The goods shed at Hamlet Railway Station was built in 1894

And from its early days was quite busy as it handled bags of the new coal

Which came from the K Phillips company in John Johnson

It was a slow burning fuel which was very popular

Then it was found to contain dangerous chemicals and was quickly withdrawn

This was when the goods shed was earmarked for demolition

As it had finished its useful life and was really no more than a shell

I started working at Hamlet in the summer of 1972 as a porter

And witnessed the early stages of the long awaited demolition of the goods shed

Which came to a sudden halt when a mummified body was found in a drain cellar

It was soon determined that the unlucky man had died more than fifty years previously and was thought to be a tramp as he was shabbily dressed

The remains of the mystery man were laid to rest in St Gregory’s with little ceremony

After that the fuss died down and the whole incident faded slowly from memory

By 1975 I had become the Station Master at Hamlet

As I had grown attached to this little country station

I worked long hours due to the lack of available staff

Which did not really bother me as I liked my job

The November of that year was unusually cold

With heavy frosts quite common in the valley area

And because of this I made it my job to grit the car park

Which had been built on the site of the Victorian goods shed

Because of a number of running problems this was often my final job before I closed the station for the night

The ninth of that month was no different

It was as I reached the car park that I noticed that the gate light was defective

Which was a slight problem as it was on the far side

So I decided to return to the station to fetch a new bulb

But before I went I saw something rather unusual

As there appeared to be a figure by the gate just staring down the line

But I took little notice as I could hear the Tallac Express in the distance

As the express passed by its illuminated carriages lit up the car park for a few moments

The figure could no longer be seen so I gave it little thought

A few minutes later with the bulb in my greatcoat pocket

I walked down the platform towards the car park

When I saw the figure again but it was much closer

Close enough to see that it lacked form as it seemed to be constructed of dust

A spinning screaming dust but what made it far more terrifying was that I could

See its red eyes staring at me when not obscured by the black spinning dust

I do not mind admitting that I ran back to my office and locked the door

I dimmed the lights and hid behind a cupboard from where I could

See the creature floating past the platform facing windows

It seemed to be looking in and searching for me

This carried on for about twenty minutes and then it vanished

I was so scared that I stayed the night in the office hardly moving

At first light I met the Holborn train as if nothing had happened

When it had departed I made my way to the car park to see if I could

Find anything to explain what had scared me so much the previous night

But I found nothing and noted that the frost was totally untouched

I found no corruption of the area at all everything was quite quite white

But what I did find chilling was that the gate light was again glowing

In the dullness of that frigid November morning

Although I seriously considered quitting I thought ill of it

And up to my suicide in 2000 I ran the station on my own

I never met the creature again and even now in the afterlife

There are no rational explanations to what I witnessed

On that cold November night at Hamlet Railway Station