Spooky Reads Day 7: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Title: The Woman in Black
Author: Susan Hill
Page Count: 200
Rating: A
Keywords: Ghosts, Dogs, Victorian
Genre: Horror
Younger Readers: Teens and older

Synopsis from Goodreads:

What real reader does not yearn, somewhere in the recesses of his or her heart, for a really literate, first-class thriller--one that chills the body, but warms the soul with plot, perception, and language at once astute and vivid? In other words, a ghost story written by Jane Austen?

Alas, we cannot give you Austen, but Susan Hill's remarkable Woman In Black comes as close as our era can provide. Set on the obligatory English moor, on an isolated causeway, the story has as its hero Arthur Kipps, an up-and-coming young solicitor who has come north from London to attend the funeral and settle the affairs of Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. The routine formalities he anticipates give way to a tumble of events and secrets more sinister and terrifying than any nightmare: the rocking chair in the deserted nursery, the eerie sound of a pony and trap, a child's scream in the fog, and most dreadfully--and for Kipps most tragically--The Woman In Black.

The Woman In Black is both a brilliant exercise in atmosphere and controlled horror and a delicious spine-tingler--proof positive that this neglected genre, the ghost story, isn't dead after all.

My Review:

If you're in the market for a new audiobook, the edition narrated by Paul Ansdell was a great creepy read. I had the added bonus of listening to this during my two hour commute through fog cloaked hills in eastern Washington earlier this year. Highly recommend this one for a stormy night.

I watched the movie adaptation of this when I was in high school and did not necessarily love it. Luckily this book diverges quite a bit from that story and I preferred reading Arthur Kipps to watching Danielle Radcliffe's performance of him. The book has a bit more soul, substance, and sense than the film.

I highly recommend this one if you're looking for a great classic ghost story with eerie atmosphere that does not necessarily leave you downright scared but rather unnerved. 

Bonus, there's a canine companion!