Every year, railroads and museums across the country host autumn-themed events. Some are geared toward children and families, while others are geared toward adults. This post is about my experience at an adult-oriented show at the Connecticut Trolley Museum in Windsor, Connecticut. It was quite entertaining, I thought, and some of the cast and crew were familiar to me. The full story is below.
The Show Begins
On the evening of October 19th, 2024, I put my dog in her crate, grabbed a water bottle, and drove from Wallingford to Windsor, taking the highway. When I arrived, I found a packed parking lot, and the museum exterior was decorated for Halloween, with lights, signs, and scarecrows. I entered, checking in at the gift shop to reserve my spot. I was directed to the museum’s theater, which I entered, finding it filled with young people. I took a seat in the dark room at the front.
The show began with an introductory video on the overhead screen. It told the story of an investigative journalist delving deep into the strange occurrences surrounding the trolley museum. Reports of ghosts, voices, creatures, and witches were all mentioned. The video nicely set up the story and led to the introduction of our two guides.
The guides emerged from the back of the theater. Both were young women. One, a blonde named Lola, wore a black corset and dress and claimed to be a necromancer. The other, named Jezebel, was dressed plainly in jeans and a sweatshirt and claimed to be a paranormal investigator. I recognized Lola right away as Sydney, a coworker from the Essex Steam Train. She recognized me as well but stayed in character. After establishing our mission of ghost hunting, Lola directed the audience to follow her.
Onto the Trolley
Lola informed us that we needed to pass through a decontamination tent to remove any radiation that might disturb the spirits. She described it as “a spa day for safety.” The “decontamination” tent was a simple canvas garage-type tent with a running fog machine inside. After walking through the tent, directly ahead of us was the waiting trolley. Two motormen were attending it: long-coated, red-bearded Jayden, and mustached Wil.
Jayden and Wil are both coworkers of mine at the Essex Steam Train. Like Sydney, they also recognized me but stayed in character as we, the audience, boarded the trolley. Jayden repeatedly said such things as “Get on the trolley now, we’re seventeen minutes late!” and “Time to go, folks, we’ve got to make up time!”
Once the guests were aboard and seated, Wil stood up and gave a safety speech. He explained that the trolley’s windows are real glass, so don’t damage them, and keep our hands to ourselves throughout the excursion. If we did wrong, Wil reminded us, the museum had our contact information. With that, the lights went out, and the trolley started rolling.
Ghost Hunting on the Rails
The trolley rolled into the night while Lola and Jezebel talked about the spirits that supposedly lived in the woods outside the windows. We made our first stop at the siding near the trolley museum’s entrance. As a story over the PA system told us about child labor, Lola and Jezebel mad contact with the spirits.
At this point, Lola got off the trolley and began communicating with the spirits. At the words “Child spirits come out to play!” Young actors dressed as ghostly children emerged from behind the piles of railroad ties. They made their way through the trolley as Lola and Jezebel did their best to lure them away.
A ghost named Timmy emerged shortly later. It was clear that Timmy was one of the stars of the production. He came aboard, scaring the trolley riders and making life difficult for Lola and Jezebel. Wil and Jayden did not intervene, leaving Lola and Jezebel to deal with Timmy, who rode with us to the next stop.
The Brakes Are Out!
As we traveled up the line to the next stop, Wil and Jayden kept remarking about how the trolley was having problems and was behaving erratically. Could it have been caused by all of the ghostly energy in the air? The trolley stopped rather suddenly, and Jayden exclaimed “The brakes are out!”
Wil asked Jayden what they could do about it, to which Jayden replied “Don’t worry, I’ve got the wrench!” He then picked up a comically large but quite functional pipe wrench, then got off the trolley to fix the “problem.”
Meanwhile, back aboard the trolley, Lola and Jezebel continued to struggle with wrangling Timmy, who was proving to be quite a stubborn ghost, walking up and down the aisle and sitting next to unsuspecting riders. The riders seemed to take it all in stride, though. I think Jezebel was the most frustrated of all of us on board.
Jayden returned from “fixing” the trolley and then made his first reference to me by say aloud “We didn’t even have to call the Railroading Captain.” I knew that Jayden read this blog but having him reference it in the show was an unexpected delight. With the trolley “repaired,” Timmy disembarked, and we made our way further up the line.
Anna The Ghost
We made our way to our next stop, where once again Lola and Jezebel made contact with a ghost. This particular ghost was named Anna, and like Timmy, was also a child. Anna was lured onto the trolley by an overly sympathetic Lola, much to Jezebel’s chagrin.
Much like Timmy, Anna had a tragic backstory, and Lola was trying to be a source of comfort to placate Anna’s rage. The ghost had a weapon in one hand, after all. After some theatrics on the part of Lola and Jezebel, Anna ultimately left the trolley in peace, having harmed absolutely none of the trolley riders.
With Anna safely off the trolley, Area Four came up in the conversation between Lola and Jezebel. They said it was too dangerous for us to go there, but ultimately that was our next destination.
The Grand Finale
When we arrived at Area Four, we spotted three human sacrificial crosses outside our windows, as well as a fenced-in area. At this point, Lola directed us to follow her off the trolley, as we were taking a field trip. We gathered around the sacrifice site, and Lola explained to us the significance of the site. One sacrifice (a dummy skeleton) was already in place.
Lola then directed us to the fenced-in area, where spirits dwelled to deliver scares to unsuspecting trolley riders. Timmy was there, along with several other creatures and ghosts, delivering jump scares. I admit, I was a bit reluctant to enter, but after some “encouragement” from Wil and Jayden and Lola, I entered the area.
As we passed through the small, haunted area, we could hear commotion from the sacrifice site. After returning to the site, we found Lola bound to one of the posts, and she and Jezebel were now joined by a witch. Jezebel tried in vain to communicate with the witch, but failed.
The Witch summoned a woodland spirit named Dagon, who emerged from the fog. The ghosts and creatures from the fenced area surrounded us as well. Then Wil and Jayden stepped forward and took control of the scene. Jayden made it clear that the museum had to resort to human sacrifice in order to sustain itself, as donations were not enough. Wil then grabbed Jezebel and bound her to the third post.
Jayden referenced me again, this time by asking how far behind schedule we were. “One hour late!” I exclaimed. Jayden then informed Wil that we needed to “make the riverboat connection,” and instructed the witch to sacrifice the paranormal investigators. In a pair of blood-curdling screams, they were dead, and we were directed back to the trolley, as if nothing ever happened.
Behind the Scenes
The trolley returned to the main station and the lights came back on. Wil and Jayden thanked us for riding, then shooed us off the trolley. As I got off, Wil told me to stay. With the guests gone, Wil and Jayden told me that they had to take the trolley back up the line to grab the cast. They wanted me along for the ride.
We left the station, and once we were out of sight of the museum, Wil and Jayden let me operate the trolley under their supervision! How fun! Once we reached Area Four, Wil and Jayden took back over, and the cast came aboard.
Sydney was overjoyed to see me, and I her! She said that she spotted me right away at the opening and had to check herself to stay in character. Wil and Jayden made jokes about the North Pole Express during the run back, saying things such as “North Pole, North Pole, NPE 683 is two minutes out!”
The cast disembarked as we returned to the station. Sydney gave me a big hug, much to my delight. With the cast off the trolley, Wil disembarked, and I rode the trolley with Jayden into the car barn, where we put the trolley to bed. Jayden and I bid each other good night and safe travels, knowing we would soon see each other at the railroad.
Thoughts on the Show
The Curse of the Rails was intended to be a scary show, but I found the whole thing quite hilarious. I can see why my fellow guests would find it frightening, but I knew in my mind that it was just theater. No real danger was present at any point during the show. Had an emergency come up, the cast would have broken character, and the show would be halted. Such situations have played out during the North Pole Express.
The cast and crew all did an excellent job with the production. It was fun seeing Sydney in an adult-oriented show instead of a family show like the North Pole Express. I had never heard her swear so much! My biggest highlight, though, was getting a hug from Sydney after the show (I adore that young lady!).
The Curse of the Rails was a great time overall. I recommend it to anyone looking for some Halloween thrills for adults.
As always, thanks for reading!