Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "susan-hill"

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A chilling gothic ghost story from the pen of Susan Hill.

Arthur Kipps, relaxing on Christmas Eve with his family, refuses to be drawn into the light-hearted tradition of telling ghost stories and ghoulish tales at the fireside. For he is reminded of a terrifying experience from his past, when he was a junior solicitor and dispatched to attend the funeral of one of the firm’s clients, Mrs Drablow, and undertake an audit of her private papers at her property, Eel Marsh House. But this reminder of the past leaves him driven to recount his tale on paper.

Feeling as if he is getting further away from civilisation as he travels to the small town of Crythin Gifford, Kipps regards the locals as what he can only interpret as superstitious in how they regard Mrs Drablow and Eel Marsh House. In fact, no one wishes to speak of them. Attending Mrs Drablow’s funeral, Kipps finds it tragic that no one attends to mourn her – until a woman dressed in mourning black arrives, who appears to be suffering from a form of wasting disease. But he is soon shocked to find that the mere mention of this mourning, emaciated woman strikes fear and dread into those to whom he mentions her.

Kipps makes the journey to Eel Marsh House to begin the task required. Secluded and solitary, only accessible when the tide is low, it now stands empty, residing over the treacherous marshes like a spectre through the mist. Amongst the gravestones of an ancient cemetery, Kipps once again sees the woman in black. So begins a series of increasingly disturbing experiences in the vicinity of the house that will threaten his very sanity and ultimately reveal the malevolent intent of the woman in black.

Susan Hill has crafted a sublime tale, grasping you from the very first page in a vice-like grip as if held by one of the decaying hands of the woman in black herself. Haunting, gothic and descriptive, the narrative weaves suspense with the dexterity of a spider, wielding tension with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel, bubbling over into moments of terror and hurtling towards its devastating conclusion. The characters are as well-crafted as the plot, while the sense of place is so vivid that you could so easily get lost in the mists of the marshes, hearing the echoes of long ago tragedy. This may be one of the most perfect ghost stories ever written.

The novel has been successfully adapted for the stage, the play having run in London’s West End for over thirty years. I saw a performance in Cardiff’s New Theatre several years ago, highly entertained by the twist on the storytelling, which creates an entirely new experience of the story. It has also been adapted for the screen – first in 1989 as a TV film; this version unseen for many years until recently. In 2012, the resurrected Hammer Film Productions released a theatrical adaptation, which was followed by a theatrical sequel, ‘The Woman in Black: Angel of Death’, in 2015.

‘The Woman in Black’ is a modern classic, a haunting tale of horror and suspense, destined to long be regarded alongside the greats of gothic literature.



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The Mist In The Mirror by Susan Hill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A gothic ghost story from the modern mistress of the genre.

After several decades abroad, Sir James Monmouth returns to England for the first time since he was a child, intending to undertake research into the life of adventurer Conrad Vane, in whose footsteps he has followed since first encountering tales of his travels as a boy.

Yet around Vane appears to have developed an aura of fear and revulsion, and Monmouth is several times cautioned against pursuing his quest. Meanwhile, he feels consistently dogged by some presence he cannot see, lurking just out of reach.

By chance, he uncovers a link directly into his own past that may lead to discoveries about his family history that he never considered exploring. As his new quest threatens to consume him, it may expose a secret that unknowingly changed the course of his life.

'The Mist in the Mirror' is Susan Hill's second ghost story, following in the footsteps of the modern classic 'The Woman in Black'. Brilliantly evoking a gothic and ghostly atmosphere, it brims with classic gothic imagery, haunting descriptions gradually building suspense through each page, vividly swirling like mist, the novel maintaining its chill grip until the final moments.

Mystery and shades of supernatural phenomena heighten throughout, as we follow Monmouth's mission to discover more about the life of someone he greatly admires, only to discover he may not be worthy of the pedestal on which he has placed him - something which is all the more relatable in our age of scandals, social media and exposures of social and criminal injustices. As Monmouth becomes drawn into an obsession to find answers to questions about his own past, we feel his unsettling loneliness and the dislocation conjured by the missing pieces of his life, racing on with him to ultimately uncover a horror that can never be forgotten.

A thrilling and at times thought-provoking tale, 'The Mist in the Mirror' is a superlatively well-written and enjoyable ghost story, exploring how secrets haunt the living and the stain of evil forever haunts those it touches.



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The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A chilling ghost story from the modern mistress of the genre.

Early in the new year, Oliver is spending a winter's evening with his friend and one time tutor, Theo, who recounts a strange tale.

A painting that still hangs on Theo's wall to this day has a dark history and hides macabre secrets.

But the malevolence manifested through this work of art remains potent. At severe cost, Oliver may soon learn the truth behind the man in the picture.

'The Man in the Picture' is a gothic ghost story by Susan Hill, in the tradition of the classic Gothics of Victorian fiction. Setting the scene perfectly as the characters settle in beside the fire, thus begins a tale of the mysterious and the uncanny, woven of multi-layered narratives told by several characters within the story, uncovering the history of events and unravelling the mystery.

Hill's writing is always evocative, crisp and expressive, perfectly conjuring a gothic atmosphere, a sense of time and place, and portraying unsettling events and ghostly apparitions, as the suspense coalesces like swirling mist or the finest snowfall. Each character's testimony is skillfully crafted, while the imagery is sublime, in particular the way the painting itself and the scenes on Venetian streets manifest so vividly.

Artwork has long associations with gothic and horror fiction, Hill using the concept to creeping effect, building to the revelation of an insidious, cruel thirst for vengeance that stretches back generations, a vicious evil that lives within the oil paint and canvas, born of pure malice; and leaves us with several final, disturbing twists. Once again, Susan Hill has gifted us a gripping gothic chiller, perfect for reading in one sitting during autumnal and wintery afternoons and evenings.



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