Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
The Signalman  By  cover art

The Signalman

By: Charles Dickens
Narrated by: Sam Mendes
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $6.53

Buy for $6.53

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

From the greatest novelist of the Victorian era comes a ghostly short story, now reimagined in 3D sound.

Put your headphones on and settle in to this Audible Original adaptation of Charles Dickens’ The Signalman, narrated by Academy-Award winning director Sam Mendes (Skyfall, 1917, Empire of Light).

A lone narrator meets a railway worker who is confined to a cold, gloomy station in a deep cutting near a tunnel entrance. This worker is a signalman, and it is his responsibility to give the green light for trains to pass through the area. These are slow, monotonous days. The signalman’s life is not marked by much, until the nightmares begin.

Three times in a row, a ghost mysteriously appears before the signalman – and with each apparition, a tragic accident unfolds on the rail tracks.

Although our narrator doubts the man at first, events soon make him a believer too...

Follow along as the mystery is revealed in spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, bringing the haunting tale closer to you than ever before.

Now available in Dolby Atmos on Audible.

Public Domain (P)2022 Audible, Ltd

What listeners say about The Signalman

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    263
  • 4 Stars
    82
  • 3 Stars
    38
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    281
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    231
  • 4 Stars
    57
  • 3 Stars
    31
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow! Excellent story and narration

In the performance of this Dickens story the narrator really brings the nuances to the characters, and the sound effects, music, and “stereo and beyond” make this a great listen to a sad tale.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Performance

This was a very quick and entertaining story. I have read it before but it’s so much better listening to it dramatized

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Requires full attention

You need to pay full attention to the narration to understand what is going on. Unlike other stories which allow you to work on other things in a multi-tasking sort of way, the narration was so soft you will need to crank the volume way up.

When you are wearing a headset, you can't listen to the narration without destroying your eardrums.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible Short Story

I’m kinda upset now after finishing it because of what happens at the end, but this short little story is so well written. It’s the perfect length, and it even manages to be spookier than I was expecting!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An enjoyable tale.

I’m not usually a fan of music and sound effects as part of my audiobook experience, but I will admit that this sound production enhanced rather than distracted.

Mr. Mendes did a great job with the telling of this Dickens short-story.

The story itself is very old school, because it is old school. In the hands of another writer, the story may have plopped to the ground with a splat. Dickens kept it interesting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Theatrical

Some of the music is over used - cause the story itself is not scary, but just eerie. However the voice actor is amazing and the overall performance really delivered a chilling short story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thrilling

Some books are best in dramatic audio format as they lend to the thrill and excitement of the offering.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great atmospheric scary tale

Very short. Super creepy. Good performance!! I liked the atmosphere of the story. I hadn’t ever read this before.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

This wasn't creepy at all . . .

For this to be a short story it was EXTREMELY creepy. Way to go Charles Dickens! But I have questions. Why did that ghost have it out for the signal man. He literally harassed him to the point that when a real warning came he missed it. Ignored like it was a false alarm. That poor man.

4 stars

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great short story

The background sound effects really brought the story to life. It is definitely worth the time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!