After the End of the Line: Railroad Hauntings in Literature and Lore

In the mid-1800s, ghosts and trains seemed to be headed in opposite directions. Some claimed ghosts were disappearing along with the superstitious past while trains were speeding into the future as a thundering example of mechanical progress. Yet it did not take long for new ghosts to rise and ride on the modern railways. After the End of the Line: Railroad Hauntings in Literature and Lore brings together fiction and non-fiction sources — short stories, newspaper reports, poetry, memoir, and more — to reveal how their cross-influence created horrifying accounts of apparitions on the tracks, haunted train tunnels and switching stations, even phantom locomotives!

READ THE INTRODUCTION

To get a sense of After the End of the Line, here’s a .pdf version of the introduction:

After the End of the Line Introduction

(Scholars: despite appearances, the pagination here is different from the actual book, so cite this source as a .pdf retrieved online.)

RAILROAD HAUNTINGS
YOU CAN STILL VISIT

My research into historical accounts of haunted tracks, creepy railway tunnels, phantom trains, and similar phenomena is ongoing. When I discover a location that can still be explored, I blog about it. Maybe there’s a spectral switchman or a demonic depot near you! (Click on the haunted spot to read the post.)

United States

Alabama: The Mechanic Shops in Decatur
California: The Roundhouse in San Francisco
Connecticut: The Engine House in Old Saybrook
Georgia: A Phantom Locomotive in Dalton
Illinois: Sag Bridge in Cook County
Minnesota: Around a Station House in Clontarf
Missouri: The MK&T Freight Yard in St. Louis
and The Curve Near Wickes
New Jersey: The Tracks Near West Trenton Station
and A Phantom Locomotive at Broad Street Station in Newark
New York: A Railway Crossing in Carthage
Ohio: The Curve Near Republic
and A Phantom Locomotive at Rittman
Pennsylvania: Port Kennedy Station
Virginia: Big Bull Tunnel in Wise County
West Virginia: Hempfield Tunnel in Wheeling

United Kingdom

Carmarthenshire: A Phantom Locomotive Near Whitland
Kent: A Pedestrian Crossing Near Sittingbourne
Lancashire: An Engine Shed in Chorley
Northumberland: A Station-Master’s House in Chollerford

Canada

Ontario: A Crossing Near Little York Station in Toronto

PHANTOM TRADITIONS LIBRARY

After the End of the Line is the fifth volume in the Phantom Traditions Library, a series of anthologies featuring unusual and forgotten genres of fiction that flourished in the 1800s.

The other volumes are:

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