A West Cumberland Coalmine by Tony Walker

[@ramblingirl1]

People who need trigger warnings for creepy stories probably shouldn't listen to creepy stories. And I loved what you said about not censoring anything. We can all be adults and read/listen to something without falling apart. Thanks for the awesome stories AND the convos at the end. Love it.

[@billybatchelor2863]

Right-on we aren't powder puffs on Tony's channel.

[@jeanmuser9071]

I am so glad you don’t censor your stories from different times and places. How else can we learn the histories and cultures different from our own.

[@deborahkronick8736]

Mk

[@fejiobbdo]

had to listen to this one twice. my favourite so far!

[@ClassicGhost]

Aww. that's nice. Every time someone likes this it brings my grandfather back a little to me.

[@doodybird5766]

Loved this story... Your Grandfather sounds like a great man, those men back then were made of grit and aren't made like that anymore. Always keep the family history written down to teach the next generations about who they came from.

[@lisap.1826]

I love the conversational tone at the end. Your grandad sounds fantastic.

[@ClassicGhost]

He was.

[@mickeymyers13]

Gosh I agree with you so much. No censorship, no trigger warnings (they're just spoilers). I better not say more but thank you so much, Tony, not just for sharing your tremendous talent with us, but for being normal.

[@The.Original.Mr.X]

Thank you for an excellent reading 👍 And thank you for not going down the route of censorship. Nothing good ever comes of it. As for trigger warnings, no to that too. And I speak as someone who has been triggered on multiple occasions in the past, sometimes badly. Those occasions, while very unpleasant, made me grow. After they passed, I was able to use the experience to examine why it effected me so deeply and learn from it. Sometimes, mental health is like an infected scab, you have to tear off the crust to clean the pus beneath. ❤

[@blixten2928]

THis is absolutely one of the best of your Cumberland stories. One really feels one is down there, in the coalmine... and the silk... fantastic.

[@ClassicGhost]

Yes i didn't make that bit up. That was supposed to be true

[@blixten2928]

@@ClassicGhost Oooohh... now that IS scary... Females in silk in dark,dank tunnels.....

[@spanglestein66]

Stay just the way you are Tony, love this you tube channel and your stories Keep it coming Thank you

[@bethpemberton7980]

Well that was creepy. The last place I'd ever venture- a coal mine.

[@bluegreenglue6565]

Another nice, dark story. Your family history is fascinating in itself. Thanks for sharing.

[@scoutrifle6827]

Enjoyed this one when I read it in 'Cumbrian Ghost Stories' and enjoyed it again with this reading. Classic ghost story!

[@chrispark1221]

As a West Cumbrian I really enjoyed this. Especially Tony's ramblings.

[@ClassicGhost]

Nice to have you here marra

[@chrispark1221]

@@ClassicGhost I'm now hooked on your tales. Anything spooky re. Cockermouth?

[@ClassicGhost]

@@chrispark1221 we have Bella Sheep Head at Broughton

[@Truefam826]

Love your writing Tony, thanks for this one.

[@clareelliott8348]

Another great story and I especially like your chats at the end ☺️

[@wyntersteele1a]

I personally like when you speak before and after the stories. The topics discussed are related to the story or authors. I see nothing annoying with this.

[@ClassicGhost]

Not me. I realise that there will smears be some people unhappy at some things

[@katecridland8333]

I have read ghost stories since I was a kid. Some you narrate are new to me some are old friends but I really enjoy listening to your excellent voice. I love your enlightening and warming 'chats' after the stories. You are just great 🙂

[@ClassicGhost]

Don't make me swell headed now. But I'm glad you like them

[@martiwilliams4592]

ditto: this time around!You are a master, Tony! Thank you!

[@bobbeyderbrain]

Enjoyed this one very much, Tony. 👍

[@rameyzamora1018]

It can be distressing when one realizes an author one admired once was not actually full of admirable ideas - H.P. Lovecraft springs to mind. Thank you for the reminder that we can view these writings as a kind of history of the society of the time. I find your tales smooth & gentle, in their way. Frightening/scary/thought provoking but not violent. It's one of the characteristics of your style I enjoy. Also love the lore & the after words, Tony.

[@ClassicGhost]

Thanks for your lovely thoughts and kindness

[@rameyzamora1018]

@@christosvoskresye I can't disagree with you. But I only realized this after I'd read a lot of books & stories after his. I think HPL's personal life was the real weird tale. Yet he coped with his demons. No pun intended.

[@rattyrachel4316]

Great story, Tony! The closing line took me by surprise, and sent a slight shiver up my spine! Also enjoyed hearing about your father, grandfather, your great grandfather, and so on. Keep up the good work!

[@ClassicGhost]

Aha, as intended.

[@wyntersteele1a]

I really enjoyed this story. Picturing the mines and the smells and the darkness made me feel utterly desperate for the characters to get out of the mines. Heck, never to go back for such an insane purpose. My patience would have been measured by how long my light lasted before even coming close to being extinguished.

[@ryanjohnson3615]

I really love this story. I especially appreciate the thoughtfulness of the beloved entity at the climax. Thanks again for the great tale, I think this one will stay with me for a long time:)

[@hindleygj]

Enjoyed this as well, and for some reason always enjoy your history of the story afterwards.

[@kayfletcher4169]

Love is a drug, as is curiosity, and both have their casualties. Great atmosphere and tension in this tale. Evocative narration as always.

[@ClassicGhost]

Roxy Music fan, eh? Thank you :)

[@choosechoice3165]

Your commentary is just as interesting as the story. I love your writing too!

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you very much

[@DreamingCatStudio]

I liked this one. Given that the husband had lost his mind and believed he’d see his wife against all reason, and the sound was like silk rustling perhaps it was a form of ancient siren?

[@DreamingCatStudio]

@@christosvoskresye Oh, I didn’t know sirens attracted everyone. Good to know. Maybe I meant a succubus! I like the idea of an unknown or unknowable terror. But I have to admit the Balrog is one of my favorite monsters…What made it so scary it was how afraid Gandolf was of it.

[@WWZenaDo]

Keeping in mind that this is all fantasy speculation, it was unlikely to be anything of above-ground legendary origins. No sirens, no oceanic creatures, not even a female relative of the Christianized Norse monster Grendel. I suspect if one wanted to assign some ancient being to this thing's origins, one would do well to look at Inanna's deep-earth sister Ereshkigal, who ruled over the ancient Sumerian underworld.

[@DreamingCatStudio]

@@WWZenaDo cool-thanks for the info!

[@donaldmccleary9015]

Great story, great writing, and fantastic narration. I like how you do not censor your works. I like it when one holds true to the original works. People also must realize these authors lived in another time and used phrases, words, and descriptions differently. I can not tell you the number of times I went back and forth with a person who berates and judges authors of another time. Each and every one of these people is one of the most reprehensible and insufferable people I know.

[@rneustel388]

Superbly read

[@cathydoyle8804]

First time listening to your ghost stories Tony,thank you, Iam a huge fan of ghost stories, and will happily subscribe and listen to your tales. Keep going please.

[@malcolmcraven4906]

Really enjoying your stories and love the end rambles!

[@ClassicGhost]

I have a talent at rambling

[@Christyj62011]

Wonderful and atmospheric. Thank you

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you, Christy!

[@siusaidhchaimbeul5499]

My mother's father quit the Staffordshire coal-fields about as soon as he could - in 1919 aged 19 - immigrated to Canada. He'd little nostalgia for the Old Country, and no wonder.

[@jaceek2030]

Wow! Totally immersed in this one. So much that I felt the darkness closing in as I was telling William and John to, "Run and get the hell out of there gentlemen!". I'm saying that aloud whilst listening with my earbuds; if my hubby is nearby he's grown accustomed to knowing its just his wife enthralled in and conversing with characters in the story she's listening to. Lol

[@ClassicGhost]

It’s great to get such a response to my story. Thank you .

[@anindk2049]

Beautiful story!

[@sirmintyclack]

Thank you @classicghoststories for another great reading! I can't say this enough. Your channel provides me with hours of wholesome entertainment many times better than what is on TV nowadays. Please don't engage in filtering stories. If anyone is triggered by something they are 10,000% capable of turning off the story. Trigger warnings should be a hard "NO". Listeners are capable of using the Internet to research the stories to see if something may trigger them. It isn't your responsibility to try to figure out of a few listeners might be triggered. There is something called personal responsibility that isn't so common nowadays. Honestly, I'm tired of some people/generations blaming other people for everything while ignoring their own PERSONAL responsibility. Also, life is hard sometimes, get a helmet. Creepy stories aren't for everyone. There was once a time when I avoided ghost stories and creepy stories. Now I don't. Sorry not sorry for my rant.

[@ClassicGhost]

I agree

[@mijiyoon5575]

Interesting header pic there...👍👍👍👍👍looking sideways at it I see a bird ~ like face w/a beak

[@ClassicGhost]

It messed up really

[@MartynRavensdale]

The Fire damp, the Choke damp, and the....Damp damp.

[@Linnet09]

Loved the story - it was very effective. As for the debates, I've always thought that the genuine views of other ways of thinking and doing things that you get in old stories are features, not problems. And I don't need trigger warnings. If I listen to or read something that turns out to be more upsetting than I had anticipated, I immediately stop listening or reading. Problem solved.

[@martiwilliams4592]

Love this! Have just read it in your book : CUMBRIAN GHOST STORIES: Weird Tales From An Old Land. Your narration enhances a story which I didn't think could BE enhanced. Highly recommend this book. Thank you for writing it!

[@ClassicGhost]

Wow, thank you! You are always such a support to me

[@martiwilliams4592]

@@ClassicGhost I` m the one who says thanks, for all your hard work. How's the barge holiday? Found any submerged bodies (with accompanied ghost) ? :0)

[@suzannemoodhe927]

Great story Tony 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉!

[@stardust949]

I really enjoyed this...I cared about the characters. Perhaps it's your strong personal well of association that helped really infuse them with life and sympathy. Also enjoyed learning more about what those men endured as miners back then. Never apologize for being a Tolkien fan, lol! I've read LOTR about 7 times or so. The device of the candle was well thought of too...spirits can DRAIN batteries!!! eeeeek!

[@mr.peevyshow1914]

Open flames in coal mines very bad combination.

[@tokatulu]

No censorship of art!

[@boosqueezy2418]

really, really good

[@shamsluman4159]

I enjoyed it so much because it sounds so real.

[@erikahoole9592]

I’m offended by people who eat sheep. I love these stories and Tony’s comments after the story. I love to get his perspective as well as the history or inspirations related to the story. Don’t change a thing, it’s perfect just the way it is. Thank you Tony!

[@teddydog6229]

I’ve given many hours contemplating the many ways to die in the guts of the earth. The ocean crashing down through the ceiling never occurred to me though and that’s got to be the jewel of them all.

[@ClassicGhost]

And it happened more than once.

[@jackdare]

Teddy Dog! Nice to see you here old chap, I guess the algorithm is doing its dark work gathering souls.. unless somebody referred you.. either way you're here :D

[@teddydog6229]

@@jackdare And nice to see you as well and in such an upscale location. It could very well have been the algorithms which I’ve fully surrendered my dark soul to mainly due to their infallibility. In this instance they deposited me at a channel called Classic Ghost Stories which are the holy grail for me. There have been too many stories where people bounce from dimension to dimension or some ancient and eldritch god nobody ever heard of springs from the earth for no particular reason at all beyond the writer just making stuff up as they go along. Or cramming five different genres together into an unholy mess that leaves me confused and slightly dyspeptic. A classic ghost story has rules. Don’t ask me what they are beyond clarity and an absence of irrelevant tangents and plot holes.In this instance the Holy Algorithm deposited me in a car with two women on a stormy night on a narrow country road. Naturally the car dies and the two women find themselves outside a gloomy and decrepit mansion at the end of a barely accessible path through the woods. Only a faint flickering light within gives a hint of habitation. The girls have no option but go to the door and knock. Now THAT is truly a classic ghost story or at least the setup for one. And this was the channel and I haven’t missed a story since. Seeing you here and the rapid increase in subscribers seems to show I wasn’t alone in looking for a well told straightforward ghost story. The talks at the end are always illuminating and the fact Tony seems to just wing them without tripping over his own tongue once is truly a wonder as is the range of his knowledge. He’s like the teacher I always wished I’d get at school. And his musical taste is impeccable as well but that’s a different story. Apologies for rambling but a relatively new channel this good calls for praise so effusive it’s hard to shut off. The short version is the All-wise and Knowing Algorithm dropped me right here which was exactly the channel I had been looking for.

[@shadownet3d]

Well told as always!

[@soundsilence2604]

I thought this story fantastic. I loved its simplicity and everyman quality. Before hearing the afterword, I knew a personal connection to coal mining influenced it. Not from the details but rather the empathy in both the text and narration.

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you. That means a lot. I was very close to my grandfather

[@tonymachowski6971]

Good stuff Tony.

[@ClassicGhost]

Ta, mate

[@danibissonnette1601]

I did buy your book. I like your stories, please keep writing them :)

[@ClassicGhost]

I am very grateful for that. I am trying to write another now.

[@morticialechatnoir541]

Good story! Re: trigger warnings. The only warning I need is if there are spiders in the story.

[@ClassicGhost]

Noted

[@violetfemme411]

Ah yes...spiders. I'm with you there Morticia

[@SC-jh9qp]

As someone who lost a life partner with no closure I can fully empathise with John's irrational belief and desperate longing for just one more meeting. ❤️

[@GeraniumCat]

Where I lived in the 70s you could hear them blasting in the pits, way out under the sea. A strange sensation. I should think that must have been one of the last West Cumberland pits.

[@ClassicGhost]

Where was that? I obviously know that coast pretty well.

[@bluegreenglue6565]

It occurs to me that someone here may be able to help me with a question I've had for decades: I read a story in high school in which a blind man who - I think - works at a news stand - hears a man run by, claiming to be chased by something invisible. And in the end he hears the footsteps of the thing chasing after the man. I would love to hear/read it again.

[@StoryVoracious]

More people getting eaten! I say! Go to it! I hate the view that humans are somehow different from other species. I know a woman who cannot be satisfied, by her life, her husbands, her trinkets, or alcohol! A miserable fool, who tries to make herself feel better by "caring", for kittens, puppies and little baby lambikins... and then orders lamb shanks for dinner! Such hypocrisy needs comeuppance, if only in a literary sense. I hope that your story is a great success Tony.

[@ClassicGhost]

I do ponder why my victims all get eaten

[@angeloofpalermo2612]

Pasties, jam and a story that sings like a canary midst the Pitts Darkness. I've never though of the Balrog as mother nature. Maybe the Norse germanic people had stories about greedy dwarfs venturing too far. I only know about brok and sindri making the mighty Hammer 🔨

[@ClassicGhost]

Well, Morgoth has got to be Tolkien's shadow creation. Tolkien hated heavy industry so maybe??

[@angeloofpalermo2612]

@@ClassicGhost germanic paganism is quite nature related. The Numemoreons were like Atlanteans an advanced civilization- probably destroying the environment at the same time. Rohan, the Anglo Saxon inspired men are wild and noble prizing their horses and independence. The Numemoreons prized power and it lead to their downfall.

[@Thomas-wn7cl]

Excellent

[@ClassicGhost]

Thank you! 👏

[@matthewharper7333]

ah, very well done.

[@MMockable]

Love your stories and your readings of your stories and other authors' stories. And I am not offended by sheep eating people. Anyway, being a vegetarian, maybe it's time that sheep had their payback ... as long as it's not me they are munching down on. 🙂

[@rebeccawoolfolk5377]

Please don't ruin the stories with trigger warnings. Or if you do, give a trigger warning for the trigger warnings. Give those of us who don't want to be told the ending in advance a time stamp where the story starts. And I want my version to include the "you tried to get into the locked drawer" intro thingy. Or maybe direct those who need trigger warnings to pause the video and read the warning in the doobly doo.

[@jackdare]

Ah yes.. in the doobly doo. Lol

[@robynmarler1951]

Coalminers are the royalty of the working class

[@jeremypearson6852]

Coal mining must have been an awful job, but if you speak to a lot of miners they say it was great. I cannot imagine working underground for hours at a time. I think mining ran in a lot of families because there was no other work available that paid as well.

[@kathyhopper6071]

I love it when you digress!

[@ClassicGhost]

That’s a good job because I do a lot

[@janetcw9808]

This was great, White Worm down there? 🤔

[@ClassicGhost]

Who knows?

[@MartynRavensdale]

I thought "bats". But then again, i often do.

[@ClassicGhost]

but what would they eat down there?

[@MartynRavensdale]

@@ClassicGhost Majorly miners?

[@gwendolyn2001]

Actually, considering the number of brothels in Victorian England and that some men had no compunction about pedophilia and other culturally forbidden sex, men who could afford to pay for such services would not have been shocked or averse to porn films. Poor men would not have had access. Protected upper class women would have been the shocked ones and the aforementioned upper class men would have professed shock and disapproval.

[@ClassicGhost]

I’m reflection you are probably right

[@gwendolyn2001]

@@ClassicGhost The Victorian era is one of my favorites to study--the hypocrisy and double standards ranging from sex to the treatment of lower children vs. upper class children is fascinating. I teach a grad course in Victorian lit.

[@margaretisabellezerner4556]

Further to the death of the dog. Surely it makes the story all the more poignant and his grief at the dogs death adds greater depth to his character and ultimately to our deeper connection with the tale. As evidenced I should think by the fact that we are all still obsessing about it. It’s okay. It’s a story. The story has been the victim of its own success. If you look at the travesty done to Diana Gabaldons excellent saga by resurrecting a dead character because he was popular. It has Ruined the whole Outlander series. Like Diana said - The dead should stay dead. ❤️🐨

[@ClassicGhost]

That dog haunts me

[@staceymorton-ofee116]

My family were all miners an entire family of men survived the war only to be killed in william pit whitehaven , my grandad had memories as a child witnessing the disaster of all the women running to the gates among other more gory details.

[@ClassicGhost]

Yes there is a monument to it. I remember wandering round Moresby churchyard and there was grave after grave of the victims

[@sparklemotion8377]

You can digress about the miners life all you want. It's even why I looked out for this story knowing it's about your ancestors. So go head ramble on, I'm listening Ps I would never see the death of a poor miner as punishment. They're not the once who are profiting from pillaging of the earth.

[@eddiemunster2196]

What else is down there ?

[@ClassicGhost]

Who knows?

[@kathleenhoffmanz4448]

How much coffee can you possibly drink!? Do you ever drink tea? Milk ? I hope you buy food sometimes-

[@ClassicGhost]

Well. I do drink tea. Probably more than coffee. I have about 2 cups of coffee a day

[@juneroberts5305]

I didn't find this scary or creepy at all - I was too busy running things through my head that can produce a rustling 'like silk'. Went from Night Witches to linen paper... - and then it struck me: the rustling is produced by the desiccated tail of a dead mermaid. She's out to get the miners that killed her by accident when trying to keep the water out of the tunnels. 😱 Proper creeped out now... Glad you decided to read stories warts and all. Ghost and horror stories should make you uncomfortable, trigger you, and creep you out. That's the point of them, really. 🤔 Edited to add: Apologies for the long post!!

[@ClassicGhost]

Wow. I never thought of a mermaid, especially a desiccated one

[@colemarie9262]

Wonderful, the history and the story. You must come from a line of very tough men! And as a note, the church takes the view that there are no ghosts, and things that come across as loved ones are quite simply NOT. Kind of a creepy thought in itself huh? And the warnings on stories I do appreciate- when the stories are newer, and to be blunt, badly written, only using gratuitous nastiness to cover for a total lack of plot or pacing. A lot of the people writing them aren't professionals and don't know how to express something in a creepy way, so it ends up just being disgusting and overdone. That's my take in it at least....and none of the terrible things I've come across in a *well written* story have ever irritated me the way the newer gore-for-plot creepypastas have. It feels like story writing and (most) creepypastas are in two separate categories, like junk food and fine dining. Both might be fattening, but only one needs the health warning lol

[@ClassicGhost]

I do come from a line of tough men. Me not so much

[@colemarie9262]

@@ClassicGhost Ha! Hey, we've all softened a bit with the times lol

[@citycrusher9308]

Misogyny just means non reverence of the opposite sex. The term is insulting to men.

[@john1653]

The title is misnamed...it should be "Cumbrian."

[@ClassicGhost]

I’m old school .Canny aul Cummerlan caps em aw

[@MartynRavensdale]

The Fire damp, the Choke damp, and the....Damp damp.

[@ClassicGhost]

That's the one that gets me.