Rail Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana
London Subterraneans
Location: All under London (Greater London) - No fixed location
Type: Other
Date / Time: Current
Further Comments: This legend, which seemingly 'does the rounds' every few years, states that a group of Londoners began to live underground in the late nineteenth century, and now they have mutated. These subterraneans live off the junk food we discard in the underground tube stations and the odd commuter if they are discovered alone on the train.
Whooshing
Location: Amesbury (Wiltshire) - London Road area where railway line once ran
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Early 1990s
Further Comments: Two friends heard steam being released, as if from an old engine which could not be seen. One of the people had previously heard clanking and a whistle in the same location.
Figure on the Track
Location: Ashton under Lyne (Lancashire) - Ashton Moss Rail Junction
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1975
Further Comments: At least two signalmen have reported a strange figure walking along the track that vanishes if approached.
Running Woman
Location: Auchendinny (Lothian) - Disused rail tunnel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This phantom female killed herself in the nearby river after breaking up with her lover. Her ghost haunts the tunnel and surrounding area, running along before vanishing suddenly.
Old Soldiers
Location: Balcombe (Sussex) - Railway tunnel, line to Three Bridges
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Last seen mid 1990?
Further Comments: Killed by a train whilst sheltering from a storm, these three (or four, depending on the source) First World War soldiers have made several appearances; they always slowly fade away when approached.
Bear-faced Man
Location: Ballymacward (County Galway) - Lane near Woodlawn railway station
Type: Other
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Two people walking home after leaving the station heard groaning coming from over a wall. One climbed up to have a look and observed a creature with a man's body but with the head of a bear. The witness tried to speak to the strange creature, but it told him 'don't speak to me' before wandering off.
Signalman
Location: Barkston (Lincolnshire) - Barkston Junction Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Winter, reoccurring
Further Comments: Maybe protesting about the automated signals, this ghost has been seen crossing the track in front of incoming trains and climbing to check the obsolete signals.
Old Man
Location: Batford (Hertfordshire) - Lower Luton Road
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: March and May 2014
Further Comments: A driver had to swerve to avoid an older man standing in the road. When the driver looked for the figure, he had gone. A couple of months later a similar figure was seen again, this time by two witnesses, who said the man had a bandage on his head and held an old fashioned rifle.
Flying Lamp
Location: Beighton (Yorkshire) - Beighton Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1960s
Further Comments: Two men were walking along the platform one night. The paraffin lamp one man was carrying was wrenched from his hand and flew several metres in front of him. After picking up the lamp, the event repeated itself again. Both men retreated.
Shadowy Figures
Location: Belfast (County Antrim) - York Road Railway Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s - present
Further Comments: A strange person has been reported sitting in the locked canteen at night. This may be the same figure which has been glimpsed in the running sheds - during a bungled robbery, a man was either shot or beaten and subsequently died from his injuries. Night staff have also reported hearing disembodied footsteps in the area.
Young Girl
Location: Berkhamsted (Hertfordshire) - Railway bridge
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: 13 September 2020, 04:45h
Further Comments: A railway worker working on the tracks heard a girl's voice say 'hello' and what sounded like 'can you...'. He peered into the trees next to the track, believing the voice could have come from nearby houses, but when looking back to the tracks spotted a young girl with her back turned a couple of metres ahead. The startled worker stumbled, and when he looked back up, the girl had vanished.
Steam
Location: Bewdley (Hereford & Worcester) - Severn Valley Railway, Northwood Lane
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 2004
Further Comments: This phantom locomotive is said to be invisible, though it leaves a trail of hazy steam as it passes. The Parasearch team investigated the site in 2008 but did not reach any conclusions.
Shadowy Man
Location: Bincombe (Dorset) - Railway tunnel
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Summer 1991
Further Comments: Two train drivers reported hitting a shadowy figure while passing through the tunnel - police investigated the scene of the incident but could find no evidence of an accident.
Pointsman
Location: Bispham (Lancashire) - Rail tracks
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Weather Dependent: Stormy nights
Further Comments: Swinging his lantern, this ghostly lone figure walks slowly along the tracks.
Young Child Running
Location: Blackburn (Lancashire) - Entwistle Station - Entwistle Halt
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: A child running around the fields was once commonly seen here just prior to the Second World War, even though he was killed on the nearby railway tracks as the First World War raged.
Future Train
Location: Bonar Bridge (Highland) - Site of railway line
Type: Legend
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: Two men walking through the area watched a train pass them by. This was, however, years before railway tracks had been laid through the area.
Ghost Train
Location: Box (Wiltshire) - Railway tunnel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The sounds of a phantom locomotive echo along the tracks in this tunnel.
Screaming Woman
Location: Box Hill (Somerset) - The Box Tunnel, eastern end
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: February 2011
Further Comments: Four men working in an ultrasonics gang all heard a female moaning at the mouth of the east exit. As the noise grew louder, they though it a joke, until one man shone his torch up the hill and the party spotted a woman in a nightdress looking down at them - she vanished before their eyes. When they reported the sighting, they were told that the figure had been seen previously by a group of six men.
Arnold
Location: Bridgnorth (Shropshire) - Severn Valley Station
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid-twentieth century, September 2004
Further Comments: Arnold was the name given to the ghostly figure who was seen by Mr and Mrs Reynolds, who believed he would manifest to warn of an impending accident. It may have been the same entity spotted by a soldier on duty during the Second World War. More recently, a phantom steam locomotive has been reported, although this 'ghost' could have been generated by activities surrounding the local annual steam gala.
Screams
Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Clayton tunnel
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Since a tragic train crash in 1862, there have been reports of screams, cries, and the sound of crunching metal emanating from this tunnel.
Heavy Breathing
Location: Brighton (Sussex) - Moulsecoomb Rail Station
Type: Other
Date / Time: Animal in 1986, phantom train in 2013
Further Comments: Two women reported hearing animal grunts, snarls, and feeling the breath of an animal close to their faces, although nothing could be seen. A phantom steam train was also heard at the station, and older man who vanished suddenly. It is said some locals have voiced concern about using the station after dark.
Marion Gorman
Location: Brooke End (West Midlands) - Railway passing through Brooke End, near signal box
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: Marion was decapitated by a train on the tracks, slipping over in front of it as she headed to the signal box to meet her lover in the early 1900's. She has been seen several times since, always stepping in front of an incoming train before fading from view. One driver reported seeing her ghostly form wearing a bloody dress without a head.
White Haired Head
Location: Burnopfield (Durham) - Railway track running through the village
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1932
Further Comments: A floating face was reported by several men along the line. The entity had a twisted face and white hair, and its prior to its materialisation, metallic clanging would be heard. The ghost was eventually named as a platelayer who had died after being hit by a coal wagon in 1879.
Footsteps
Location: Burton Joyce (Nottinghamshire) - Railway Signalling Box
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: Staff at the box have reported hearing someone walking around beneath it before starting to climb the steps, but no one would ever appear.
Waiting Room Phantom
Location: Bury (Lancashire) - Bolton Street Train Station
Type: Unknown Ghost Type
Date / Time: Christmas 2007
Further Comments: A photograph taken by John Philps of his grandson showed a strange, ghost-like figure, possibly hooded, in the waiting room. The jury is out to whether the photograph shows a ghost or just a reflection.
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