The Woman in Black
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"An excellent ghost story... magnificently eerie... compulsive reading." -- Evening Standard The classic ghost story by Susan Hill: a chilling tale about a menacing spectre haunting a small English town. Arthur Kipps is an up-and-coming London solicitor who is sent to Crythin Gifford--a faraway town
… More »"An excellent ghost story... magnificently eerie... compulsive reading." -- Evening Standard The classic ghost story by Susan Hill: a chilling tale about a menacing spectre haunting a small English town. Arthur Kipps is an up-and-coming London solicitor who is sent to Crythin Gifford--a faraway town in the windswept salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway--to attend the funeral and settle the affairs of a client, Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. Mrs. Drablow's house stands at the end of the causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but Kipps is unaware of the tragic secrets that lie hidden behind its sheltered windows. The routine business trip he anticipated quickly takes a horrifying turn when he finds himself haunted by a series of mysterious sounds and images--a rocking chair in a deserted nursery, the eerie sound of a pony and trap, a child's scream in the fog, and, most terrifying of all, a ghostly woman dressed all in black. Psychologically terrifying and deliciously eerie, The Woman in Black is a remarkable thriller of the first rate.
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Add Age SuitabilityIndigo_Horse_39 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 10 and 50
Green_Gazelle_3 thinks this title is suitable for 14 years and over
Blue_Dog_4834 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 12 and 30
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Summary
Add a SummaryThe book version is quite different from that of the movie. Good choice for someone who desires only a little scare. If more scare is desired view the movie.
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Add a CommentEek! I'm easily scared, so I certainly found this book creepy. Hill doesn't inspire fright with gouls popping out of nowhere, so much as with the atmosphere she creates, which was very eerie. I found the ending a bit unfulfilling, though, and the way that Hill's narrator constantly invokes the Gothic by saying that the whole thing wasn't very Gothic (when it was), made it seem like a little bit of a satire. But that's just my take.
An evocative ghost story in the Gothic style that provides all of its scares via atmosphere and a slow build up of suspense rather then relying on blood and gore. The perfect read for a dark and stormy night.
Loved the descriptive writing style. Good story, well written novella.
In 1990, on a trip to London, I went to see a theatrical production of "A Women In Black." I didn't know what it was, but it was the most convenient show fior which tickets were available. I didn't expect much. I just wanted to go the theatre in London. I didn't expect to receive the greatest scare of my life, or to have chills run down my spine, and to jump from my seat in fear. But I did. The simple, sparse production produced more fear in me than had lavish big-budget productions like "Poltergeist" or "Jaws." And so, when I started reading Susan Hill's novel, I knew what to expect, and also wondered whether there was anything new to be experienced in the book. There was. Reading Susan Hill's prose is like watching a master craftsperson. It is the soul of parsimony. Not a word wasted. In only a hundred-some pages, she creates an inescapable terror.
Good old-fashioned Gothic novel, creepy and atmospheric. Best read alone on a cold blustery night for maximum effect. No gore, yay!
It's a ghost story. It's pretty much the ur-ghost story, except it was written too recently for that. Doors that were locked are mysteriously opened, rocking chairs creak when there's no one to rock in them, strange noises are heard over the moors... All the elements are here, but there's nothing new or surprising or different in the way they're put together. Somehow there's atmosphere without tension.
A very interesting read. Very tragic as well.
A very well-written old fashioned ghost story. Probably not chilling enough for those addicted to blood and vampires, but just right for me.
Susan Hill has created a ghost story that is like a creeping clinging bit of sea weed caught on the beach after the tide has gone out. Arthur Kipps is more than willing to take on extra responsibilities at his job as a junior solicitor. He catches the earliest train to a remote spot on the moors, and Eel House. There he will bury the owner, and encounter the Woman in Black. Other sights and sounds will force themselves onto him and give him the scare of a lifetime. Expertly written and suspenseful, this beats the movie all to hell and back.
The point wasn't to be a "scary story" you guys.