The Signalman by Charles Dickens and Harry by Rosemary Timperley

The Signalman by Charles Dickens and Harry by Rosemary Timperley

After reading 'The Signalman' by Charles Dickens and 'Harry' by

Rosemary Timperley, I have come to the conclusion that I prefer

'Harry'. Both stories, however, are brilliantly written ghost stories

with well-created atmospheres and plots that create tension and

suspense.

'The Signalman', by Charles Dickens, is a pre-20th century story which

is set in the 1800's. It takes place by a train line and in a signal

box which is occupied by the signalman. In the story the signalman

befriends a man and later confides in him that he has seen an

'appearance' at the entrance to the train tunnel. He tells the man,

who is the narrator of the story, that after he has seen the

appearance something bad has always happened. After the first

sighting, a train crash took place where a number of people died and,

after the second sighting, a young lady died whilst on a train. The

signalman then explains that he has recently seen the appearance again

and is worried what might happen. He is scared - trying to answer

questions as to what the appearance is trying to tell him and why it

has chosen him to visit. He can answer none of these questions and

knows that something tragic will happen that he has no control over.

The narrator returns to the signalman the next morning but finds that

he is dead. A group of men explain to him that the signalman was run

over by a train that morning. We then learn that the 'spectre' or

'appearance' was warning the signalman of his own death as the actions

and shouts of the train driver match exactly the spectre's. This

dramatic and unexpected ending proves ...

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is particularly clever as the last paragraph is exactly the same as

the beginning. However, at the end this paragraph is more clear and we

understand it a lot more.

The stories are similar in another way. Both Mrs James and the

signalman feel alone and they cannot tell anyone else how they feel

because they will not be believed. Mrs James said:

'He thought I was going 'round the bend''

Both her husband and her daughter are moving further and further away

fro her.

In conclusion, I feel that both stories are brilliantly written ghost

stories with well created atmospheres and plots that create tension

and suspense. However, I prefer 'Harry' because the language is more

familiar and accessible. The story has a brilliant story line which

keeps the reader full of suspense and the end is a very good twist