On June 9, 1865, Charles Dickens was caught in a serious train accident known as the Staplehurst Disaster. The train he was riding on derailed as it crossed a damaged railway bridge and plunged toward the river below. Miraculously, the coach Dickens was in teetered on the edge of the bridge without falling. He managed to climb out and spent the next hours helping rescue injured passengers.

Though he survived unharmed physically, the experience left him deeply shaken. From then on, he developed a lasting fear of trains—yet continued to travel by rail for his public readings, as it was the most practical way to reach his audiences.

The following year, in 1866, Dickens wrote the eerie short story The Signal-Man, about a railway worker who sees a ghostly figure at the entrance of a tunnel.  Each time the figure appears, a terrible railway accident follows soon after.

The Signalman 1976 Television Movie on BBC One

Adapted as a short television film for the A Ghost Story for Christmas series, The Signal-Man premiered on December 22, 1976.

Viewers expecting CGI or flashy special effects will likely be disappointed—but that is not a flaw. This is a story-driven piece, relying far more on mood, atmosphere, and suggestion than on visuals. Denholm Elliott is excellent as the haunted Signalman, plagued by a hooded specter that serves as a chilling harbinger of doom. Bernard Lloyd is equally solid as the Traveler, a passing stranger who befriends the Signalman and becomes the confidant to his growing dread.

Running at roughly 38 minutes, the film remains fairly faithful to Charles Dickens’s original short story. A quick search on YouTube should turn it up easily, and it is well worth watching. Also on YouTube you might find a few animated endeavors and even a few other live action adaptations.

If you so desire, you may read the short story for yourself at Charles Dickens Online.