Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Woman in Black

There is a simplicity in The Woman in Black's writing of horror. The cover proudly touting it the "classic English ghost story" initially led me to expect a tame and slightly cliché story and for the majority of the book this holds true. A main protagonist who does not believe in ghosts goes to an isolated place where the inhabitants all behave suspiciously, he is to visit a supposedly haunted house but and when he is left to his down devices paranormal events take place. Those events are also perfectly classic and cliché, the black woman standing and watching the protagonist but disappearing every time he tries to approach her, strange sounds being heard across the house, unnerving fog preventing communication with the outside, everything is almost boringly expected. Yet, there is something in Susan Hill's writing that makes it all dreadfully efficient, The Woman in Black whilst never reaching the peak of bodily horror that the Exorcit managed to keep me more consistently on edge.

However, whereby naming it a classic the cover also brought me to believe that when things seemed to head towards a happy end, the book in a very quick yet not at all rushed way hit me with its true horror, leaving it as the abrupt and final note of the story.

It's a very efficient horror story and when things got going, it was an easy read, I would however fault the start for being a bit too slow by my tastes.

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lsankey's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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darkeningscorn's review against another edition

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mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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hannahelizza556's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The book is very different to the film which was a really good surprise. The book opens with Arthur Kipps as an old man with his family. It isn't until towards the end of the story that the reader finds out about Eel Marsh House. I really wanted to keep reading this book, the length of the chapters were quite short which added to the suspense so kept reading.

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sweekune's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I first encountered the story of The Woman in Black when I was 16. For my GCSE Drama class, we studied the play based on the book and so went to see the West End production at the Fortune Theatre. I remember the terror, horror and unsettling vibes of the whole thing as well as the coach of terrified teenagers scared to silence on the way home. I picked up the book this year and I'm glad to say it lived up to all my horrendous, gothic and fearful memories.

- As I've already said, this is a scary story. A gothic ghost story that builds the tension, the fear and layers the story so that when you reach certain reveals and the end you are suitably terrified.

- Although originally published in the 1980s, the book reads like the Edwardian time period it appears to be set it. The prose is similar in feel to Victorian and early 20th century novels and it adds to the feel of the book.

- This book is short (my copy is under 200 pages long) but it packs so much into such little space.

A perfectly spooky read, great for October or anytime you wish to read a ghost story. I would caution any potential readers not to read this in the dark.

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