The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill

There is a chill in the air, the nights are lengthening and summer is officially over. So what better time to take a break from the weather outside than by curling up with a spine-tingling novel?

For a good old-fashioned ghost story, it has got to be a classic for me and the unforgettable eeriness of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black.

The novel begins with Christmas Eve in full swing as Arthur Kipps, a lawyer, considers his current fortunes gratefully. As his family wind down from the evening’s festivities, ghost stories are being told around the hearth and in, “The lonely country house, the guests huddled around the fireside in a darkened room, the wind howling at the casement…” Arthur finds himself still haunted by a fateful journey he took as a junior solicitor, to Crythin Gifford, and Eel Marsh House, and to the funeral of Mrs Drablow.

In a bid to rid himself of the memories once and for all he commits the story to paper and with it his first siting of the woman in black, the secrets of Eel Marsh House and his growing unease until a shocking denouement.

Is it worth the read?

The thing I love about this novella is that it is bursting with classic Gothic horror motifs and Susan Hill is a master of atmospheric descriptions. She evokes so cleverly the decrepit Eel Marsh House, the mention of its name enough to make the locals pause, their faces darken in unspoken wariness. The isolation of its location, surrounded by fog and mist, stuck in the middle of marsh land and subject to a tidal flow which makes it inaccessible for parts of each day. Then there is the heart breaking back story of love and loss, and the howling winds, lights going out, locked doors which suddenly open, a creaking rocking chair in an abandoned nursery, even a dog howling – fabulous.

The Woman in Black gives a thrilling sense of unease and provides just the right level of things that go bump in the night for a spine-tingling good read.

Published by Vintage Publishing, ISBN: 9780099288473