The Haunting of Ulfstead Castle - ThomasNATION Fanstory
October 31, 2026
"No, no, that has to go over there!" Sir Robert pointed. "Next to the pumpkin carving station! And the pumpkin carving station is too close to the catering tables!"
Stephen and Glynn watched him work, clearly amused. "Oh, my." chuckled Stephen. "He's stressed again."
"If only all of Sodor could take holidays as seriously as he does." laughed Glynn.
"Why's he getting so worked up anyway? It's only Halloween, isn't it? Does anyone even care that much?"
"I can think of two engines."
Donald and Douglas steamed into the estate. Their loads were filled with decorations, pumpkins and candy.
"Don't you just love the smell a' pumpkins?" Donald took in the autumn air.
"It's borderline intoxicating." Douglas smiled.
"There you two are!" beamed Sir Robert. "Just put those anywhere."
Donald and Douglas dropped off their supplies in a siding as they had a look at the decorations.
"Look at this, Donnie!" gasped Douglas. "All those colors!"
"I know! I can't wait!" squeed Donald.
But then, the two heard a strange noise. A strange, ghoulish noise. A strange, ghoulish noise coming from the castle walls.
"...oooooohhhh..." wailed the walls.
"Did you hear that?"
"I did."
"...brilliant!" grinned Donald and Douglas.
Sir Robert approached them, looking over his checklist. "What's brilliant?"
"Those sound effects you put in!" Donald gushed. "How'd you do that?"
"I didn't put in any sound effects." thought Sir Robert.
"SIR!" Stephen clamored. "My coach is gone! I left it on a siding, but now I can't find it anywhere!"
"Calm down, Stephen," Sir Robert comforted the old engine. "These things happen. It's not like we need to shut down the estate."
"We're shutting down the estate." said an old constable. After the coach disappeared, things only got worse where several rolling stock went missing. Trucks, flatbeds, even Duck's slip coaches had disappeared. The police were taking no chances.
"The whole estate?!" cried Sir Robert. "Do you have a bat in your belfry?!"
"I'm sorry, sir," said the constable, "but with all the disappearances, we can't take any chances."
The engines watched the earl bicker with the police.
"I hope there's nothing sketchy in there." whimpered Rebecca.
"Sketchy? Like what?" asked Oliver.
"You know. Thieves. Sabateurs. Criminals." thought Rebecca.
"Maybe even a ghost." thought Millie.
"Stuff and nonsense!" laughed James. "There's no such thing as-"
"Ghosts?!" gasped Donald and Douglas. The two were overjoyed.
"Dougie, you know what this means, don't ye?" asked Donald.
"Ulfstead Castle's haunted?"
"Aye! We can go in and bust the ghost! We could be the heroes of Halloween!"
"Donnie, I love this idea, but we don't know the first thing about spottin' ghosts."
"Which is why we need some gear. And I know where to get some." Donald and Douglas hurried away.
"Hmm..." thought Ruth after Donald and Douglas pitched their idea. "I dunno. There's no scientific evidence of ghosts actually existing."
"But you're the best inventor on Sodor!" pleaded Douglas.
"Technically, she's the only inventor on Sodor." added Donald.
"Exactly! She can help us nae bother!" chimed Douglas.
Ruth pondered, before noticing Donald and Douglas' lamps. "I might have an idea."
With a mighty heave, Ruth carefully removed their lamps from their headboard. "Oi! What are you doin'?!"
"I'm gonna upgrade your lamps." Ruth explained. "From what I've seen in movies and TV, ghosts are extremely sensitive to ultraviolet light."
"What's ultraviolet light?" asked Cleo.
"Ultraviolet light is a special beam that emits an invisible electromagnetic radiation. Ghost hunters use them to track ectoplasm and traces that can't be seen by the naked eye."
"How does any of that catch us a ghost?" asked Douglas.
"We don't need to catch it!" laughed Donald. "We just need to scare it out of the castle!"
"Makes sense." Douglas said. "Still cannae believe we're doin' this!"
"I know! Imagine the praise we're gonna get!"
Ruth worked tirelessly upgrading their lamps. It was a heavy job, but by that night, they were ready.
"Do they work?" asked Donald.
"Try it." said Ruth.
Donald and Douglas switched on their lamps. They now shone a powerful purple glow.
"Whoa!" gasped Douglas. "It's purple!"
Donald noticed little blotches on Ruth's table, illuminated by the light. "What's that?"
"That's a stain that only the UV can pick up. It's relish from my lunch two days ago."
"Donnie. This stuff's amazing.
"Dougie...I think we're ready."
Donald and Douglas slipped past the castle gates, their new fancy lamps ready to go.
"Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, Douglas." whispered Donald.
"Why are you whispering?" asked Douglas.
"So we don't wake up the other engines. Plus, it looks more intense."
"Aye, no argument there."
The two puffed around the castle grounds. Their lights picked up a strange trail along the walls.
"Dougie! You seein' what I'm seein'?" asked Donald.
"Flatten my funnel...that's ectoplasm!" gasped Douglas. "There really is a ghost!"
"Aw, that's well brill!" Donald gushed.
Soon, they reached a junction. Both lines led down two different routes, and so did the ectoplasm.
"What way do we go?" asked Douglas.
"We'll need to split up." Donald suggested. "You take the straightaway, I'll take the right."
"Wait, split up?" gasped Douglas. "We cannae split up! Have ye never seen a horror movie?"
"Aw, those are all just stories." smirked Donald. "We're bigger than any wee ghost!"
Donald headed down one path as Douglas took the other. As Douglas searched the sidings...
CRACK! The tracks suddenly collapsed beneath him. "Whoa! DONNIE!!"
"Dougie?!" whimpered Donald. But Douglas slid down the caved in track before Donald could reach him. "DOUGLAS!"
"DONALD!" cried Douglas from below. "There's tracks down here!"
"Aw, thank goodness! Where are ye?!"
"I found the trucks! And the flatbeds! And the coaches!"
Turns out, Ulfstead Castle once had a secret entrance to the mines below the estate. Why it was there, we haven't the foggiest, but it explained everything. Rocky, Judy and Jerome tended to the broken tracks and Douglas.
"Aw! My slippies!" Duck cried happily as he was reunited with his coaches.
"Well, that explains that groaning sound." chuckled Sir Robert. "Well done, you two."
"Please, it was nothing." chuckled Donald.
"No, you really gave our ghosts the old one-two!" Sir Robert lauded the engines. "You truly are the heroes of Halloween!"
As Sir Robert waled off, Donald turned to Douglas. "And you said we couldn't do it."
"Aye, well, I know when to admit I'm wrong."
"..now?"
"Aw, wheesht!" laughed Douglas. The two brothers spent the rest of the night laughing away. The heroes of Halloween had lived to fight another day.
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