The Phantom Train

Some might wonder why I chose this name.  As it happens it is the subject about my own first book Aboard the Phantom Express.  The idea of a Phantom Train isn't a new one. In fact, it's been popularized in several different cultures and medium.  The origins of this train are somewhat obscure, and it's different from the phenomenon known as a Ghost Train.  A ghost train is simply a ghostly train.  The Phantom Train, Death Train or Train of Souls is THE train that takes the dead to the great beyond.  The train is a sentient presence and living thing not just a machine.  It is usually neither good nor bad preferring to remain neutral in most affairs of the mortal world.  It simply exists and does its job until the end of time. That is its sole purpose as decreed by whatever force lays in the great beyond. The Phantom Train has been seen in several popular medium including movies, cartoons, plays and even a video game or two.

I first became aware of it in the series, Final Fantasy.  In the sixth game, a group of characters accidentally boards the train and has to find a way to get off.  This particular scene was a part of a greater story arc in the game that was truly well thought out.  I need not go into particulars other than to say it creates an emotional experience one doesn't usually expect from a game.   The real significance of the train's existence didn't sink in, however, until I was sitting with my grandparents in a restaurant and saw a poster on one of the walls.  It depicted a strange ghostly train with the image of a conductor holding out a lamp ahead of him.  At the base of the poster were the words LeTrain Fantome. 

I became intrigued.  I started to notice the train in other things.  Perhaps the most famous instance of it comes from the Tom and Jerry cartoon "Heavenly Puss."  Anyone who's seen this one knows that Tom gets "pianoed" (for lack of a better term) and rides an escalator up to heaven.  There he sees a magnificent golden train waiting for him, but he's told he can't get aboard unless he can get Jerry to absolve him of his sins back on earth before the train departs.  (He doesn't succeed.)

Most of the stories remain the same.  The basic premise is usually a train that ferries the dead to the other side.  Those who accidentally board need to get off (lest they be mistaken for souls themselves).  In the end, they succeed, but not before meeting the spirit of someone they know who needs to pass on.  It's a story of accepting that ultimate end, letting go and moving on with life.

I liked the idea, and I used it as the "vehicle" literally and figuratively for my first real foray into the world of writing.  The result was Aboard the Phantom Express which I have worked on improving over the years.  Now that I am writing a blog, I guess I want to harness a bit of that mystery and wonder that first captured me long ago.  The image of a strange train shrouded in the mists of time and space has a certain unearthly appeal.