Hawley Bank Foundry, a Ghost Story by L.T.C. Rolt

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Hawley Bank Foundry, a Ghost Story by L.T.C. Rolt

Рет қаралды 2,720

4 жыл бұрын

After three years hiatus, I'm proud to present another chilling tale from the pen of LTC Rolt. one that constrasts creeping shadows with roaring flame, and bridges the hidden world of the supernatural with the primal and potent realm of heavy industry.
As the darkness draws in close, journey with us back to the industrial West Midlands during 1941. As bombs fall on Britain's industrial heart, civilians and businesses alike flee the towns and cities to the security of countryside. But although safely hidden from Hitler's bombs, one transplanted company is about to encounter a different form of terror, at the long-abandoned and darkly-historied place known as Hawley Bank Foundry.
First Published in 1948 in ‘Sleep No More: Twelve Tales of the Supernatural’, available in paperback and kindle at amazon.co.uk
Adapted, Read and Recorded by Rhys B. Davies
Original text copyright of Sonia Rolt.
Original text, music cues, sound effects and images are used here for non-profit, non-corporate purposes. All copyright remains with respective sources
Open source sound effects used with thanks to the online sound effects community
MUSIC
IMMEDIATE MUSIC - “Suspense & Drama 1”
‘Downfall, The 30’
GLEN MILLER
‘In The Mood’
GRAEME REVELL - “Below”
‘Main Title’
‘Prepare to Dive!’
‘Safe Harbor’
CHRISTOPHER DRAKE - “Batman: Arkham Origins”
‘The Night Before Christmas’
‘Arkham Origins End Titles’
JOEL MCNEELY - “Tokyo DisneySea: Tower of Terror”
‘Hotel Hightower Main Theme’
ENYA
‘Tempus Vernum’
BRIAN Tyler - “Final Destination 5”
‘Repercussions’
‘Infinite Finale’
‘Mystery’
NICK ARUNDEL & DAVID BUCKLEY - “Batman: Arkham Knight”
‘Inner Demon’
JOHN FRIZZELL - “Ghost Ship”
‘The Discovery’
DAVID JULYAN - “The Prestige”
‘Colorado Springs’
SHIRLEY WALKER - “Final Destination”
‘September 25, 9:25PM’
‘Main Title’
‘The Crash’
‘Flight 180’
OLIVER DERIVIERE - “Vampyr”
‘Industrial Landscapes’
For full list of sound effects and associated credits, see:
docs.google.co...

Пікірлер: 42

@trainlover658 4 жыл бұрын

When I saw this pop up I was litterally jumping for joy. The way you deliver Rolt's stories into audio production to perfectly match the atmosphere is something unmatched. The story itself is certainly shrouded in mystery. I do love Rolt's ghost stories and to hear them in audio is just the best. From music, to sound effects, to screams. Just the sound design in general is just brilliant. I can't wait to hear more. These are truly underrated audio productions! Most scary stories on youtube follow a very basic and simple dialogue that is practically predictable nowadays and the market on that front is oversaturated with these stories. Where as these ones are fresh, unpredictable (at least when thes story reaches it's climax), and the amount of industrial knowledge of this ficticious ironworks just builds this world even though it doesn't technically exist. So you do the scary story market on youtube a solid service as to cover the hauntings of British industry, which not many if any choose to cover. As I said previously, I genuinely can't wait to hear more :)

@eliotreader8220 29 күн бұрын

very moving story

@peterkidd8786 4 жыл бұрын

Wonderful gripping tail from beginning to end.

@rbdaviesTB3 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks man - hope you like the changes I implemented based on your input :)

@peterkidd8786 4 жыл бұрын

@@rbdaviesTB3 Prefect really hits it out of the ball park, well done!

@rbdaviesTB3 4 жыл бұрын

@@peterkidd8786 (thumbs up)

@jackiewicks4338 4 жыл бұрын

Not one for bedtime! Good description and background atmosphere. A good yarn.

@rbdaviesTB3 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jackie, glad you enjoyed! :)

@sirrliv 3 жыл бұрын

I still come back to this story every now and then, though I never sleep properly afterwards. Your performance here was absolutely magnificent, as it's been for all of the LTC Rolt stories you've produced. Every detail, from musical accompaniment, foley design, and especially your narration are all so incredibly immersive, I can see every moment clearly in my mind's eye. It's as haunting as it is captivating, like watching a magnificent liner going up in flames; it puts the fear of god into you, yet you can't look away. Is there any chance of you producing a second volume of tales from this book? Looking at previews and what scarce info there is online it seems this trio is just scraping the surface of what the Sleep No More (aptly titled) has to offer. I've even been considering buying a copy myself, either in e-book or physical form. But the best of all by far would be to eventually have the complete set narrated by your good self, or by similarly talented individuals you trust; I see Mr Joj made his praise known, and his work with ButterflyCoffee on their superb Newton Abbott Saga does credit to them. So, how about it? Is it just these three you'll be doing? Or can we ask for more? I might even be willing to talk commission if that would sway your mind.

@rbdaviesTB3 3 жыл бұрын

Hi sirrliv - thanks so much for the praise, you honestly leave me flattered. I tend to immerse myself into these projects, so knowing you're deriving so much delight from them has really made my day :) - the offer of a commission was really surprising, and something I may keep in mind for the future Rest assured, I do have plans to adapt at least one more story from LTC Rolt's oeuvre - 'New Corner'. In fact I've already recorded the narration for that one. After that I'm considering adapting his 'Cwm Garon', and then might try something from another author. There are indeed other stories in Sleep No More (and I highly recomment you get yourself a copy, because it's an excellent little book), but many are very short or don't appeal to me in the same way as the ones I've adapted - what I love about Tom's 'best' stories are how he crosses the supernatural with the mundane, thus I've been looking out for other stories that do the same. I've currently got a few options, some of them outright 'ghost stories', and others more 'strange' than supernatural.

@sirrliv 3 жыл бұрын

@@rbdaviesTB3 I won't lie, sir, I wasn't expecting a reply back. You honor me. I am pleased that my praise has so puffed up your spirits. Believe me when I say I meant every word. Your work on these stories truly breaths life into them, so much so that, I must confess, I must limit myself from listening to them too often for my own health; Bosworth Summit Pound isn't too bad, more atmospheric and ethereal than scary, Garside Fell Disaster (probably my favorite as I am an unabashed railway enthusiast) hits right about my limit for regular scare consumption with its slow buildup to a terrific payoff, but Hawley Bank Foundry is often too much for me, giving me nightmares and poor night's sleep sometimes for days; the first time I listened to it I didn't sleep soundly for a week, not a word of a lie. Yet I still allow myself to return to it on occasion as it is truly Rolt's, and your, magnum opus. I absolutely agree about Rolt's ability to combine the mundane and the supernatural in these tales. That is really what drew me to them along with your productions; I was so excited to have found a new subgenre of industrial ghost stories, more than the banal "machines as monsters" or "workers killed by merciless cogs" that seem to be the mainstream's only impression of the Industrial Revolution. It's disappointing to hear that not all of the stories in this volume are up to this caliber, but I'm glad there's at least one more on the way. I eagerly await another streak of sleepless nights. And I wasn't lying either about being willing to consider commission. Of course all the better if it comes from your own passion. But if the offer of cold hard cash might speed up the process, then I will leave that card on the table.

@rbdaviesTB3 3 жыл бұрын

@@sirrliv Sir, your own reply was a delight to read, and I treasure that you consider each story unique with its own flavour and style. I rather agree with your assessment's - Garside Fell is probably my 'favourite', with Bosworth standing slightly apart by its very different tone and atmosphere, but Hawley Bank easily takes the cake for complexity - on a technical level it is certainly the 'best' of the three Rolt has a few other excellent stories in 'Sleep No More', but the majority do not fit into the same wonderful vein as those I have been adapting - two which do play into the same vein are 'The Mine' and 'A Visitor at Ashcombe' (the latter being in clear homage to The Ash Tree by MR James), but I worry that they'd be too short for people to really enjoy, but I might adapt them anyway because both have their merits. I really hope to do Rolt justice with 'New Corner', which should go up on KZfaq sometime in the coming months :) Finding new stories outside of Rolt's ouvere is proving tricky, though I have a few decent ones short listed. If you can recommend any decent ones, I'd be glad to hear of them :)

@sirrliv 3 жыл бұрын

@@rbdaviesTB3 Alas, I have run into similar difficulties finding anything that compares with Rolt's works. This is a major part of why I found these stories so compelling; they are some of the only examples I've come across thus far of what feel like genuine industrial age ghost stories, of the intricacies of the mechanical world intertwined with things far more unnatural. The closest I can point you toward, at least that I've come across, might be the article "Superstitions", originally published in Railroad Magazine April, 1949, now archived via Catskill Archive. With a certain dramatic flare, author Freeman B. Hubbard recounts a variety of stories and superstitions from American railroading; ghosts of long-dead railwaymen, luckless locomotives, etc. It's not what I'd call on Rolt's level, but it's the closest I've got. In particular, the article ends with my favorite of the stories, that of Dread 107, a legend of a narrow gauge locomotive from Colorado that seemed to slaughter any crew that tried to take her out, sometimes meeting misfortune on the line, sometimes driving her own crew to insanity. It's a fascinating retelling of a not hugely well known tale. catskillarchive.com/rrextra/super.Html

@DAlycidon 2 ай бұрын

I would love you to do a story telling of LTC Rolt’s Agony of Flame:) but this is a fantastic telling

@rbdaviesTB3 2 ай бұрын

Many thanks - "Agony of Flame" is a great story, but a bit short. The next adaptation will be Rolt's "New Corner", and its already well in-hand :)

@ThomasKinninmonth 4 жыл бұрын

I don't think words can describe as to how surprised I was when I saw this was posted. And once again I had chills and enjoyed every second of it. And in all honesty, I was rather surprised when I heard Batman music. Well done once again

@rbdaviesTB3 4 жыл бұрын

Honestly, the scores for the Batman games are some of my go-to resources for appropriately moody music :D - really glad you enjoyed! :)

@ThomasKinninmonth 4 жыл бұрын

@@rbdaviesTB3 you're not wrong about that. They seem to fit well in quite a lot of things

@rbdaviesTB3 4 жыл бұрын

@@ThomasKinninmonth Thankyou kindly - any moments here you particularly enjoyed? :)

@ThomasKinninmonth 4 жыл бұрын

that's actually a tough one to answer. Because I enjoyed a lot of it

@rbdaviesTB3 4 жыл бұрын

@@ThomasKinninmonth That's amazingly high praise - thankyou :)

@hauntedholmes6954 4 жыл бұрын

Brilliant work on this, Rhys. From the music you chose for the video right down to how you narrate the story really drags in the viewer. Also good to see you return, I do hope more ghost stories are on the way! :D

@rbdaviesTB3 4 жыл бұрын

I do have plans for at least one more adaptation from Tom Rolt's cannon, and after that, who knows :D - glad you liked this experience. Any bits stand out for better or worse?

@meese9140 3 жыл бұрын

WOW this was utterly horrifying! I'll be sharing this with all my spooky friends!

@rbdaviesTB3 3 жыл бұрын

So glad you enjoyed! Thanks! :)

@paulinedavis8950 4 жыл бұрын

Great work Rhys. Brilliantly narrated, you had me gripped! The background sound effects really enhanced the atmosphere. Looking forward to the next one.

@rbdaviesTB3 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Pauline - really glad you enjoyed this - if you're eager for more, there's a further two ghost stories in the same vein on my channel :)

@TankEngine97 3 жыл бұрын

Whoa, that was a creepy story. After listening to 'Garside fell' I decided to listen to another one of these and I'm glad I did. Very well done.

@rbdaviesTB3 3 жыл бұрын

So glad you enjoyed Hawley Bank. Thanks! :)

@rikaa3569 2 жыл бұрын

So was Druce supposed to be Darley's illegitimate son? I feel like it makes a lot more sense why Darley would hire him if there's some hidden family history there, and would explain why he wanted Druce to change his name.

@rbdaviesTB3 2 жыл бұрын

That is a possibility I had honestly never considered. Druce is genuinely an enigma, especially his relationship with old Josh Darley. And there were those stories of Josiah having had bad romantic fortunes in his youth - maybe an heir born out of wedlock is not entirely impossible. Hope you enjoyed Rika. Thanks for the comment!

@rikaa3569 2 жыл бұрын

@@rbdaviesTB3 Maybe it's a really dumb take! It just seems to connect the dots of "someone with an unknown last name is an expert in steelmaking", "he gets hired as a manager by a respected steelmaker despite having no history", "that respected steelmaker names him as his heir but requires him to take up his last name", and "he murders the respected steelmaker." None of that sounds like normal professional interaction to me, but definitely sounds in line with a dysfunctional family...

@eliotreader8220 29 күн бұрын

@@rbdaviesTB3 very moving story. I think they found what happened to the old owner of the iron works. reminds me of the ghost story my Grandma told me when I where a little lad

@ajaxengineco 4 жыл бұрын

Man, this one gave me the shivers. What were those white things in the floor? Who was that man with funny clothes and white whiskers? I suppose the settings of Rolt's stories are fiction places (Bosworth Summit Pound, Garside Fell, Hawley Bank) in a not-so-fictional Britain. I like to think these take place in an alternative Britain where these otherwise fictional things do exist, but that's my personal L.T.C Rolt headcanon.

@rbdaviesTB3 4 жыл бұрын

Hi there - glad you enjoyed :) - the story is nicely ambiguous on the details, but I'm pretty sure the funny bloke and the corpse in the floor are both old Josiah Darley, his spirit being the motivating force behind the haunting. The implication seems to be that Josiah was murdered/killed in the big cupola (burned alive in molten iron - ouch!) and the remains hidden/poured under the moulding floor - the most likely killer is Druce, the mysterious manager (though I do have an alternate theory, albeit one that does not hold much water, that Josh in his eccentricity engineered his own death, with Druce as a patsy). The white things I can imagine as being maggots, originating within Josh's corpse under the moulding floor and swollen to grotesque size via supernatural means. - And yeah, Rolt was very specific in where he placed his fictional locations, grounding them in very real places: - Garside Fell is clearly inspired by the Blea Moor/Garsdale section of the Settle & Carlisle line, Rolt's Grand Trunk Railway being analagous to the Midland Railway - Bosworth Summit Pound, the tunnel, and the village of Cold Bosworth are based on Husbunds Bosworth in south Leicestershire. The village, canal and tunnel are all there, but fictionalised - there are no locks at Husbunds Bosworth in reality, and the tunnel is shorter and does not run directly under the village but skirts it to the north. - Hawley Bank Foundry is based on the general area around Ironbridge (one of the crucibles of the Industrial Revolution), but situated a little further west, towards Buildwas and the Wrekin.

@ajaxengineco 4 жыл бұрын

@@rbdaviesTB3 ahh, that clears up some stuff. I think the maggot idea sounds plausible, and I imagine they can grow that big if they eat enough of each other, no super-natural needed. Still wondering what became of the 2 tomcats. I like the idea of being burned in the iron, and poured under the moulding floor. Sounds like something that Druce character would do to save his own neck, then quickly ceasing himself before he gets found out. Some of Rolt's imagery here is very strong too, not that I mind, if you're writing a ghost story I say go to town, you can get a real clear depiction what is where, and how the characters fit.

@rbdaviesTB3 4 жыл бұрын

@@ajaxengineco Given the maggots were crawling unscathed in molten iron, I am guessing there was some kind of supernatural element involved ;) - as for the cats, I imagine they got the life crushed out of them by the maggots, in the manner of a constricting snake. - Yeah, the whole relationship between Druce and Josiah is interesting to consider. The inference is that Druce knocked Josh off for the inheritance, but since the old man had to be in his mid-80s by the time he vanished (given he was almost 80 at the end of WW1, and Druce wasn't hired until 1920), it almost seems pointless given he was surely going to croak in the next few years, and Druce was evidently not in a rush or planning on doing a run with the money, since he continued to run the foundry - this also presupposes that Druce was aware that he was named as sole benificary in Josiah's will. - Agreed, Rolt's language is really evocative, though I will confess to building a little on it here and there - for example, in the climax he merely describes one of the pourers tripping and falling over a mould-box, and that he did not rise again. I felt that was a bit vague, so added the section clarifying the box as being charged with molten-metal the consistency of treacle :D

@ajaxengineco 4 жыл бұрын

@@rbdaviesTB3 OK, small brain me forgot there was molten iron in a foundry, so those maggots are definitely not a natural thing, because they aren't giant Water Bears. I feel that Druce couldn't really be bothered with running and overhauling an old foundry, so he needed his inheritance fast. Presumably he couldn't get rid of the place and gave up all together. I like that you built on the language a bit, it gives the story more emotion, to go with the sound effects.