Amazing Stories Episode 1, "The Ghost Train": The Train as a Symbol of the Past

The grandfather listening at a rusty track.

Last night my wife introduced me to a television show called, Amazing Stories. It's a science fiction anthology series created by Stephen Spielberg. I watched the first episode, titled, "The Ghost Train." I want to briefly review this episode and to make a case why you might consider setting aside 30 minutes to watch it.

First, some summary. It's about a family who has built a house. They bring their grandfather to the house so that he can see it. He sees the house and is very disturbed because the family has built it on land that used to be railroad land, land that had a railroad track running through it (although the railroad track has long since been torn up). If the railroad was still in existence, then the train would have run right through the house. Here's where things get supernatural: the grandfather knows a ghost train is coming for him the night of this visit. He tries to warn his family that the house will be destroyed. They, of course, think he's crazy, and have him sedated. I won't spoil the ending. Suffice it to say that something supernatural does happen.

I loved this episode, this initial exposure to Amazing Stories, and I'm glad my wife introduced it to me. It "reeks" of the 1980s, and so, I find it very comforting. My primary emotional/aesthetic response, I would characterize as "nostalgic." It makes me think of being a little kid in the similar way that watching Rankin and Bass and Jim Henson productions does.

Let me be clear; I'm convinced Rankin and Bass and Jim Henson productions are actually art. I've blogged about that already. But let me honest: with this show, I completely realize a large portion of my pleasure in it is connected to nostalgia. And so, I wouldn't go so far as to claim "The Ghost Train" is art (and yet I'm interested to hear that argument). It's quite entertaining. It's very intriguing; however, there's something it does not have the Rankin and Bass and Jim Henson has.

An interesting element of this episode: I love how the ghost is a train. In much of the 19th literature I've read, the image of the train-as-progress is very intense. And, in much of the "Modern" literature I'm familiar with, trains persist in being framed as "avatars" of progress, of the future. In this episode we have the passenger train being figured as a symbol of the past. A minor point, but I find that intriguing.

It makes me wonder if, one day, the idea of blogging, or the use of smartphones, will be figured as a parallel "ghost of the past." Hmm...