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The Woman in Black - Susan Hill
A great little ghost story. Enjoyed reading this one.... a lot.
It has just the right amount of spine tingle and chilling unexpected appearances.
The story takes the shape of an older man telling the ghost story that he experienced himself when he was young and full of life. It all starts when the firm Arthur works for decides to send him off to the house of a recently deceased woman to sort through some papers left behind that will help in settling her estate. The house is on an island and can only be reached at certain times of the days. The setting is lonely, dark, chilling and the place is deserted. It is just him and the dog...... and the ghost, and the noises, both inside and out. The atmosphere is great. Arthur is a thoroughly fine chap. He is young innocent and positive and looking forward to his future. He wishes he had a bit more money so he could marry the woman he loves but that should not be too far off, promotion is surely just on the horizon.
The first indication of things not being well is when Arthur sees a woman in black appear at the cemetery. He then also hears noises like a pony drowning and a child crying. This is just the stuff that happens outside. Inside the house there are noises from rooms that are meant to be closed off and his borrowed dog seems very unsettled at certain times. Yet Arthur tries to be rational about it all and even when he succumbs to the horrors of the house he seems to want to go back to finish the job and find out what it is all about. Something draws him back in. Wild horses could not drag me back if I had seen and heard half of what Arthur goes through but he persists and it nearly kills him.
Fortunately he survives and with the help of some kind locals he finds his sanity again. He gets married and all is well..... until the Woman in Black turns up again. I will not reveal what happens when she does but suffice it to say it is a horrible, tragic event that unfolds in Arthur's life.
The only little gripe I have with the book is that it seems to be missing a sentence of two to transition it from chapter 1 to chapter 2. At the start of the book the family are gathering for Christmas and they are telling ghost stories to pass the time. Arthur declines to tell his but then realises that it still seems to haunt him so decides to write it all down. This he decides to do after Christmas. As he says at the end of the chapter: "When it was over. I would have work to do". Then the new chapter starts with "It was a Monday afternoon in November...." and I am thinking, hang on.... it was Christmas one sentence ago, is Christmas over then? It took me a few more sentences to realise that actual Arthur had actually begun his story. I could have done with a little linking sentence to just pick up on that.
Apart from that, this is a great ghost story. Suitably eerie, good characters that are fleshed out a bit. Suitably tragic background of the coming into existence of the ghost. All in all, very much in the tradition of MR James and his contemporaries.
Title: The Woman in Black
Author: Susan Hill
Vintage
160 pages
ISBN nr 978-0-099-28847-3
Books to be read: 119
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