Status
Available
Call number
Publication
British Library Publishing (2019), 304 pages
Description
The Platform Edge is a collection of the greatest stories of strange happenings on the tracks. In this express service to the unknown, phantom passengers join the jostling of the daily commute, a subway car disappears into another dimension without a trace, while a tragic derailment on a lonely hillside in the Alps torments the locals with its horrifying nightly repetition. From the open railways of Europe and America to the pressing dark of the London Underground, The Platform Edge is the perfect traveling companion for unforgettable journeys into the supernatural.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ghr4
Careening down the track we have The Platform Edge: Uncanny Tales of the Railways, yet another excellent volume in the British Library Tales of the Weird series. Fine selections as usual by editor Mike Ashley. This is one of those anthologies that you plan for one or two stories per sitting, and
The Strange Story of Engine Number 651 - Victor L. Whitechurch…. The titular engine seems to be chronically problematical. A fine though fairly rudimentary ghost story with nothing to really distinguish it from a multitude of others in the genre.
The Conductor’s Story - Zoe Dana Underhill…. The story of a train engineer beset by a strange haunting with catastrophic results.
A Desperate Run - Anonymous…. An apparition warns of an impending rail disaster. A very brief but powerful tale.
A Smoking Ghost - W.G. Kelly…. A uniquely clever and humorous ghost story, with a superb little kicker at the end.
A Strange Night - L.G. Moberly…. A deserted stretch of railway is nevertheless beholden to a dark past.
The Tragedy in the Train - Huan Mee…. Here we have a murder mystery rather than a tale of the supernatural, but as the murder takes place in a closed train compartment, it does fit nicely in with the theme of this anthology. It is essentially a locked room puzzle as the victim is shot through the skull at an angle that precludes suicide, and there is no sign of entry nor egress from the compartment, nor any gun. A good story, though the solution is not all that difficult to solve.
The Man with the Cough - Mary Louisa Molesworth…. Only the barest hint of anything supernatural, but plenty of intrigue and suspense in this tale, wherein a member of a German engineering firm must deliver, via rail (and boat), critical documents to a client in London. Who exactly is this mysterious man with the strange cough that keeps reappearing along the journey? Excellent storytelling here that truly feels like the confusion and maddening time dislocation we all experience when having a nightmare.
Railhead - Perceval Landon…. Eerie messages on the telegraph instrument at the Enderton station-house are at the center of this mysterious tale.
The Barford Snake - Edgar Wallace…. The Germott family has had a long-standing feud with the railway company. When a series of rail accidents occur at the Barford Snake, a treacherously tight series of curves, suspicions point toward the Germott granddaughter’s spiritualism as the root cause. Well written tale, with a nice plant/payoff climax that works beautifully.
A Ghost on the Train - Dinah Castle…. Published in 1968, this story is one of the more modern in the entire series, but the tone and style blends perfectly with those of earlier eras.
The Underground People - Rosemary Timperley…. A wry take on the masses who inhabit the London Underground.
A Romance of the Piccadilly Tube - T.G. Jackson…. On his deathbed Mr. Markham signs a codicil to his will that negates an even split of this vast estate to his sons George and James, and bequeaths nearly all to James, with merely £1,000 directed to George. Mr. Harvey, the confidential solicitor and friend of the dying man, after preparing and executing the codicil dies in a grisly accident at an underground station platform, and by enormous coincidence, George retrieves the codicil amidst the chaos. Intriguing tale of the resulting dilemma of whether to burn the codicil and receive half the estate, or turn over the codicil to the executor and receive the mere pittance stipulated therein. Jackson’s straightforward, precision writing is a pleasure to read.
In the Tube - E.F. Benson…. A beguiling mindbender of the first order, prefaced by a rather cogent treatise on the illusions of Time and Space embedded at the outset of the story. Benson’s descriptions of astral bodies and ghostly presences are the most chilling I’ve read, primarily for the atmosphere created and, dare I say, their utter believability.
A Subway Named Mobius - A.J. Deutsch…. A mindbender of a different kind, in this often anthologized 1950 tale the complex topology of the Boston subway system results in a train which has gone missing, and has presumably traveled to another dimension.
The Last Train - Michael Vincent… A London Underground motorman is shocked to see that the abandoned Museum station, a “ghost” station, suddenly lit up and vibrant with a crowd of people on the platform. This one reads much like a Twilight Zone episode.
The Underground - R. Chetwynd-Hayes…. A middle-aged woman sees a recurring vision of a soldier in World War II uniform on the platform of a particular tube station platform. The shock ending packs a pretty powerful punch.
A Short Trip Home - F. Scott Fitzgerald…. Surprising to find one of his stories here, but it fits in perfectly. One of my favorite authors, his prose is intoxicating, particularly the final sublime paragraph.
The Companion - Ramsey Campbell…. Nightmarish tale of a man’s holiday visit to a gloomy fairground, which culminates on the Ghost Train. An intense psychological journey, travelled with childlike trepidation, through a maze of fears and haunting memories; a dizzying story that leaves the reader constantly off-kilter.
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you end up devouring four or five.The Strange Story of Engine Number 651 - Victor L. Whitechurch…. The titular engine seems to be chronically problematical. A fine though fairly rudimentary ghost story with nothing to really distinguish it from a multitude of others in the genre.
The Conductor’s Story - Zoe Dana Underhill…. The story of a train engineer beset by a strange haunting with catastrophic results.
A Desperate Run - Anonymous…. An apparition warns of an impending rail disaster. A very brief but powerful tale.
A Smoking Ghost - W.G. Kelly…. A uniquely clever and humorous ghost story, with a superb little kicker at the end.
A Strange Night - L.G. Moberly…. A deserted stretch of railway is nevertheless beholden to a dark past.
The Tragedy in the Train - Huan Mee…. Here we have a murder mystery rather than a tale of the supernatural, but as the murder takes place in a closed train compartment, it does fit nicely in with the theme of this anthology. It is essentially a locked room puzzle as the victim is shot through the skull at an angle that precludes suicide, and there is no sign of entry nor egress from the compartment, nor any gun. A good story, though the solution is not all that difficult to solve.
The Man with the Cough - Mary Louisa Molesworth…. Only the barest hint of anything supernatural, but plenty of intrigue and suspense in this tale, wherein a member of a German engineering firm must deliver, via rail (and boat), critical documents to a client in London. Who exactly is this mysterious man with the strange cough that keeps reappearing along the journey? Excellent storytelling here that truly feels like the confusion and maddening time dislocation we all experience when having a nightmare.
Railhead - Perceval Landon…. Eerie messages on the telegraph instrument at the Enderton station-house are at the center of this mysterious tale.
The Barford Snake - Edgar Wallace…. The Germott family has had a long-standing feud with the railway company. When a series of rail accidents occur at the Barford Snake, a treacherously tight series of curves, suspicions point toward the Germott granddaughter’s spiritualism as the root cause. Well written tale, with a nice plant/payoff climax that works beautifully.
A Ghost on the Train - Dinah Castle…. Published in 1968, this story is one of the more modern in the entire series, but the tone and style blends perfectly with those of earlier eras.
The Underground People - Rosemary Timperley…. A wry take on the masses who inhabit the London Underground.
A Romance of the Piccadilly Tube - T.G. Jackson…. On his deathbed Mr. Markham signs a codicil to his will that negates an even split of this vast estate to his sons George and James, and bequeaths nearly all to James, with merely £1,000 directed to George. Mr. Harvey, the confidential solicitor and friend of the dying man, after preparing and executing the codicil dies in a grisly accident at an underground station platform, and by enormous coincidence, George retrieves the codicil amidst the chaos. Intriguing tale of the resulting dilemma of whether to burn the codicil and receive half the estate, or turn over the codicil to the executor and receive the mere pittance stipulated therein. Jackson’s straightforward, precision writing is a pleasure to read.
In the Tube - E.F. Benson…. A beguiling mindbender of the first order, prefaced by a rather cogent treatise on the illusions of Time and Space embedded at the outset of the story. Benson’s descriptions of astral bodies and ghostly presences are the most chilling I’ve read, primarily for the atmosphere created and, dare I say, their utter believability.
A Subway Named Mobius - A.J. Deutsch…. A mindbender of a different kind, in this often anthologized 1950 tale the complex topology of the Boston subway system results in a train which has gone missing, and has presumably traveled to another dimension.
The Last Train - Michael Vincent… A London Underground motorman is shocked to see that the abandoned Museum station, a “ghost” station, suddenly lit up and vibrant with a crowd of people on the platform. This one reads much like a Twilight Zone episode.
The Underground - R. Chetwynd-Hayes…. A middle-aged woman sees a recurring vision of a soldier in World War II uniform on the platform of a particular tube station platform. The shock ending packs a pretty powerful punch.
A Short Trip Home - F. Scott Fitzgerald…. Surprising to find one of his stories here, but it fits in perfectly. One of my favorite authors, his prose is intoxicating, particularly the final sublime paragraph.
The Companion - Ramsey Campbell…. Nightmarish tale of a man’s holiday visit to a gloomy fairground, which culminates on the Ghost Train. An intense psychological journey, travelled with childlike trepidation, through a maze of fears and haunting memories; a dizzying story that leaves the reader constantly off-kilter.
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Language
Original language
English
Physical description
304 p.; 7.5 inches
ISBN
0712352031 / 9780712352031
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