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Ghost Train
Something deadly is stalking the corridors of the King's Cross train, preying on the passengers. It once attacked commuter Mark Davies and threw him from the train. Ex-policeman Les Chadderton is obsessed with the murders and suicides on the East Coast mainline. His own wife has been among the victims. Together, Davies and Chadderton must board the Ghost Train and face their own fears made real, travelling on a one-way ticket on the Nightmare Express....
13 pages, Audiobook
First published April 25, 1985
13 people are currently reading
617 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Laws
58 books137 followersStephen Laws is a full-time novelist, born in Newcastle upon Tyne. Married, with three children, he lives and works in his birthplace. The author of 11 novels, numerous short stories, (collected in THE MIDNIGHT MAN) columnist, reviewer, film-festival interviewer, pianist and recipient of a number of awards, Stephen Laws recently wrote and starred in the short horror movie THE SECRET.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
December 9, 2019
GHOST TRAIN was a blast from the past!
Originally written in the 80's, when I first read the synopsis of this book I knew I had to have it. It appeared on offer from the folks at AUDIOBOOK BOOM in exchange for my honest feedback and here it is:
I loved the story-it had all the excitement, that awesome over the top 80's cheese, gory deaths, and excellent characters. (That last one is something that a lot of horror from that time period lacked.)
I loved almost everything about it, except for that weird, kind of out of place exorcism, but that was easily overlooked amidst all the action.
I must admit that this narrator didn't quite do it for me. The book was fast paced and fun, but at those exciting moments, a few of the character voices grated on my nerves. Other than that though, this novel was a heck of a lot of 80's horror fun and I recommend it!
Recommended-especially to fans of bloody, fast-paced 80's horror!
Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/36nKqF7
*Thanks to Audiobook Boom and the narrator for the Audible code, in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
Originally written in the 80's, when I first read the synopsis of this book I knew I had to have it. It appeared on offer from the folks at AUDIOBOOK BOOM in exchange for my honest feedback and here it is:
I loved the story-it had all the excitement, that awesome over the top 80's cheese, gory deaths, and excellent characters. (That last one is something that a lot of horror from that time period lacked.)
I loved almost everything about it, except for that weird, kind of out of place exorcism, but that was easily overlooked amidst all the action.
I must admit that this narrator didn't quite do it for me. The book was fast paced and fun, but at those exciting moments, a few of the character voices grated on my nerves. Other than that though, this novel was a heck of a lot of 80's horror fun and I recommend it!
Recommended-especially to fans of bloody, fast-paced 80's horror!
Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/36nKqF7
*Thanks to Audiobook Boom and the narrator for the Audible code, in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
June 6, 2023
This was Laws first published novel and definitely ambitious. I have read several of his novels now, but none has captivated me like his Spectre, but so it goes. Ghost Train reminded me of Rickman's Curfew as they are both premised upon 'ley lines' and evil, ancient powers. Our main protagonist, Mark Davies, starts the novel brooding in a train station's cafe; something he evidently does quite often. About a year and a half or so before, Davies fell from a moving train (jumped? Pushed?) and spend the next 8 months in a coma; when he finally woke, he had no memory of the accident. Yet, he keeps having horrible nightmares now about ancient standing stones, primitive sacrificial rites, and such.
This is a hard book to review without spoilers, but we know pretty quickly that something seems to be haunting the rail line-- the main line between London and Edinburgh. In between Mark's musings, Laws treats us to some nasty foo involving people who had ridden on this train line. In the second part of the novel, a former detective comes into play; he was the man in charge of investigating Mark's fall from the train, and he comes out with some grim stats about all the strange killings and such when people suddenly became crazy killers after riding that train. Things take off from there...
Laws writes believable characters and you have some sympathy for Mark and his worries. Ghost Train ended up being a bit over the top for sure even as it left some key questions unanswered. I liked this, but if you want an introduction to what Laws is capable of doing, check out Spectre. 3 ghostly stars.
This is a hard book to review without spoilers, but we know pretty quickly that something seems to be haunting the rail line-- the main line between London and Edinburgh. In between Mark's musings, Laws treats us to some nasty foo involving people who had ridden on this train line. In the second part of the novel, a former detective comes into play; he was the man in charge of investigating Mark's fall from the train, and he comes out with some grim stats about all the strange killings and such when people suddenly became crazy killers after riding that train. Things take off from there...
Laws writes believable characters and you have some sympathy for Mark and his worries. Ghost Train ended up being a bit over the top for sure even as it left some key questions unanswered. I liked this, but if you want an introduction to what Laws is capable of doing, check out Spectre. 3 ghostly stars.
April 13, 2017
If you ask Edward Lorn himself about his track record for picking our monthly buddy read books, he'll tell you that he knows how to stack up them stinkers. I think he's being characteristically hard on himself, but this time that's impossible even for him, because this book is pretty darned great reading! Last month, we read a compatriot author and contemporary book to Laws and Ghost Train - Ramsey Campbell's The Hungry Moon. That one had many things going for it - and some problems. The main one (I found) was that I could not for the life of me get familiar with the characters. Up until the last few chapters I found myself thinking "Who's this guy?" about the main protagonists of the story. This is not the case here! Laws manages in a few pages to present and then plant each and every one of the key characters so well that I saw them before me, truly genius storytelling.
His writer qualities also shine in lots of other places; the happily married housewife in chapter 8 that gets a laughable suggestion about her husband that transforms into uncertainty then doubt and into an unshakeable gut feeling and further - and its later implications - are palm hyperhidrosis-inducing reading. As is a couple of other really intense "chase"-scenes, which are also good examples of classical and effective horror. And as far as classical/80's horror is concerned, it is interesting to note that this came out more than a year before It, because there are some cool parallels to find.
The story then? Well, it's pretty great too. Especially the first half, with it's build-up and just the right amount explained happenings. In the second half, the mythology is a bit disturbed by the introduction of a modern Christian priest/exorcism-part to the proceedings, but, since this never plays a major part in the final resolution, it's just an annoyance, not a deal-breaker. Still, the conclusion and ending - while good - is not "blow the roof off" fantastic and that's why the 4 instead of 5 stars.
Huge thanks to Edward for reading this with me - always a great experience - and for introducing the author to me! Read Edward's review here.
His writer qualities also shine in lots of other places; the happily married housewife in chapter 8 that gets a laughable suggestion about her husband that transforms into uncertainty then doubt and into an unshakeable gut feeling and further - and its later implications - are palm hyperhidrosis-inducing reading. As is a couple of other really intense "chase"-scenes, which are also good examples of classical and effective horror. And as far as classical/80's horror is concerned, it is interesting to note that this came out more than a year before It, because there are some cool parallels to find.
The story then? Well, it's pretty great too. Especially the first half, with it's build-up and just the right amount explained happenings. In the second half, the mythology is a bit disturbed by the introduction of a modern Christian priest/exorcism-part to the proceedings, but, since this never plays a major part in the final resolution, it's just an annoyance, not a deal-breaker. Still, the conclusion and ending - while good - is not "blow the roof off" fantastic and that's why the 4 instead of 5 stars.
Huge thanks to Edward for reading this with me - always a great experience - and for introducing the author to me! Read Edward's review here.
January 5, 2022
Decent supernatural yarn, took a while to get going, but was at least an interesting take on the classic ghost train tale.
I borrowed my copy from the library, unfortunately my enjoyment of the book was slightly marred by the ignorant sod who penned over every expletive in the book. I wonder if they also try smothering the mouth of every person who says something they don't like too?
Rant over, feel slightly better, but defacing books that are intended for the enjoyment of whoever chooses to read them pisses me right off!
I borrowed my copy from the library, unfortunately my enjoyment of the book was slightly marred by the ignorant sod who penned over every expletive in the book. I wonder if they also try smothering the mouth of every person who says something they don't like too?
Rant over, feel slightly better, but defacing books that are intended for the enjoyment of whoever chooses to read them pisses me right off!
January 13, 2020
As I read this book, my mental model of it kept sliding around. It seems fairly exciting and also slow-reading. It has some transgressive elements but is also conservative. It pushes a definite Judeo-Christian worldview but also has a Lovecraftian//Folk-horror approach (and name checks Lovecraft before going much more folk-horror-ish). It feels like a novel from the 50s/60s and something from the 80s/90s (one of which, it is, the other of which it more properly embodies). Several times I felt like my grasp of the book was all wrong, and I would retool it, and then something would happen that would suggest my earlier grasp was fine and so it would end up with this sort of doppler effect of sounds warping and waving depending on where I was in the text at that point.
Generally, as an amorphous whole, I liked it. There were hints of John Blackburn and Dennis Wheatley in it and the mash-up of technological advance with folk-horror aspects (ancient being that rides the rails, etc) works well. The mystery works pretty well. The final confrontation went on fairly long and overstayed its welcome but the side aspects of it (the high death count, the over-the-top nature of the reshaping of the technology and methods of killing) made good visual writing that pulled few punches. The actual solution is...I don't know...a solution, I guess, but it made enough sense that it worked as well as it could (right up the really abrupt ending that seemed a bit silly since this book had spent a good chunk of its time not rushing at all). For a 300 page book, it read like a 400 page one in both a good way and a bad way (again, this book is all about straddling shifting concepts).
The incident that leads to the title is perhaps the best example of this book's tendency to take things by roundabout. Something happens to the central character when he is a kid that contributes absolutely nothing to the plot (even introduces a character that sort of just exists to exist). It helps to fill in some background and provide some visual motifs, but overall it just sits there to add to the feeling of squelch. Reminded me a lot of the side stories that folks like Ramsey Campbell or Stephen King might write, but less connected to the rest of the book. Still, it did not ruin the book. Just made it take longer.
And that sort of series of indefinite statements is about as good as a review as I can imagine for it.
Generally, as an amorphous whole, I liked it. There were hints of John Blackburn and Dennis Wheatley in it and the mash-up of technological advance with folk-horror aspects (ancient being that rides the rails, etc) works well. The mystery works pretty well. The final confrontation went on fairly long and overstayed its welcome but the side aspects of it (the high death count, the over-the-top nature of the reshaping of the technology and methods of killing) made good visual writing that pulled few punches. The actual solution is...I don't know...a solution, I guess, but it made enough sense that it worked as well as it could (right up the really abrupt ending that seemed a bit silly since this book had spent a good chunk of its time not rushing at all). For a 300 page book, it read like a 400 page one in both a good way and a bad way (again, this book is all about straddling shifting concepts).
The incident that leads to the title is perhaps the best example of this book's tendency to take things by roundabout. Something happens to the central character when he is a kid that contributes absolutely nothing to the plot (even introduces a character that sort of just exists to exist). It helps to fill in some background and provide some visual motifs, but overall it just sits there to add to the feeling of squelch. Reminded me a lot of the side stories that folks like Ramsey Campbell or Stephen King might write, but less connected to the rest of the book. Still, it did not ruin the book. Just made it take longer.
And that sort of series of indefinite statements is about as good as a review as I can imagine for it.
January 20, 2020
This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com: https://www.scifiandscary.com/ghost-t...
‘Ghost Train’ was the first novel by Stephen Laws, who published a number of books in the 80s and 90s (and a couple since 2000). He’s more akin to Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker than many of the other authors featured so far in Carry on Screaming. His books blend gore and psychological horror to great effect, with a Northern (UK) vibe and convincing characters. These are well crafted novels written with brain and heart rather than Guy N Smith style schlock-fests churned out to make a quick buck.
‘Ghost Train’ tells the story of Mark, a man haunted by two events from his past. As a child he and a school friend were attacked by the owner of a ghost train and as an adult he fell from a speeding train and suffered severe injuries. Months after the second event he is drawn back to Newcastle station where his unfortunate journey began, desperate to remember exactly what happened. As the plot develops he meets a policeman investigating his accident who reveals that a series of bizarre attacks and incidents have taken place on the same train line.
The book isn’t entirely successful, the mix of folklore and contemporary horror didn’t always work for me and the escalation of events at the end felt a bit rushed. When it’s good, though, it’s brilliant. The scenes of terror are often extremely effective. They’re nightmarishly bewildering, chilling, horrific and wonderfully tense. Laws throws in a number of new attacks with unrelated characters. These aren’t necessarily essential for the plot, but they are chilling and grimly enjoyable. Best of all, he captures the terrible fear of the unknown. Mark knows that bad things have happened to him, but he doesn’t know exactly what they were. His frantic search for the truth is gripping and genuinely scary. Like Mark, you need to know what happened, whilst fearing that the reality will be too much to take.
‘Ghost Train’ was the first novel by Stephen Laws, who published a number of books in the 80s and 90s (and a couple since 2000). He’s more akin to Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker than many of the other authors featured so far in Carry on Screaming. His books blend gore and psychological horror to great effect, with a Northern (UK) vibe and convincing characters. These are well crafted novels written with brain and heart rather than Guy N Smith style schlock-fests churned out to make a quick buck.
‘Ghost Train’ tells the story of Mark, a man haunted by two events from his past. As a child he and a school friend were attacked by the owner of a ghost train and as an adult he fell from a speeding train and suffered severe injuries. Months after the second event he is drawn back to Newcastle station where his unfortunate journey began, desperate to remember exactly what happened. As the plot develops he meets a policeman investigating his accident who reveals that a series of bizarre attacks and incidents have taken place on the same train line.
The book isn’t entirely successful, the mix of folklore and contemporary horror didn’t always work for me and the escalation of events at the end felt a bit rushed. When it’s good, though, it’s brilliant. The scenes of terror are often extremely effective. They’re nightmarishly bewildering, chilling, horrific and wonderfully tense. Laws throws in a number of new attacks with unrelated characters. These aren’t necessarily essential for the plot, but they are chilling and grimly enjoyable. Best of all, he captures the terrible fear of the unknown. Mark knows that bad things have happened to him, but he doesn’t know exactly what they were. His frantic search for the truth is gripping and genuinely scary. Like Mark, you need to know what happened, whilst fearing that the reality will be too much to take.
March 23, 2008
This was my introduction to Laws, and led me to seek out everything he has written.
It's all based on a great premise... that the main East Coast rail line from London to the North of England is on a ley line that can channel power to the London End, with a view to waking an ancient demon.
Strange deaths abound on the line. Our protagonist, himself a survivor of a strange experience on a train, has to try to stop the energy building up.
The climax is a tour-de-force as the train hurtles to London, the demon grows ever more powerful, and the deaths pile up.
Laws has a wild imagination, and he likes to kill people in very gruesome fashions, but if, like me, you like your horror fast and action packed, then he's the man for you.
It's all based on a great premise... that the main East Coast rail line from London to the North of England is on a ley line that can channel power to the London End, with a view to waking an ancient demon.
Strange deaths abound on the line. Our protagonist, himself a survivor of a strange experience on a train, has to try to stop the energy building up.
The climax is a tour-de-force as the train hurtles to London, the demon grows ever more powerful, and the deaths pile up.
Laws has a wild imagination, and he likes to kill people in very gruesome fashions, but if, like me, you like your horror fast and action packed, then he's the man for you.
August 11, 2013
OK, I confess. I'm a sucker for British horror fiction. Ramsay Campbell, James Herbert, Tim Lebbon and classics like Robert Aiken, Algernon Blackwood, M.R. James...This is what I read to relax and calm down when the pressures of a looming deadline get to be too much.
Laws is not on the same level as the above but I have a soft spot for him because of his penchant for weird environments (in "Chasm" and "Darkfall" in particular). "Ghost Train" is rather old and gives you a nice feeling for the life in the UK under Maggie. Also, if you love trains as I do, this one is for you. Pick it up on your next long train journey and settle in for a cozy ride of demonic possession, nightmares and mayhem.
Laws is not on the same level as the above but I have a soft spot for him because of his penchant for weird environments (in "Chasm" and "Darkfall" in particular). "Ghost Train" is rather old and gives you a nice feeling for the life in the UK under Maggie. Also, if you love trains as I do, this one is for you. Pick it up on your next long train journey and settle in for a cozy ride of demonic possession, nightmares and mayhem.
August 10, 2022
You know that when you pick up a book with the title of "Ghost Train" that there's a certain promise inherent in the title. The real question then, is does it live up to the promise, squander said promise, or surpass it. Here, I am happy to report, the promise is surpassed, by an engaging story and wonderful, yet horrific set pieces. The story concerns an average Joe, Mark Davies, who one day on his commute, falls from his train. Ever since his accident, Mark has been plagued by visions of demonic entities, human sacrifices, and terrifying childhood memories. However, it seems that more and more people riding on the King's Cross line, end up going violently insane after riding it. Mark must put together the mystery of what happened to him, and figure out why he's still being drawn to and repelled by the station.
Ghost Train is loads of fun. It starts off with a few different horrifying vignettes surrounding people at the station, then gets more and more focused as the threat facing Mark comes into the picture. This would have been the perfect 80's style horror movie, as it has everything-possession, gore, hazy druid stuff, carnies, and a wild ending. Strangely it was able to tie these pieces together and make a pretty breakneck thriller. The ending comes apart a little bit, but the audacity of it more than makes up for any shortcomings! Weirdly, I saw a lot of similarities here between Ghost Train, and the 1989 trash horror movie Beyond the Door III. Obviously both ruled, because of the killer train aspect!
Ghost Train is loads of fun. It starts off with a few different horrifying vignettes surrounding people at the station, then gets more and more focused as the threat facing Mark comes into the picture. This would have been the perfect 80's style horror movie, as it has everything-possession, gore, hazy druid stuff, carnies, and a wild ending. Strangely it was able to tie these pieces together and make a pretty breakneck thriller. The ending comes apart a little bit, but the audacity of it more than makes up for any shortcomings! Weirdly, I saw a lot of similarities here between Ghost Train, and the 1989 trash horror movie Beyond the Door III. Obviously both ruled, because of the killer train aspect!
May 23, 2011
Excellent debut novel from an underrated horror master. Laws' books are getting harder and harder to find. Seek them out. They are worth it.
This one doesn't waste a word when it comes to thrills.
This one doesn't waste a word when it comes to thrills.
Want to read
March 3, 2020I am shelving this one for now. i just can't get into it. I've tried several times and keep stalling out. It doesn't suck...I just don't care.
November 26, 2021
This was a fun read and my first book by Stephen Laws. The final chapters are action packed, gory and tense. The intrigue and build up are well written and you are rooting for the characters. I felt the ending left unanswered questions but I did enjoy it. I want to check out more of this author now.
October 30, 2016
Wow. What a ride. Literally! Laws is quickly becoming one of my new favourite authors. This was pure nightmare fuelled horror. Much better than I thought it was going to be. The depth of the imaginitive storyline keeps the pages turning well. I needed to unravel this dark, tension-building mystery.
I felt for the main characters and feared the antagonist, a lot. I felt part of it. It thrilled, shocked and scared me like only a King or Barker novel could. Or so I thought!
It's not just your normal ghost train, so buckle up :)
Can't wait to read more.
I felt for the main characters and feared the antagonist, a lot. I felt part of it. It thrilled, shocked and scared me like only a King or Barker novel could. Or so I thought!
It's not just your normal ghost train, so buckle up :)
Can't wait to read more.
August 1, 2024
Strange and unexplained deaths abound on the main east coast railway line running between King’s Cross and Newcastle. Laws is a writer who takes pride in despatching people in gruesome ways, which works really well here, and gives the book a sort of tongue in cheek dark humour to it. That’s a big help for a book to stand the test of time I think.
The protagonist, Mark Davies, fell from the train himself in what was seen by the police as an attempted suicide. He spent 9 months in a coma, but after getting his life back together decides to investigate what actually happened, though he continues to suffer from realistic and terrible nightmares.
Laws’s writing ensnares from the outset. One soon gets the feeling that the author is really enjoying himself, and want to be a part of the fun.
Personally, I’m not a fan of a thriller-type ending to this sort of book. It’s written in a literary style for much of it, but suddenly moves into sixth gear. I would have preferred something more subtle. But I am aware, that for many of his readers, it will work fine.
The protagonist, Mark Davies, fell from the train himself in what was seen by the police as an attempted suicide. He spent 9 months in a coma, but after getting his life back together decides to investigate what actually happened, though he continues to suffer from realistic and terrible nightmares.
Laws’s writing ensnares from the outset. One soon gets the feeling that the author is really enjoying himself, and want to be a part of the fun.
Personally, I’m not a fan of a thriller-type ending to this sort of book. It’s written in a literary style for much of it, but suddenly moves into sixth gear. I would have preferred something more subtle. But I am aware, that for many of his readers, it will work fine.
December 6, 2019
In my opinion, Stephen Laws is one of the most underrated horror writers. This might derive from him not being overly active: his work of horror only includes twelve novels in a time span from 1985 to 2007. He's still alive, so there's enough room for hope that another one might come along somewhen. His early short story fiction is collected in "Midnight Man".
He also wrote (and acted in) the movie "The Secret".
Ghost Train is Laws first full-length novel and a pretty solid horror story.
Mark Davies survived a fall from a train. He keeps coming back to the station, almost as if daring himself to board the same line again. But he fails time after time, as an inexplicable fear grips him.
Unknown to Mark, more people riding the line have faced gruesome fates. He is the only one who has survived one of these lethal incidents.
Then, in another attempt of the unholy force on the train line to kill him and a last second rescue by an ex-policeman named Chadderton, he learns that the police even established a task force to investigate the weird cases of death.
Together, they start to get deeper into the secrets of the deadly train line and encounter an ancient and evil force.
The story is well-crafted, and you can see that you have a promising talent here.
The first part, though, gets a bit repetitive, with all of Davies' dreams and as he returns to the train station again and again. Also, the killing of the backpack travellers doesn't make much sense and seems a bit constructed. But then, Laws begins to build up tension and can hold it up for a while. He could've moved faster at times (remember, this is a story about a modern train, not a steam locomotive), and not all of the plot might make perfect sense, but still, for a first one it's pretty good.
You'll also get some nasty scenes (my favourite: Chadderton getting home in the certainty his wife took the car, not the train - which proves him being terribly wrong) , but not the exaggerated gore.
Laws' later works might be better and stronger, but here he already shows his talent for good horror stories.
He also wrote (and acted in) the movie "The Secret".
Ghost Train is Laws first full-length novel and a pretty solid horror story.
Mark Davies survived a fall from a train. He keeps coming back to the station, almost as if daring himself to board the same line again. But he fails time after time, as an inexplicable fear grips him.
Unknown to Mark, more people riding the line have faced gruesome fates. He is the only one who has survived one of these lethal incidents.
Then, in another attempt of the unholy force on the train line to kill him and a last second rescue by an ex-policeman named Chadderton, he learns that the police even established a task force to investigate the weird cases of death.
Together, they start to get deeper into the secrets of the deadly train line and encounter an ancient and evil force.
The story is well-crafted, and you can see that you have a promising talent here.
The first part, though, gets a bit repetitive, with all of Davies' dreams and as he returns to the train station again and again. Also, the killing of the backpack travellers doesn't make much sense and seems a bit constructed. But then, Laws begins to build up tension and can hold it up for a while. He could've moved faster at times (remember, this is a story about a modern train, not a steam locomotive), and not all of the plot might make perfect sense, but still, for a first one it's pretty good.
You'll also get some nasty scenes (my favourite: Chadderton getting home in the certainty his wife took the car, not the train - which proves him being terribly wrong) , but not the exaggerated gore.
Laws' later works might be better and stronger, but here he already shows his talent for good horror stories.
December 29, 2020
"When the mutated King’s Cross train rounded a bend and screamed towards the platform, the first passengers to see it were insane even before it exploded into the station."
Over-the-top GHOST TRAIN tells the story of the King's Cross line, where normal riders regularly go insane and head off at their destination to commit ghastly acts of vengeance. The whole beginning of the book tells several of their stories, and they reminded me of the sort of old horror comics that CREEPSHOW revived in the early 80's - think scheming spouses and greedy tyrants getting their comeuppance. We get to know our hero Mark, who barely survived his ride a year ago and has since become obsessed with the train.
The book is fun until it grinds to a halt for an interminable series of dream sequences and explanations. If you need to understand the reason the ancient force haunts this train and its passengers, you will find it explained in detail and at length, with sites and events listed by the literal dozen. Happily, things do pick up for a lively conclusion. Anyone tempted to abandon this one halfway through, as I was, can skip from part 2 chapter ten (page 145 in my edition) ahead about 75 pages to part 3 chapter one without missing anything that doesn't get rehashed a few times. I read this decades ago when I was in junior high, and even then I am sure I skimmed right through this entire section.
I did not recall much about GHOST TRAIN except that it was entertaining, so I was intrigued when I saw that Valancourt reprinted it. This book does not belong in the same company as classics from McDowell, Greenhall, or Engstrom, but at least it's a lot more fun than Samson's white panic gentrification-uprising baloney loaf THE AUCTIONEER.
Over-the-top GHOST TRAIN tells the story of the King's Cross line, where normal riders regularly go insane and head off at their destination to commit ghastly acts of vengeance. The whole beginning of the book tells several of their stories, and they reminded me of the sort of old horror comics that CREEPSHOW revived in the early 80's - think scheming spouses and greedy tyrants getting their comeuppance. We get to know our hero Mark, who barely survived his ride a year ago and has since become obsessed with the train.
The book is fun until it grinds to a halt for an interminable series of dream sequences and explanations. If you need to understand the reason the ancient force haunts this train and its passengers, you will find it explained in detail and at length, with sites and events listed by the literal dozen. Happily, things do pick up for a lively conclusion. Anyone tempted to abandon this one halfway through, as I was, can skip from part 2 chapter ten (page 145 in my edition) ahead about 75 pages to part 3 chapter one without missing anything that doesn't get rehashed a few times. I read this decades ago when I was in junior high, and even then I am sure I skimmed right through this entire section.
I did not recall much about GHOST TRAIN except that it was entertaining, so I was intrigued when I saw that Valancourt reprinted it. This book does not belong in the same company as classics from McDowell, Greenhall, or Engstrom, but at least it's a lot more fun than Samson's white panic gentrification-uprising baloney loaf THE AUCTIONEER.
July 28, 2021
Something deadly is stalking the corridors of the King’s Cross train, preying on the passengers. Commuter Mark Davies, who was attacked and thrown from the same train, must team up with ex-policeman Les Chadderton, who is obsessed with the murders and suicides on the line to try and find out what’s going on.
A chunky Brit horror from 1985 (I’ve had it on my shelves for years, but only just got round to it), I had a lot of fun with this. Well written, with decent characterisation and a great sense of location, this chugs along at a good pace, has a solid story and grounds its more fantastical elements with clever use of real stone circles and legends. With a building sense of impending doom and a stand-out gore sequence on a train (as well as a lot of very unsettling imagery), this links the main story to a well realised flashback, where Mark encountered a ghost train in his childhood and found something terrible and human waiting for him there. Great fun, I’d very much recommend this.
A chunky Brit horror from 1985 (I’ve had it on my shelves for years, but only just got round to it), I had a lot of fun with this. Well written, with decent characterisation and a great sense of location, this chugs along at a good pace, has a solid story and grounds its more fantastical elements with clever use of real stone circles and legends. With a building sense of impending doom and a stand-out gore sequence on a train (as well as a lot of very unsettling imagery), this links the main story to a well realised flashback, where Mark encountered a ghost train in his childhood and found something terrible and human waiting for him there. Great fun, I’d very much recommend this.
July 16, 2022
This is written by one of my favourite horror authors, it's original horror. Really loved this book, i would highly recommend it, and check out his other novels too. Mark was attacked by a malevolent entity called Azimuth on a train and has to conquer his fears to get back on the train which nearly killed him. We see other characters who are also well fleshed out by the author. There is a strong supernatural element in this book. I would highly suggest reading this before his other ones. 5 stars.
August 4, 2019
Gediegener Old School Horror aus den Achtzigern, mit dem groben Keil in die Druckplatten gestanzt, erfrischend frei von unnötigem Romanzen- und Rechtfertigungsbohei. Was getan werden muß, wird getan, fertig. Und wenn man sich mit dem uralten Bösen anlegt, das sich in einer der Hauptschlagadern des britischen Schienennetzes verbirgt, dann gibt es auch reichlich Späne (und Kutteln), die dabei fliegen. Für mich als Eisenbahnfan mit Augenmerk auf Dampf und Diesel natürlich ein gefundenes Fressen ❤️
January 21, 2011
A unique and thrilling book dealing with demonic posession.
May 8, 2020
For some reason this took me awhile to get into, but once I did I really enjoyed it!
July 20, 2021
I received a free copy from AudiobookBoom in return for an honest review.
I like Hannibal Hills (as a narrator anyway). Whenever I listen to him read, it evokes memories of the old Hammer Horror movies and series I grew up watching. As this book was written in the 80s, that is a vibe you should aim for in your audio. Here's the other good stuff - the two leads are likeable. The ex-copper who can't let go of the case of the series of weird accidents on a single train, and the one survivor of such an accident, who has developed a phobia which his shrink encourages him to overcome. Some of the bizarre happenings will put a sick and twisted smile on the face of horror fans (nothing too sick though). The story itself starts quite well, but I lost interest over the latter half of the story as it seemed to lose the run of itself. I guess it got "derailed."
Thank you, I'm here all week.
I like Hannibal Hills (as a narrator anyway). Whenever I listen to him read, it evokes memories of the old Hammer Horror movies and series I grew up watching. As this book was written in the 80s, that is a vibe you should aim for in your audio. Here's the other good stuff - the two leads are likeable. The ex-copper who can't let go of the case of the series of weird accidents on a single train, and the one survivor of such an accident, who has developed a phobia which his shrink encourages him to overcome. Some of the bizarre happenings will put a sick and twisted smile on the face of horror fans (nothing too sick though). The story itself starts quite well, but I lost interest over the latter half of the story as it seemed to lose the run of itself. I guess it got "derailed."
Thank you, I'm here all week.
February 1, 2019
Admittedly the story starts off a bit weak with constant dream sequences that don't really do much other than seem a bit easy and obvious, but beyond that, it was great! Like a Steven King novel if Steven King and the characters in his stories were British. The way people thought and acted and reacted felt more plausible to me, and the writing was maybe a little bit drier, which I also liked. There are some pretty cool twists near the end when certain things hit certain other things typically attached to ceilings.
Great to see that one of the very few instances of an actual ghost train story also happens to be very good, and actually about a evil, supernatural train (more or less, but you generally take what you can get when it comes to ghost trains).
Highly recommended!
Great to see that one of the very few instances of an actual ghost train story also happens to be very good, and actually about a evil, supernatural train (more or less, but you generally take what you can get when it comes to ghost trains).
Highly recommended!
June 12, 2017
The young, the old, the infirm... Stephen Laws doesn't doesn't think politically when he's killing people in a myriad of gruesome ways. Ghost Train is old school horror, with possession, demonic forces, a mystery to be solved and a finale of good versus evil against all odds. What lets Ghost Train down is the real lack of substance. Although Laws has attempted to weave considerable mystery in to the plot, the evil 'train' just doesn't have any character and as a result there is a not enough engagement. The key components are there but the writing isn't good enough to make it a memorable book. Suitable for an easy read but not Laws at his best.
November 5, 2020
A bit dated but still enjoyable
Many years ago when I was unemployed, i used to travel the Doncaster Kings Cross line for London based interviews. I immediately fell in love with this as it was my train. Although its now dated to the old British Rail network along with prices from that time, its fast pace and earnestness (it was Stephen Laws ist book), still makes it an entertaining read. Back in the day BR did ban advertising on the rail network for this novel in case it frightened pasdengers. Brilliant stuff!
Many years ago when I was unemployed, i used to travel the Doncaster Kings Cross line for London based interviews. I immediately fell in love with this as it was my train. Although its now dated to the old British Rail network along with prices from that time, its fast pace and earnestness (it was Stephen Laws ist book), still makes it an entertaining read. Back in the day BR did ban advertising on the rail network for this novel in case it frightened pasdengers. Brilliant stuff!
December 12, 2012
All round, this book is mostly brilliant stuff. I would've given it five stars if it had stayed on the tracks (ha ha) a little tighter. When it is on target, which is 80% of the time, this book is a sure-fire winner. It just occasionally drifts into flashback and sentimentality territory. Highly recommended.
December 1, 2019
As a fan of 80s horror novels I would have to put this near the top
Excellent narration from Hannibal proving he’s one of the best
A classic novel that stands the test of time highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
Excellent narration from Hannibal proving he’s one of the best
A classic novel that stands the test of time highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
October 15, 2020
4🌟
Good, gory demon laced fun.
Good, gory demon laced fun.
September 28, 2021
More like 3.5
October 13, 2025
5 stars for the vibe...
I'm in my train era
I'm in my train era
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