Halloween, 1861. A special train with two carriages steams across the
Lake District at night on its way to a place notorious for its record of
supernatural incidents. Most of those on board have been fortified by
alcohol so the mood is boisterous. Without warning the lamp goes out in
the last compartment of the second carriage, plunging it into darkness.
When the train reaches the end of the line, the passengers pour out on
to the station platform. There are almost sixty of them in all, laughing
and jostling, but the prevailing excitement is shattered by a cry for
help - someone is missing.
Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming are called in to investigate this
peculiar occurrence. With some believing the missing man is the victim
of a ghost said to haunt the site and no discernible trace of the man
anywhere to be seen, this will prove to be a puzzling case indeed for
the Railway Detective.