On the 15 September 1830, an English politician by the name of William Huskisson had the dubious distinction of being the first man in history to be killed by a train.

George Stephenson was demonstrating his famous “Rocket” locomotive along a specially built track between Liverpool and Manchester.

Crowds followed the slow moving engine, fascinated by this noisy new invention.

Huskisson, however, was much more interested in speaking to the Duke of Wellington, inconveniently standing on the other side of the track.

So intent was he on getting the Duke’s attention that he failed to notice the great belching, steaming contraption rolling towards him.

“Stephenson’s Rocket” hit poor Mr Huskisson and crushed his legs. The stricken man was taken to the nearby village of Eccles where he died shortly afterwards.

Now, I don’t know whether or not poor Mr Huskisson’s ghost haunts the Liverpool to Manchester line, but one thing is for certain, he would not be the last to meet his maker under the deadly wheels of a train.

Railway lines and stations the world over have stories of grisly deaths in which the victims stick around in spirit form.

As I have mentioned before, some paranormal experts believe that a traumatic (and maybe sudden or unexpected) death could be the catalyst for a haunting.

And, let’s face it, a hundred tons of train roaring towards you is pretty traumatic.

I think another reason why some railway stations (as opposed to railway lines) are associated with hauntings is because of human emotion.

Train stations are the sorts of places (castles, battlefields, courtrooms etc) where incredibly strong emotions can seep into the atmosphere.

How many joyous meetings and sad farewells have taken place at a railway station?

How many soldiers have waited excitedly on platforms, with clean new rifles and packs, finally getting their chance for war?

How many have returned to those same platforms, dirty and wounded, and minus their mates?

I think spirits are attracted to, and can feed off, such strong human energies.

Even modern, crowded New Street Station in Birmingham seems to be haunted.

About 35 million people pass through New Street every year and quite a few of them have reported ghostly sightings.

The station as we know it today was built in the 1960s, but the original station was opened in 1848.

Arthur Smith, author of “Haunted Birmingham” (a great little book, highly recommended) found out something very interesting about the original station.

The site the builders chose had one “minor” obstacle – a Jewish cemetery.

This didn’t actually bother them too much. They demolished the cemetery and got on with constructing their great Victorian station.

Whenever cemeteries get destroyed you can be sure to awaken a few disgruntled spirits (you must have seen Poltergeist!).

Over the years quite a few people have died at New Street Station, either by accidents, natural causes and, unfortunately, suicide.

(For obvious reasons, railway lines and stations do tend to attract people who are determined to end it all.)

Unsurprisingly, in my opinion, some of these unfortunate people linger on in spirit form.

Some souls are possibly trapped in the physical area where their deaths occurred. This could be because they are confused and perhaps unaware that they have passed on.

Maybe this is why some ghosts apparently try to communicate with the living.

I also think that some ghosts are spirits that are able to travel freely between the realms of the physical and the spiritual. Some of these spirits may feel compelled to re-visit the location of their physical death.

One apparition at Birmingham New Street has even acquired a nickname, Claude.

Claude seems to be one of the most reported sightings, probably because he is so distinctive in his Victorian attire complete with top hat.

The next time you find yourself standing on a crowded train, take a good look out of the windows, do you see anything strange?

The next time you are waiting impatiently on a noisy platform, take a discreet look at the people around you – are they all they seem?