Episode Overview

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Lights Out 42-10-20 003 Poltergeist (Gravestone)
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Date: October 24, 2025

The episode presents a chilling rebroadcast of Lights Out—one of radio’s most legendary horror dramas—specifically, the classic "Poltergeist" episode originally aired in 1942. Written by Arch Oboler, this story is a vintage audio horror piece, focusing on supernatural vengeance after the accidental desecration of a grave. The broadcast warns listeners that its content is meant to shock and scare, and may not be for the faint of heart.

Major Discussion Points & Key Segments

1. Opening Warning and Setting the Scene

[00:32–01:38]

• Host Arch Oboler issues a sincere warning to listeners:

  "If you frighten easily, turn off your radio now. But if you're fascinated by the mysterious, the fantastic, the unearthly, then anticipate chills in our story of poltergeist."

• The story begins with three friends—Kay, Florence, and Edna—going for a winter sleigh ride in the countryside, enjoying banter and song as they approach a local landmark.

2. Arrival and the Graveyard Discovery

[03:08–07:55]

• The girls’ playful mood shifts ominously when:
  • Kay trips while dancing and discovers what she thought was a rock is actually a tombstone.
  • The group realizes they are in an old graveyard, with stones covered by snow.
• Edna, clearly terrified, explains her fear:

  "You danced on a grave. [...] The poltergeist will come. I know he will." [07:09]

3. Terror Strikes: The First Attack

[07:55–08:29]

• Edna, overcome with panic, runs away—only to be struck by a rock apparently thrown from nowhere:

  "Kay, what happened? That stone, it hit Edna. [...] Who threw it? I don't know. It came from the graveyard." [08:20]

4. Seeking Help and Unexplainable Events Continue

[08:29–13:34]

• Edna is gravely injured, and the girls seek the help of a local doctor, who is skeptical of their supernatural explanation:

  "Somebody threw the rock that cracked her head." [10:42] – Doctor

• Both Kay and Florence begin to doubt their own senses as they try to rationalize what happened:

  "There was no one there to throw that rock. There must have been, but there wasn't.” [11:12] – Florence

• Shortly after, Edna is found dead in her bed, her head crushed not by an ordinary rock, but by a tombstone—somehow brought in from the distant graveyard:

  "It's crushed flat in by a rock."
  "It's not a rock, it's a tombstone." [13:28–13:34]

5. Descent Into Fear and Madness

[14:55–17:31]

• Florence and Kay, wracked with guilt and horror, each blame themselves for Edna’s death. Kay becomes obsessed with making amends to the spirit she believes was angered.
• The locals debate the possibility and logistics of a human carrying a gravestone so far undetected, fuelling the supernatural tension:

  "There ain't nobody that takes in breath and leaves out breath like you and me, or the constable's gonna find out who killed that girl. You know that, Doc." [16:25]

6. Final Act: Compelled to the Graveyard

[17:31–22:50]

• As night descends, Kay, tormented by guilt, slips out to the graveyard in the snow to “apologize” to the vengeful spirit—Florence follows, worried for her friend.
• In a delirious, dreamlike sequence, both girls lose their way in the storm, calling to one another:

  "I'll talk to her. I'll tell it I didn't mean to do it... Maybe somehow it'll hear me." [17:51] – Kay "I'm coming to help you... I hear you, I hear you." [21:42] – Florence, disoriented and desperate.

7. Chilling Conclusion and Aftermath

[22:50–24:34]

• The doctor and a local man discover the girls, dancing deliriously atop the graves before succumbing to the freezing cold and supernatural assault:

  "Doc, look at them. That's the burying ground up there. And they're dancing. Dancing on the graves. But they must be out of their heads." [24:18]

  • Both are discovered dead:

    "Both of the girls froze stiff to the ground. Each with her head crushed by a tombstone." [24:31]

8. Postscript: Fact or Fiction?

[24:34–end]

• The episode closes with ominous authenticity:

  "There are authenticated records in existence... a house was deluged by stones thrown from no apparent source." [24:44]

• Arch Oboler suggests real-life cases parallel the story, propagating the episode’s signature blend of suggestion and suspense.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Superstitious Dread

  "If you walk on a grave... the Poltergeist. Poltergeist. What? What is a poltergeist? An evil spirit. It comes out of the grave. It kills, it destroys. It'll kill us. It'll kill us all."
  — Edna ([07:19]–[07:35])

• Disbelief and Realization

  "There was no one there to throw that rock. There must have been but there wasn't. Stop saying that. Aren't you brave enough to face facts?"
  — Florence ([11:12])

• Terrifying Discovery

  "It's not a rock, it's a tombstone."
  — Doctor ([13:34])

• Village Wisdom

  "There ain't nobody that takes in breath and leaves out breath like you and me, or the constable's gonna find out who killed that girl. You know that, Doc."
  — Local townsman ([16:25])

• Final Horror

  "Both of the girls froze stiff to the ground. Each with her head crushed by a tombstone."
  — Doctor ([24:31])

• Eerie “Fact”

  "There are authenticated records in existence... a house was deluged by stones thrown from no apparent source."
  — Arch Oboler ([24:44])

Timeline of Important Segments

• 00:32–01:38: Host’s warning and introduction
• 03:08–07:55: Girls arrive and discover the graveyard (Edna’s superstition introduced)
• 07:55–08:29: Edna is struck by a stone from the graveyard
• 08:29–13:34: Doctor called; Edna’s fate; realization it's a tombstone
• 14:55–17:31: Florence and Kay process guilt; locals speculate on poltergeist
• 17:31–22:50: Kay and Florence head out in the snow, driven by fear and remorse
• 22:50–24:34: Girls found dead, the supernatural climax
• 24:34–end: Discussion of real-life poltergeist cases; episode closes

Tone, Style & Atmosphere

• The episode is steeped in vintage horror ambiance: chilling, suspenseful, and psychologically intense.
• Dialogue is naturalistic for the period, marked by evolving dread, rising hysteria, and fatalism.
• The sinister atmosphere is punctuated by matter-of-fact wrap-ups and claims of “real-life” cases, enhancing authenticity and unease.

This episode exemplifies the Lights Out mastery of old-time radio horror—melding superstition, atmospheric storytelling, and the suggestion of true events to create an unforgettable, spine-chilling tale.