Stepney Gets Lost is a close second for me. The ominous greys, the hellish reds, the industrial activity, everything sells it. The music in particular, from the moment the fog kicks in, REALLY sells the tension. Screw the clickbait articles and videos. Spooky trains are cool.
@@SgtAJ218 Season 5 was really the best at EVERYTHING. Modelwork, atmosphere, music, colors, even down to having my favorite shade of blue for the engines. A deeper, saturated blue.
You know what I've noticed about people's view on Thomas outside the fandom? On one side, some people believe that Thomas is a brainless baby show, while on the other side of the same coin, some people believe Thomas is "too scary and dark" for kids. It's actually kind of insane.
Thomas is not a stupid baby show Videos like there will never be an episode like ghost train Explain why they are good And the action It's so good In other episodes like Cranky bugs. but If they're talking about Mattel They're kind of right The reboot Thomas is garbage.
What I like most about "Duncan Gets Spooked" is that it leaves a lot of room for speculation and headcannons. Not only that, it creates opportunities for creativity. I know someone who created the idea that Proteus, the little engine that was never touched on more that 3 times in the hit series, was the engine who fell off the bridge in Rusty's story. Honestly, I love that we get to experiment with creative explanations and ideas for the portrayal of ghost engines in the classic series of Thomas. It adds value to the series as a whole.
This was one of my favorite episodes as a kid, and still is to this day. Like Tug said, I love how it's left up to the audience whether or not Rusty's story is true. And of course, the visuals and music are amazing. I feel like more shows aimed at kids are finally starting to allow scarier content, but they've still got a long ways to go.
@@armorpro573 Don't get me wrong again, children need to be frightening sometimes, but not to the point where all fairytale make believe creatures are real, right?
@@randomnessetc5600 Well it doesn't have to necessarily be about ghosts. A Halloween episode could teach kids how to stay safe, such as being kidnapped or going into abandoned places
When I was a toddler, I was completely terrorized by Tyrannosaurus Debt in School House Rock. I actually ended up having a dream where he snuck into my room and bit my feet. His size, eyes, the musical score, and especially his toothy grin is what got to me the most. But after growing up, I can look on that cartoon as a funny childhood memory, that even pounded in my head about American Debt. This was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw this video.
Personally, the two Thomas episodes that scared me the most were Duncan gets Spooked and Scaredy Engines. Duncan gets spooked scared me because of the amazing and creepy music, and visuals. As for Scaredy Engines, once again, it scared me because of the music and visuals. But also, the scene where Thomas set off an old steam whistle and got scared also scared me at the same time. To be honest, I really do miss these days where Thomas experimented with Tone, and that's the biggest reason why Season 5 is my favorite Thomas season.
I also have a spooky childhood memory Back a couple of years ago I was discovering classic Thomas through UA-cam kids. I saw Duncan in a thumbnail (and I really liked him and still do) so I click on it. It starts off normal, and then the ghost bit comes on. I was traumatized. I was away at that moment and kept on thinking over and over about it, even when I went back to school. Then, when we had time to illustrate and write a story. Only one story came to mind. I started to annoy people by how much I was telling them. And it kinda took like a month to leave my mind. :D
I lately felt the story of 'Duncan Gets Spooked', and the Old Iron Bridge, could so easily have fit nicely into the fabric of Duke's Old Railway in Season 4; it feels so perfect. You could easily swap Rusty and Duncan for Duke and Sir Handel/Falcon, with Peter Sam/Stuart still involved in the primary act since he counted, and it feels so seamless a change. Knowing Duke's gift for telling a story to keep younger engines in line from 'Granpuff', it would hardly be far-fetched for Duke to come up with the legendary fallen engine as a warning message to Falcon when the latter - true to his Season 4 character - belittles Stuart for causing an accident. The story would have been more riveting if it was said to happen not long before Duke's Old Line closed for good, reinforcing the sense of neglect and run-down state that would have definitely anchored the key beats of the plot. Just think of how ingenious a coincidence that is. Regards, Samuel Farris.
I couldn't stop having nightmares for weeks after i first saw this as a kid. Even now as a grown ass man it still creeps me out. Duncan Gets Spooked is THE scariest episode of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends period. Sorry Haunted Henry. It really is pathetic how companies treat kids as total idiots these days, not allowing them the choice of genre to enjoy and get lost in. Kids TV is practically nothing now but a blizzard of poorly written, cheaply animated cash-grab crap that teaches nothing other then *Make Friends & Be Happy* but what they're too stupid to realise is that kids are gonna be greatly surprised when they learn life isn't as simple as that. I literally see no reason why today's generations can't grow up with the same stuff we had in the 80s, 90s & Early 2000s.... such magical times for all of us. 📺🥰
The thing that creeped me out the most about Duncan Gets Spooked was that discordant “Weeeeeeeeeeerrrr.” 8:48 In the soundtrack after the narrator says, “But he never reaches the other side.”
I was 5 years old and got the best of Percy VHS.I remember being on the edge of my seat during the starting portion of the Percy's ghostly trick episode. It didn't scare me or anything, but the eerie night set, the music with the fog visuals really stuck with me.
Glad I decided to subscribe yesterday after watching your video about your misfortune and perseverance. As for this video itself, I can agree with how eerie it was as a kid. To be honestly, for me the most disturbing part of the ghost train was the music and slow-motion of the bog pit sloshing. Back then, I assumed the mire ATE the ghost train whole!
Ghost Train is my absolute favorite episode just for my thoughts on it when I was a kid. I was so shook by when they scared Thomas and the atmosphere and tone was just so eerie, I had never seen anything like that as a kid before then. After that I didn't watch it much since I was so shook by it, but then rewatched it when I was about 12. Since then, every rewatch I had of that episode, I loved it more and more. If this was that episode for me, it would be my favorite, but I unfortunately didn't watch it until I was around 13 since I didn't have a good way to watch Season 5 up to that point. Still a fantastic episode though, and I wish more shows would do this more.
This is still one of my favourite episodes for the music, ambience and just overall tone as Tug discusses. Even watching this now takes me back to seeing it as a 5 to 6 year old and being utterly terrified by the story. Even now as a 25 year old this gives me goosebumps!
@@armorpro573 Thankfully some still has some dark tones like Tangled The Series, The Lion Guard and Elena of Avalor when Zhan Tiri, Scar, Shuriki and Cahu appears. But yeah, they need to stop making shows too kid-oriented and have them for all ages.
@@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967 It's probably due to too many parents complaining about any sensitive, despite it already being all over the internet. You know, I find it ironic considering these kids will be exposed to worse things than on TV
To this day, this episode still haunts me. I love it, obviously, but the visuals and music will always stick with me. The "Duncan Gets Spooked Suite" just unlocks some primal fear as I brace myself for some kind of scare, whether it be a cheap jumpscare or nightmare inducing visual. It's Baby's First Horror Story in the best way possible.
This episode scared the heck out of me as a kid. I had the Spooks and Suprises VHS in the late 90s so I watched this, Rusty and the Boulder, Haunted Henry, Toby's Discovery etc. over and over.
If it wasn't for episodes like 'Duncan gets Spooked' we wouldn't have fan-made creations like 'A Dark Night for Bert' & 'the horrors at Hawin Lake" for example
@@pikachuthebananasplit9061 Yes as Unlucky Tugs put it. That's why it irritates me how so many outsiders view Thomas as nothing but a baby show. The old classics were for all ages to enjoy. Whether you're five or thirty-eight, you could still enjoy these segments without feeling insulted. IMO, the most spookiest episode is definitely Percy's Ghostly Trick. The darkness, the spooky visuals, and the music are what makes it disturbing
6:41 "Or is it Duncan just seeing things? They never say!" Um actually, Narrator did say that "But to Duncan, it looked like an engine." The literal beauty of classic Thomas episodes, which also explains why episodes like 'Duncan Gets Spooked' & 'Haunted Henry' are so great because I agree that Intentional Ambiguity is effective when it is used to portray like an eerie atmosphere/setting when telling a story. And yes, as the audience, we witness the engine's death after he falls off the bridge which enables us to come up with our idea about what happened to that engine according to our interpretations; most people do recreate episodes so that the story itself would make sense (at least to them) or to add in ideas so that eerie element of ambiguity is expressed more. Because yes, that is a pattern I've noticed with episodes that have a 'spooky theme' these days, it just feels incomplete without that effective use of tone. Though then again, imo too, the conecpt of ambiguity is to spark wonder to get the audience to think, not get them confused. The trick is that it ultinately depends on whatvever theme the episode is portrayed. To put it short, I wrote this because I know that this is a good storywriting technique.
in the beta production we saw in the mistakes and deleted scenes of season 5, you can see when duncan goes to the bridge, you can see the story was REAL.
An episode I would find really scary as a kid is when the workmen go inside the tunnel in Henry and the elephant and that elephant trunk coming out of the darkness and the workman screaming Help!! Always scared the shit out of me 🤣
My Favorite Halloween Episode is the “Titular” itself from Season 8 because it has great visuals, epic music from Robert Hartshorne, and the ending is satisfying with Arry and Bert getting punished by Sir Topham Hatt!
While I do respect this episode and always found it eerie as a kid, the episode I always found frighting was "Rusty and the Bolder". The fact that it was implied that that thing was ALIVE and would actually GO AFTER (and possibly stalk) both the engines and the quarry is legitimately frightening to me. It implies that there are certain parts of the island that were never meant to be found. Places that should have been left... alone.
This episode scared the HELL out of me when I was a kid. If I were to make a video of the things that scared me as a kid, Duncan gets spooked would easily take number 1.
My opinion on the story Rusty tells Duncan is that the part of an engine falling off the Old Iron Bridge could very well be true, especially if the rails hadn't been maintained regularly. On other hand, I believe that the ghost element was just made up to spook Duncan as a way of teaching him to be a little more considerate of another's situation and that the mist was simply distorting the glow produced by the fireflies and playing tricks on him.
I wonder if The Old Iron Bridge Engine could work as being the Skarloey Railway’s original #4 and Proteus as the original #3 (saying they were real) before Sir Handel and Peter Sam arrived on it, I don’t think they’d work as being engines on the Mid Sodor Railway since it seemed implied they were on the Skarloey Railway anyway and how Skarloey knew Proteus, Peter Sam obviously didn’t know about him and if he did then Duke would’ve told him while on the Mid Sodor.
One episode that scared me as a kid was Percy’s Ghostly Trick. That one scene of the abandoned farmer cart on the line knowing that Percy was somewhere down the line bound to collide with it have me chills
Ah remember this episode it probably intrigued me more then scary wanted to know who was the engine that fell, what happend to its crew, and was it real sitting or in all in duncan head. The music also add to the spooky theme one of the best theme by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell IMHO.
Hearing about your dragon story made me think about some of my once traumatic moments I saw on tv as a child that I now laugh about. One is the infamous THX logo, which I now jokingly call my “childhood nemesis” because of how frequent I used to see those bumpers as a kid. But another one is the also infamous scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the bad guys open the ark. One evening, my little childhood self couldn’t sleep or even stay in my room, so I went to the living room because I wanted my mommy. Coincidentally, I walked into my parents’ movie night… at the perfect time where those bad guys were about to open the ark! Long story short, I was unsurprisingly terrified of what I just witnessed… but nowadays, I considered it as hilarious karma. It wasn’t any of the filmmaker’s(or even Hollywood) fault, nor was it my parents! That incident serves me right for barging into my parents’ movie night instead of just going to bed or at least entertain myself with my toys 😂
This episode definitely creeped me out when I was younger and I think I am getting a bit creeped out now writing this in the middle of the night. It’s a real shame there weren’t any more episodes like this again, especially since the whole franchise is ruined beyond repair now. If the ghost engine is real however well that makes it the only ghost engine to have actually existed, and considering the fireflies making that shape this could confirm that ghosts do indeed exist in some form in the Thomas Universe.
If this was a story in the railway series, then Rusty would probably just flat out say once Duncan left that he made the story up, and we would’ve gotten an explination for the fireflies,
For me, as a kid, the scariest thing in a TTTE episode was when Duke was put in the shed slowly buried alive by erosion. Now, it doesn't bother me, but back then, I could barely keep my eyes open at that scene.
This episode always gave me nightmares as a kid and ironically, it got me back into the show after I grew out of it. I had a dream about this episode in 2016 and while Duncan was on the bridge, instead of seeing the ghost, he just randomly told me to get back into the show. I took his advice needless to say
3:50 Funny thing is that shot wasn’t the thing that scared me. I’d seen the dragon before in a picture book so it didn’t scare me. It was the sequence after it. The intense slasher-esque music, the glowing dragon appearing out of the darkness, all building up to scaring the living scrapyard out of Percy. Every time that section came on, I always left the room. To paraphrase, it wasn’t the dragon itself that scared me, but the music that came with it. It makes me wonder if sound can be scarier than sight.
If I may, Tug: I think there is one episode of the Brenner Era that gives off the same vibes as Duncan Gets Spooked. And that would be Flatbeds of Fear. The episode does explain later on that the noise following the engines was just the wind blowing through the pipes, but there are a few elements that convinced me otherwise. In Salty's story, we see a flashback of the flatbeds breaking away from the engine, and at the beginning and end, we catch a glimpse of the mysterious flatbeds lurking in the shadows, unseen. So, that noise may have been the wind blowing through the pipes, but then again, perhaps it really was the Flatbeds of Fear. Those might have been flatbeds being pulled by another engine, but they don't directly state it, making us wonder if the story is really true.
I'm gonna be honest with you, a little over a decade ago I saw the scary episodes and I like them except for one because of the music. When I saw it I just plain out didnt like it until a video I came across called Percy and the Ghost Diesel use the same music over again. I'm not gonna joke with you, I was upstairs, alone, with the lights one, but it was nighttime and it really scared the shit outta me, now that I'm older and experienced alot of horror I'm no longer scared. I did try to find the video that was my first demon but I couldn't find it, I might one day and face the thing that scared me the most
I will say, I found your fear of the Chinese dragon approaching the screen to be kinda funny. I honestly didn’t find it scary as a kid but there were multiple scenes of classic Thomas that I found to be kinda creepy. Some that weren’t even supposed to be scary. For example, that scene of Thomas’s tired face in “Thomas & Gordon” always made me uncomfortable, for some reason. I don’t know why. I think it was the upward shot of the camera, the eyes squinting, I’m not entirely sure. I found my (somewhat) fear more hilarious since it wasn’t even trying to be scary.
@@armorpro573What if you actually saw a clip of Henry in the Dark of Henry glowing without showing him being painted and before you saw the full episode, would that at least give you a few chills?
Nostalgia Critic: "IT'S *THOMAS THE F*CKING TANK ENGINE!!! Y'know, the show that PBS puts on when Clifford the Dog gets "too scary" for the kids!"* The show that PBS puts on when Clifford the Dog gets "too scary" for the kids:
I can relate because diesel in the model series always freaked me out as a child so much that I ran into another room anytime I saw him making a creepy face now though I have no clue why I was scared of him
There is deleted scene from this episode where Duncan makes it to half of the bridge and then the ghost of engine appears all silver,it comes right in front of Duncan and yells,then a scary face with no eyes appears on the engine and Duncan tells his driver to take him back,when he goes back the ghost dissappears,his driver asks him is he spooked and he says that he's asleep,when his driver wasn't looking he opened his eyes and it points to the moon.
How to fix The Phantom Express.... 1. If showing visuals of the ghost engines from the engine's point of view just like in the model series, reuse the models of one of the Logging Locomotives or Charlie, the most hated characters in the fandom to poke fun at them. 2. Add ambiguity to the story. 3. Add some gnarly trees and fog to the scenery.
0:43 Hahahahaha yeah because Thomas & Friends laughing like Peppa Pig is TOTALLY Normal “no sarcasm what so ever” (what on earth happened to these talking trains)
it's funny the very first Thomas season I saw was season 5 and when I saw Duncan get spook I was like ok I was't scared. it's funny to me also the fire fly's gosht look like smugder so my theory is that was smudger's gosht
This episode scared the daylights out of me when I was 5 years old and it traumatized me until I was 14. I guess you could say I got more spooked than Duncan 😂
@@Wildcatt1999 But half of the episodes got cancelled when HiT bought the franchise and it has music by Robert Hartshorne and is also narrated by Brandon.
@@Wildcatt1999 Also Jack and the Sodor Construction Company isn't part of main series, but if counts then don't Seasons 8-12 and 17-23 as well as the specials CAE, TGD, BMM, KOTR, TOTB, TAB, SLOTLT, THR, JBS, BWBA, and DAD count as Classic Series by extension? Because Stephen Asquith was only originally 2nd unit director is now full director of the HiT model era, and Andrew Brenner who was originally a secondary writer returns as full head writer from Blue Mountain Mystery all the way to S23.
"More times than not, episodes end with the characters all laughing. Once you notice it, you'll never un-notice it." Paw Patrol endings in a nutshell. Austin Powers: "HELP! I'm stuck in this nutshell! How did I get in this nutshell?!" In all seriousness though, considering that both Paw Patrol & Bob the Builder were created by the same person, it makes me wonder what if we got a "Duncan Gets Spooked!"-esque episode in Paw Patrol! Would've been something interesting & new!
@@splat-trainproductions Pretty much. These companies think flashy colors and wacky visuals are more important than actual storytelling. Remember Hey Arnold and Sesame Street? Those were the days
I'm glad I didn't see this episode for the first time until I was almost 19, but at the same time, I'm a bit disappointed, too. Was this episode included on the ''Spills and Chills'' DVD? If so, we always turned it off after Toby's Discovery and Rusty and the Boulder and never watched anything more because it was ''too scary''. I really wish my parents gave me a second chance as a kid, and how I'd think of the episode today, all those years later.
I feel like the HiT Era played with tone better than the Brenner Era to an extent. Just look at episodes like Thomas to the Rescue, Squeak Rattle and Roll, Percy's Big Mistake, The Magic Lamp, Halloween, etc.
@armorpro573 It's not about their quality. It i's about how tonally distinct they are from the rest of the HiT Era. Dealing with scrap, mortality, lore, ambiguity, creepiness, etc
@@pranavrao6370 Again not saying they're the worst, but they feel lacking in comparison to the classic era. Take season 5 for instance. The show portrays a variety of different tones with good storytelling and visuals. It tackles topics like death, job outsourcing, physical disabilities, love, mysterious worldbuilding, etc. The stories were written in a more mature and realistic way, much like the previous seasons. Speaking of which, Edward's Exploit is a perfect example of overcoming one's weaknesses. Same with Gallant Engine. But if you still like the HIT era, that's fine too
@@armorpro573 I don't think we are on the same page here. I am in no means saying any of those examples are as good as Season 5 by a long shot. I am just bringing up those episodes as instances of when the HiT Era played with tone more often and even better than the Brenner Era did.
Stepney Gets Lost is a close second for me. The ominous greys, the hellish reds, the industrial activity, everything sells it. The music in particular, from the moment the fog kicks in, REALLY sells the tension.
Screw the clickbait articles and videos. Spooky trains are cool.
I couldn't agree more. Personally, I think Season 5's spooky episodes were the best that year.
@@SgtAJ218 Season 5 was really the best at EVERYTHING. Modelwork, atmosphere, music, colors, even down to having my favorite shade of blue for the engines. A deeper, saturated blue.
@@theholygamer969 I like season 5 but prefer 3 and 4 a bit more
You know what I've noticed about people's view on Thomas outside the fandom? On one side, some people believe that Thomas is a brainless baby show, while on the other side of the same coin, some people believe Thomas is "too scary and dark" for kids. It's actually kind of insane.
It’s one of those things where you look at those 2 sides and ask them and yourselves, “WHERES THE DAMN MIDDLE GROUND BETWEEN THEM?!?!?!!!”
I've noticed that on social media too. Any people who aren't fans either pick those two extremes and almost never pick the middle ground.
Can we all just point to videos like this as examples of how deep Thomas really is for when others say "wha, you still LIKE that stupid baby show?"
YES
True that!
I sometimes get a little spooked by this episode😮
Thomas is not a stupid baby show Videos like there will never be an episode like ghost train Explain why they are good And the action It's so good In other episodes like Cranky bugs. but If they're talking about Mattel They're kind of right The reboot Thomas is garbage.
Agree, ten fold. Because anyone who hasn't seen the show and tones of the episodes, are just dumb, plain and simple
What I like most about "Duncan Gets Spooked" is that it leaves a lot of room for speculation and headcannons. Not only that, it creates opportunities for creativity. I know someone who created the idea that Proteus, the little engine that was never touched on more that 3 times in the hit series, was the engine who fell off the bridge in Rusty's story. Honestly, I love that we get to experiment with creative explanations and ideas for the portrayal of ghost engines in the classic series of Thomas. It adds value to the series as a whole.
Exactly. A lot of shows these days ruin the spookiness by blatantly telling the audience that "ghosts aren't real." But not Thomas
@@armorpro573But "ghosts aren't really" is actually the truth of reality.
@@randomnessetc5600 Yes, but young kids don't know that. Heck, even full grown adults don't know that ghosts aren't real.
This was one of my favorite episodes as a kid, and still is to this day. Like Tug said, I love how it's left up to the audience whether or not Rusty's story is true. And of course, the visuals and music are amazing. I feel like more shows aimed at kids are finally starting to allow scarier content, but they've still got a long ways to go.
Well shows like Gravity Falls had some dark content.
But we don't want to convince children that ghosts are real right?
@@randomnessetc5600 But that ruins the whole spookiness of the episode
@@armorpro573 Don't get me wrong again, children need to be frightening sometimes, but not to the point where all fairytale make believe creatures are real, right?
@@randomnessetc5600 Well it doesn't have to necessarily be about ghosts. A Halloween episode could teach kids how to stay safe, such as being kidnapped or going into abandoned places
When I was a toddler, I was completely terrorized by Tyrannosaurus Debt in School House Rock. I actually ended up having a dream where he snuck into my room and bit my feet. His size, eyes, the musical score, and especially his toothy grin is what got to me the most.
But after growing up, I can look on that cartoon as a funny childhood memory, that even pounded in my head about American Debt. This was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw this video.
Season 5 was the most fascinating season yet.
Gotta say, 4 and 5 are the best
@@metalkidleo17-24 were better imo
Bruuuh, child
It's for infants
@@metalkidleo No, they still have plenty of RWS and Classic reference, it's AEG were talking about.
Personally, the two Thomas episodes that scared me the most were Duncan gets Spooked and Scaredy Engines. Duncan gets spooked scared me because of the amazing and creepy music, and visuals. As for Scaredy Engines, once again, it scared me because of the music and visuals. But also, the scene where Thomas set off an old steam whistle and got scared also scared me at the same time. To be honest, I really do miss these days where Thomas experimented with Tone, and that's the biggest reason why Season 5 is my favorite Thomas season.
Mine too. Season 5 had some of the best soundtrack and set designs.
@@armorpro573But the Modern era including SLOTLT (not AEG) had the best CGI, action, humor, dialogue, and duration!
@@randomnessetc5600 Maybe, but season 5 still excels in a lot of things.
I also have a spooky childhood memory
Back a couple of years ago I was discovering classic Thomas through UA-cam kids. I saw Duncan in a thumbnail (and I really liked him and still do) so I click on it. It starts off normal, and then the ghost bit comes on. I was traumatized. I was away at that moment and kept on thinking over and over about it, even when I went back to school. Then, when we had time to illustrate and write a story. Only one story came to mind. I started to annoy people by how much I was telling them.
And it kinda took like a month to leave my mind. :D
Duncan Gets Spooked is awesome and I’m so glad it got some much deserved love.
It always has. Check out Haunted Henry
I lately felt the story of 'Duncan Gets Spooked', and the Old Iron Bridge, could so easily have fit nicely into the fabric of Duke's Old Railway in Season 4; it feels so perfect. You could easily swap Rusty and Duncan for Duke and Sir Handel/Falcon, with Peter Sam/Stuart still involved in the primary act since he counted, and it feels so seamless a change. Knowing Duke's gift for telling a story to keep younger engines in line from 'Granpuff', it would hardly be far-fetched for Duke to come up with the legendary fallen engine as a warning message to Falcon when the latter - true to his Season 4 character - belittles Stuart for causing an accident. The story would have been more riveting if it was said to happen not long before Duke's Old Line closed for good, reinforcing the sense of neglect and run-down state that would have definitely anchored the key beats of the plot. Just think of how ingenious a coincidence that is. Regards, Samuel Farris.
You know what, that actualyl makes sense
I’m 29 and I *still* keep my eyes shut on the ghost engine falling into the ravine.
Next time someone tells me Thomas is nothing but a baby show, I’ll show them this episode
I appreciate your use of Humanity Pt. II from The Thing in this video, simply perfect.
The playing with tone video you did for Duncan Gets Spooked was very well done and a favorite video of mine you've done.
Mine too. It really brought out your childhood
I couldn't stop having nightmares for weeks after i first saw this as a kid. Even now as a grown ass man it still creeps me out. Duncan Gets Spooked is THE scariest episode of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends period. Sorry Haunted Henry.
It really is pathetic how companies treat kids as total idiots these days, not allowing them the choice of genre to enjoy and get lost in. Kids TV is practically nothing now but a blizzard of poorly written, cheaply animated cash-grab crap that teaches nothing other then *Make Friends & Be Happy* but what they're too stupid to realise is that kids are gonna be greatly surprised when they learn life isn't as simple as that. I literally see no reason why today's generations can't grow up with the same stuff we had in the 80s, 90s & Early 2000s.... such magical times for all of us. 📺🥰
Not every show of course. Shows like Gravity Falls had some dark content, but regardless, it's important for kids shows to play with tone evenly
Agreed.
FACTS.
I love how you used "The thing soundtrack" for this video. Great fit for the tone you're going for.
Great movie btw
The thing that creeped me out the most about Duncan Gets Spooked was that discordant “Weeeeeeeeeeerrrr.” 8:48 In the soundtrack after the narrator says, “But he never reaches the other side.”
Best episode by far. Good luck with the appeal.
We can only pray
What a episode, a truely rememberable one for the unlucky tug
One of my favorite Tug vids, good to see its triumphant return.
Sad that his channel was removed
I was 5 years old and got the best of Percy VHS.I remember being on the edge of my seat during the starting portion of the Percy's ghostly trick episode. It didn't scare me or anything, but the eerie night set, the music with the fog visuals really stuck with me.
Yeah same here. The crew did a good job of replicating the spooky visual
Glad I decided to subscribe yesterday after watching your video about your misfortune and perseverance.
As for this video itself, I can agree with how eerie it was as a kid. To be honestly, for me the most disturbing part of the ghost train was the music and slow-motion of the bog pit sloshing. Back then, I assumed the mire ATE the ghost train whole!
LOL. And best part is, we don't know if it's real or not
The music in Duncan gets Spooked, especially the music that plays during Rusty’s story, still gives me chills to this day.
The opener for this video works even better as a re-upload
Ghost Train is my absolute favorite episode just for my thoughts on it when I was a kid. I was so shook by when they scared Thomas and the atmosphere and tone was just so eerie, I had never seen anything like that as a kid before then. After that I didn't watch it much since I was so shook by it, but then rewatched it when I was about 12. Since then, every rewatch I had of that episode, I loved it more and more. If this was that episode for me, it would be my favorite, but I unfortunately didn't watch it until I was around 13 since I didn't have a good way to watch Season 5 up to that point. Still a fantastic episode though, and I wish more shows would do this more.
IMO, Percy's Ghostly Trick is the most spookiest episode of all time. The music, the foggy sets, and the haunting atmosphere make it unique
Glad your back
It’s Back!
This video really got me into the Thomas Show's beautiful early soundtrack.
For me, it was the sets and characters
@@armorpro573 that too
@@stuff31 My first ever season was probably season 7
This is still one of my favourite episodes for the music, ambience and just overall tone as Tug discusses. Even watching this now takes me back to seeing it as a 5 to 6 year old and being utterly terrified by the story. Even now as a 25 year old this gives me goosebumps!
Percy's Ghostly Trick is the most spookiest IMO
You're right Unlucky Tug, kids do need to be scared sometimes, we all do.
Never good to shelter them from reality, especially in a time where they require development
@@armorpro573 Tell that to the parents of today.
That's a major problem. The parents are setting their kids up for failure when the grow up.
@@number1musichater430 Ironically, these same parents are doing what THEIR parents have done when they were little.
Such a pity that the CGI series didn't play with spooky and dark tones with less light hearted. It would be perfect.
Unfortunately these days, shows are becoming way too kid-oriented to be perfect
@@armorpro573 Thankfully some still has some dark tones like Tangled The Series, The Lion Guard and Elena of Avalor when Zhan Tiri, Scar, Shuriki and Cahu appears. But yeah, they need to stop making shows too kid-oriented and have them for all ages.
@@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967 It's probably due to too many parents complaining about any sensitive, despite it already being all over the internet.
You know, I find it ironic considering these kids will be exposed to worse things than on TV
@@armorpro573 Well, parents has to learn to stop complaining about it and knows that getting scared is necessary to teach kids about the world.
@@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967 Glad I wasn’t raised in today’s time
To this day, this episode still haunts me. I love it, obviously, but the visuals and music will always stick with me. The "Duncan Gets Spooked Suite" just unlocks some primal fear as I brace myself for some kind of scare, whether it be a cheap jumpscare or nightmare inducing visual. It's Baby's First Horror Story in the best way possible.
The first time I watched the episode, I was scared shitless, but for me, no episode beats Haunted Henry and Stepney Gets Lost
This episode scared the heck out of me as a kid. I had the Spooks and Suprises VHS in the late 90s so I watched this, Rusty and the Boulder, Haunted Henry, Toby's Discovery etc. over and over.
That's what made season 5 so great. Even to this day, a lot of us still remember the episodes quite visually
If it wasn't for episodes like 'Duncan gets Spooked' we wouldn't have fan-made creations like 'A Dark Night for Bert' & 'the horrors at Hawin Lake" for example
The music is what terrifies me the most about this episode, the music just sends chills down my spine to this day
Not to mention the visuals
@@armorpro573 indeed! The visuals of the engine plunging into the swamp was haunting
@@pikachuthebananasplit9061 This is why classic Thomas rocks. The modern series wouldn't have the guts to show something this morbid
@@armorpro573 it’s incredible how much episodes vary in tone!
It’s the main reason people love the classic series
There was something for everyone
@@pikachuthebananasplit9061 Yes as Unlucky Tugs put it. That's why it irritates me how so many outsiders view Thomas as nothing but a baby show.
The old classics were for all ages to enjoy. Whether you're five or thirty-eight, you could still enjoy these segments without feeling insulted.
IMO, the most spookiest episode is definitely Percy's Ghostly Trick. The darkness, the spooky visuals, and the music are what makes it disturbing
I recon your going to get more views soon within a matter of weeks because there was a lot of people that were upset that the channel was taken down
Hopefully
6:41 "Or is it Duncan just seeing things? They never say!"
Um actually, Narrator did say that "But to Duncan, it looked like an engine."
The literal beauty of classic Thomas episodes, which also explains why episodes like 'Duncan Gets Spooked' & 'Haunted Henry' are so great because I agree that Intentional Ambiguity is effective when it is used to portray like an eerie atmosphere/setting when telling a story. And yes, as the audience, we witness the engine's death after he falls off the bridge which enables us to come up with our idea about what happened to that engine according to our interpretations; most people do recreate episodes so that the story itself would make sense (at least to them) or to add in ideas so that eerie element of ambiguity is expressed more. Because yes, that is a pattern I've noticed with episodes that have a 'spooky theme' these days, it just feels incomplete without that effective use of tone.
Though then again, imo too, the conecpt of ambiguity is to spark wonder to get the audience to think, not get them confused. The trick is that it ultinately depends on whatvever theme the episode is portrayed.
To put it short, I wrote this because I know that this is a good storywriting technique.
As a kid I always found the concept of a spirit of a train crossing the bridge but never making it across to be disturbing.
in the beta production we saw in the mistakes and deleted scenes of season 5, you can see when duncan goes to the bridge, you can see the story was REAL.
An episode I would find really scary as a kid is when the workmen go inside the tunnel in Henry and the elephant and that elephant trunk coming out of the darkness and the workman screaming Help!! Always scared the shit out of me 🤣
My Narrow Gauge OC’s always make sure to watch out for Ghosts, no matter what gauge or size.
Duncan Gets spoked is one of my favorite episodes of all time
Me too. The model series was certainly something
This is why I love the original series
My Favorite Halloween Episode is the “Titular” itself from Season 8 because it has great visuals, epic music from Robert Hartshorne, and the ending is satisfying with Arry and Bert getting punished by Sir Topham Hatt!
While I do respect this episode and always found it eerie as a kid, the episode I always found frighting was "Rusty and the Bolder". The fact that it was implied that that thing was ALIVE and would actually GO AFTER (and possibly stalk) both the engines and the quarry is legitimately frightening to me. It implies that there are certain parts of the island that were never meant to be found. Places that should have been left... alone.
It was these mysterious elements that made them so appealing
This episode scared the HELL out of me when I was a kid. If I were to make a video of the things that scared me as a kid, Duncan gets spooked would easily take number 1.
Percy's Ghostly trick is my spookiest
2:39 that Child should not be diong that he isvprobably blind at this point...
My opinion on the story Rusty tells Duncan is that the part of an engine falling off the Old Iron Bridge could very well be true, especially if the rails hadn't been maintained regularly. On other hand, I believe that the ghost element was just made up to spook Duncan as a way of teaching him to be a little more considerate of another's situation and that the mist was simply distorting the glow produced by the fireflies and playing tricks on him.
I wonder if The Old Iron Bridge Engine could work as being the Skarloey Railway’s original #4 and Proteus as the original #3 (saying they were real) before Sir Handel and Peter Sam arrived on it, I don’t think they’d work as being engines on the Mid Sodor Railway since it seemed implied they were on the Skarloey Railway anyway and how Skarloey knew Proteus, Peter Sam obviously didn’t know about him and if he did then Duke would’ve told him while on the Mid Sodor.
I love the usage of Ennio Morricone's score for "The Thing".
5:15 Halloween from Season 8 has a ghost engine (and even a real CGI ghost) too as well as few various NON Classic episodes.
One episode that scared me as a kid was Percy’s Ghostly Trick. That one scene of the abandoned farmer cart on the line knowing that Percy was somewhere down the line bound to collide with it have me chills
Yeah that episode is the most disturbing
Ah remember this episode it probably intrigued me more then scary wanted to know who was the engine that fell, what happend to its crew, and was it real sitting or in all in duncan head. The music also add to the spooky theme one of the best theme by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell IMHO.
My family says I was scared of Thomas when I was little, and I can't exactly remember why. I think it was Diesel 10.
Hearing about your dragon story made me think about some of my once traumatic moments I saw on tv as a child that I now laugh about. One is the infamous THX logo, which I now jokingly call my “childhood nemesis” because of how frequent I used to see those bumpers as a kid. But another one is the also infamous scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the bad guys open the ark. One evening, my little childhood self couldn’t sleep or even stay in my room, so I went to the living room because I wanted my mommy. Coincidentally, I walked into my parents’ movie night… at the perfect time where those bad guys were about to open the ark! Long story short, I was unsurprisingly terrified of what I just witnessed… but nowadays, I considered it as hilarious karma. It wasn’t any of the filmmaker’s(or even Hollywood) fault, nor was it my parents! That incident serves me right for barging into my parents’ movie night instead of just going to bed or at least entertain myself with my toys 😂
The 80s was totally something
When you add the deleted scenes from the behind-the-scenes, this episode really is one of the scariest ones ever.
The GermanofSodor did a re-edit of the episode and it's honestly more chilling
This episode definitely creeped me out when I was younger and I think I am getting a bit creeped out now writing this in the middle of the night. It’s a real shame there weren’t any more episodes like this again, especially since the whole franchise is ruined beyond repair now. If the ghost engine is real however well that makes it the only ghost engine to have actually existed, and considering the fireflies making that shape this could confirm that ghosts do indeed exist in some form in the Thomas Universe.
The true cinematic experience that season five had
Ikr? This felt absolutely masterful
If this was a story in the railway series, then Rusty would probably just flat out say once Duncan left that he made the story up, and we would’ve gotten an explination for the fireflies,
Not necessarily
Still
@@toby.fan9198 I mean, maybe, but I find it unlikely
@@armorpro573 Yes, I would definitely prefer it Tobyfan9198 way.
@@randomnessetc5600 Ok
Myths & Legends.
For me, as a kid, the scariest thing in a TTTE episode was when Duke was put in the shed slowly buried alive by erosion. Now, it doesn't bother me, but back then, I could barely keep my eyes open at that scene.
LOL I'm surprised he hasn't started rusting away considering how long he's been
This episode always gave me nightmares as a kid and ironically, it got me back into the show after I grew out of it. I had a dream about this episode in 2016 and while Duncan was on the bridge, instead of seeing the ghost, he just randomly told me to get back into the show. I took his advice needless to say
LOL
3:50 Funny thing is that shot wasn’t the thing that scared me. I’d seen the dragon before in a picture book so it didn’t scare me. It was the sequence after it. The intense slasher-esque music, the glowing dragon appearing out of the darkness, all building up to scaring the living scrapyard out of Percy. Every time that section came on, I always left the room. To paraphrase, it wasn’t the dragon itself that scared me, but the music that came with it. It makes me wonder if sound can be scarier than sight.
I keep hearing the trumpets during the Ghostbusters instrumental at the beginning and I can't stop hearing Super Ghostbusters
If I may, Tug:
I think there is one episode of the Brenner Era that gives off the same vibes as Duncan Gets Spooked. And that would be Flatbeds of Fear.
The episode does explain later on that the noise following the engines was just the wind blowing through the pipes, but there are a few elements that convinced me otherwise. In Salty's story, we see a flashback of the flatbeds breaking away from the engine, and at the beginning and end, we catch a glimpse of the mysterious flatbeds lurking in the shadows, unseen. So, that noise may have been the wind blowing through the pipes, but then again, perhaps it really was the Flatbeds of Fear. Those might have been flatbeds being pulled by another engine, but they don't directly state it, making us wonder if the story is really true.
But even so, it still doesn't have that same creepy element
Yeah, but I just wanted to make a point @@armorpro573
@@armorpro573It does to me!
I'm gonna be honest with you, a little over a decade ago I saw the scary episodes and I like them except for one because of the music. When I saw it I just plain out didnt like it until a video I came across called Percy and the Ghost Diesel use the same music over again. I'm not gonna joke with you, I was upstairs, alone, with the lights one, but it was nighttime and it really scared the shit outta me, now that I'm older and experienced alot of horror I'm no longer scared. I did try to find the video that was my first demon but I couldn't find it, I might one day and face the thing that scared me the most
Oh man. I saw the original way back before it got removed and it's honestly chilling. Didn't really traumatize me, but that music was unsettling
I will say, I found your fear of the Chinese dragon approaching the screen to be kinda funny. I honestly didn’t find it scary as a kid but there were multiple scenes of classic Thomas that I found to be kinda creepy. Some that weren’t even supposed to be scary. For example, that scene of Thomas’s tired face in “Thomas & Gordon” always made me uncomfortable, for some reason. I don’t know why. I think it was the upward shot of the camera, the eyes squinting, I’m not entirely sure. I found my (somewhat) fear more hilarious since it wasn’t even trying to be scary.
0:04 AMONG US
This episode scared the crap outta me as a kid.
For me, the spookiest was Percy's Ghostly Trick
@@armorpro573What if you actually saw a clip of Henry in the Dark of Henry glowing without showing him being painted and before you saw the full episode, would that at least give you a few chills?
Speaking of fear was I the only one who muted the tv and got scared when James screamed when he got stung by the bee? No? Just me? Well then…
IMO, it was kind of weird seeing an animated bee mixed in with the models
@@armorpro573 a bit weird, but kind of cool that they went in and used old school cell shading
@@justmaskdoeswrestling7454 I wonder if they took that bee from a cartoon
@@armorpro573 I’m not sure, I wouldn’t be surprised but I think that art style just makes it seem very familiar
@@justmaskdoeswrestling7454 It’s very Disney influenced
I Like Comidy In Thomas And Friends And The Spooky Ones Like Duncan Gets Spooked it is Amazing
Nostalgia Critic: "IT'S *THOMAS THE F*CKING TANK ENGINE!!! Y'know, the show that PBS puts on when Clifford the Dog gets "too scary" for the kids!"*
The show that PBS puts on when Clifford the Dog gets "too scary" for the kids:
Remarkable
spoopy
I like to think the engine that died was Proteus
I couldn't watch Stepney Gets Lost for the longest time.
The creepiest episode for me was Percy’s Ghostly trick
I can relate because diesel in the model series always freaked me out as a child so much that I ran into another room anytime I saw him making a creepy face now though I have no clue why I was scared of him
one of the best thomas ep
Agreed, as well as Percy's Ghostly Trick
Huh tug redid the what if things how cool all of these were awsome
Kids need to get scared every now and then.
because if we never get scared then we never learn to brave.
And never be able to learn too
There is deleted scene from this episode where Duncan makes it to half of the bridge and then the ghost of engine appears all silver,it comes right in front of Duncan and yells,then a scary face with no eyes appears on the engine and Duncan tells his driver to take him back,when he goes back the ghost dissappears,his driver asks him is he spooked and he says that he's asleep,when his driver wasn't looking he opened his eyes and it points to the moon.
Spook
This episode scared the crap out of me as a kid and the remakes still kind of do…………..
i love the ghost theme and this was my favorite thomas ghost story as a kid (nvm timothy and ALFRED were my favs)
How to fix The Phantom Express....
1. If showing visuals of the ghost engines from the engine's point of view just like in the model series, reuse the models of one of the Logging Locomotives or Charlie, the most hated characters in the fandom to poke fun at them.
2. Add ambiguity to the story.
3. Add some gnarly trees and fog to the scenery.
As a Kid I was always scared of Troublesome Trucks Faces Especially the large Van faces.
0:43 Hahahahaha yeah because Thomas & Friends laughing like Peppa Pig is TOTALLY Normal “no sarcasm what so ever” (what on earth happened to these talking trains)
Proof that this show is not solely for kids.
At least the classic series. Nowadays, its a disgrace
it's funny the very first Thomas season I saw was season 5 and when I saw Duncan get spook I was like ok I was't scared. it's funny to me also the fire fly's gosht look like smugder so my theory is that was smudger's gosht
Eh probably not, but regardless, this episode really was disturbing
@@armorpro573 ya it was
Back
Seasons 3, 4, and 5 were in the same leagues as Coco, Soul, Up, The Iron Giant, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and Rango.
This episode scared the daylights out of me when I was 5 years old and it traumatized me until I was 14. I guess you could say I got more spooked than Duncan 😂
LOL I don't blame you
Is Jack and the Pack part of the Classic or NON-Classic Series?
Classic
@@Wildcatt1999 But half of the episodes got cancelled when HiT bought the franchise and it has music by Robert Hartshorne and is also narrated by Brandon.
@@Wildcatt1999 Also Jack and the Sodor Construction Company isn't part of main series, but if counts then don't Seasons 8-12 and 17-23 as well as the specials CAE, TGD, BMM, KOTR, TOTB, TAB, SLOTLT, THR, JBS, BWBA, and DAD count as Classic Series by extension? Because Stephen Asquith was only originally 2nd unit director is now full director of the HiT model era, and Andrew Brenner who was originally a secondary writer returns as full head writer from Blue Mountain Mystery all the way to S23.
Adaline The Phantom Engine Series is based on Duncan Gets Spooked
"More times than not, episodes end with the characters all laughing. Once you notice it, you'll never un-notice it." Paw Patrol endings in a nutshell.
Austin Powers: "HELP! I'm stuck in this nutshell! How did I get in this nutshell?!"
In all seriousness though, considering that both Paw Patrol & Bob the Builder were created by the same person, it makes me wonder what if we got a "Duncan Gets Spooked!"-esque episode in Paw Patrol! Would've been something interesting & new!
Unfortunately, that will never happen since Paw Patrol is for a much, much younger demographic. The company wouldn't allow any "frightening" scenes
@@armorpro573Company: LoOk aT tHe fUnNY miNioN!
@@splat-trainproductions Pretty much. These companies think flashy colors and wacky visuals are more important than actual storytelling. Remember Hey Arnold and Sesame Street? Those were the days
@@armorpro573Don't forget Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood! At least Blue's Clues still has her identity.
@@splat-trainproductions And also the original Teen Titans and Ben 10. I much prefer the old 90s style of animation
I'm glad I didn't see this episode for the first time until I was almost 19, but at the same time, I'm a bit disappointed, too. Was this episode included on the ''Spills and Chills'' DVD? If so, we always turned it off after Toby's Discovery and Rusty and the Boulder and never watched anything more because it was ''too scary''. I really wish my parents gave me a second chance as a kid, and how I'd think of the episode today, all those years later.
I liked this video
The spooky season is amongus bum bum bum bum bum bum bummmmmm budadum
I sometimes get a little spooked by the episodes like Ghost train Percy and The dragon etc.
I feel like the HiT Era played with tone better than the Brenner Era to an extent. Just look at episodes like Thomas to the Rescue, Squeak Rattle and Roll, Percy's Big Mistake, The Magic Lamp, Halloween, etc.
Eh those episodes could be better, but regardless, they're not too terrible
@armorpro573 It's not about their quality. It i's about how tonally distinct they are from the rest of the HiT Era. Dealing with scrap, mortality, lore, ambiguity, creepiness, etc
@@pranavrao6370 Again not saying they're the worst, but they feel lacking in comparison to the classic era.
Take season 5 for instance. The show portrays a variety of different tones with good storytelling and visuals. It tackles topics like death, job outsourcing, physical disabilities, love, mysterious worldbuilding, etc.
The stories were written in a more mature and realistic way, much like the previous seasons. Speaking of which, Edward's Exploit is a perfect example of overcoming one's weaknesses. Same with Gallant Engine.
But if you still like the HIT era, that's fine too
@@armorpro573 I don't think we are on the same page here. I am in no means saying any of those examples are as good as Season 5 by a long shot. I am just bringing up those episodes as instances of when the HiT Era played with tone more often and even better than the Brenner Era did.
@@pranavrao6370 Ok I understand.