White Heron Radio Theatre's Ghost Light Series · Mark Shanahan and Blue Baillett

The Tipping Table

July 18, 2020·27 min·2 clips

The ghostly table taps out 'Père Lachaise', revealing where Hibbert's friend is buried.

This episode of the White Heron Radio Theatre's Ghost Light Series adapts Blue Balliet's story "The Tipping Table," narrated by a skeptical journalist named John Hibbert. The story recounts Hibbert's 1927 trip to Nantucket to investigate two teenage sisters, Catherine and Julia Morris, who host seances. Hibbert, a World War I veteran, built a career exposing fraudulent spiritualists but is challenged by his experiences on the island. On the ferry, Hibbert meets a lifelong islander named Peter Benjamin, who mentions the Morris sisters and their spirit guide, Mr. Paddock. Hibbert visits the sisters' Orange Street home, where their grandmother initially turns him away before the girls enthusiastically invite him to a Thursday night gathering. At the seance, the sisters use a small three-legged tea table for a table-tipping demonstration, with guests asking Mr. Paddock questions answered by knocks. Hibbert observes the entire event in a well-lit room, noting the table convincingly tilts and knocks without visible trickery. Mr. Paddock provides specific advice, like warning a doctor against visiting St. Louis and predicting a profitable scallop season. When the sisters introduce Hibbert to the spirit, the room turns abruptly and unnaturally cold, and Mr. Paddock declares he does not like Hibbert. Afterward, a shaken Hibbert encounters Mr. Benjamin at a speakeasy, where Benjamin reveals Alec Paddock was a real sailor who hanged himself in that parlor in 1823. Benjamin suggests Hibbert's skepticism stems from wartime trauma, referencing a friend who died saving him. The next day, Hibbert receives a note from the sisters arranging a private meeting, as Mr. Paddock wishes to apologize. Hibbert finds the house empty during a storm and hears noises in the attic, where he discovers Julia injured from a fall while searching for a hidden treasure Mr. Paddock had mentioned. After rescuing Julia, Hibbert confesses his desire to believe in an afterlife, prompting the sisters to facilitate one final communication. Hibbert writes down a private question—asking where his fallen friend is buried—and the table spells out "Père Lachaise," the Parisian cemetery, matching what Hibbert had written. This precise, unknowable answer profoundly changes Hibbert's perspective, leading him to abandon his career debunking psychics. Years later, an older Hibbert returns to Nantucket, buys the original tea table at a yard sale, and repairs it, having found peace and belief. The most interesting insight is the detailed mechanics of a period table-tipping seance presented in a well-lit setting, defying the skeptic's expectations for darkened-room tricks. A surprising claim is Peter Benjamin's revelation that Alec Paddock was a historical figure unknown to the sisters, yet his name was tapped out accurately. The moment the parlor turns physically cold, visible breath and all, during Mr. Paddock's hostile message is a memorable sensory detail. Hibbert's private question about his friend's burial site and the accurate, spelled-out response "Père Lachaise" serves as the story's pivotal evidence. The narrative suggests the sisters genuinely believe in Mr. Paddock and are not motivated by profit, as they charge no fees. Ultimately, the story explores how a hardened skeptic's need for closure can be met through an unexplained personal experience. The tone is a first-person historical narrative with a reflective and slightly mysterious atmosphere. Its style is a crafted audio drama, blending descriptive storytelling with character dialogue and sound design to build tension. Listeners who enjoy period pieces, gentle ghost stories, and character-driven tales of personal transformation would love this episode. Those seeking fast-paced action, definitive answers, or horror elements might skip it.

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