The Woman In Black

Name: Serina

Grade: 12+

Title: The Woman In Black

Author: Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps, a young solicitor in Victorian England, is called to the small town Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of a widow named Alice Drablow, and to sort the paperwork left behind on her large estate called the Eel Marsh House. It is in this small town that Arthur first spots the woman in black, an eerie phantom who is known to bring calamity in her wake. Upon Arthur's arrival, the townsfolk are very reluctant to tell him much about the recently deceased widow, which causes him to suspect something is terribly amiss. Everything begins to unwind when Arthur is taken to the Eel Marsh House which resides on the marshes at the edge of town and is impossible to reach after nightfall, when the tide comes in and swallows up the treacherous road that only a pony and trap can cross. Not wanting to be taken to and from the house every day, Arthur decides to stay there as many nights as needed to get his work done. However, it isn't long after his arrival when he discovers that he is not quite alone on the estate. A shadowy woman dressed all in black haunts the halls, a rocking chair in a nursery moves all on its own, and a child's screams can be heard from out in the foggy marsh in the dead of night. Arthur must solve the mystery, and what the deceased widow had to do with the terror Arthur is now experiencing from the woman in black.

I picked this book up because I saw the movie was based on a book.

I finished this book because it was quite different from the film version.

I'd give this book to an fan of traditional gothic horror.

Rating: **** Really liked it!