Pt 3 / The Signal Man a short ghost story by Charles Dickens

[TheCobber336]

I didn't see that coming!

[paka2013]

this is so freakin boring. screw enhlish lit

[thiniceco]

sweet merciful mother

[grushnitsky]

The signalbox doesn't exist: it was specially constructed on the Severn Valley Railway for this programme. Logically, it is not the correct place for a box.

And if there was any attempt by the programme makers to replicate the scenario of the Clayton Tunnel collision, it is not made at all clear by the dramatic action.

[trema006]

kinda wished they hadnt shown the ghosts face. spoils the film a bit :I

[Dristarg]

Dickens is said to have got the idea for the collision from the Clayton Tunnel disaster of August 1861.

[Pspimp]

Stupid scary naked blue guy. =[

[peterkabrna]

can anyone tell me if this signal box exists in this place.thanks

[grushnitsky]

The odd thing about the tunnel accident is that a head-on collision would STILL have occurred if the signalman had succeeded in stopping the train from entering the tunnel. There is no passing loop in the tunnel, and the other train was already heading through it.

[shiftwork]

@grushnitsky I wondered about that too but thought I was maybe missing something.

[jozg44]

@grushnitsky I've never quite been able to work out what the 'accident' really was either- the signalman watched the train approaching (on a single line), checked his watch and was happily whistling Gilbert & Sullivan until the train approaches the box when suddenly he looks worried and starts waving the red flag to try and get it to stop. But hey, it's only a small quibble with what is still an excellent film.

[RhysDavies86]

@jozg44 It could be that (like the Staplehurst crash in which Dickens was involved), there was maintainance work going on in the tunnel and the rails were in the process of being put back in, and the signalman had instructions to stop the train outside.

[jozg44]

@RhysDavies86 That makes sense. The story doesn't offer any detail at all as to what the accident was so it would be nice to think that the filmmakers opted to use Staplehurst (which inspired the story) as the model for their 'notable accident'.

[steerpike66]

If there are any ghost story afficionados out there looking for something good after M R James, try Shirley Jackson's 'The Haunting of Hill House' and absolutely superb modern ghost novella, and, more recently, 'Heart-Shaped Box', the first novel by young Joe Hill has early chapters that froze my blood, though it gets a bit over-excited near the end. And look up the absurdly titled"Lake Mungo', an excellent Australian ghost movie.

[cornholio435]

I think what they meant by funny is that it was badly done and the dummy that was used was not weighed down properly. Also it did'nt have any leg's.

[cornholio435]

Poor 57XX.

[thelolz786]

i am watchin' this shit, just becoz i have to write a summary about it :(

[kecke08]

Wow!!! The good old coppice tunnel, i had some fun growing up playing in there in my childhood years, the signal box looks nothin like that though :s creepy place when it starts gettin dark and a really long tunnel too!

[Tommyknightsgirl09]

hahaha i gotta admit when that woman fell out the train it was funny

[GunnyBunnio]

@Tommyknightsgirl09 it was

[Tommyknightsgirl09]

yus! twas funny

[evittspde]

Makes LOST look, well lost

[Addicotttom]

this video has saved me..

i had missed it frm wen we watched it in english

so youtube comes to the rescue

[ItzLizzii]

we watched this the other day in english!

soo freakkyy.

scarier than Scream and stuff :P

[edmun09]

lol

[Amnesiac1986]

Brilliant. And quite original too, most ghost stories are about ghosts from the past getting vengeance etc. This one is a warning from the future.

[rjq552]

Instead of pyschoananlysis, just enjoy it for what it is. A good ghost story.

[olilawsere]

this is good film, shit book, i have to study it too

[whufcforeverr]

so do i, u doin it for gcse?

[xFunkyGirlzx]

im doin it for igcse

[OmgStabbyJoe]

Some people interpret the spectre as a 'real' ghost, a vision that came to the signalman only. However other people think that this story is about the 'evils of industrialism' and that a good, smart man was chained up to do a simple job and that this confinement drove him mad to see the spectre.

It's a damn good story, and some of the parts in here (like his dead face) are pretty creepy.

[dafmurray]

OmgStabbyJoe, I did get that impression from the short story by Dickens: the evils of industrialism driving the conscientious man mad.

[steerpike66]

Most ghost stories can be interpreted as something else; ghosts are memories, or guilt, or the avenging subconscious. In that sense, all ghosts are real, since a ghost doesn't have to actually exist to BE real; they're just shadows from the dark side of our consciousness, ready to emerge and haunt us at any time. We are all haunted.

[fogwatch]

@steerpike66 An interesting analogy.

[gianlicious]

I everebody . i study englis in a british institute in my country and i have a homework about this history , someone can help me and say to me what this history about i would like to help me pleasee =( bcause i dont understand very well ...

[BogenGirl]

shame the perspective is screwed

[emmioglureceb]

sikeyim böyle filmi jim carey sandim

[emiliogirbal]

aguante metallica

cata traga

[babyanne12345]

i have to do this story from my courswork is ber dry

[Soundchaser121]

A great peace of acting by both you can watch this over and over.

[bertywasasoldier]

grew up as a child playing around that tunnel amazing erie place to be

[colopity]

is it disused now?

[bertywasasoldier]

no still used by the severn valley railway

[bertywasasoldier]

this is filmed at the place where i grew up as a child been in that tunnel many a times

[constanzavictrix]

...why would a bride be standing so close to a train door ...so close that she toppled out - it's unbelievably farfetched...

[PetrCechNo1]

ive wondered if the ghost is him or not

i love it anyway

[colopity]

his concious is the ghost and that is the man who visits, I think Dickens used to eat'mushrooms', y'know themagic ones, or summat!

[elbethere]

So this may not even be a "ghost" story at all.

[ivoryman996]

I love this story, it scared me as a youger child and it scares me now. ut I dnt think I have the idea right, is it that the ghost is the signal man's ghost warning his past self abot getting ran over? Thats the Idea I got abot it at school

[gregart123]

the ghost thing is scary

[aeolus925]

Thanks for posting this; never saw it before! This is a favorite ghost story of mine - partly because of the trains, yes, but it's really very psychologically creepy. The print version goes into fascinating depth about Victorian class ethics &c., makes for a great read. This TV adaption is done very well.

[colopity]

I agree, this tv adaptation is done really well!