The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

The Woman in Black is a ghost story. It is narrated by Arthur Kipps, a solicitor, who has been sent to go over the papers of an old lady who has died to see if there is anything useful there. The lady lives on the outskirts of a small village in the English Countryside. Her house is slightly unusual in that it is only accessible at low tide via a causeway. Arthur starts seeing a woman dressed all in black in different places, sort of following him around. He ends up staying in the house as there is so much to sort through. At night he starts hearing strange noises. He gets properly freaked out as this happens every night in one form or another. He decides the best thing to do is just get the hell out of there, so he does. He is narrating this story because he feels he needs to tell someone because it still haunts him even though he is now an old man.

To begin with, I was a bit reluctant to read this book. I had read another of Susan Hill’s books at school and really didn’t like it. Mainly for the subject matter. So I was a bit unsure how this would turn out. The story is told simply and really doesn’t take that long to read. It gradually builds up the suspense of who the ghost is and why she is there. You can figure out the story for yourself along the way too as she leaves clues that people mention or something that Arthur reads in the old lady’s papers. It was fairly predictable with the plot line, and I would have maybe liked a bit more to happen in it. However, it seems to me that Hill is trying to make it more realistic and less Hollywood, as it the temptation with this sort of book.

The story is well told although I didn’t feel I quite got the sense of just how terrified he was of being in that house. Being such a short story was sort of odd too. She could have easily made the books twice as long with accounts of other villagers’ experiences and more of the ghost. I suppose she figured that less is more and we could fill in the gaps for ourselves. The only problem with that is that not everyone has a very good imagination! In a way, it is perfect for making into a film because you can read the book and then watch it to get the atmosphere. As part of the scariness is the weird noises, that should come across better on screen.

I liked the book more than I was expecting to but it’s not the greatest book I’ve ever read. It’s classed as a teenage book and I think that’s about right. It’s a bit simplistic for an older audience but just about right for a teenager who wants a good ghost story to read. Ghost stories are just as bad as horror stories for their stereotypes. I think Hill has ignored these and just written it how she wants to, which is how I think you need to approach such a genre. I might consider giving Susan Hill another chance and read more of her books as I am aware she is a well liked author. The Woman in Black is a fun read and I will now be watching the film to see how that compares.

Overall rating 3 out of 5.