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    The Signal-Man
    The Signal-Man
    The Signal-Man
    Audiobook35 minutes

    The Signal-Man

    Written by Charles Dickens

    Narrated by Timothy Ackroyd

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Dicken's ghostly tale features a railway signal-man who is visited by a foreboding spectre whenever a tragic event is about to occur.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSaland Publishing
    Release dateNov 1, 2013
    ISBN9781908650948
    Author

    Charles Dickens

    Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and grew up in poverty. This experience influenced ‘Oliver Twist’, the second of his fourteen major novels, which first appeared in 1837. When he died in 1870, he was buried in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey as an indication of his huge popularity as a novelist, which endures to this day.

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    Reviews for The Signal-Man

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Long before “The Polar Express” gave us a train with a ghost, Dickens wrote this short story. A signalman tells the narrator of the story that he has seen a ghost, and that a terrible accident is going to occur. He is sure of it, but he has no details - not the place, or the day, or even the train involved. If he tries to report it, everyone will think him daft, so he does nothing except fret about it. It’s quite gripping for the entire short story, and the ending is worthy of a “One Step Beyond” episode, even if you don’t believe in ghosts. Dickens was a master of this genre.
    • 2/5
      "A Ghost Story for Christmas"- 2.5 stars...

      Introduction Excerpt:

      "The telling or reading of ghost stories during long, dark and cold Christmas nights is a yuletide ritual which dates to at least the eighteenth century, and was once as much a part of Christmas tradition as decorating fir trees, feasting on goose and the singing of carols. During the Victorian era many magazines printed ghost stories specifically for the Christmas season. These "winter tales" did not necessarily explore Christmas themes in any manner. Rather, they were offered as an eerie pleasure to be enjoyed on Christmas eve with the family, adding a supernatural shiver to the seasonal chill. This tradition remained strong in the British Isles (and her colonies) throughout much of the twentieth century, though in recent years it has been on the wane. Certainly few in North America-in Canada or the United States-seem to know about it any longer. This series of small books seeks to rectify this, to revive a charming custom for the long dark nights we all know so well here at Christmas time."

      The Signalman is a short ghost story written by Charles Dickens...When a guest at a nearby hotel is out taking a stroll, he comes upon a signalman working at a train tunnel. They start talking and the signalman tells him that he has encountered a ghost several times warning him of dangers on the tracks and each time something has happened. He's worried because he just saw the ghost again while the man was visiting him and he's at a loss at what to do and hopes the man can help him.

      The story is written in the old style language so it took me a couple of paragraphs to get use to it but once I did the style didn't bother me too much. As for the plot, it started out great and the story was very atmospheric but then the ending just fell completely flat. Even after reading the last paragraph several times, I'm not sure that I even actually understood it. It really had the potential though to be a nice little ghost story but unfortunately the ending wasn't very satisfying. It's not something I would recommend to anyone on the hunt for a good ghost story.

      *I received this ARC from Consortium Book Sales & Distribution and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

      **I read this for my 2016 Halloween Book Bingo: ~Ghost Stories & Haunted Houses~ square


    • 4/5
      In my opinion, 'The Signalman' is Dickens's finest and best-known ghost story and when I read it about 40 years ago, it made quite a lasting impression on me. This is the first time I've re-read it, and it has lost none of its mysterious atmosphere or sense of doom. (Forget the hammy TV adaptation repeated over Christmas this year.)This edition also contains the short story 'The Boy at Mugby', a broadly satirical story that pokes fun at the so-called service travellers could expect in refreshment rooms at various train stations on lengthy train journeys in Dickens's time. In tone it is about as far away from that of 'The Signalman' as a vegan would be from an all-you-can-eat meat buffet.Simon Bradley has written an illuminating introduction that offers an insight into Dickens's mind and the events that likely inspired these two stories.
    • 5/5
      If you are looking for a quick and entertaining read, then "The Signalman" offers a delightfully spooky outing. In a dark railway alcove, near the end of a tunnel, the signalman sees a grim spectre whenever danger is imminent. A wonderfully creepy short story by the master Charles Dickens. This edition also includes the story "The Boy at Mugby" about the goings on behind the scenes at a railway station canteen. It is worth reading for the introduction by Simon Bradley alone, who offers an insight into Dicken's later life and the impact that his involvement in a major train accident had on his writing and well-being.
    • 4/5
      (1866) I believe I read this one years ago... it seemed familiar.

      Out for a stroll, a man decides on a whim to strike up a conversation with the railroad-worker he encounters. The signal-man seems intelligent and interesting - but something is clearly bothering him. When he starts talking about strange spectres and phantom bells, his new acquaintance begins to seriously consider trying to get him to seek help.

      However, there may be more to the eerie manifestations the signal-man reported than those of a more scientific bent would have credited...

      Nicely creepy, classic ghost story.