The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) has confirmed the return of its Mad Alice Ghost Train, offering passengers a theatrical Halloween experience aboard one of Britain’s most celebrated heritage railways. The evening services are scheduled for 18th and 25th October and 1st November 2026, with departures at either 6:15pm–7:15pm or 8pm–9pm.

The hour-long journey runs from Pickering to Levisham and back, taking guests through the darkened North York Moors landscape accompanied by live actors, eerie storytelling and atmospheric Gothic theatrics. The event is now in its second year, having proved popular enough on its debut to secure a return run.

Mad Alice Takes the Helm

Central to the experience is Mad Alice, a legendary figure drawn from York folklore, said to haunt the ancient alleyways of the city. She is perhaps best known as the host of The Bloody Tour of York, one of the city’s most enduring ghost walk attractions. For the Ghost Train, she takes on the role of storyteller and narrative anchor for the evening, weaving together ghostly tales set against the moors.

A highlight of the programme is a retelling of Charles Dickens’ short story The Signalman, a Victorian ghost story famously inspired by a fatal railway accident Dickens himself witnessed. The tale has long been considered one of the finest examples of the genre and sits particularly well in the setting of a working heritage steam railway.

Charlotte Hawes, Events Manager at the NYMR, said: