CBC Mystery Theatre 1967.xx.xx The Kitchen Table

Summary

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Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: CBC Mystery Theatre 1967.xx.xx - "The Kitchen Table"
Air Date: October 31, 2025
Story by: Alan King

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Overview

This episode of CBC Mystery Theatre transports listeners back to the Golden Age of Radio with a supernatural tale set in an old country house. "The Kitchen Table" tells the mysterious story of a young couple—Jim and Sally—who, after purchasing a neglected old farmhouse, become entangled in the unresolved secrets embedded in its very woodwork. Their discovery of a hidden fireplace, a haunted kitchen table, and a ghostly visitor pulls them into a chilling, unraveling mystery involving past tragedies and restless spirits.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Beats

1. The Tempting Real Estate Offer

• [00:31] Mr. Jenkins, the real estate agent, tries to convince the young couple, Jim and Sally Keel, to buy the rundown farmhouse at a bargain price. The couple feels a deep connection to the house and purchases it despite its neglected state.

2. Uncovering History—The Fireplace Discovery

• [02:32] While renovating, the couple finds a giant, old kitchen fireplace hidden behind wallpaper.
• The fireplace imbues the kitchen with a "softer, mellower atmosphere," hinting at its storied past.

3. A Ghostly Visitor

• [04:58] During a storm, an old man named Dan Sharp appears at the back door, seeking shelter.
• He reveals detailed knowledge about the house and its original furnishings, including the kitchen table, two rockers, and a gun.
  • Notable Quote – Dan Sharp [05:56]:
    "Name's Dan Sharp. Know a lot of things about this house. This kitchen now is different. Used to be a table in the center. Big table, solid, ain't far away."
• After the storm, Dan leaves mysteriously—without having left any sign of wetness on the chair or floor, suggesting a spectral presence.

4. Restoring the Past

• [08:45] Following Dan Sharp's clues, the couple successfully tracks down the original kitchen furniture from various locals, including the massive kitchen table—which they find neglected in a drive shed.

5. The Unsettling Stain

• [12:08] After placing the table in the kitchen, Sally discovers an ominous, blood-like stain on its surface that neither time nor cleaning can remove.
  • Notable Quote – Sally [12:53]:
    "Jim, I know this sounds silly, but I just can't help feeling that it's blood."

6. Researching the House's Dark Past

• [15:15] Jim and Sally meet Mr. Tyson, the local newspaper publisher, to learn about the house’s history.
• They confirm that Jonathan Sharp—Dan's cousin—once lived there and died in a storm, but no one recalls what became of Dan.

7. A Terrifying Vision

• [18:24] Sally experiences a harrowing vision of two men—Jonathan and Dan—arguing in the kitchen, culminating with Jonathan murdering Dan at the kitchen table.
  • Notable Quote – Sally [20:21]:
    "He planted it right in little man's chest... And I could see the table, Jim. I could see it. Right there on the end was a spreading pool of blood."
• Sally realizes her vision is possibly not a dream, but a revelation of past events.

8. Unearthing the Truth

• [21:19] While digging for a root cellar, the couple uncovers a box of human bones. The details match Sally’s vision, pointing to Jonathan having murdered Dan and hiding his remains.

9. Putting the Past to Rest

• [23:36] Sally recalls that Dan's spirit wanted resting in the churchyard like Jonathan.
• The couple arranges a proper burial for Dan Sharp, attended by Mr. Tyson and others.

10. Resolution—Mystery Solved?

• [24:35] Upon their return, the infamous stain has vanished from the kitchen table, symbolizing the spirit's release and the conclusion of the haunting.
  • Notable Quote – Mr. Tyson [24:53]:
    "Either you two young folks are making up a good story. You've put the ghost of old Dan Sharp to rest. Either way, it's a good story. If not the best my paper's had in 30 years."

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Discovery of the fireplace:
  "Sally, there's a great big hall behind here... It's one of those great kitchen fireplaces." — Jim [02:35]

• Ghostly dry chair revelation:
  "He came in under the rain. He must have been soaked. But that chair and the floor, they're bone dry." — Sally [08:13]

• The persistent stain:
  "It was as clean as we could get it... It's no good. This is something beyond our understanding." — Sally [13:02, 14:28]

• Sally’s chilling vision:
  "The big man, he got the other man by the throat... He planted it right in little man's chest." — Sally [20:03–20:21]

• Table finally cleansed:
  "Jim, look... The stain is gone." — Sally [24:35]

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Key Timestamps

• 00:31 — Real estate pitch & couple purchases house
• 02:32 — Discovery of the hidden fireplace
• 04:54 — Dan Sharp knocks on kitchen door
• 06:00–07:01 — Dan Sharp recounts house/furniture history & Jonathan’s fate
• 08:43–09:38 — Search for the original kitchen furniture
• 12:27–14:27 — Discovery and persistence of the mysterious stain
• 15:13–17:25 — Interview with Mr. Tyson, the local historian
• 18:24–21:04 — Sally’s terrifying vision of the murder
• 21:37–23:36 — Discovery of bones near the house
• 24:35–25:02 — The table’s stain disappears after Dan’s burial

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Conclusion

"The Kitchen Table" intertwines domestic renovation with chilling supernatural mystery, exploring how relics—and even spirits—of the past linger in the present. Through atmospheric storytelling and evocative dialogue, the episode taps into timeless themes of guilt, remembrance, and putting the past to rest. The episode concludes with ambiguity: Whether the couple encountered real ghosts or spun a fantastic yarn, the outcome is "a good story—if not the best my paper's had in 30 years." [25:02]

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For fans of classic ghost stories and atmospheric mysteries, "The Kitchen Table" is an evocative listen packed with suspense, nostalgia, and a timeless shiver of the unknown.

Transcript

[A]

Now is the time to tell of the unaccountable, of apparitions by night and phantoms in shadow. Time to tell strange tales of fantasy and the supernatural. Mystery Theater presents the Kitchen Table by Alan King.

[B]

Folks, I'm ashamed, absolutely ashamed, to offer this property at the ridiculous price of $2,500. Only 15 miles from the city, two acres of land. Why, with prices the way they are today, it's a steal, an absolute steal.

[C]

What I want to know, Mr. Jenkins, is why we're allowed to steal it.

[B]

Why, look a gift horse in the mouth, Mr. Keel.

[D]

But I'll tell you, this whole property.

[B]

Of 100 acres is being sold off. The owner died a couple of months ago. He kept this house for his help. It used to be the farmhouse itself many years ago.

[E]

It's going to need some work done.

[F]

On it, Mr. Jenkins. I mean, it hadn't been kept in.

[B]

Good repair, so it needs a few repairs.

[D]

Do them yourself.

[B]

Young couple like you got lots of energy. I'll tell you, Mrs. Keel, you can't afford not to buy this place.

[C]

We didn't admit it to Mr. Jenkins, the real estate agent, but we felt the same way. Have you ever gone looking for a house to buy and then one day you come to an old, untidy, neglected place that has character? And you know that when you start working on it, it'll come alive again under your hands? Well, Sally and I felt, as Mr. Jenkins said, we couldn't afford not to buy it. So we raised what we could, took a mortgage for the rest and bought it.

[F]

We couldn't begin to tell you of all the things we stripped off that house. The coats of paint, the layers of awful wallpaper. We found that the floors were of lovely old pine. Wide boards hidden beneath coats of varnish and then linoleum. The outside walls were coated with some kind of stucco. But when the electrician came to drill for wiring, he ran into square timbers nearly two feet thick. And the kitchen there was the greatest discovery of them all. Under the wallpaper on one of the walls, we noticed an irregularity and we began to poke around.

[D]

Honey, where's the flashlight?

[E]

Oh, here you are.

[C]

Oh, thanks. Let's see what we. Sally, there's a great big hall behind here.

[E]

What is it?

[C]

There's a great big space behind here. It's all blackened.

[E]

What is it?

[C]

Oh, I know. It's one of those great kitchen fireplaces.

[E]

You know, the kind where they got a spoon.

[C]

How?

[E]

And a hook for holding cattle.

[C]

But.

[E]

Oh, Jim, it's so exciting. Oh, let's pull the rest of the stuff away. Come on.

[C]

Come on.

[F]

Be careful. Oh.

[E]

A gym. I can hardly believe it.

[F]

It's a real pioneer fireplace.

[E]

Big oven and everything.

[F]

Oh, it's beautiful.

[C]

And look at the size of it. You know, you could almost sit in it.

[E]

Whatever they used to do. I know they had seats at each side so everybody could get close to the fire.

[C]

Jim. What?

[F]

We've got to restore this kitchen just as it was. We'll furnish it just right, the kind of table and chairs we would have used in those days. We'll get the rest of this paper off the walls.

[C]

Hey, wait a minute. How are we going to get the proper furniture?

[F]

We'll find it somewhere.

[E]

Oh, I can see the kitchen already.

[F]

Just as it'll be and just as it must have been.

[D]

Then.

[C]

As we talked, standing in front of that great fireplace we'd uncovered, the room seemed to take on a softer, mellower atmosphere. There was a feeling of life about the room which I found hard to describe. It was very exciting. We hardly took the time to stop for supper. Then we were at it again, scraping and tearing away. All the time we were working, a wind had been springing up. A storm was on its way, and before long, it broke. While the thunder and lightning raged and the rain drove against the outside of the house, we worked on feeling strangely snug and secure against the violence of the storm. For the start, I realized that someone was pounding on the back door. Sally, do you hear that?

[F]

What, Alex?

[C]

It sounded like somebody knocking on the door.

[F]

I can't hear a thing with a storm going on.

[C]

Yeah, there it is again.

[F]

I heard that, all right.

[C]

Must be somebody looking for shelter. It's the back door out of the kitchen here, I think. Well, I'll go and see. Is there somebody there?

[G]

Oh, can I trouble you for shelter just till the storm stops?

[C]

Of course. Come on in.

[G]

Thank you. Sorry to intrude on you, but it's a wild night here.

[F]

Oh, Evening, ma'.

[C]

Am.

[F]

Good evening.

[C]

Come along and sit down. I'm sorry we haven't a fire going, but we just discovered that there was a fireplace in that wall.

[G]

Didn't take you long. Some folks lived here for years, never found it.

[F]

You mean you knew it was there?

[G]

Wood fireplace. Draws good.

[C]

Who are you?

[G]

Name's Dan Sharp. Know a lot of things about this house.

[F]

You mean you used to live here or work here or something?

[G]

This kitchen now is different. Used to be a table in the center. Big table, solid, ain't far away.

[F]

A table?

[E]

You mean the original table is still.

[G]

In existence at an auction. Walt bentivity on the table got it. Walt's dead now. Sam still has it. There was two rockers. Sam Harris got them. Sam's there too. And a gun. There was a gun over the fireplace. He muzzled looter he had. Brass bought it. Don't know why. Somebody else in the brass place now still got the gun, though.

[C]

Well, are you trying to tell us that all the furniture out of this kitchen is around somewhere way far away? Could we buy those things from them? Get them back where they came from?

[G]

We oughta. Ought to be back wrong here.

[E]

Oh, won't you tell us something more.

[F]

About this house, Mr. Sharp?

[E]

Did you live here yourself? Is that it?

[G]

Jonathan lived here. Died here too, right like this. Went out to the barn. Wind blew a branch off the big elm, fell on Jonathan. Killed him.

[F]

How terrible.

[G]

Wayne stopped right after stopping.

[C]

Now, who was Jonathan?

[G]

How do you know about all this rain stopping too? It's time to go.

[D]

Oh, you can't go yet.

[C]

We want to know more about what time to go.

[G]

Maybe someday Jonathan will tell you what he done happened in this room. Jonathan Was his buried in the churchyard.

[C]

What are you talking about?

[G]

Thank you for your hospitality, ma'.

[C]

Am.

[G]

Oh, don't get up, Sean. I'll let myself out. And don't forget, you're doing right. Mighty fine fireplace, he was. You're doing right.

[F]

Jim. Who was he?

[C]

I don't know.

[E]

It was a stranger.

[C]

Shelly. What's the matter, Jimmy?

[F]

Look where he was sitting.

[C]

Yeah, what about her?

[F]

He came in under the rain. He must have been soaked. But that chair and the floor, they're bone dry.

[C]

Sally was right. There wasn't a drop of water anywhere near where the old man had been sitting. We were faced with the fact that a ghost had sat in our kitchen and talked to us. And Sally and I didn't believe in ghosts. So we were left with only one thing to do.

[F]

Pretend he was a ghost and then go on from there.

[C]

What do you suggest we do then?

[F]

Go and visit all these people he mentioned? Look, if all he said was true, we can furnish this kitchen as it was before. I can remember the names. Bender, Harris and Bryce.

[E]

Oh, Jim, we've got to do.

[F]

Worked out very well. Everything was where the old man said it was. We found the old muzzle loader at the Bryce place and got it very cheap. At the Harris farm they had the two rockers and a wonderful old pine dresser that the ghost hadn't even mentioned. Took some haggling to get that? And we paid more than we wanted to. But oh, it was worth it to see it sitting there in our kitchen. It was actually two weeks before we found all the articles. We went to the Bender farm. Last place where the table was supposed to be. That old table. Oh, I threw it out.

[E]

You got rid of it? Why?

[F]

It was too big and clumsy. Didn't fit into this kitchen when we fixed it over. Where is it now? Oh, it's out in the drive shed somewhere. I just told hi to get it out of here. You want to look at it? We'd like to. Which way is the drive shed? Well, you can go out this door here. It's on the right as you go out to the barn. Well, you can't miss the table. It's so big.

[E]

That's it.

[F]

All right.

[E]

Jim?

[C]

Yep.

[F]

Can we lift some of this stuff off?

[C]

Sure.

[G]

Oh, Lord.

[C]

They certainly pile up a lot of junk on these farms. Danny, look at this. Bits of old chairs, broken garden tools, old wrenches.

[F]

You never know what you're gonna find in a place like this.

[C]

Oh, boy. There, that's all of it. Hey, that sure is a big table.

[F]

Enormous.

[C]

Oh, yeah. Heavy too.

[F]

I wonder why they put that dreadful varnish on everything. There's coats of it.

[C]

You want me to scrape some of it away?

[F]

Oh, no. Oh, it's bound to be good wood underneath. Let's go back and tell her we'll take it high. Bender brought it down one Friday evening and Jim and I spent the weekend working on it with scraperies and paint remover. By Sunday night we were tired out.

[C]

Solid looking table looks so right in here.

[F]

There's such an atmosphere to this kitchen now. Everything seems to go on.

[C]

You know, I can't help wondering what it was that happened here.

[F]

Happened?

[C]

Remember what the old man said when Jonathan done what he did?

[F]

Oh, yes, I'd forgotten.

[C]

And who was Jonathan? I don't suppose there's any way of.

[F]

Finding out if anything did happen. Funny about that old man, isn't it? We're beginning to accept him quite casually. And yet actually he couldn't have been real. You're as tired as we are. You can imagine all kinds of strange things.

[C]

I wish I could imagine myself in bed and asleep this minute. I would have to get to work early tomorrow morning.

[F]

Oh, do you, darling?

[C]

Yeah. 8:30. You better call me at 7. If we have breakfast at 7:30, I can make it.

[E]

Jim. Jim.

[C]

Yeah?

[E]

Jim, come here quickly.

[C]

Well, what is it?

[E]

It's nothing. Oh, Jim, hurry.

[C]

What is it? The skunk in the stove.

[F]

No, no, no.

[E]

Look, look. The kitchen table there at that end.

[F]

Looks like a great big stain.

[C]

Yeah. Now, where in hell did that come from?

[F]

I don't know.

[E]

Only I'm quite certain it wasn't there last night when we went to bed.

[C]

Wait a minute. Something leaking from the ceiling?

[F]

I don't think so. Funny thing is, this stain seems to be absolutely dry.

[C]

More than that, it looks old. Very old.

[F]

Jim, I know this sounds silly, but I just can't help feeling that it's blood.

[C]

Oh, no, Sally, that's ridiculous.

[G]

How could it be blood?

[F]

Well, how could it be there at all? We sanded that right down last night.

[E]

It was as clean as we could get it.

[C]

Maybe we didn't notice it in the evening light.

[E]

Oh, you know very well it wasn't there last night.

[C]

Yeah. What's going on in this house? First of all, an old man who comes in out of the rain and doesn't leave a wet mark anywhere. And now a table that comes up with a blood stain overnight.

[F]

There, you said it too. A blood stain. Just as if you knew.

[C]

Oh, well, it just slipped out. Look, honey, give me a piece of sandpaper while you get the breakfast. I'm gonna sand that mark there. That's going. See, I haven't got time to work on it anymore, but I think with some more elbow grease, we can get it out.

[F]

Oh, that's wonderful. I'll keep working on it today while you're out, and by the time you're back, it'll be all gone.

[C]

That's what I thought when I left for work. I was convinced that we'd taken the whole affair too seriously. That somehow the wood had absorbed some color from one of the layers of paint under the varnish and that perhaps exposure to the air had brought it to the surface. But when I came home that night, I threw that theory overboard.

[F]

No, Jimmy.

[C]

No.

[F]

It's no good. This is something beyond our understanding.

[C]

But the stain responded to sanding this morning before I left.

[F]

I know. And I went on sanding. I had it very nearly out, and then the phone rang. It was Mother, and she kept me talking for 20 minutes. When I got back, the stain was there, as clear as ever. Jim, I don't know what it is, but I'm afraid of it.

[C]

We worked on the stain with sandpaper, but it always came back. We even tried to bleach it with oxalic acid, but that was no good. I suggested painting it over, but Sally wouldn't hear of it. Rather than spoil the pine surface she'd cover up the stain with a tablecloth for the time being.

[D]

We thought then if we could get.

[C]

Some information about the history of our house, it might help. So we called on Mr. Tyson, the publisher of the local four page newspaper. He was a twinkling man of 75 with a long and retentive memory.

[D]

So you're the people that bought that place, eh?

[G]

Heard you got a bargain on it.

[F]

Well, that's what we're not quite sure about, Mr. Tyson. The price is low enough, but we've got a mystery on our hands.

[D]

Mystery, eh?

[F]

Well, we thought perhaps you could give us some information that would help to clear it up.

[D]

What kind of mystery?

[F]

We don't like to tell you because it's hard to believe. But if we can clear it up, then we'll tell you all about it.

[C]

It might make a good story for your paper.

[D]

They can always use a good story. What's the information you want?

[C]

Well, first of all, who was Jonathan Sharp? He used to live in our house.

[D]

Yes, I remember Jonathan Sharp. I was just a young fellow when he died.

[F]

Wasn't he killed in a storm? Hit by a branch of a tree or something?

[C]

Yes.

[D]

How did you know?

[F]

Oh, someone told us.

[D]

Yeah, well, that's how it happened, anyway. He's a big fellow, Jonathan. A bad temper. Got him into trouble many a time.

[G]

Good farmer, though.

[D]

Made a deal of money, but he never spent much.

[C]

Was there ever anyone called Dan Sharp?

[D]

Dan Sharp? Oh, yes, now, I'd forgotten about him. Yeah, Dan Sharp. He was a. He was a cousin of Jonathan's, I believe. Yeah, that's right, a cousin. Their dads were brothers and they owned that farm together.

[C]

Yeah.

[F]

Did Jonathan and Dan work it together?

[D]

No, no, no, I don't believe they did. Well, they may have for a while.

[C]

I couldn't say exactly what happened to Dan, Mr. Tyson.

[G]

I never did know.

[D]

Went away somewhere, I guess. I can just remember him as a little fella.

[G]

Wiry, but.

[D]

Oh, I didn't see Dan Sharp after. Oh, I guess after I was out of my teens.

[F]

Is he buried in the churchyard?

[D]

No, I wouldn't know that either. I know Jonathan is, because I remember the funeral. First one I was ever at. But you could go over there and see if there's a stone for dad.

[C]

We might do that. And thanks, Mr. Tyson. We got a few things straight anyway.

[D]

Wait. I haven't been much help. Hey, but don't forget me when you solve that mystery.

[C]

We found Jonathan's grave. Died April 14, 1898. And there were the graves of Other Sharpes, but of Dan Sharp, there wasn't a trace. The matter rested there for a few days. We felt that sometime we'd find the explanation. Sally kept busy about the house, making curtains, doing more sanding, waxing other pieces of the old furniture. In spite of the mystery, we were coming to love our old house. And then one night, many things were made clear. I'd been working late. I got home about 11. When I opened the door, to my amazement, Sally ran flying into my arms, half sobbing with pure terror.

[E]

Jim, thank God you're home.

[C]

It's been awful.

[E]

I was terrified.

[D]

Darling, what's happened?

[E]

That terrible man.

[C]

A man? Did somebody come here? Sally, what are you.

[D]

Are you all right?

[F]

Oh, it's not.

[E]

Not anybody that came. Nobody's been here. It's what I saw.

[C]

What you saw?

[F]

Well, I didn't mind being alone here, you know.

[E]

I don't get frightened.

[C]

Well, sure, I know.

[F]

I've been very busy all day. The town wasn't dragging at all. I was sewing with the machine in the afternoon. And then I went out and did some gardening until it was dusk. After that I came in and ate myself some supper. I was pretty sleepy after supper, but I kept on working for a while. And then I just had to sit down. I sat in one of the rockers in the kitchen, in front of the fire. There was a little chill in the air and I put a few bits of wood on. I was sitting there relaxing and perhaps I dozed off. I don't know. I can't be sure. Anyway, I suddenly seemed not to be.

[E]

In the chair anymore.

[F]

But standing by the door, I was conscious of a different atmosphere in the room. It was menacing. I know I was afraid. And no matter what was happening in.

[E]

That room, I couldn't move.

[C]

Happening? How do you mean, Sally?

[F]

The table was there in the center.

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

At one end of it.

[F]

There were two men standing. They were having an argument. One was a big man. He was angry. And the other. The other man was who? The little old man.

[E]

Dan Sharp.

[C]

What?

[E]

I could see his face. There was no doubt. They were arguing.

[F]

I couldn't hear distinctly. It was something about property, about the farm, it seemed. The little man said something about being cheated out of something.

[E]

And then.

[C]

Yes.

[F]

The big man, he got the other man by the throat. He forced him back over the table. The little man tried to fight back. He hit the big man in the face. And then the big man went on.

[E]

Holding the little man down with one hand. And then with his right hand, he reached back and pulled Out a knife.

[F]

And.

[E]

He planted it right in little man's chest.

[F]

There, honey.

[C]

It's all right. It's only a minute.

[E]

But I saw it so plainly. He drew the knife out. He stood there, breathing heavily. Then the body of the luminous. It sort of crumbled and fell sideways. And I could see the table, Jim. I could see it. Right there on the end was a spreading pool of blood.

[C]

It was an awful experience for Sally. I tried to persuade her it was a dream, something that had stemmed from her imagination. But she wouldn't accept it. It was too real, she said. And she felt sure something else was going to happen.

[F]

I knew that wasn't the end of our mystery, and I was right. It was some time before the end came. We had decided we wanted a root cellar. And we hired a man with a power shovel to excavate it for us close to the house. Halfway through, he came to us with something in his hands.

[C]

Turned out this box? Yeah. Don't know what it is.

[F]

Box?

[C]

Yep. Looks kind of old. All nailed down, too, sort of. Better bring it in.

[F]

Thank you. Only where it can be.

[C]

Oh, I don't know. Maybe some money got buried there. Never could tell. What a hope. Well, it's yours anyway. I'll get back outside. Think I can finish up in half an hour. Thanks for bringing it in. Okay.

[E]

What do you think it is, Jim?

[C]

Well, we'll soon find out. I had a big screwdriver here somewhere. Oh, here it is.

[F]

Exciting, isn't it?

[C]

Yeah. Musty sort of smell to it.

[F]

I hope it's gold pieces. Did they have gold pieces in those days?

[C]

Oh, we'd never have the luck to. Sally, what is it? It's not gold pieces. It isn't money. It's bones. And they look like human bones. They were human bones, all right. And then as we stood there gazing at them, an idea came filtering into our minds. Sally's dream. Perhaps it wasn't a dream at all, but a revelation. Dan Sharp had been killed in that night of vision. Sally had seen him stabbed by someone who was obviously Jonathan. And Jonathan had disposed of the little man's body by. By burning it in the fireplace and then sealing it up. But just in case it might be discovered, he took the bones which wouldn't burn, put them in a box and buried them deep near the house. That was it. That must be it. And in that moment of inspiration, I turned back the cloth on the big kitchen. T the stain seemed more vivid than ever.

[F]

Jim, I know what to do.

[C]

What?

[F]

Remember the night Dan Sharp Came. He spoke of Jonathan. He said Jonathan was buried in the churchyard. As if to say, but I wasn't.

[C]

And you think that to put that.

[F]

Poor old man at rest, we must bury him in the churchyard? It was like a burden falling from our shoulders. We took the box with the bones to Mr. Clark, the minister, and explained something of the story. He was very nice about it and arranged everything. It was a very short, quiet service. Only Mr. Tysons in the newspaper and Jim and I were there. And then the bones of Dan Sharp were returned to the earth. As we returned to our house, we both shared the feeling that we'd done the right thing. And Mr. Tyson, who came with us, agreed. He was most anxious to see the table with the blood stain.

[D]

Mighty big table, Mr. Keel.

[C]

Yes, it's a good piece of pine.

[F]

Turn the cloth back so you can see the stain. Jim. Look.

[C]

Good Lord.

[E]

It's gone. The stain is gone.

[C]

But I don't understand. Honestly, Mr. Tyson. This morning it was.

[D]

Well, it was plainer than day. It was, eh? Well, now it seems to me it's.

[C]

One of two things.

[F]

What do you mean?

[D]

Either you two young folks are making up a good story. You've put the ghost of old Dan Sharp to rest.

[C]

I don't mind which tis.

[D]

Either way, it's a good story. If not the best my paper's had in 30 years.

[A]

The kitchen table by Alan King was item two in a brief series of tales of the supernatural. Written for presentation on the Mystery theater. With Arch McDonald as Jim. Sandra Scott as Sally. And Tommy Tweed as Sharp. Joe Austin with her as old man Jenkins. Alan King as Mr. Tyson, the newspaper editor. And Jim Barron as the excavation contractor. With Eleanor Beecroft as Mrs. Bender. Sound effects were by Alex Sheridan. Technical operation by John Skillen. This is Bill Lauren speaking.