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Post by dem on Oct 14, 2019 16:02:39 GMT
William Pattrick [Peter Haining] - Mysterious Railway Stories (Star, 1985) William Pattrick - introduction
Amelia B. Edwards & Charles Dickens – The Four Fifteen Express
Eden Phillpotts – My Adventure In The Flying Dutchman
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – The Lost Special
Victor L. Whitechurch – The Tragedy On The London And Mid-Northern
Francis Lynde – The Cloud-Bursters
Arnold Ridley & Ruth Alexander – The Ghost Train
Agatha Christie – The Girl In The Train
Hal Thomson – The Fisherman’s Special
Harry Walton – Swamp Train
Freeman Wills Croft – The Level Crossing
August Derleth – The Man On B-17
Robert Bloch – That Hell-Bound Train
Fredric Brown – The Last TrainBlurb: "Even though it is my pleasure to be your conductor on this journey, I can accept no responsibility for any nervousness, shivers of fear, or even screams of terror that you may experience ..."
Mysteries of crime and mysteries of the supernatural stalk hand in hand through railway lore, as William Pattrick's new collection makes chillingly clear. This anthology ranges from the truly Dickensian world of dark tunnels and deserted tracks to the hostile and wild terrain of the American rail-roads. There is an ingenious railway crime from Conan Doyle, an unusual tale from Agatha Christie and a prizewinning piece of modern horror from Robert Bloch. The thrilling days of the fire-breathing iron horse may be over - but beware! - the ghosts and legends live on ...Hal Thomson - The Fisherman's Special: ( Weird Tales, Aug 1939). Sweden. Two brothers compete for the hand of the lovely Selena. The older, more stable of the two, wins her hand, the younger, jealous and morose, takes to the bottle. One night at the tavern he falls in with a stranger who claims that, each Christmas Eve, he becomes a Wolf-man and gallivants with those like him. The trick is easier than you might think. Our loser in love buys the secret for the price of a pint. Come December 24th, the pack attack the village. August Derleth – The Man On B-17: ( Weird Tales, May 1950: as by 'Stephen Grendon'). When Tod Denning inexplicably vanished from Hungerford, his distraught lover Louis Malone took her own life. Now their vengeful ghosts have Denning's murderer trapped on the narrow bridge over the gorge - in the path of an oncoming train. Narrated by the driver who, understandably, can't believe what he and the crew have just witnessed. Frederic Brown - The Last Train: ( Weird Tales, Jan. 1950). His mind is made up, it's time to begin afresh elsewhere. Tonight when the bar shuts Elroy Haig, crooked lawyer, will jump the last train, leave town in just the clothes he's standing in. If only he could shrug the feeling that he's done this before ...
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Post by dem on Oct 15, 2019 7:34:37 GMT
The dead conspire to fit him up for one murder he didn't commit!  Frank Kramer: ( Unknown, Jan 1940). A very special trip, the old train made, for one passenger only. Ben Rister double crosses partner-in-crime Maxie, shoots him dead out on Marrow Marsh and buries him, car and all, in the sludge. Rister knows the swampland like the back of his hand, having been raised here in the care of that old skinflint, Peter Akers. Ten years ago, Rister and fellow nineteen-year-old Dave Rankin ran off to Chicago to run booze for the Mob and make some money. Dave fried for murder when a third party put a bullet through a cop. To this day, Rister doesn't like to dwell on the injustice of it all. Fifty grand in ill-gotten the richer, Rister makes for the railway depot to await the night train to Somerville. His one concern is that Pete's father may still be employed as a conductor. The old man holds Rister responsible for his sons downfall and is sworn to bring him to justice. The depot is desolate save for a moody-looking hick prowling around with a club. A nervy wait, but the night train eventually arrives. It's not the most luxurious of rides. The compartment is in pitch darkness and here's Old man Rankin with the ticket machine. The guy looks ghastly, the yers ain't been kind to him at all. He's still not in forgiving mood and warns Rister that tomorrow he'll be taken by the cops ...... Ruth Alexander & Arnold Ridley - The Ghost Train: ( Hutchinson's Mystery-Story Magazine, June 1926). Six passengers are stranded overnight at Fal Vale station, having missed their connection. this thanks to the "silly ass" dandy among them pulling the emergency chord when his hat blew off as he leant out the carriage window. Saul Hodgkin, station master, reluctantly allows them to bed down in the waiting room, but refuses to keep them company, "not tonight, of all nights." Hodgkin explains that Fal Val is haunted by the ghost of the St. Blande train which went over the swing bridge twenty years ago, killing six passengers outright. Two more, including driver Ben Izaacs who went insane as the result of the tragedy, marching up and down the platform, swinging a red lamp and singing Rock of Ages, would join them within days. The death toll has since risen, as those who set eyes on the Ghost Train do not live to tell the tale ... |
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Post by bcctreasurer on Dec 5, 2019 14:53:35 GMT
Sounds good to me - I already have 'THe Ghost Now Standing' edited by Richard Peyton so i will get this and possibly post a review.
Clarence
ps Dem Bones quotes another book - 'The GhostTrain' by Ruth Alexander and Arnold Ridley - I wonder if that is the same Arnold Ridley who played the part of Private Godfrey in Dad's Army ?
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Post by Shrink Proof on Dec 5, 2019 17:13:24 GMT
Sounds good to me - I already have 'THe Ghost Now Standing' edited by Richard Peyton so i will get this and possibly post a review. Clarence ps Dem Bones quotes another book - 'The GhostTrain' by Ruth Alexander and Arnold Ridley - I wonder if that is the same Arnold Ridley who played the part of Private Godfrey in Dad's Army. Yes it was. More info via this link to a post in a Vault discussion six years ago. |
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Post by bcctreasurer on Dec 7, 2019 21:22:10 GMT
Sounds good to me - I already have 'THe Ghost Now Standing' edited by Richard Peyton so i will get this and possibly post a review. Clarence ps Dem Bones quotes another book - 'The GhostTrain' by Ruth Alexander and Arnold Ridley - I wonder if that is the same Arnold Ridley who played the part of Private Godfrey in Dad's Army. Yes it was. More info via this link to a post in a Vault discussion six years ago.Thanks Shrink Proof bcctreasurer |
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