Halloween on the North Norfolk Railways’ Poppy Line

Last night we took a supernatural train ride along the North Norfolk coast, accompanied by a motley crew of weird characters and tellers of ghost stories.

We arrived at Sheringham station car park to find it haunted by fellow travellers disguised as scary monsters and super creeps.

On the dimly lit platform, members of the railway staff were also suitably attired. The steam train waited for us in pitch black. However, once the carriage lights were lit, we could see it had been decorated for Halloween.

With various characters spooking us by appearing suddenly or rapping on our carriage window, we watched the train fill up. It was like being on the set of a horror movie – some of the costumes and the people in them were terrifying.

But everyone was in the mood for fun and there was plenty of friendly banter. Just before we set off, the carriage lights were extinguished and we were left in the dark.

During the journey, we were regaled with stories of local ghosts. The first was about a railway worker who was decapitated between shunting railway carriages just outside Sheringham station. The story was made even eerier when we looked out of our carriage to see steam from the engine curling past the windows like fog.

We heard about the ghost of Anne Boleyn at Blickling Hall:  it is said that every year, on the anniversary of her execution, her headless ghost arrives in a carriage driven by an equally headless coachman. But she hasn’t lost her head completely—she carries it with her during her hauntings.

There is another ghost at nearby 17^th century Felbrigg Hall: William Wyndham, a friend of Samuel Johnson, who loved books and returns to the Gothic library to read at midnight.

And then there are the Yow-Yows, sailors that haunt the Shannocks, Sheringham fishermen, because of a curse laid by a drowning sea captain they could not rescue. It is said that on calm days fisherman can hear voices from below their boats calling for help; when they investigate the voices change position. Apparently it is a warning of coming storms.

On arrival at Weybourne station, which hasn’t changed much since 1901, we were taken to the haunted footbridge and then to the Ghostly Grotto.

Back on the train we were regaled with further stories, this time of Black Shuck, a shaggy dog with burning red eyes, and other hellhounds that stalk the North Norfolk coast. We learned about the Woman in White, who searches for her baby.

When we arrived at Holt station, we were suitably chilled and ready for a cup of hot chocolate. We didn’t expect to see a grave digger and a haunted cottage! Although we had another storyteller on the return journey, there were no stops, and we ended back where we started, in an almost deserted railway car park.