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twistedtummies2 · 1 month ago

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Top 5 "Spooky Episodes" from Classic Thomas & Friends

While I don’t talk about it especially often here, if you know me well or have been hanging around my page a while, you’ll know that I have a soft spot for “Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends” (and the book series that inspired the show, “The Railway Series”). This year marks a very special one for multiple reasons related to the series: first, because later this year a fan film is coming out based on the show, in which I get to play a major character. It is also the tenth anniversary of the first film of the series this project is to be a part of. (Shameless advertising for the win!) Second, because next year is going to mark the 80th anniversary for the whole franchise. Third and finally…because this specific date, October 9, 2024, is the 40th anniversary of “Thomas & Friends” on TV.

With so many anniversaries and special occasions tied to this series and this date, I felt it was important to acknowledge my childhood favorite once again. And, since we’re still in the spooky month of October, I decided to make one of my October countdowns a tribute to the spooky side of Thomas. It seems fitting because, honestly, the “Spooky Episodes” of the series seem to have a following uniquely their own: while there are many fans of the series out there, it seems like a lot of the more popular fanworks out there tend to gravitate towards the dark, the eerie, the haunting, and the disturbing. A lot of this seems to be influenced by the impact of the “Spooky Episodes” the show had: numerous creepypastas, fan films, and so on seem to take inspiration from there more than anywhere else. Thomas always had a dark edge to its seemingly happy-go-lucky demeanor, especially in its early days, but the more extremely dark stuff often seems most heavily impacted from the stories of ghosts, monsters, and other creepy shenanigans scattered throughout the series, most especially during its Halloweentime airings.

In honor of this, here’s a quick little list I’ve had on my mind for a while now: a tribute to the original “Spooky Episodes” of Thomas that I loved as a kid. Now, I’m specifically going to be talking about episodes from the “Classic” era of the show, meaning Season 7 backwards. The reasons for this choice are because they are the ones I grew up with, the ones I remember most fondly, and the ones that seem the most influential on the fandom. So, episodes like “Halloween” (from Season 8) or “The Phantom Express” (from Season 17) will not be included. (I also won’t be including any episodes from the sister shows “Jack and the Pack” or “TUGS.”) I will be ranking based on several criteria: how outright creepy the episode is, how much of an impact it seems to have had on fans beyond myself, and - most importantly - my own personal biases and nostalgia. With that said, for all…two of you who decide to read this, these are My Top 5 Favorite “Spooky Episodes” from Thomas & Friends!

5. Scaredy Engines.

We’re starting off with the least scary of these episodes, but still a very memorable one. Appearing in Season 6, “Scaredy Engines” isn’t actually all that creepy, in my opinion…but it IS, to its credit, VERY funny, even as a grown-up. The story begins with Thomas, Percy and Duck hearing a story of a ghost engine that haunts the lonely scrapyards, searching for his lost whistle, one Halloween Night. By sheer happenstance, Sir Topham Hatt - the Fat Controller - sends the three out on a job at the scrapyards that same night. All through the night, Thomas teases Percy for being a “scaredy engine,” getting all nervous about the story…so Duck decides to pay him back, and the result is honestly kind of hilarious. This is weirdly one of those episodes I appreciate more now than I did when I was younger; when I was a kid, I felt it was a significant downgrade compared to many of the earlier spooky stories (especially those in the previous season…we’ll get to that later). Nowadays, however, I really appreciate the humor of it, and I also think it’s a strong character episode, showing the best qualities of all three of its main figures. It was, in fact, one of the last major roles Duck had in the show, and it’s a favorite for me in terms of Thomas & Percy’s long-running friendship. It’s not one of the creepiest, but it’s certainly one of the most fun.

4. Ghost Train (a.k.a. Percy’s Ghostly Trick).

Airing in Season 2, this is the only episode on this list that is a direct adaptation of a tale from “The Railway Series.” This was the first properly “spooky” story in Thomas history - both for the show and for the original books - and it sort of set the standard for how later episodes and stories in the same vein would be managed. The story begins with Percy telling Thomas & Toby about a ghost story his driver related to him. Thomas scoffs at the story as stuff and nonsense and mocks Percy, who is further disappointed when his driver reveals the story was a made-up tale inspired by a TV show. Later that night, Percy runs into a broken cartload of lime left on his track, and is covered in white powder from smokebox to bunker. With Toby’s help, he decides to trick Thomas into thinking he’s a real ghost, to pay him out for teasing. In some ways, this is a lot like the later “Scaredy Engines,” but I think “Ghost Train” wins because it just has a darker edge to it. It’s such an atmospheric episode. Taking place almost entirely during night and evening, with the usually charming Sodor now taking on an eerie, decrepit appearance. Fog is everywhere, the autumn trees look ghostly and haggard, and the soundtrack leans heavily into the dark and decadent ambience on display. While the story itself is fairly innocent, it’s this dreary and unsettling atmosphere that sells things: it doesn’t hold back on its spookiness, despite its inherent silliness, and I think that’s why it’s had such an impact for so long. It’s one of the most popular examples of “Spooky Thomas” to this day, among fans and general audiences alike, and more than deserving of placement here.

3. Haunted Henry.

All of the top three episodes on this list come from the same era of the show: Season 5. Produced as a sort of experiment to test effects, tonal qualities, camera dynamics, and other elements in preparation for the series’ first (and, to date, only) theatrical feature film, “Thomas and the Magic Railroad,” Season 5 deliberately tried to be more varied and more cinematic in its style and standards. As a result, there are more episodes that can be considered “spooky,” or at least fairly “dark,” in this single season than any other in the franchise’s history, and virtually all of them are great. Our first example is “Haunted Henry,” which begins with Edward warning Henry about a ghost that haunts the line, whenever a certain owl hoots and the mist rolls in. Henry dismisses Edward’s warning…until later that same night, while hauling an important goods train, Henry and his crew begin to come across apparent signals of ghostly activity, including flickering lights, mysterious warning signs, and more. MILD SPOILER ALERT: it is eventually revealed that all this evidence of haunting has a more or less logical explanation. However, what makes “Haunted Henry” so great is the building of tension and mystery: we aren’t told right from the start that this definitively isn’t a ghost, unlike in many later (and even earlier) episodes, so for much of the story, we’re just as creeped-out and unsteady as Henry and his Driver and Fireman are. It’s almost like a Thomas version of Scooby-Doo (keyword being “almost”), as we have to try and piece things together to figure out just what is really going on. Parts of this episode were genuinely frightening to me as a kid, and even as an adult, you have to admire its atmosphere - arguably heavier than any other episode of this type - and the way it keeps the viewer in suspense. A highlight for Season 5 and the spooky side of Thomas in general, “Haunted Henry” is pretty much a shoe-in for the top three.

2. Rusty and the Boulder.

This is actually my favorite episode from Season 5, so you’d think it would take the top spot here. However, I rank it only at second place because it isn’t “spooky” all the way through. Unlike all the other episodes on this list, the majority of the story takes place during the day, and it’s more of a thrill ride than a tale of ghosts and goblins. So, why is it on the list at all? Well…let’s go into the story: the plot begins with the engines of Sodor working on trying to open up a new quarry in the mountains. The main engine in charge appears to be the little diesel, Rusty. High upon a cliff overlooking the quarry is a huge, round boulder. One day, the boulder rolls down off the mountains, and runs amok across the line, threatening multiple engines and leaving rampant destruction everywhere it thunders. Eventually, the boulder comes to a halt after ramming into a shed filled with explosive mining supplies, and in the wake, the decision is made to shut down the project. The boulder is then moved to a smaller, safer location, to prevent it from ever causing trouble again. What makes this episode so disturbing and unique, and why I place it on the spooky ranks, is because it’s HEAVILY implied that the Boulder is somehow alive, which is a first for the series: in virtually every other episode that has elements of the supernatural involved, the paranormal is explained away. It’s always the result of a misunderstanding, or of real people/engines just playing pranks on other characters, or even a bit of both. This is, to my knowledge, the only time it’s pretty strongly indicated there is something unnatural going on, and the imagery that accompanies this can be quite unsettling. On top of that, while we know something otherworldly is going on, we don’t really know WHAT: is the Boulder possessed by a ghost? Is it some kind of spirit guarding the mountains? Could it even be extraterrestrial in nature? We have no idea, and that - plus the music and visuals, and the menace this massive, tumbling rock provides - I think makes it worthy of a place on this countdown. It may not be traditionally spooky in the way the others on the list are, but it’s certainly unnerving in its own way.

1. Duncan Gets Spooked.

This is my second favorite episode of Season 5, and as far as spooky Thomas episodes of the classic era (and, really, ANY era) go…this one takes the cake. The story begins when a little engine named Peter Sam accidentally loses a train of Troublesome Trucks, who break away from him and derail off an old iron bridge, plunging into the swamps below. When another engine, Duncan, makes fun of Peter Sam, and suggests the ghosts of the trucks may come back to haunt him, Rusty decides to try and prove a point to Duncan by telling him a ghost story, about a little engine that derailed on the same bridge years ago. According to Rusty, the engine’s ghost still haunts the bridge, forever doomed to run the same loop of track…and never reach home. When Duncan remains unfazed, his crew and Peter Sam’s decide to collaborate on a scheme to scare him in revenge. This episode actually reminds me a little bit of one of my favorite creepy stories of all time, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Just like with that story, you don’t even realize this one is a horror story at the start, and it uses its time wisely to build up to the scary moments. Also, like that one, what really makes this story great is the ambiguity of it: the ghost story Rusty tells remains one of the most memorable in the show because, unlike with other ghost trains we see in the series, we actually see the story play out. We see the engine in the legend die, effectively, right in front of us, and we see the spirit wandering around in the same sequence. We don’t know where Rusty got this story, either: if it’s one he made up, or one he heard from another source. We don’t even know if it’s a legend based in truth or not. Because of this, there’s this seed of doubt planted in the audience’s mind about the veracity of the story. On top of that, while we know Duncan and Peter Sam’s crews are plotting some trickery against Duncan, we don’t know all the details about how their plan works. As a result, when the haunting events happen, it’s hard to tell how much of what happens is the result of their scheme and the power of suggestion, how much of it is just Duncan’s mind playing tricks on him…and how much, if any of it, is real. That sense of the unknown, combined with the visuals and the music - arguably the most striking of any spooky story in the series - makes this one of the darkest and most memorably eerie in the franchise. “Rusty and the Boulder” may be my favorite of the season…but I see no reason not to name “Duncan Gets Spooked” as My Favorite Spooky Episode from Classic Thomas.

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Stepney Gets Lost.

I decided not to include this Season 5 episode because, while it IS a very dark one in its own way, it isn’t typically spooky in the same way as others. There’s nothing supernatural indicated in this tale at all. Still, it’s a standout entry in its own right, and if any others want to include it, be my guest(s).

Bad Day at Castle Loch.

The resident “spooky episode” of Season 7. This one focuses on the Scottish Twin Engines, Donald & Douglas, and is inspired by the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. However, the spooky moments in this one are fairly quick and don’t come till near the end, so I didn’t think it deserved placement in the Top 5.

Thomas, Percy, and the Dragon.

The resident “spooky episode” of Season 3. Even as a kid, I never really found this one that scary, and much like “Scaredy Engines,” I think it goes more for comedy than outright horror. Still, it’s definitely a memorable story, and even got some fun merchandise back in the day!

#list #countdown #top 5 #halloween #october 2024 #best #favorites #spooky episodes #ghost stories #thomas & friends #the railway series #thomas the tank engine #ttte #tv #animation

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