Read This!: The Woman in Black

By Susan Hill

I picked up this book because it seemed like it would have a nice, suspenseful feeling.  I don’t mind a good ghost story as long as it is not too, too scary.  I like a thrill, not not sleeping for a week.

The Woman in Black is told in the first person by Arthur Kipps, a solicitor, who at the age of 23, was sent to take care of the estate of his now-deceased client, Mrs. Drablow.   Kipps travels to the town of Crythin Gifford where he starts to sense that the locals are hiding something regarding the house of Mrs. Drablow and a mysterious woman in black who he keeps seeing.  Full of youth and naivety, Kipps ignores the hints and decides to stay at the remote Eel Marsh House alone, except for a dog.  Soon, Kipps starts to understand why the locals all stay away as his experiences at the house become more and more frightening.

For the majority of the book, I thought the story was intriguing but not quite scary and was a bit disappointed.  Then, I got to the end.  And I have to say at the time, I wasn’t super impressed but the more I thought about it afterwards, the more it bothered me.  So I guess in the end, Susan Hill was successful in her ghost story.

The only part of the book that really annoyed me was the fact that I couldn’t place what time the book was supposed to be taking place.  It was written in 1983 but was not set in 1983.  I thought it was set in Victorian England but then they talked about motor cards and lights so I am guessing it’s later.  I found this really frustrating.

I also wondered how much Mrs. Drablow herself experienced at the house and wished that would have been explained.

I will also say, in closing, that this book was recently made into a movie.  I would like to see the movie because I think a lot of the spookiness would be better conveyed through sound and visual.