history.