Incredible but True xx-xx-xx ep09 The Playful Spirit

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: Harold’s Old Time Radio
Episode: Incredible but True ep09 – "The Playful Spirit"
Date: January 14, 2026

This episode from Harold’s Old Time Radio explores the enduring folklore surrounding poltergeists through a dramatized retelling of “The Playful Spirit.” Emphasizing the mysterious and often inexplicable nature of reported poltergeist activity, the episode centers on the perplexing events experienced by Mr. Playfair, a skeptical English miller in 1906 Kent.

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Main Themes and Purpose

• Exploration of Poltergeist Lore: The show dives into the long history of “poltergeist” or “playful spirit” hauntings—phenomena recognized in psychical research literature, though never definitively proven.
• Skepticism vs. Mystery: The episode juxtaposes rational skepticism with the unexplained, dramatizing a case in which practical explanations fall short.
• Storytelling from the Golden Age of Radio: True to the podcast’s style, the story is presented as an atmospheric radio play, reflecting the classic family listening experience.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Introduction to Poltergeists

• Poltergeist Defined: “The Poltergeist, or playful spirit, has been for centuries a familiar figure in the literature of psychical research. No one has ever seen him. No one has ever proved that he really exists.” (Narrator, 00:32)
• Cultural Skepticism: Modern minds may scoff, but the narrator insists “there are literally thousands of cases… which cannot be otherwise explained.” (00:32)

The Strange Occurrence at Lambhurst, Kent

• Setting the Scene:
  • Mr. J.C. Playfair is introduced as a practical, grounded miller—a quintessential skeptic (01:06).
  • His employee, Scobling, believes “one of the playful spirits... the poltergeist” is responsible for mysterious events (01:26).
  • Notable interplay between skepticism and superstition, highlighting the cultural divide on supernatural phenomena.

Events in the Stable

• Unexplained Phenomena:
  • Horses inexplicably turned around in their stalls, despite the doors being locked (01:49).
    • “Good Lord, look at the horses. They've all been turned around in their stalls.” —Mr. Playfair (01:49)
  • The mare apparently vanished, impossible under normal circumstances (01:55).
• Physical Impossibility:
  • The stable’s security and locked state baffle Mr. Playfair.
    • “They'd have to be led out of the stalls and led back in again through this door. And the door was bolted.” —Mr. Playfair (01:57)

Supernatural Escalation

• Poltergeist’s “Presence”:

  • Objects begin moving on their own—a barrel of lime is thrown down the stairs (02:21).
    • “He pushed it downstairs. The spirit’s still in here.” —Scobling (02:21)
  • Mr. Playfair remains adamant: “Spirit, nothing. Nobody but a man could have moved that barrel. You up there. Come down, I say, or I'll come up and get you.” (02:27)

• Inexplicable Strength:

  • A massive water butt is overturned, requiring “the strength of two men.” (03:01)
    • “The water butt. Good Lord, man. You and I together wouldn't have the strength to budget.” —Mr. Playfair (02:56)

The Mare’s Impossible Disappearance

• Discovery:
  • The mare is discovered inside the tiny hayroom, impossible for a horse to squeeze through the door (03:35).
    • “Cobbley, look. She is in here. Now, how on earth could she have gotten through this narrow little door?” —Mr. Playfair (03:35)
  • It was necessary to “remove a partition to get the mare out of the hayroom.” (03:45)

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Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:32 | Narrator | "The Poltergeist, or playful spirit, has been for centuries a familiar figure… No one has ever seen him. No one has ever proved that he really exists." | | 01:49 | Mr. Playfair | "Good Lord, look at the horses. They've all been turned around in their stalls." | | 01:57 | Mr. Playfair | "They'd have to be led out of the stalls and led back in again through this door. And the door was bolted." | | 02:21 | Hired Man (Scobling) | "He pushed it downstairs. The spirit’s still in here." | | 02:56 | Mr. Playfair | "The water butt. Good Lord, man. You and I together wouldn't have the strength to budget." | | 03:35 | Mr. Playfair | "Cobbley, look. She is in here. Now, how on earth could she have gotten through this narrow little door?" | | 03:45 | Narrator/Mr. Playfair | "And though we may dismiss with a superior smile the idea of a playful spirit, these remain facts, facts incredible but true." |

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:32 – Intro to poltergeists and setup of Playfair’s story
• 01:21 – First report of supernatural events in the stable
• 01:49 – Discovery of horses inexplicably turned
• 02:21 – Escalation: heavy objects begin moving
• 02:56 – Impossible feat: water butt overturned
• 03:35 – Climax: mare discovered in impossible location
• 03:45 – Concluding reflection on skepticism and facts

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Tone and Style

The episode sustains a classic radio drama ambiance—moody, direct, and vivid—while balancing skeptical reasoning with eerie suggestion. Dialogue is brisk and character-driven, harnessing the suspense and style of early 20th-century radio plays.

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Takeaway

"Incredible but True: The Playful Spirit" invites listeners into a world where the unexplained blurs with fact, never quite answering the mystery but leaving us to wonder—could there be more to these old tales than meets the eye? The episode remains a testament to the enduring allure of ghost stories, skepticism, and the power of classic audio storytelling.

Transcript

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[Narrator/Storyteller]

The Poltergeist, or playful spirit, has been for centuries a familiar figure in the literature of psychical research. No one has ever seen him. No one has ever proved that he really exists. And while sophisticated minds of the 20th century may scoff at the idea of an invisible imp who maliciously moves furniture and shatters crockery, there are literally thousands of cases of such spontaneous physical phenomena which cannot be otherwise explained. There is, for example, the case of Mr. Playfair, the miller of Kent.

[Mr. Playfair]

J.C. playfair, owner of the furnace mill at Lambhurst, Kent, was a solid and practical man. Hence, when the hired man informed him on a certain May morning in the year 1906 that a mysterious visitor had entered the stables during the night, Mr. Playfair was slightly annoyed.

How could anyone get in the stables? Every door's locked and voted, and you and I have the only keys.

[Hired Man/Scobling]

He didn't need a key, sir. It was one of the playful spirits. Some folks call him the poltergeist.

[Mr. Playfair]

Oh, for heaven's sake. Scobling. Only times have I told you there are no.

[Hired Man/Scobling]

Oh, no, sir. But just the same, sir, I wish you'd come out to the stables and look for yourself.

[Mr. Playfair]

And so Mr. Playfair, mumbling his disgust over the whole silly business, followed his hired hand out to the stables.

Good Lord, look at the horses. They've all been turned around in their stalls.

[Hired Man/Scobling]

I, Sir.

[Mr. Playfair]

And the mare, she's gone.

[Hired Man/Scobling]

Aye, sir.

[Mr. Playfair]

Comely, you dumb as yourself. There isn't room to turn those horses around like that. They'd have to be led out of the stalls and led back in again through this door. And the door was bolted.

[Hired Man/Scobling]

I know, sir, but I haven't so much as touched him.

[Mr. Playfair]

Now, here's my mare. She couldn't possibly have got out. This is ridiculous. Gobbly. The whole thing's perfect.

[Hired Man/Scobling]

Listen, sir.

[Mr. Playfair]

Great Scott. What is it?

[Hired Man/Scobling]

The barrel of lawn served up in the loft. He pushed it downstairs. The spirit's still in here.

[Mr. Playfair]

Spirit, nothing. Nobody but a man could have moved that barrel. You up there. Come down. Come down, I say, or I'll come up and get you.

But no one came down. And when Mr. Playfair, stepping over the lime barrel at the foot of the stairs, climbed up to the loft, he found it quite empty. He was on his way back to the ground floor again when suddenly.

[Hired Man/Scobling]

The water butt, sir, standing right there in the corner, he just turned it over.

[Mr. Playfair]

The water butt. Good Lord, man. You and I together wouldn't have the strength to budget.

[Hired Man/Scobling]

Well, he did, sir. And that means he's right here in the room with us. And that means I'm getting there.

[Mr. Playfair]

Gobbly. Wait a moment. Come back. We are not leaving here till we found my mare.

[Hired Man/Scobling]

The hay room is the only place left, and she couldn't very well be in there, now, could she?

[Mr. Playfair]

The hay room was a tiny space adjoining the stable, and the doorway to it was scarcely wide enough for a man, much less a horse, to squeeze through. Nevertheless, Mr. Playfair, having no place else to look and ready by now to believe almost anything, did pull open the door and squint into the gloomy, malodorous room.

Cobbley, look. She is in here. Now, how on earth could she have gotten through this narrow little door?

Of course, any sensible and civilized person of the 20th century knows that there are no such creatures as poltergeists. And yet the miller's horses were turned about in their stalls, and the lime barrel and the water butt were upset. And it was necessary to remove a partition to get the mare out of the hayroom. And though we may dismiss with a superior smile the idea of a playful spirit, these remain facts, facts incredible but true.