All aboard the ghost train

I think I’m dreaming…

With the flashing lights, loud music and sirens from the rest of the funfair all around me, I am now next in line to board the Ghost Train! I pay my entrance fee at the booth and step onto the metal platform, where the criss-cross design on it reflects all of the different colours from the lights of the rides behind me. The platform slopes up to a step, where I can step into my carriage. It’s an oval shape carriage, metallic dark blue in colour with small skulls painted along the bottom, and with other sized skulls starting to fill the front of the carriage. The ‘bonnet’ part is almost completely white, the effect given by the amount of skulls painted here.

I sit in the soft red leather seat, which bends around inside the carriage, and is big enough to seat four people. It seems far bigger when I sit here by myself! I position myself in the centre, and a hand rail falls down over my head from behind me. This is a very shiny chrome rail, and matches the rail that goes along the top of the front of the carriage, in front of the small glass rim that is made to look like a small front windscreen.

The hand rail clicks into place.

A siren wails from behind me.

The latest carriage to come out of the Ghost Train careers into the queue of carriages waiting to enter, shunting each one forward slightly, and starting me off, on my journey into the terrifying unknown!

At a chuggingly slow speed, I move forwards. I can hear the clicks and clanks of the chains beneath me as they catch hold of the carriage after the initial push, and pull me forwards through a set of floppy rubber doors which only open part way and the carriage just forces its way through the rest. I presume the doors have closed again behind me, and I am now surrounded by darkness. Not pitch darkness, but shadowy darkness. There’s a mist in the air, and some blue light which is casting odd angles all around me.

I’ve just spotted something ahead coming towards me. I can’t make it out properly, but it looks like another carriage! That means I must be changing direction soon – we can’t crash into each other, can we? It was a mirror ahead of me… I spotted it as my carriage turned to the right at the very last minute. I’d have thought we’d have turned left though, considering the way I initially got into the carriage: up the platform, into the carriage on the right hand side and then moving forwards – turning right should take us back out into the funfair. I’m slightly confused. And now wet! I’ve just been squirted by water. Well, I hope it is water! And now steam is being sprayed on me. Not giving me much time to take in things at present. I think I’ve turned left again, but I can’t really tell. The carriage is now jerking forward, not as smooth as before… it is causing me to bounce slightly in my seat! Ugh. Cobwebs I think. I can see strings of something hanging down around me in the blue light. The whole place is now lit up with a flashing white light and a loud crashing of drums… thunder and lightning! The room I’m going through is like a large empty dining room, with pictures on the walls. Pictures with faces on. And faces that have eyes, that, yep… are following me as I move. It’s not even occurred to me to think why a train track would be going through a dining room – I’m more concerned with those eyes. The flashing lightning has now stopped, but all of the eyes are glowing. I’m sure they’re bigger too!

Oops… we’ve crashed through another set of doors into a cool wind. The light seems redder here too. Ah, I’m outside, that’s why. Not only outside, but up above the Ghost Train and the rest of the funfair below. The jerking motion must have been the carriage being pulled upwards. It didn’t seem like I was going upwards through that room though. I can see the lights of the town in the distance as we circle around, ready to go back inside, through what looks like a tunnel.

I’m now in what I imagine to be a sewer tunnel. There’s a constant drip drip dripping noise, and it appears to be echoing. I cough to see. Yes, it’s echoing! I can hear running water coming from behind me. Not running water, but gushing water. A strong wind is also blowing at me from behind. I’m now getting splashed from behind. Phew. We’ve gone through another door, into a pitch black room. With a vertical drop! I hold onto the handrail to try to keep myself in the carriage as we fall headfirst. We’re shaking from side to side, and I can feel the warm wind hitting me as we fall. We can’t be dropping this far, surely? It seems like fifteen seconds but I could be wrong.

Hang on – we’re not dropping now – we’re just still in the position of dropping. The back of the carriage is now being lowered. Ah, we’re moving forward again. It’s still pitch black though. My perception has now completely gone. I could be upside down, for all I know, but I don’t think I am. My imagination is playing tricks with me. I think there is someone else in the carriage with me. I feel like I want to close my eyes, but it is that dark I won’t notice any difference anyway. I don’t know if the loud heartbeat is my own or an effect from the ride. The ride… Phew. I’m on the ghost train. And a hand is on my head! Yarghh! I scream as a brilliant flash of white light appears in front of me. The carriage turns left and barges through another set of doors. There are squeaks and howls and hisses and rattles and clicks and chimes and all sorts going on in here. I can still see the burnt imprint from that flash of light in my eyes, so I couldn’t tell you if there is anything flying around me, but my imagination is filling in the blanks. I fly through another set of doors and nearly jump out of my seat as a very loud siren goes off, and I am shunted into the back of the carriage in front.