| "That Hell-Bound Train" | |
|---|---|
| Short story byRobert Bloch | |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Dark Fantasy |
| Publication | |
| Published in | The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction |
| Publication type | magazine |
| Publisher | Mercury Publications |
| Media type | Print (Softcover) |
| Publication date | September 1958 |
"That Hell-Bound Train" is adark fantasyshort story by American writerRobert Bloch. It was originally published inThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in September 1958.
Martin is a young hobo with a fondness for trains. One night, as he is considering whether to abandon crime, a large unmarked black train pulls up beside him. The trainconductor offers Martinanything he wants, in return for which he will "ride thatHell-Bound Train" when he dies. Martin requests the power to stop time, which he plans to use at the happiest time of his life. The conductor accedes to this request; however, over the years that follow, Martin discovers that he cannot choose which moment is his happiest. In the end, he dies, never having stopped time, and indeed boards the train. However, he likes the sinful look of the passengers and chooses to stop time then and there. The train never reaches the depot and Martin, now thebrakeman, finally finds happiness.
"That Hell-Bound Train" won theHugo Award forBest Short Story in 1959.[1]Comic Book Resources has described it as "a classic deal-with-the-devil tale with a nice twist at the end".[2]
The story was shaped byWilliam Tenn, who at the time had an editorial position atFantasy and Science Fiction salvaging stories that had been selected byAnthony Boucher (prior to Boucher's retirement) as "not quite good enough to be published, but still too good to have been rejected". In 2001, Tenn explained that the original version of "That Hell-Bound Train" had been "an absolutely fine piece of work that just didn't have a usable ending"; consequently, he devised a new ending "and persuaded [Bloch] to write it".[3]
A comic book version of the story began publication on May 15, 2011. The adaptation was written byJoe R. Lansdale and John Lansdale, with art by Dave Wachter. Running for three issues, it was published byIDW Comics.
The song "Hellbound Train (Downbound Train)" byChuck Berry is about a similar train.
A dramatized radio version was broadcast onMindwebs, narrated by Michael Hanson.[4]
An opera adaptation of the story is currently in production by composer Lisa DeSpain and librettist David Simpatico.[5]
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