Moral: nobody's brave all the time/overcoming your fears
Short Synopsis: it is Halloween night, and the Arlesdale Railway engines tell a ghost story about the Lost Ghost of Arlesburgh and all the clues that lead up to it's presence. Ryan laughs and seems confident not to believe in it. However, the route darkens along his evening journey, and as things constantly go bump in the night, Ryan's fearful instincts kick in, as he realizes that bravery isn't always such an easy thing to handle after all…
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The engines on the Island of Sodor always look forward to Halloween; it is that time of year where they could easily have the day's work done quickly to join in on the evening festivities….from Halloween parties…to seeing the children dress up ghouls, ghosts, goblins, witches, wizards and many other things…to join on in the fun as they pass by them go trick-or-treating from village to village, station to station. But if there was one thing the engines looked forward to, it was to listen to a nice spooky and chilling ghost story; haunted stations or ghost engines, it always set the mood for the most frighteningly anticipated night of the year
One Halloween night, a full moon was set in the sky and an owl hooted and flew over from a tree branch, as the engines went about their evening jobs. The festivities were long gone over and the children were fast asleep in their beds. But that didn't stop the engines being really useful and resuming their work from where they left off at the end of the afternoon. There was much work to do at the ballast quarry over at the Arlesdale Railway. Ryan, Daisy and Marion had been asked to work with Mike, Rex and Bert, and with their help, the work was just about finished, as Oliver and Toad arrived to take their usual load of ballast back to their branch line on the "Little Western".
Ryan: Phew! We've shunted every last truck in the ballast quarry tonight. Haven't we, Marion?
Marion: Oh, I don't mind, Ryan. If there's one thing I like better as much as digging, it's shunting trucks from here to there full of loud, heavy ballast!
Daisy: (sighing heavily, calling from a siding) Oh, Marion, please! Some of us are growing a bit restless from all this ballast work and would like to get some rest!
Marion: (continuing, unintentionally ignoring Daisy) It surely helps to keep the mood going on a night like this.
Mike: (whistling and rolling his eyes as he passes by, to himself) Oh, dear. Why? Why, her?
Bert: (as Mike as reaches him across from the top station) Don't worry, Mike. We can have a bit of fun and tell those giant friends of ours a story to set the atmosphere? Remember the one we talked about earlier?
Mike: Um, yes…but…
Bert: Say no more. Let's alert Rex and gather the engines up in the yard. (whistles as he leaves, Mike doing the same on the across the track)
In no time at all, Mike, Rex and Bert had gathered their fellow friends into the top station. During the workmen's break, Ryan, Daisy and Marion waited as Oliver shunted Toad across from them and then gathered up beside his faithful brake van. The three smaller engines arrived, and were ready to begin the legendary tale they had thought of to set the atmosphere for a very special night.
(Bert stops three tracks away from Marion and Oliver's track, Rex and Mike lined up respectfully behind him on the next two tracks leading to the bigger ones)
Bert: Thank you all for coming. The lads and I here have thought it over and it has come to our attention that we have a special story to tell you all.
Marion: (gasps) A story? (excitedly) Oh, dear. I love stories. I could them all day and night, you know, about digging and shunting and…
Oliver
And (hissing) Shh!
Marion:
Daisy: (snapping) Quiet, Marion!
Marion: Oh. Um, sorry. (chuckles nervously)
Oliver: Quiet, the both of you! I'd like to hear this myself.
Bert: (sighs) So, yes. Rex and Mike and I have agreed that you've worked very hard this evening and before you finish up your evening deliveries, we'd like to pass the time during the men's break and tell you a tale that we've had in mind all day: a ghost story.
Ryan: (curiosity) Ghost story?
Daisy: Pfft! Ghost story?
Marion: (shaking, nervously) G-g-ghost story?
Mike: (whispering to Rex) Oh, this will get her for sure. (Rex giggles quietly back in agreement)
Bert: A ghost story, my fellow engine. The legendary tale of the…Lost Ghost of Arlesburgh. (everyone laughs, except for Marion who gulps nervously) The story that goes back way before the Sodor railway had come to it's very existence. (as flashbacks occurs) It all started back in the olden days of Sodor down by Calles Cavern when The Lost Pirate Captain Calles himself went about attacking and sinking fellow merchant ships… and stealing their treasure. BUT…one very dark and misty Halloween night, Captain Calles figured stolen just about enough treasure to bury an old cavern by Arlesburgh, giving Calles Cavern itself it's very name of course.
(shifts back to the modern day, as the engines, minus a frightened Marion of course, listen with interest. Rex chuffs up beside Bert and continues the story)
Rex: (as flashbacks continue) Because the old Captain had an entire posse on his tail, he sailed his ship far from sea and toward land he pressed on, BUT…the ship's masses were down that very night and fierce winds swirled around the ol' Captain's ship. And gusts of wind forced it away towards land and the Captain's precious treasure was blown overboard. The ship tipped over the tracks along with Captain Calles himself. And down it went plummeting into the grounds below. And while the map was in sight down below along with Captain Calles' ship, the treasure was covered far over by from the accident, and was therefore buried deep within the Cavern. It had never been found to this very day…(as Calles' ghost flies up and about)…but Captain Calles seemed to have vanished that very night. The Navy arrived next morning and looked all over for him, but the remains of the accident were far within the Cavern, so therefore, new tracks were built, and once the Calles' ship had been discovered about 400 years later, the Cavern had indeed been named after him as tribute to the very legend of The Lost Pirate himself.
(shifts back to the modern day, as Mike quickly rolls up alongside Rex to finish off the story)
Mike: And so, every year on Halloween, as the mist rolls in around Calles Cavern…, (flashback continues, with Calles' ghost zooming through the mist)…a ghost, the old Ghost Captain himself will go looking for his dear treasure, which he has yet to find. But only time will tell when he does…and manages to escape Sodor aboard his very own ship where it now stands at the harbor view.
(scene shifts back to the modern day, with Marion trembling quietly and keeping her eyes shut in fear)
Mike: (continuing) And so, legend has it…that every Halloween night, the Lost Ghost of Arlesburgh roams about the line running from Harwick up to Arlesburgh, searching for his treasure to take back with him on his departure to Sodor,(watching Marion cheekily and slowly sneaking up on her, Rex and Bert watching smugly)…and looking to get his revenge by finding to an engine to haunt. (moving closer to a still scared Marion, quieter) And maybe…, tonight…, that engine…will be you! BOO! (whistles loudly, startling Marion and causing her to gasp and scream loudly out of fear)
(Everyone else laughs loudly, mainly at the story itself, and Daisy particularly laughs before smugly sighing out a deep breath and looking over at Marion)
Daisy: Honestly, Marion. It's just a story. You're such a scaredy steam shovel. (chuckles slightly once more, while Ryan and Oliver exchange stern looks of disapproval towards her, so she stops)
Mike: (chuckles) Oh, don't mind her, Daisy. Marion's gullible to anything, whether it's real or not. Even us three little engines oughta know that.
Ryan: Don't be scared, Marion. Most ghost stories aren't even true.
Oliver: There's no such things as ghosts. You have nothing to worry about.
Toad: Mr. Oliver is right, Ms. Marion. Even I get scared sometimes, but deep down down, it's all in my imagination.
(Daisy scoffs, looking away)
Ryan: I don't even need imagination to overcome my fears. Being brave is a speciality of mine, really.
Mike: (teasingly) Well, you'd best mind, Ryan. You wouldn't want the "The Lost Ghost of Arlesburgh" to haunt you, now, would you?
Ryan: (chuckles) I'm not scared of any ghost pirate, Mike. I know that story is all just silly make-believe.
And he chuffed away to fetch his evening train.
(Daisy and Oliver honk and whistle respectively, as they reverse down the line as well)
Oliver and Toad picked their evening load of ballast and took it away over to their own branch line, while Daisy picked up the workmen and brought them on their journey. Ryan collects his own ballast trucks and then picked up the rest of his train from the goods yard, before setting off into the misty night…
Ryan: Pfft! Ghost pirates! Huh! (chuckles bravely as he leaves the yard)
Ryan felt very brave as he began his usual route along his own branch line, starting at Harwick Station. But he had still yet to learn that bravery isn't always an easy thing to control, even when handling a job independently.
Ryan: No ghosts for me on the way to Arlesburgh tonight. I guarantee. (sighs and smiles confidently, slowly shutting his eyes in relaxation. Nothing to be scared of at…a-a-all! (jumps suddenly and opens his eyes at the sudden sound of the guard's whistle before leaving the station, settling down immediately)
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