The Signalman

This is an interesting 1976 TV special that was on the BBC, 37 minutes in length.

I had seen one of the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas specials before, but it was before Christmas in ’24, I watched 1974’s The Treasure of Abbot Thomas. Then and now, Shudder has some. The BBC made some in the 70’s and there have been sporadic effects since 2005. An old oral tradition was to tell supernatural tales around Christmas. They started off adapting stories from English writer M.R. James but this came from none other than Charles Dickins.

IMO, ghost stories like this are as fitting for Spooky Season as they are for Christmas. Bernard Lloyd stumbles across Denholm Elliott, the titular signalman for the railway. This is back in the day of locomotives. His dwelling is in a dark valley, right in front of a spooky tunnel in the woods. The setting itself is great, augmented by the two talented actors engaged in discussion w/ each other, including Elliott’s love of the job despite the isolation & loneliness.

There is some great imagery shown in this cold, foggy setting, each breath visible in the night. The supernatural element is a spectre that Elliott has seen; each appearance foretells doom & disaster. The Signalman isn’t action-packed, full of spooks and calamity. Rather, the mood & atmosphere slowly envelops the viewer. This spectre doesn’t tell the signalman how to prevent those accidents, after all, and even Lloyd becomes haunted by those moments.

As the sound design is aces throughout & the finale is chilling to the bone, The Signalman can be viewed during any month of the year.