Blurb (I'll use the brief summary by Poppy Hutchinson in http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/, since the book blurb seems rather uninformative): When the Famous Five go camping, in the company of Julian and Dick's eccentric school-teacher: Mr Luffy, surely they can't fall into adventure, in the quiet and lonely moorland that surrounds them? But, of course, somehow, they manage too, and find themselves on the trail of Spook Trains that appear, out of nowhere, in the dead of the night! Accompanied by their new friend, from a local farm: Jock, they venture out into the night, to investigate the extraordinary appearance of these peculiar trains, only to expose themselves to some of the most dangerous criminals they have faced, yet...

Random thoughts:

The book starts with the children planning their camping holiday during the summer. The beginning reminds me somewhat of Five Go Off in a Caravan, only a bit worse, because in Caravan that start seemed filled with more wonder and opportunity. In that book the children are lying on the grass, daydreaming about the fun they are going to have, while here they are in a room with a map, making plans in a more matter-of-fact way. Well, I guess it's normal; they are more experienced now, after all. Also, this time they are going to have an adult chaperone, Mr. Luffy, which is sure to cramp their style. At least that's what I thought, before meeting Mr. Luffy.

OK, so as the story got moving I thought this might be like Caravan, only not as good, but happily I found out that this book has pleasures of its own. One of them is Mr. Luffy. What a great character! He's one of those absent-minded professors EB likes creating, but how unlike Uncle Quentin he is. Good-natured, kind, with a sense of humor and none of Quentin's fierceness, he is surprisingly good with children. He gives the Five all the freedom they want, but not just because he is so absent-minded and obsessed with hunting for interesting insects, but also because he has an unusual ability to understand when to give them space. Oh, and he also can wiggle one of his ears! In the beginning he is thinking that he'll teach the children all about insects, but luckily for them he never seems to act on that. As a guardian he is not ideal from an adult point of view, though. He is forgetful, after all, and irresponsible in some ways, like the way he drove too fast, forgetting all the time that they were towing a trailer.

A couple of unimportant camping nitpicks: In the moors they use streams as a source of drinking water, without bothering to boil it or anything. However, considering that there are sheep and other animals around, that seems strange to me. Also, Blyton makes it sound as if sleeping on the ground in sleeping bags is more comfortable than it really is.

Mr. Luffy lets them camp away from him, so as not to spoil the children's fun. At some point one of the boys joke that they don't need to fear that Mr. Luffy will come running to check whether they have brushed their teeth of are wearing a warm jersey. Maybe he should have checked the teeth-brushing, though, as shown when the children go to sleep and eat chocolate in their sleeping bags.

I had to laugh at Anne's reaction to the "volcano", although I had to admit I was mystified until Mr. Luffy explained about the trains and underground tunnels. Quite cool of Mr. Luffy to keep the secret about Anne's scared reaction but occasionally teasing her gently about it.

One problem reading (or listening) these books as an adult is how obvious the bad guys are. Normally we know as soon as we meet them. Here we are immediately suspicious when we are told how surprisingly wealthy the farm was, and when we meet the nasty Mr. Andrews we know he is up to something. His stepson Jock and Mrs. Andrews are nice, though. I felt kind of sorry for them when we first met them, thinking that their lifestyle was going to be spoiled once the Five uncovered whatever criminal activities Mr. Andrews was involved it, which would get rid of the source of the money he poured on the farm. On the other hand, once I saw more of him, I knew they would be better off without him anyway.

Jock is a standard friend/ally of the children. Nice and eager enough, but not such as memorable a character as Mr. Luffy.

There was a very funny scene when Dick is in his sleeping bag and Mr. Luffy arrives and Dick, thinking it's Timmy, starts telling him to go away and not jump on him and put his paws on him when he is trying to sleep. Reading it nowadays in this less innocent time, it can even have a double meaning that Blyton clearly had not meant. I wonder if it's edited out in the "modern" revised edition.

The setting is really atmospheric. I found myself enjoying the pre-adventure part a lot. The adventure part is also quite good, but there were a few things that spoiled part of my enjoyment:

First, we have Jock and the Five's meanness to Cecil Dearlove. It's just an incident, and yes, I understand that Cecil is unlikable: a tattle-teller, cowardly, just-not-fun-at-all boy. But what did he do exactly to deserve being bullied just for being unlikable? This would have not bothered me much as a boy, I admit, because children often have less empathy in these situations. Let's not exaggerate, nothing really bad was done to Cecil, but they were rather mean to him. Not something to be proud about regarding the Five, who are so likable in many other ways. I have listened to the first seven books in the series now, and this is the second time I have had reservations about something the children do. The first time was in Five Run Away Together, when they were mean to (S)Tinker the Sticks' dog. They were also mean to Edgar Stick, but I don't count that against them, since Edgar clearly started it and was a nasty piece of work. Anyway, the children are not perfect, and that's OK with me, but what seems a bit off-putting is that Blyton seems to think that behavior is fine, or at least that's my perception of how she treats the incident.

OK, so that's one thing. As I said, that would not have bothered me as a boy, and as Enid Blyton herself said, she is not concerned about the opinion of critics over 12 years old. There's a large tradition in children's literature of minor lack of empathy against unpleasant children, after all. However, what would have bothered me as a boy is how the others treat George at some points here. Anne doesn't want to go look for the "spook trains" in the tunnels, so George is kept away from the adventure because someone needs to stay with Anne. WTF? Anne is a bit out of character there because, although she is scared, she does want to be included in the adventures, even if she likes them better when they are over. But even accepting she wants to sit this one out, is it really unacceptable to leave her alone for a while at camp, even if it's during the night? Can't another solution be found, possibly involving Mr. Luffy, who is quite understanding of the children's escapades? The boys were kind of nasty about this: they not only try to leave George out of the night expeditions, they also "punish" her for getting in one of her moods about it. After George asked whether they'll let her come next time Julian says "Certainly not. This is my adventure and Dick's—and perhaps Jock's. Not yours or Anne's." Way to be a jerk there, Julian. In his defense, George had been kind of nasty too, calling Anne coward.

Again, what bothers me is not that the children have a row. That happens sometimes in childhood friendships. What bothers me is how the author seems to assume that George is automatically in the wrong here. Dick and Anne side with Julian without question, and George herself assumes it's her fault for being silly and moody and eventually apologizes. But really, she's not being silly. Are they or are they not friends? Do friends act like that, knowing very well how much George is going to hate it? I'm trying to be fair here and avoid judging this our current values, when this was written and is set in the 40s. I accept society gave boys and girls different roles then, and that the values of the time held that girls needed to be looked after. Anne likes being looked after and I'm perfectly OK with that. But not George. Just treat him like a boy already, idiots. Or if you sometimes can't, if your social conditioning pushes you to protect the girls in certain situations, at least don't be jerks about it. The row here goes beyond other let's-protect-George-because-she's-a-girl incidents in the series, and I would like to see it addressed instead of instantly forgotten. I know that's not going to happen, though. It's a pity, because I find this stuff regarding the dynamics of the characters' relationships very interesting (that's one of the reasons I loved Go Adventuring Again even though it was adventure-light), and dealing with that a bit more would have made the books better.

Oh, well... at least George got to shine, looking for the trains on her own and later rescuing the boys, who had been taken prisoner. Even Anne showed that when it was necessary she could master her fears and show courage.

One more problem with the story: like in Smuggler's Top, the bad guys' plan here made little sense. Why on Earth did they need such a complex operation involving trains and abandoned train tracks and tunnels? This is something that I find easy to forgive because I'm trying to enjoy these as a child, while savoring the details and the atmosphere as an adult, and this would have bothered me little as a boy. I would just have accepted it as the nefarious plot of the bad guys, and just enjoyed the spooky atmosphere and thrilling danger, without needing a clear reason for the bad guys to act that way.

OK, so I guess that's it. I have spent a lot of time talking about the problems with the story, but actually I found it quite enjoyable to read. There was just a slightly bittersweet taste left for me, mainly for the treatment of George. The other flaws I care less about. ( )

En esta ocasión, los Cinco se van de camping, con sus tiendas y sacos de dormir, acompañados de Sr Luffy, un notable profesor del colegio de Julián y Dick, que además de llevarlos en coche, y compartir con Ana sus bocadillos de pepinillo, lechuga..., sabe mover su oreja derecha. La zona de acampada es en los páramos, donde hay una intrincada red ferroviaria muy antigua que enlaza las poblaciones cercanas. También conocerán a Sam Pata de Palo, un extraño vigilante, que les hablará de trenes fantasma, que "no se sabe donde van, ni de donde vienen, y que marchan por la noche sin luces ni maquinistas".

También se harán amigos de Jock, un niño que vive en la Granja Olly, pero que no se lleva nada bien con su padrastro, Mr Andrews. Él le compró la granja a su mujer, pero no le interesa mucho el trabajo de la granja. Mr Andrews les dice que Sam está loco y que no se acerquen al depósito, porque es muy peligroso. Julián y Dick se asombran de los muchos camiones que hay para una granja tan pequeña. Por la noche con Jock, encuentran un tren fantasma que parece desaparecer en el aire.

Jorge, que fue excluida de la aventura nocturna, se marcha enfadada con Tim. Accidentalmente descubre bajando a través de un orificio de ventilación, uno de los trenes fantasma. Al escuchar repentinamente voces, se esconde tras un vagón.

Mientras, los chicos deciden explorar uno de los túneles cercanos a la Granja Olly, excepto Ana que no le apetece meterse en sitios oscuros y viejos. Los chicos son capturados por Mr Andrews que los ata en una cueva cerca del tren fantasma. Jorge, que permanecía escondida, los libera, y encuentran muchos objetos robados. Mientras, Ana alerta a Mr Luffy y a la policía y capturan a los bandidos.

England, ca 1953
Indeholder "1. Ferieforberedelser", "2. På heden", "3. Annes vulkan", "4. Spøgelsestog", "5. Aftensmad i lejren", "6. Besøget på gården", "7. Hr. Andrews kommer hjem", "8. En fredelig aften", "9. Nattegæsten", "10. Jagten på spøgelsestoget", "11. Tøsedrengen", "12. Georg er vred", "13. En spændende plan", "14. Jock kommer til lejren", "15. Georg oplever noget", "16. I tunnelen", "17. Et forbløffende fund", "18. Smuthullet", "19. Sikken et eventyr".

En familie med tre børn, Julian på 13, Anne på 11 og Dick på 12 har alle børnene på kostskole. Nu er det ferie og de tre børn kommer på besøg ved farbroderen Quentin og hans kone Fanny. Quentin og Fanny har datteren Georgina på ca 12 år og de bor ved Kirrin-bugten i et omkring trehundrede år gammelt hus kaldet Kirrinhuset. Georgina er ret egenrådig, er kortklippet, går i drengetøj og vil kaldes Georg. Hun har hunden Tim og der plejer at være eventyr i luften, når de fem er sammen.

Dette år har de fem planlagt en lejrtur og de to hold forældre har allieret sig med en naturforsker hr Luffy, der lægger bil og påhængsvogn til. De kommer fint afsted og når også frem til heden. Bagagen er også stadig med, selv om hr Luffy har kørt ret stærkt. De får slået telt op og spist lidt og falder så i søvn i løbet af nul tid. Næste dag spiser de morgenmad og Anne bliver forskrækket over lydene fra en jernbanetunnel, der løber under jorden på en bjergskråning. En vagtmand Sam Træben ved nogle nedlagte spor snakker om spøgelsestog og jager børnene væk. I nærheden er der en pæn lille gård, der har fået nye ejere, siden hr Luffy så den sidst for en tre år siden. Her bor drengen Jock Robins med sin mor og stedfar mr Andrews. Gården giver ikke noget særligt udbytte, men mr Andrews har masser af penge. Han har også skaffet nogle folk, men ifølge en rigtig landarbejder Will er de andre bare nogle høveder og kvajpander. De fem bliver gode venner med Jock, men ikke med mr Andrews, da han dukker op. Han advarer dem også mod spøgelsestoget og sørger for at holde Jock beskæftiget, så han ikke kan være sammen med de fem. Jock sniger sig dog ud til om natten og de aftaler at kigge nærmere på toget næste nat. Jock kan fortælle at han har været på tur med stedfaderen til nærmeste by og at lastbilen kørte tom ind til byen, så det er ikke på at sælge gårdens produkter at han tjener penge. Hr Andrews har påført Jock en duksedreng Cecil Dearlove som selskab. Det ender med Cecil i gråd og Jock i husarrest. Georg er sur fordi de andre har udforsket spøgelsestoget uden hende, men det gør bare Julian og Dick mere stædige og opsatte på at hun og Tim ikke skal med. De tager ind til byen og udspørger en af de gamle togarbejdere om tunnellerne. Han fortæller meget og de giver ham en pakke cigaretter som tak. Til gengæld giver han dem et gammelt kort over alle tunnellerne. Om aftenen prøver de at finde ud af hvor spøgelsestoget bliver af, men det forsvinder for dem, selv om julian løber over jorden hen til udmundingen af tunnellen.
Jock dukker op og fortæller at hr Andrews har tænkt sig at sende ham over til hans faster. Jock fordufter dog inden det bliver til noget og bliver indlogeret i de fems lejr. Hr Andrews kommer for at hente Jock hjem, men hr Luffy hører stille på ham og snakker ham efter munden. Og da hr Andrews er gået igen, fortæller hr Luffy Jock at han fint kan forstå at Jock ikke er begejstret for stedfaderen og at Luffy ingen planer har for at sende Jock hjem.
Imens trasker Georg og Tim omkring nede ved Sam Træben. Tim falder i et dybt hul og Georg må udforske tunnellen for at få ham op igen. Han ender dog med at falde ned og lande blødt i en stor dynge sod. Her nede i en kort stump tunnel står et gammelt tog.
Imens er Julian, Dick og Jock gået ind i tunnellen for at se hvor toget blev af, De har ladet Anne blive udenfor og det er en god ide, for kort efter kommer hr Andrews og nogle af hans mænd kørende og går også ind i tunnellen. Det er Sam Træben, der har set drengene og ringet efter hr Andrews. Anne farer vild på vejen tilbage, men bliver fundet af hr Luffy, der har været ovre hos fru Andrews og kigge efter børnene. Han har ringet efter politiet og er sammen med en håndfuld betjente, da han finder Anne. Imens har hr Andrews og mændene fundet drengene og bundet dem. Men da mændene er gået dukker Georg og Tim op og befrier drengene.
Hr Andrews og mændene bliver arresteret og deres sortbørsvarer bliver konfiskeret.
Alle børnene kommer med hen til fru Andrews og får et bad og en masse mad, inden de falder i dyb søvn.

Anne kan godt lide at være husmor for dem alle sammen og sørger for mad og oprydning, men de hjælper allesammen med uden at brokke sig. Det er ret tydeligt en efterkrigshistorie hvor mad spiller en stor rolle. Og hvor den sorte børs også har været ret aktiv. ( )

I read this to my son at bed time, and it had the virtue of being pleasant and attention-catching without being too exciting until the climax of the story.

There were only two difficult bits of content for my kid. First, was some bullying and racism (when a boy plays "Red Indians" to deliberately scare another kid) but that were pretty easy to have a conversation about. The second was the appearance of criminals smuggling black market goods, which was more complicated to explain. ( )

- Det har kommit tåg som ingen känt till, ut ur den där tunneln, sa fåraherden. Jag har hört dem många gånger när jag har varit ute med fåren om nätterna. Tunneln har inte använts på trettio år - och ändå kör det fortfarande tåg ut ur den, precis som förr i världen.
- Hur vet ni det? frågade Julian. Har ni sett dem?
Det gick kalla kårar utefter ryggraden på honom.
- Nej, svarade herden. Jag har bara hört dem. Tuff, tuff, tuff! De gnisslar och skramlar. Men de visslar inte längre. Gamle Träbens-Sam tror att det är ett spöktåg. Det är aldrig någon som kör dem, och det är aldrig någon som ser dem. Gå inte ner dit. Det är en farlig och otäck plats.
Just då tittade Julian på Anne. Hon såg alldeles skräckslagen ut.