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Thank you so much for the positive response! I really wanted to create a rural idyll in the soundscape before twisting it in an unsettling direction.

@@rbdaviesTB3 you achieved what you set out to really enjoying your stories ❤🙏👍

That's fair, but as I've said to others, I wouldn't have recorded this if it was just going to be my voice - I made this because I wanted to build a soundscape that suited my tastes

If I did that, I wouldn't be making these adaptations. I do it because I enjoy building the background.

Many thanks - "Agony of Flame" is a great story, but a bit short. The next adaptation will be Rolt's "New Corner", and its already well in-hand :)

Oh wow, thankyou - where has it been shared, may I ask? :)

@@rbdaviesTB3 Just a few Discord servers that focus on 19th century railroads and their fokelore/history. At least, that's where I ran upon it.

@@the101stdalmatian8 Thanks - I'd love to know what they thought of it :)

Thanks for your detailed thoughts, and glad you got so much out of this. Here's my attempt at an answer. What did Job see? I've walked through several abandoned railway tunnels, and noticed tricks of the light in those dark depths. Looking straight along the bore you might see nothing, but as you walk along, head swinging from side to side, you may spot a faint light in the corners of your eye, way up the tunnel. It's the light shining down the vent shafts, but the structure of the human eye means you won't see it in the centre of your vision until right on top of it. I imagine Job had a similar experience - shadows at the corner of his sight, shapes that seem almost human, but which weave in and out of the smoke in a decidedly inhuman manner, glimpsed in an instant then gone... nothing direct or in your face, but ever-present, strange and disquieting. Add in the flickering illumination of his oil lamp and you're left with a really unsettling visual. If Garside Tunnel is anything like its prototype, Blea Moor, then it was dug with the aid of seven construction shafts, four of which were then infilled and retained for ventilation. Examining Blea Moor on Google Earth, shafts 2 and 3 are about half a mile apart, and the intervening stretch is the section of tunnel deepest underground, which certainly would align with whatever power dwelt within Garside Fell being strongest there. That said, the supernatural influence seems to spread throughout the length of the tunnel: beyond the smoke seen at the south portal, Alf sees shaft 1 smoking on at least one occasion. I wonder if Rolt imagined smoke at the northern portal too... ...I do wonder about the fate of the goods. Here it comes on that fierce night, slogging up the gradient from Highbeck, exhaust drowned out by the storm sweeping over the moors. Eventually, it approaches the tunnel, engine working hard on the 1-in-70, and slowly enters under the battlements of the tunnel-mouth, the final glimpse of it being the red tail lamp on the guard's van, slowly dwindling and vanishing into the gloom. Did the crew see anything strange around the northern portal, a touch of unexpected smoke that gave them pause, or did the driver simple sound his whistle on approach as usual and continue into the dark, glad for a respite from the wind and rain, unaware of the doom awaiting within? Smoke inhalation seems the natural means of death... if this were not a supernatural fire. And given not a single person survived, whatever happened must have overtaken each train in a sudden manner, such that everyone from the footplate crew all the way back to the guards had no means of escape. I can imagine both trains bursting into sudden flame along their whole lengths, as if heated to combustion in an oven, surrounded by the 'things' Job glimpsed around the portals, in a more solid and horrific form. It really makes one shudder to think how nightmarish a scenario Rolt imagined when he penned the story...

@@rbdaviesTB3 That was beautifully described. Honestly it paints a fantastic - albeit very frightening - picture. You should do more readings, I really enjoyed the one about the foundry and the canal too 🙂

@@rbdaviesTB3 In fact, I found that the date of the accident in the story, February 15th, is the date of Lupercalia, the date of a ritual sacrifice to the Roman deity Februus - God of wealth, purification, and death and the underworld. And the sacrifice was traditionally performed in a cave underground.

@@invisibleman4827 That's a brilliant find, Invisible Man! Rolt seems to have known his mythology, so he may well have chosen that date specifically - the connections to underground caves, purification and the underworld also seem highly appropriate!

@@olic9804 How did I miss this reply for a year?! Yes, I'd be delighted to see!

@@rbdaviesTB3 very moving story. I think they found what happened to the old owner of the iron works. reminds me of the ghost story my Grandma told me when I where a little lad

So glad you enjoyed! Thanks! :)

"There's something queer going on, something that ain't right or natural..." ;) - Alf "No Homo" Boothroyd, 1897 :D - gotta love moments like this where changing language conventions make something sound hilarious when taken out of context

PS: I hope you're enjoying the piece :)

@@rbdaviesTB3 i am (:

Thank you so much TankEngine97. I just learned of that wonderful bit of fanart on Twitter myself - it's an amazing tribute to the piece and to Rolt's abilities as a storyteller. So glad you enjoyed this effort on my part. If you choose to listen to the other LTC Rolt stories I've adapted - 'Bosworth Summit Pound' and 'Hawley Bank Foundry', I'd very much like to hear your thoughts on them :)

Sorry man, but part of the pleasure of this for me is building that soundscape :)

@@rbdaviesTB3 Alas, I have run into similar difficulties finding anything that compares with Rolt's works. This is a major part of why I found these stories so compelling; they are some of the only examples I've come across thus far of what feel like genuine industrial age ghost stories, of the intricacies of the mechanical world intertwined with things far more unnatural. The closest I can point you toward, at least that I've come across, might be the article "Superstitions", originally published in Railroad Magazine April, 1949, now archived via Catskill Archive. With a certain dramatic flare, author Freeman B. Hubbard recounts a variety of stories and superstitions from American railroading; ghosts of long-dead railwaymen, luckless locomotives, etc. It's not what I'd call on Rolt's level, but it's the closest I've got. In particular, the article ends with my favorite of the stories, that of Dread 107, a legend of a narrow gauge locomotive from Colorado that seemed to slaughter any crew that tried to take her out, sometimes meeting misfortune on the line, sometimes driving her own crew to insanity. It's a fascinating retelling of a not hugely well known tale. catskillarchive.com/rrextra/super.Html

That's what they thought at the enquiry, and it's easy to imagine that if the goods train was totally afire that some of her trucks would have quickly fallen apart, their wreckage and spilled loads subsequently fouling the 'down' line and laying a trap for the Mountaineer. As an explanation it feels credible enough to explain what happened in the tunnel, though Alf and his colleagues clearly feel it doesn't explain the whole truth of the disaster... ...here's something to consider. Assuming Job Micklewright was correct, and that the whole disaster was a sort of sacrifice to appease whatever dwelt inside Garside Fell, was the Mountaineer collateral damage or a concious target? Would the deaths of the goods train's driver, fireman and guard have been a sufficient sacrifice in of themselves, or was the malicous force behind the disaster of sufficient intelligence to have timed its actions just right to claim two trains (one of them a passenger service) at the same time? It's interesting that Rolt does not specify how many people died in his fictional disaster, but given he seemed inspired by the Ais Gill and Hawes Junction disasters, we can use their statistics to make a guess. Hawes Junction, 1910 (colision between train and light engines) 'Down' Scotch Express: 6 crew, 56 Passengers, 12 fatalities Ais Gill, 1913 (collision between two trains) 1.35am 'Up' Express: 6 crew, 104 Passengers, 16 fatalities 1.45am 'Up' Express: 5 crew, 62 Passengers, 0 fatalities Averaging these figures gives us 6 crew and 74 passengers aboard the Mountaineer that February nught. Assuming a three-man crew of driver, fireman and guard on the unfortunate goods trains, that gives us a total of 83 people who burned to death in a railway tunnel. The public feeling about such a catastrophe would be immense - the Garside Fell Disaster's death-toll would be greater than any rail crash in British history at the time of the story's 1897 setting, worse even than the Tay Bridge and Armagh wrecks!

@@rbdaviesTB3 I reckon the something in the mountain wanted as much sacrification as it could get its paws on. Didn't matter who it was or how it got it. You mention Hawes Junction and Ais Gill, but the track layout mentioned more resembled that of Quintinshill. And the fact it was more then one train, and there was a fire. I forget the exact figures, but it was an all round bad time, in a very remote spot. The damage the something caused didn't matter to it, I think it was all round malicious but with no intended target.

he is a really good writer

Thank you so much Pauline - really glad you enjoyed this - if you're eager for more, there's a further two ghost stories in the same vein on my channel :)

Thanks Jackie, glad you enjoyed! :)

@@rbdaviesTB3 ahh, that clears up some stuff. I think the maggot idea sounds plausible, and I imagine they can grow that big if they eat enough of each other, no super-natural needed. Still wondering what became of the 2 tomcats. I like the idea of being burned in the iron, and poured under the moulding floor. Sounds like something that Druce character would do to save his own neck, then quickly ceasing himself before he gets found out. Some of Rolt's imagery here is very strong too, not that I mind, if you're writing a ghost story I say go to town, you can get a real clear depiction what is where, and how the characters fit.

@@rbdaviesTB3 OK, small brain me forgot there was molten iron in a foundry, so those maggots are definitely not a natural thing, because they aren't giant Water Bears. I feel that Druce couldn't really be bothered with running and overhauling an old foundry, so he needed his inheritance fast. Presumably he couldn't get rid of the place and gave up all together. I like that you built on the language a bit, it gives the story more emotion, to go with the sound effects.

Thank you for responding! I thought I recognised your voice from somewhere! It’s good to see you’re still around! I’d love to see you adapt some more LTC Rolt Ghost Stories! I have actually listened to the other ghost story on your channel, Bosworth Summit Pound. Much like this one, the atmosphere, music and sound design made it perfect. I take it that one also used music from Ghost Ship? Looking forward to seeing whatever you do next! Seeing as we’re all stuck in lockdown, now’s probably the best time for it 😛

@@84fstudios6 No worries mate, I try my best to respond prompty to comments (though not always with 100% success) ;) Glad you enjoyed Bosworth Summit Pound, and no, although it has a small amount of Ghost Ship in its audio mix, the music from that one was sampled from a much larger selection of sources. Check the description notes on that video for an idea of just how eclectic. I really should try and get another story out in the coming months. I had actually recorded the dialogue for the next and started editing it, but the sound got partially corrupted due to a fault in the microphone. Since then though I've invested in a new headset, which might (hopefully) remedy things, though I will have to start over from scratch. We shall see...

I’m looking forward to seeing what you have in mind! If you need any help, I’d be more than willing to lend a hand wherever I can!

@@84fstudios6 84F, I just wanted to say thankyou - this little exchange got me motivated to finish the next story and upload it to RUclips - hope you enjoy :)

@@rbdaviesTB3 Rhys, I'm so honoured to hear that. I've just listened to the newest story, and being a West Midlands man myself, I give it the seal of approval. The story is very chilling, and your adaptation of it lives up to its quality. Part of me thinks you should try your own hand at writing ghost or horror stories! Looking forward to seeing whatever comes next (if anything DOES come next!)

@@rbdaviesTB3 True

Thanks so much! Really appreciate that these have given you a pleasant experience!

I'm glad to have entertained - this is a work I'm really proud of, so knowing you enjoyed it is really rewarding! :D

Thanks man, I hope I'll be able to produce more of these soon :)

@@rhysdavies4615 Oh yes of course. As I said, I can't really criticize on any improvement as your uses of sound effects and musics are things I aspire to as an audio editor myself. Tom Rolt's style of world building narrative is something a lot of ghost stories sorely lack these days, coupled with Your overall narration style is simply a delight to listen to, every sound effect is done well, the elements of the story still have me speculating of what actually happened near the tunnel that night.

Hi Vincent - sorry for not getting back sooner. The cue in question is Ghost Ship: Murphy's Body. John Frizzell's score for Ghost Ship is masterly, and really provided the moody and sorrowful backbone of this little project