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"THE GHOST! IT'S GOT ME!!"
― Emily

Halloween is the twenty-first episode of the eighth series.

Plot

The engines excitedly hurrying to finish their work, as it is Halloween. At Tidmouth Sheds that evening, the Fat Controller sends Thomas and Emily to pick up a delivery of iron from the Smelter's Yard. Worried for his friends, Percy tells them to watch out for ghosts, but Thomas and Emily assure him that ghosts do not exist before setting off.

On their way, Thomas and Emily laugh at the idea of being scared of Halloween or the Smelter's Yard. However, night has fallen by the time they arrive, and they both become spooked by the piles of scrap. Unbeknownst to them, 'Arry and Bert are hiding behind the Breakdown Train and plan to spook them even more. Moaning and bumping a flatbed, the two diesels successfully frighten Thomas and Emily, who are convinced that the sounds are from a ghost and race to the Smelting Shed. As they enter, the falling sparks, chains, and shadows make everything seem even spookier. Thomas tries to stay as brave as he can, but it is no use. As Emily turns around on a turntable to shunt some trucks, a big wave of sparks causes a white tarpaulin to fall onto her. Convinced that she has been caught by a ghost, Emily races away, as does Thomas, who thinks that she is a ghost. As the two engines race out of the Smelting Shed, Thomas cries out that a ghost is chasing him. Hearing this, ‘Arry and Bert also become convinced that Emily is a ghost and race away ahead of Thomas.

Halloween68

"Help! The ghost has got me!"

The four engines frantically race through the dark countryside and Henry's Tunnel at high speed, heading towards Tidmouth Sheds. As they approach, the other engines are asleep when a blast from Thomas' whistle wakes them up. Upon seeing Thomas, 'Arry and Bert approaching and that they are about to crash into some trucks, Percy calls out to them to stop. The three engines apply their brakes and come to a halt just in time. As Thomas informs Percy of what is happening, Emily races under a signal gantry, causing the tarpaulin to fly off of her, much to Percy's amusement. Seeing that Emily is what they thought was a ghost, she, Thomas, 'Arry and Bert no longer feel scared, but they do feel foolish. When the Fat Controller arrives in his pajamas to see what is going on, Thomas and Emily tell him about the spooky noises that they heard. The Fat Controller asks 'Arry and Bert if they know anything about this, to which Bert confesses that it was his and 'Arry's doing. As punishment for their behaviour, the Fat Controller sends them back to the Smelter's Yard to do Thomas and Emily's work.

Nowadays, whenever Thomas and Emily return to the Smelter's Yard, they are confident that there is nothing to be scared of and that ghosts do not exist.

Characters

Locations

Trivia

  • Going by production order, this is the twenty-sixth episode of the eighth series and the series finale of the eighth series.
  • A deleted scene from the seventh series episode Fergus Breaks the Rules is used.
  • For unknown reasons, the UK and US dubs have different endings. The UK and international dubs feature a ghost coming out of a pile of scrap, while the US dub just has an extra scene with Thomas and Emily. This was possibly done not to scare, or more importantly, confuse children. However, a few of the US HiT Favorites DVDs feature the UK ending.
  • On Thomas' Sodor Celebration! and the HiT Favorites DVDs, the timing of the dub is different in some areas, such as Thomas screaming, "The ghost is after me!" for example.
  • The Halloween Engine is recycled from Gordon's scrap model with Murdoch's chassis and one of the old tenders from the third series episode, Tender Engines.
  • Scrap models of Toad, City of Truro and one of the Scottish twins are seen.
  • The scrap hanging from the ceiling is that of hook and loop couplers and bogies for model trains.
  • A brown building from TUGS appeared at the Smelters.
  • On the tender in front of the smelting shed, the letters 'NE' are visible.
  • This marks the first of four appearances of Edward's wincing face, with the others being the next episode, the special Calling All Engines! and the eleventh series episode Henry's Lucky Day. However, this face was originally made for the adaptation of Edward's Exploit from The Railway Series book Main Line Engines for the second series, since it bears a resemblance to the expression that Edward made in the third illustration.
  • This is the second time that Thomas and some of his friends went to the Smelter's Yard on Halloween night. The first was in the sixth series episode, Scaredy Engines.
  • This was the only other episode written by Dave Ingham besides Thomas and the Tuba, also from the eighth series.
  • This is the last episode for a few things:
    • The last episode to air on CiTV on 19 July 2006 due to the expiration of the network's license to broadcast the series on terrestrial television, however repeats from this series and the sixth and seventh series alongside the first series would air on the CiTV Channel between 2006 and 2007, ending the classic series altogether.
    • The last time that stock footage from an episode either directed by David Mitton, or produced by Gullane Entertainment is used in an episode. Although the final time this occurs at all is in the special Calling All Engines!
    • 'Arry and Bert's only episode to have leading roles, as well as the final episode to have Keiji Hirai as part of the Japanese voice cast.
    • The final episode to have a one-word title until the twenty-third series episode Batucada.
  • In the US dub, Michael Angelis' voice is used when 'Arry and Bert are making the groaning noises.
  • In the French dub, Tidmouth Sheds are referred to as 'La Remise au Dodo', 'The Shed to Sleep' in English.

Goofs

  • The narrator says that the Fat Controller came to Tidmouth Sheds, but Thomas, Percy and Emily are at the works shed adjacent to Tidmouth.
  • The narrator says that Thomas was right behind 'Arry and Bert, but because they were reversing, Thomas was actually in front of them.
  • It is stated that the engines were woken up by Thomas blowing his whistle, but it can be seen when viewed in widescreen that Henry is still asleep.
  • In the second close-up of Thomas telling the Fat Controller about the ghostly sounds that he and Emily heard, he slightly lurches to one side.
  • Thomas' face is loose at Tidmouth Sheds.
  • Thomas brakes in a close-up of his wheels, but in the next shot, his wheels are still moving as he comes to a halt. The narrator also says that 'Arry and Bert applied their brakes, but their wheels are also still moving when they come to a halt.
  • During the close-ups of Bert at Tidmouth Sheds, a purple mark can be seen on the bottom right corner of his front. This is due to his model having been repainted from Splatter after production of Thomas and the Magic Railroad was completed.
  • In the German dub, when Thomas and Emily run away from the flatbeds, Emily is referred to as Percy.*
  • In the French dub, the Ironworks is referred to as the 'Dépôt Quelle Horreur', 'the depot What a Horror' in English, disclosing to the public how spooky the place is, but there is an error as the Ironworks is not a depot but a Scrapyard.

Merchandise

Home Media Releases

UK

DVD Boxsets

AUS

  • Peep! Peep! Hurray! Three Cheers for Thomas (Direct-to-Home Video)
  • The Complete Series 8
  • Spooky Collection

DVD Boxsets

US

CAN

  • Thomas' Sodor Celebration! (original ending)
  • Awesome Adventures Vol 3: Thrills and Chills (ghost ending)

DVD Packs

MYS

ZA

DVD Boxsets

GER

SWE/DK

NOR

FIN

ROM

DVD Packs

CZ

POL

THA

HK

TWN

NL

SPN

DVD Boxsets

JPN

KOR

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Brazilian Portuguese Halloween
Chinese Mandarin 万圣节
Croatian Noć Vještica
Czech Halloween
Danish Halloween
Dutch Halloween
Finnish Kummitusten Ilta
French L’Halloween
Halloween
German Halloween
Greek Απόκριες
Hungarian Halloween
Italian La notte di Halloween
Japanese ハロウィン
Korean 유령 기관차
Latin American Spanish Noche de Brujas
Norwegian Halloween
Polish Halloween
Romanian Halloween
Russian Хеллоуин
Scottish Gaelic Oidhche Shamhna
Serbian Noc Vestica
Spanish Halloween
Swedish Halloween

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