A MOST weird experience I once had made me less cynical about
ghosts. I travelled regularly by the 8:30 a.m. train to the town
where I worked, and the train was usually crowded with business
people. I soon began to notice that one compartment was always empty,
but for no apparent reason. One morning, arriving at the last minute,
I climbed into the deserted carriage as the whistle sounded. I
settled down to a book and gave no thought to my solitude. The train
had been travelling some minutes when I was disturbed by a slight
noise which sounded like subdued sobbing. It was not a corridor
train, so I could only explore beneath the seats, but found nothing
there. I eventually put it down to the noise of the engine, but, as
the train gathered speed, the noise became distinct from any other
sound and seemed to get louder and more plaintive. The thought of the
coming tunnel made my heart beat quickly. The sobbing stopped before
we reached the tunnel, however, but, as the overpowering darkness
engulfed the carriage, I had a ghastly sensation of being choked.
This lasted for at least two minutes. I tried to cry out, but,
perhaps from sheer fright, no sound came from my throat. As we
steamed out of the tunnel, the sobbing re-started, but, after a
while, panted itself into silence, which seemed to my now hysterical
nerves more terrible than the wailing noise itself. I practically
tottered out of that train on reaching my destination, and was not
surprised to learn afterwards that there had been a suicide in that
compartment which accounted for the passengers avoiding it.