This is a harrowing, incredibly atmospheric short film based on a story by Charles Dickens. The premise is basic: A signalman in a far flung mini junction is used to his ways until a stranger appears one day. This is a ghost story as well as a take on solitude, technology and the supernatural. What I recall about this short is the haunting look and feel of the location. The film stayed with me because it reminded me of vague concepts such as time, space and memories. This is a short film (barely 40 mins) and yet it perhaps even exceeds the literary source if you go by some online opinion.

I'm 14 an we watched this for English class. its scary as hell. just so scary. s c a r y watch with like 200 people. and don't let children under 15 watch alone please thank u. me and my friend Claire were hiding behind our books and people laughed but they laughed with fear. even jess was scared and she never is scared. this film should be banned, you can't have people running around saying hello down there. if you like films here are some happy ones: lion king, high school musical, moulin rouge, Bambi, thirteen, hunchback of notre dame, actually all Disney films. here are some happy words: love, smile, joy, yellow, campbell.

I remember watching this movie as a kid and then again late at night a few years ago. I had to be honest totally forgotten about it until I was recently researching ghost stories. Well to say that I had totally forgotten about it is wrong, when watching movies such as The others this movie always sprung to mind. This short is full of atmosphere and suspense it is a ghost chiller in the purest sense and we are never really sure if the entire thing is in the signalman's mind or not. This pure fact alone makes it superior to most modern Hollywood attempts, were you work out in the first five minutes what is going on and how it will all work out. I would recommend this short to all fans of chillers as the ending even when watched in the day is still shocking. If you are a sensitive type though I would keep clear.

I hadn't realised just how good this show was until it dawned on me that despite not having seen it for years I could still get goosebumps when I was telling people about how it was usually shown around Christmas when I was growing up in England.Recounting the story wasn't nearly as atmospheric as the show. I wish they would show it on BBC America sometime.The show is a flashback to a time when rail travel was at it's heyday and is set in a signal box close to the mouth of a tunnel. The suspense is incredible and the whole show is filmed immaculately. The mood, the setting and the suspense are all top notch. I believe this to be one of the best shows the BBC ever filmed. At judging by the fact that it is being shown again some 29 years after its first showing stands as a testament for its ability to stand the test of time and thrill a whole new generation.