| The Seaside Ghost | |
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| Season 5, Episode 29 | |
Vital statistics
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| Air date | April 28th, 2014 |
| Written by | DonaldDouglasandToby6 |
| Directed by | DonaldDouglasandToby6 |
Episode guide
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| Previous | Next |
| The Early Whirlybird | "It's A Great Story After All....." |
Plot[]
Arthur works on the Norramby Branch, running the Fishing Village. Arthur often takes fish to the harbour to be shipped to the Mainland.
One day, Arthur was puffing into the Docks. It was a misty day, so Arthur had a lamp fitted. Cranky was loading Porter's flatbeds of timber. "These are for Hank, correct?" said Porter. "Yes, now get a move on." grumbled Cranky. Porter did so as Arthur puffed under Cranky. "Ugh, my least favorite thing: fish," sighed Cranky. "Come now, it's not bad," said Arthur. Cranky ignored him and started to load the fish. Salty oiled over. "Would like you something to do while you're waiting for old Cranky?" he asked hopefully. Arthur smiled fondly. "Oh yes please. It seems that Cranky's gonna take a while." Salty chuckled. "Well... argh, alright then sailor. Let's start one of me stories. This one's a ghost story. Kinda fits the fog, doesn't it?" Arthur murmured in agreement. Cranky sighed; the last time Salty told a ghost story, everybody went scared over flatbeds. Salty began his story. "Once at the Fishing Village, an engine was delivering a fish train that was extremely heavy... About twenty trucks.... The tracks weren't well-built and crumpled under the engine's weight. The engine slided along the beach and splashed into the sea..."
Salty paused for some atmosphere. Cranky stopped. Porter stopped. Even Hank, who was puffing into the Docks, stopped. The whole Docks seemed to freeze in time. Salty shunted some trucks and continued. "The crew survived but they never found the tank engine... They still say that every foggy night, the engine whistles and wheeshes steam throughout the railway, as a warning. Some say he speaks. They say he says, 'Don't do what I did... Or you'll be in trouble.'" Salty suddenly turned light-hearted again. "And that's the story! Did you like it?" Cranky said nothing. Porter gulped. "Salty... that was dark! Where'd you hear that?" Salty chuckled. "Oh, nowhere. Just a thing with us dockyard Diesels knowing everything." "I don't wanna go out now," gulped Hank. "Don't be scaredy engines," teased Arthur, "it's fine." The engines stared. Salty lowered his voice. "When any engine doesn't believe his story... He shows them himself..." Arthur turned white. "That happened to me," continued Salty, "I was honestly scarred." Hank looked to Porter. Arthur's face was as white as the clouds above the fog. "Just a simple warning, me heartys. Now go back for more fish Arthur." said Salty.
Arthur was afraid, but decided to go anyway. "What utter nonsense," said Arthur's driver, "Ghosts don't exist." "Nonsense! I don't want him to hear you!" gasped Arthur and he listened. His crew listened. Even the vans listened, but they heard nothing. "Arthur's scared of a story! Arthur's scared of a silly story!" giggled a van. The vans laughed as Arthur went pale as he approached the Fishing Village. When he saw the bright neon lights, he felt much better. A big boat came into the dock. "Ahoy there!" called the captain, "Just going to load this fish!" The workmen loaded the fish into the vans. Arthur politely waited for a guard's whistle, but was surprised to find nothing. "That's odd," he said out loud, "Shouldn't the guard be here now?" Arthur's driver looked back and saw a light. "Yeah, but I do see another engine coming. Maybe he can tell us." The engine went faster and faster, and it seemed as though it were to crash into Arthur. Arthur gasped and shut his eyes for impact, but suddenly... WHOOSH. The engine disappeared. Everyone was shocked. Then they heard a frantic whistle, a splash, and finally a voice. "Don't do what I did, or you'll be in trouble..." it said. Arthur was paler than ever.
When Arthur came back to the Docks, Paxton was arriving with his usual stone train. "Hello Arthur!" tooted Paxton, "What's wrong? You look all pale for some reason." Arthur said nothing; he just puffed aside. "You look as if you saw a ghost," commented a workman. "We d-d-did," stammered the driver. The workman was surprised. "Really? Where?" "At the Fishing Village," responded the fireman. "You mean the one with the engine who fell into the sea? ...oh yes, I saw it once. Terrifying sight. But I've gotten over it." Arthur grew some of his color back when he saw cheerful Paxton's smile; Paxton didn't hear the conversation between the driver and the workman. "So what did happen?" asked Paxton. Arthur turned pale again. "It was horrible... A ghost engine, a whistle, a splash, and then the scariest voice I ever heard..." Paxton was confused. "Ghosts? Are you sure?" "Yes!" exclaimed Arthur. Porter chuffed over. "I still don't know if it's not real. My driver said a ghost was on a television show called, 'Sodor's Paranormal Activity.' It looked spooky. But one of the ghosts was the one in the Fishing VIllage... Turns out it had a movie based off it." Salty chuckled. "I have some good news about the ghost. It leaves you alone when you believe in the story!" The engines didn't believe him though.
Arthur puffed past Neville on the way back, but he didn't whistle; he was too much in thought. He did indeed believe in the story now, as did the trucks and his crew. So he decided to see if the ghost would show up again. At the Fishing Village, Arthur puffed up to find a barrier across the line. "The place is closed for now," explained a fisherman, "We can't risk ghosts popping up everywhere." Suddenly, WHOOSH. The wind blew, the whistle sounded and the engine was now in front of Arthur, but there was something a bit different. He didn't look as angry as last time; he actually looked scared. Arthur didn't know what to do. "Um, uh, what am I supposed to say? Oh now I got it!" Arthur began. "Little engine, we've all had bad accidents from time to time. Some are fatal and others are not. Maybe you didn't make it out alive, but you still have the opportunity to move on. Not many engines have the wit and skill to do so, but I think you may." Arthur breathed, then started again. "The past is in the past, I'm afraid. Unless you have a time machine, it won't work. Sorry, um, scary... ghost, but there is some good out of it. You can just forget about it. Alright?" The ghost looked at Arthur. Then, WHOOSH. It disappeared. No splash, and the voice was different now. "Thank.....you....." it said. Arthur wasn't sure if he should smile or not; he really didn't want to, but he forced a little one at the foggy sky.
The ghost hasn't really moved on though; it still rattles over bridges and scares the engines at night. But the splash is gone for some reason, and the creepy thing is.... Nobody knows why.