The Woman in Black (1983)

I actually liked the movie better than the book. ( )

The central ghost story in THE WOMAN IN BLACK is framed by the elderly Arthur Kipps wandering around his estate and reflecting on the trajectory of his life following an earlier, unspecified trauma. He reunites with his sprawling family at home, and they spend the evening telling ghost stories to each other in front of the fire. Only, Arthur doesn’t want to tell his spooky story out loud--he opts to write it down instead. The main action unfolds in a letter to his adult children, with the final promise that he’ll never speak of it again.

The novel’s locales are richly imagined: it is set first in an oppressively foggy London, then in the dreary marshes around rural Crythin Gifford, and most notably in a giant, seemingly-deserted house complete with its own cemetery and creepy causeway. To its credit, THE WOMAN IN BLACK has the scenery and atmosphere of a 19th-century gothic novel, even if its other elements do not compare so favorably.

The characters are believable enough, though. Arthur is sympathetic as a young solicitor eager to prove himself professionally on his first out-of-town assignment. He wants to set up a happy life for his wife and child, and that’s fine. The insular townspeople are weary of him, however, and are reluctant to gossip about their ghostly tormentor--a woman in black, sightings of whom are associated with unspeakable tragedy. Of course, Arthur sees her in town almost as soon as he gets there and then has to spend the rest of the book in the house she died in.

The supernatural events, especially those set at the house, provide some genuine chills. Unfortunately, they are few and far between. The author has meticulously crafted an environment primed for scares, but then subverts the mounting tension at every turn with Arthur’s rambling, self-important narration.

Because we only experience the ghost’s menace from Arthur’s perspective decades after the fact, the woman in black comes across as sadly impotent. Arthur’s voice is too far-removed from the action to convey any sense of imminent danger. And his reflections on the events lack the details and energy of a young man experiencing the supernatural for the first time.

And while Arthur’s gradual loss of innocence is portrayed nicely, his descriptions of the House and of the Marsh and of the town and of the storms are rehashed on nearly every page in exhaustive detail. His account is a little too documentary to be thrilling.

But the real problem with the novel’s tension is that the ghost’s mythology comes too late to be compelling. As far as we can tell, right up until the penultimate chapter, the ghost doesn't have any treacherous abilities beyond occasionally putting people in a bad mood. And whatever mysterious effect she has seems to dissipate the moment she’s out of sight.

Sadly, the revelation of her true power comes across as an afterthought, and it’s a little underwhelming. There’s talk among the townspeople early on about unexplained child mortalities, but no one bothers to explain how things work in these parts to young, skeptical Arthur. And since we share his ignorance, we aren’t afraid that his behavior at the house, going through papers and moving things around, might incite the ghost. We have no concept of the peril being threatened until the very end of the book.

If we know Arthur lives because he’s the narrator, and that the ghost just makes him sad sometimes when he sees it, we don’t get the chance to participate in the horror at the heart of the story. I wish we were given the ghost's mythology before the seventh chapter and were allowed to discover the devastation of her life alongside Arthur’s experience of the haunting. Playing off those two narratives could have given this story some suspense and dimension. ( )

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’Yes, I had a story, a true story, a story of haunting and evil, fear and confusion, horror and tragedy.

Storyline

Arthur Kipps is a junior solicitor from London who has been asked by his employer to attend the funeral of Mrs. Alice Drablow in Crythin Gifford. He must also visit her residence in order to collect any important paperwork that she may have been left behind. Arthur sees the woman in black at Mrs. Drablow’s funeral and again at her residence at Eel Marsh House. She doesn’t appear to be a malevolent spirit so Arthur doesn’t worry too much and decides to spend the night at the house so that he can quickly finish his work and return to London. But that night, Arthur begins to hear unexplainable sounds and worries that he may have underestimated the woman in black.

'...piercing through the surface of my dreams, came the terrified whinnying of the pony and the crying and calling of that child over and over, while I stood, helpless in the mist, my feet held fast, my body pulled back, and while behind me, though I could not see, only sense her dark presence, hovered the woman.'

Thoughts
I quite enjoyed this quick little read and am glad I finally got around to reading it. I love ghost stories even though I tend to scare quite easily… and this book was no exception. The writing was beautiful and vividly creepy and definitely manages to get under your skin even though the real scary parts don’t even start till the latter half of the book. The descriptions were spot on and the whole book is simply eerie even though, in thinking back to it, nothing real huge actually happens. The ghost doesn’t come alive and smother him in his sleep or glue the windows shut or anything absurd like that. Nevertheless I was frightened enough to have to ask my boyfriend to walk upstairs with me to our darkened bedroom after I was finished. He still makes fun of me for that. Lol

Enjoying it as much as I did, I still didn’t give it 5 stars and the only reason for that was because of the ending. It left a bit to be desired for me and was a bit too abrupt for my liking. ( )

A very enjoyable quick read. Susan Hill has a style of writing that is very easy to read, I fell into this book head over heels and loved every minute. ( )

Rating: 5 of 5

In recent months, I've re-discovered how much I absolutely LOVE ghost stories, specifically those written in the spirit of "the classics." That love might render this "review" somewhat biased.

I could not put down The Woman in Black, literally; I ate lunch whilst devouring page after page. And while it was short and easily read in one sitting (two or three for the more patient reader), it packed quite a punch. The ending hit especially hard. Hill's prose, setting, characters: superb. And the descriptions were spot on, not too much but more than enough to evoke vivid images.

"Whereas the bed had been made up neatly, now the clothes were pulled off anyhow and bundled up or trailing onto the floor. The wardrobe door and the drawers of the small chest were pulled open and all the clothes they contained half-dragged out, and left hanging like entrails from a wounded body (p. 118)."

The pace was just right, teasing readers with hints, revealing bit by bit the truth behind the whispers, building steadily to a tense climax, but even then not letting go until the very last page.

Highly recommended to anyone - all ages - who enjoys classic ghost stories.

P.S. It's hard to believe the 2012 movie, starring Daniel Radcliffe, will be able to capture the true essence of this story, namely the setting and atmosphere. But my hopes remain high. ( )