The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story (original 1983; edition 2011)

An excellently creepy ghost story with all the proper elements, and the dog comes through unscathed! ( )

I may be alone in this, but I felt like I was reading a Dickens novel if he had decided to write a ghost story. During Arthur's travels and especially while he was at the inn I was reminded of the Pickwick Papers. The vibe matched completely. But the slow burning frightening feeling and isolated atmosphere was all Susan Hill. This was a great supernatural mystery. ( )

Styled as a nineteenth-century ghost story, Susan Hill's The Woman in Black is a slow-burning enjoyable ghost story that ramps up towards the end and retains momentum through to the very last page. In so many ways, it feels like a book which was written a hundred years ago rather than only a few decades ago, and the trip back in time is an interesting one. This did read fairly slowly for me through the first two thirds, but I think much of that had to do with the fact that I'd seen the movie previously, and as each chapter got started, I remembered just enough to keep me from being all that surprised or compelled by the plot on the page. As a result, I enjoyed the read as a sort of novelty in style, and I'd certainly read more of Hill's work, but I'd probably only recommend this work to readers who haven't seen the movie at all recently. ( )

I will admit that I started listening to this on the way to the airport for my holiday, nodded off, half listed to it, and have then spent the next month or so getting round to completing listening to it.

That perhaps gives a poor reflection on the book (it should give more of a reflection on that fact I can fall asleep on a 3 hour coach journey to Gatwick). The story is spooky and mysterious and the narrator (Paul Ansdell) ably contributes to the ambiance and is written in the fine tradition of gothic horror novels.

Mrs Alice Drablow lived and died at Eel Marsh house, and Arthur Kipps is sent to the house to represent his firm at her funeral, and afterwards clear up her papers. At the funeral, he spots a woman dressed in black, with a wasted face behind her veil, and soon becomes aware of a malaise that inhabits the house. Searching through the papers, he pieces together a sad story, and he begins hearing and seeing things, and it soon pushes him to the edge of sanity. The Woman in Black has a reputation and it comes to haunt Kripps when he least expects it ( )

A subtle, effective ghost story. At times I worried that it was somehow to slight, but the last quarter wraps things up wonderfully and adds some nice nuances. Overall a great example of atmosphere and efficient brevity. ( )