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The Signalman

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The Signalman

By: Charles Dickens
Narrated by: Sam Mendes
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About this listen

From the greatest novelist of the Victorian era comes a ghostly short story, now reimagined in 3D sound.

Put your headphones on and settle in to this Audible Original adaptation of Charles Dickens’ The Signalman, narrated by Academy-Award winning director Sam Mendes (Skyfall, 1917, Empire of Light).

A lone narrator meets a railway worker who is confined to a cold, gloomy station in a deep cutting near a tunnel entrance. This worker is a signalman, and it is his responsibility to give the green light for trains to pass through the area. These are slow, monotonous days. The signalman’s life is not marked by much, until the nightmares begin.

Three times in a row, a ghost mysteriously appears before the signalman – and with each apparition, a tragic accident unfolds on the rail tracks.

Although our narrator doubts the man at first, events soon make him a believer too...

Follow along as the mystery is revealed in spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, bringing the haunting tale closer to you than ever before.

Now available in Dolby Atmos on Audible.

Public Domain (P)2022 Audible, Ltd Ghosts Horror Haunted Scary Railroad Short Story Horror Collection
All stars
Most relevant
Awesome story, Great performance.
Sound and music added a lot.
Only disappointment was the short length of the story.
More like this please Audible.

Wonderful

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Fix the summary, seriously. Why mention a man meeting a ghost or even calling it a ghost tale? One might pick this up as it’s one of the possible paths that ran through my mind, as the man he listens to tells his story. but imho it still ruins the whole buildup and twist of the story.

SPOILER: You don’t find out it’s the railman’s ghost until the very end, and until then the thing he sees, given the tunnel is red, could be a demon or anything, and part of the fun is you don’t know if it’s truly trying to help or a malevolent trick.

Maybe less time on fancy Dolby Atmos (as amazing as it was, im going to stop giving so many reviews 5 stars for being good or even great, as it doesn’t leave room for magnificent, and this certainly was a magnificent audio experience) and more time editing the summaries and reviews (which often contain spoilers from ignorant reviewers).

Great story. Highly recommended. Reminded me in the beginning of some of the best Edgar A Poe.

Amazon summary needs a spoiler alert

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A great reading by Sam Mendes. Subtly performed and easy to listen to. Every word clear as a bell. An evocative story and well worth the listen. A great introduction to Dickens.

Engaging story and great performance

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