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The Secret of Crickley Hall
There is an old, empty house in Devil’s Cleave, a deep gorge that leads from the high moors down to the harbour village of Hollow Bay.
The house is Crickley Hall and it’s large and grim, somehow foreboding. It’s rumoured to be haunted. It’s thought to hold a secret.
Despite some reservations, the Caleighs move in, searching for respite in this beautiful part of North Devon, seeking peace and perhaps to come to terms with what’s happened to them as a family. But all is not well with the house. They hear unaccountable noises. A cellar door they shut every night is always open again in the morning. They see things that cannot be real.
The house is the last place the Caleighs should have come to, for the terror that unfolds is beyond belief. Soon they will discover the secret horror of Crickley Hall...
The house is Crickley Hall and it’s large and grim, somehow foreboding. It’s rumoured to be haunted. It’s thought to hold a secret.
Despite some reservations, the Caleighs move in, searching for respite in this beautiful part of North Devon, seeking peace and perhaps to come to terms with what’s happened to them as a family. But all is not well with the house. They hear unaccountable noises. A cellar door they shut every night is always open again in the morning. They see things that cannot be real.
The house is the last place the Caleighs should have come to, for the terror that unfolds is beyond belief. Soon they will discover the secret horror of Crickley Hall...
642 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
345 people are currently reading
6834 people want to read
About the author
James Herbert
100 books2,384 followersJames Herbert was Britain's number one bestselling writer (a position he held ever since publication of his first novel) and one of the world's top writers of thriller/horror fiction.
He was one of our greatest popular novelists, whose books are sold in thirty-three other languages, including Russian and Chinese. Widely imitated and hugely influential, his 19 novels have sold more than 42 million copies worldwide.
As an author he produced some of the most powerful horror fiction of the past decade. With a skillful blend of horror and thriller fiction, he explored the shaded territories of evil, evoking a sense of brooding menace and rising tension. He relentlessly draws the reader through the story's ultimate revelation - one that will stay to chill the mind long after the book has been laid aside. His bestsellers, THE MAGIC COTTAGE, HAUNTED, SEPULCHRE, and CREED, enhanced his reputation as a writer of depth and originality. His novels THE FOG, THE DARK, and THE SURVIVOR have been hailed as classics of the genre.
He was one of our greatest popular novelists, whose books are sold in thirty-three other languages, including Russian and Chinese. Widely imitated and hugely influential, his 19 novels have sold more than 42 million copies worldwide.
As an author he produced some of the most powerful horror fiction of the past decade. With a skillful blend of horror and thriller fiction, he explored the shaded territories of evil, evoking a sense of brooding menace and rising tension. He relentlessly draws the reader through the story's ultimate revelation - one that will stay to chill the mind long after the book has been laid aside. His bestsellers, THE MAGIC COTTAGE, HAUNTED, SEPULCHRE, and CREED, enhanced his reputation as a writer of depth and originality. His novels THE FOG, THE DARK, and THE SURVIVOR have been hailed as classics of the genre.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 882 reviews
October 24, 2019
It’s almost Halloween as I write so I’m in the mood for some creepy read. If you are ever in the mood for horror fiction and you have never read anything by James Herbert you have been outrageously remiss. In the 70s and 80s James Herbert was King, practically Stephen King as teens and horror fans were reading his books all over the place (in the UK where I was residing any way I have no idea about Herbertism in other countries). His most widely known book The Rats was published in 1974 it was a barnstorming debut, an ultra-violent, graphic and horrific little novel about mutant rats. His second novel The Fog was even worse (or better, depends on how you look at it). He was 31 at the time.
The Secret Of Crickley Hall was published in 2006 when Herbert was 63, I would say age has mellowed him over the years. That said, “Crickley” still pretty damn gruesome in places and not for the faint of heart. However, in addition to the Herbertian patented ew! factor this book is also quite compassionate, poignant and even sentimental. A lot of care and attention has been put into developing the characters.
This is basically a haunted house story, not a first from Mr. Herbert (see Haunted. All the haunted house tropes are in place; a nice family (with cute kids and a dog) move into a spooky old house with a dark history, things soon start to go bump in the night. The wife is open to the idea of supernatural phenomena, but the husband is extremely skeptical, soon a psychic and even a paranormal investigator show up.
From the BBC adaptation
The book is saved from becoming pointlessly predictable by the characterization, the gradually unfolding backstory of the eponymous house and Herbert’s sheer storytelling skills. I haven't read anything by him for years; I have forgotten how good he was at grabbing your attention and never letting go. However, the backstory of the house does involve some scenes of extreme cruelty to children so if you are easily offended by such scenes this book is seriously not for you. Even so, the theme of children’s basic right to love, comfort and protection is evident and even highlighted by the harrowing details of their ordeal. I don’t think the author’s intention is to titillate, not something that can be said about the violent scenes in The Rats. If I have a complaint it would be the characterization of Gabe the skeptical husband whose extreme skepticism in the face of extremely weird occurrences make him seem like an imbecile of the first water. The way he relentlessly rationalizes the unrationalizable makes me want to improve his outlook with a frying pan.
The supernatural events in the story are vividly depicted and very creepy, as you would expect from an author who has been writing such material for decades. Neil Gaiman said this of James Herbert: “His first book was a bestseller, which is something that happens to very few writers. He had to do all his growing up in public. He had to learn to write in public.”. His growth as a writer over the decades of his career has been tremendous. His prose is highly readable, often witty without ever becoming clumsy; it makes for a very smooth reading experience.
Sadly James Herbert passed away a few months ago (March 2013), so this review is intended to be something of a tribute. Thanks to his prolificacy while I have read many books by him there are still many that I have yet to read.
R.I.P. Mr. Herbert, you were the best.
Note: The Secret Of Crickley Hall was adapted by the BBC and broadcasted in 2012. Not as good as the book but pretty good!
The Secret Of Crickley Hall was published in 2006 when Herbert was 63, I would say age has mellowed him over the years. That said, “Crickley” still pretty damn gruesome in places and not for the faint of heart. However, in addition to the Herbertian patented ew! factor this book is also quite compassionate, poignant and even sentimental. A lot of care and attention has been put into developing the characters.
This is basically a haunted house story, not a first from Mr. Herbert (see Haunted. All the haunted house tropes are in place; a nice family (with cute kids and a dog) move into a spooky old house with a dark history, things soon start to go bump in the night. The wife is open to the idea of supernatural phenomena, but the husband is extremely skeptical, soon a psychic and even a paranormal investigator show up.
From the BBC adaptation
The book is saved from becoming pointlessly predictable by the characterization, the gradually unfolding backstory of the eponymous house and Herbert’s sheer storytelling skills. I haven't read anything by him for years; I have forgotten how good he was at grabbing your attention and never letting go. However, the backstory of the house does involve some scenes of extreme cruelty to children so if you are easily offended by such scenes this book is seriously not for you. Even so, the theme of children’s basic right to love, comfort and protection is evident and even highlighted by the harrowing details of their ordeal. I don’t think the author’s intention is to titillate, not something that can be said about the violent scenes in The Rats. If I have a complaint it would be the characterization of Gabe the skeptical husband whose extreme skepticism in the face of extremely weird occurrences make him seem like an imbecile of the first water. The way he relentlessly rationalizes the unrationalizable makes me want to improve his outlook with a frying pan.
The supernatural events in the story are vividly depicted and very creepy, as you would expect from an author who has been writing such material for decades. Neil Gaiman said this of James Herbert: “His first book was a bestseller, which is something that happens to very few writers. He had to do all his growing up in public. He had to learn to write in public.”. His growth as a writer over the decades of his career has been tremendous. His prose is highly readable, often witty without ever becoming clumsy; it makes for a very smooth reading experience.
Sadly James Herbert passed away a few months ago (March 2013), so this review is intended to be something of a tribute. Thanks to his prolificacy while I have read many books by him there are still many that I have yet to read.
R.I.P. Mr. Herbert, you were the best.
Note: The Secret Of Crickley Hall was adapted by the BBC and broadcasted in 2012. Not as good as the book but pretty good!
May 1, 2021
Well, if you're looking for a creepy read, seriously, don't bother looking in this direction. This is my third Herbert book, and so far, only The Rats managed to unsettle me. This book was too predictable, and took me way too long to get through.
It is obvious from the outset that Crickley Hall isn't a place you should be making a home, I mean, all the characters we encounter constantly tell us how depressing the atmosphere is there, and how something terrible happened long ago. Personally, I'd take one look at the place, and I'd be gone. Just like that.
There was very little suspense here, and no build up during the creepy scene. Lots of creaky floorboards, knocking on doors, whiffy smells, but no excitement for the reader. Those things just kind of... happened.
The characters were skeletal in description, and they seemed rather stupid, and somewhat oblivious to what was going on. Believe me, I did a lot of sighing with disappointment whilst reading this. Definitely not Herbert's best moment.
It is obvious from the outset that Crickley Hall isn't a place you should be making a home, I mean, all the characters we encounter constantly tell us how depressing the atmosphere is there, and how something terrible happened long ago. Personally, I'd take one look at the place, and I'd be gone. Just like that.
There was very little suspense here, and no build up during the creepy scene. Lots of creaky floorboards, knocking on doors, whiffy smells, but no excitement for the reader. Those things just kind of... happened.
The characters were skeletal in description, and they seemed rather stupid, and somewhat oblivious to what was going on. Believe me, I did a lot of sighing with disappointment whilst reading this. Definitely not Herbert's best moment.
December 6, 2021
Pequeñas pisadas de niños corriendo suenan en el ático de una casona antigua. Sus nuevos habitantes, una familia que arrastra una tragedia, se enfrentarán a la verdadera historia de la casa que va unida a la muerte de unos huérfanos durante una inundación.
Lo más terrorífico de este libro no es la tétrica casa y las apariciones sino los hechos del pasado que se descubren aquí. El libro en sí es el típico de casa encantada con sus ruidos, susurros, puertas que se abren y apariciones fantasmales.
Lo que da verdadero terror es la historia REAL de esos niños que ahora se aparecen para quitarles el sueño a los habitantes de Crickley Hall.
Me entusiasman los libros de terror pero hace muchos años que no consiguen provocarme miedo. Este libro tampoco lo ha conseguido. Aún así y a pesar de es demasiado extenso me ha entretenido mucho. Tiene momentos bastante tensos y una aberrante historia oculta.
Lo más terrorífico de este libro no es la tétrica casa y las apariciones sino los hechos del pasado que se descubren aquí. El libro en sí es el típico de casa encantada con sus ruidos, susurros, puertas que se abren y apariciones fantasmales.
Lo que da verdadero terror es la historia REAL de esos niños que ahora se aparecen para quitarles el sueño a los habitantes de Crickley Hall.
Me entusiasman los libros de terror pero hace muchos años que no consiguen provocarme miedo. Este libro tampoco lo ha conseguido. Aún así y a pesar de es demasiado extenso me ha entretenido mucho. Tiene momentos bastante tensos y una aberrante historia oculta.
October 26, 2022
4.5 stars! Eerie, disturbing, atmospheric… what more could you want from a ghost story?!
July 3, 2016
if Stephen King and Jodi Picoult had a baby with very little writing talent it'd be this dude
March 1, 2022
The problem with the story was it is too long. The 633 pages with some good editing could be reduced by at least 250 pages. The characters were odd. Gabe and his wife Eve and two daughters Loren and Cally staying at a house with a dark history. Why stay at such a creepy house especially when their son Cam missing for a year still haunts them.
Percy the octogenarian gardener was my favourite character with a good back story. Chester the dog also at least knew the house was not a good place to be. The haunted house and 11 dead children and their insane teacher made a good story. Especially the ending with the appearance of the psychic Lili and apparent sceptic Gordon Pyke.
For me the story was good and the last third of the novel very exciting but far too long.
Percy the octogenarian gardener was my favourite character with a good back story. Chester the dog also at least knew the house was not a good place to be. The haunted house and 11 dead children and their insane teacher made a good story. Especially the ending with the appearance of the psychic Lili and apparent sceptic Gordon Pyke.
For me the story was good and the last third of the novel very exciting but far too long.
March 29, 2016
I'M UPSET!
*deep breaths*
One of the things that ticks me off – IS FALSE ADVERTISING!
I have been conned and I’m furious! Well to be precised, Ben and I have been conned and going by his status updates – as you witnessed, F bombs were practically on every progress updates, he wasn’t too impresses either.
Let’s analyze.
The synopsis said:
The Secret of Crickley Hall is a new take on the classic ghost story in the same way that his bestseller Once was a new take on the classic fairy tale. The Secret of Crickley Hall is set in a childrens home in a coastal town in England. Some of the children are persecuted by the people who run the home and have found places between the floors and walls of the home to avoid the adults. They can also spy, of course. One day there is a flash flood which sweeps through the town and the childrens home. All the children escape, except the kids in the walls and floors, who drown. They come back as ghosts and seek their revenge.
Now that's out of the way, let’s focus on the underlined ones, shall we?
Point one.
Ghost Story. When you read or hear this word, first thing that comes to mind is scary.
And scary by definition is ----> causing fright or alarm; frightening; causing fear.
The synopsis mentioned ghost story, hence the expectations. So, did I quake in my boots then? FARKING NO! Not even a tiniest shake happened to me. You know what had scared me more? It was when I took my driving test many moons ago!
Look, there were ghosts in the story all right but they were nowhere scary. Very tame and others were just plain disgusting but NOT SCARY.
Point two.
They come back as ghosts and seek their revenge
Ghosts + revenge = unimaginable pain (and horror), right? NOOOOOOOO! Not in this f*n story again! I was downright disappointed!
Revenge (for me) should be fatal. Revenge should offer unparalleled pain.
Revenge should make the m*therf*r suffers six ways to Sundays. Otherwise, it's not revenge, you see.
So, what did we REALLY have here then?
1. Flagellation
2. Child abuse
3. Mutilation
4. Statutory rape
5. Killings
6. Cynicism
7. Clairvoyance
See? False advertising!
HA!
This should earn 0 star rating for me but you know what, I should also be honest and point it out here that the story was good. Not to mention the twist of the one character was unexpected. But sad to say, it was too late. IT WAS DAMN TOO LATE. And even though the story was pretty decent, it was painfully slow.
I dunno if I'd
Or
on every single chapter I finished. But I endured the excruciatingly slow progress of this story and have turned the last page of it.
The choir I stashed in my head grabbed their trumpets and sang
Rating this 1 It's-not-you-Ben-but-it's-the-false-advertisement Star
I enjoyed this BR, Ben even though it didn't turn out that way we wanted it to be.
Till next time and yes it's my choosing.
*rubs hands mischievously*
___________________
OMG! I.BLEEP.FINALLY.FINISHED.THIS.BLEEP!
I dunno if I'm gonna cry, dance or HURL SOMETHING ACROSS THE ROOM.
Ooooooh Ben *shakes head*
Ben. Ben. Ben.Ben. You will see how I loved this
Review to come when my mental state is no longer questionable.
__________
And the scaring commences tomorrow!
Bring it on!
_________
CAN'T WAIT TO QUAKE IN MY BOOTS.
My FIRST buddy read with Ben
Starts on 15 March.
October 26, 2019
The is THE HAUNTED HOUSE STORY YOU MUST READ.
Easily my favourite book this year, The Secret of Crickley Hall is the quintessential haunted house story. So often we pick up haunted house books thinking it's going to be full of ghosts and poltergeists and stormy nights and scary settings, only to spend 300 pages waiting for the ghosts to appear that never do.
This book is 600 pages of pure, unadulterated, haunted house goodness. There are good spirits, there are bad spirits, there is a big old manor, there is stormy weather, there is history and there is an abundance of supernatural in an abundance of forms.
There is nothing more disappointing than picking up a book that you think is packed with ghosts and the ghosts never show up. This is certainly not that book.
A very easy five stars from me.
Easily my favourite book this year, The Secret of Crickley Hall is the quintessential haunted house story. So often we pick up haunted house books thinking it's going to be full of ghosts and poltergeists and stormy nights and scary settings, only to spend 300 pages waiting for the ghosts to appear that never do.
This book is 600 pages of pure, unadulterated, haunted house goodness. There are good spirits, there are bad spirits, there is a big old manor, there is stormy weather, there is history and there is an abundance of supernatural in an abundance of forms.
There is nothing more disappointing than picking up a book that you think is packed with ghosts and the ghosts never show up. This is certainly not that book.
A very easy five stars from me.
April 26, 2021
La inmensa mayoría de historias de fantasmas repiten una serie de fórmulas que terminan por restar cualquier capacidad de sorpresa a sus argumentos. La existencia de ese tipo de entidades que vienen desde el mas allá reclamando atención, venganza o algún tipo de ayuda que le sirva como detonante para poder descansar es la base de este tipo de narraciones.
Es el caso de esta novela. Entre los muros de Crickley Hall nos presenta a una familia lastrada por una terrible drama que decide continuar su vida mudándose a un caserón en el que se subyace un pasado traumático. Nada nuevo, como pueden comprobar. De hecho, a lo largo de la historia, se van a suceder todo tipo de situaciones que uno espera en las narraciones de este tipo: ruidos amenazadores, puertas que se abren en mitad de la noche, columpios que se mueven solos pese a la ausencia de viento y todo tipo de experiencias inquietantes que convierten esta historia es el paradigma de los cuentos de fantasmas.
Pero, a pesar de esa ausencia de sorpresa, lo que Herbert nos cuenta en esta novela es tan fascinante que no puedes parar de leer esas seiscientas páginas llenas de las terribles consecuencias de su oscuro pasado. Quizás por la apuesta decidida que tiene el autor por presentarnos los fenómenos paranormales desde un inicio, sin dar apenas respiro a descubrir el drama de esta familia que intenta superar una pérdida irreparable. Desde el primer momento en que te adentras entre estos muros, se percibe la sensación de que algo maligno habita allí y el autor se encargará de recordártelo a través de sus numerosos capítulos diseñados para que no baje el interés a lo largo de la novela.
A partir de esos momentos lo mejor que puedes hacer es dejarte llevar y disfrutar de una historia que da lo que promete. Animales que perciben situaciones amenazadoras, extraños personajes con intenciones desconocidas, videntes, apariciones en medio de la noche, lamparones de agua que aparecen sin explicación, ataques inesperados de entes malignos...y toda una acumulación de circunstancias aterradoras que pueden generar más de una pesadilla al lector más susceptible.
En definitiva, Herbert nos trae una de esas novelas adictivas y terroríficas que nos recuerda el por qué lo consideran la alternativa británica al terror del omnipresente Stephen King. Toda una historia compacta, llena de misterio y horror, que consigue que pases un mal rato descubriendo el oscuro pasado que se esconde entre esos muros de Crickley Hall.
October 9, 2008
I have read most if nota all of James Herbert's books and I think he has written some excellent novels (Fluke, Portent, '48) and some that I wasn't so keen on (notably The Spear)
However with The Secret Of Crickley Hall I think he has done a fantastic job. I would say this just edges Portent from my top 3 Herbert books
The characterisations are wonderful the plot is superb and the build up is one of his best.
I really used to enjoy reading Denis Wheatley books when I was younger, one thing I loved about Wheatley was that he always seemed to make me want to read just one more chapter, so at times I'd read for far longer than I'd perhaps planned. This book for me is very much like that
Detractors may say that it's just a haunted house story, well maybe it is but it is superbly well written with some great plot twists
If you're a James Herbert fan you've probably already read this, if you're not or you've never read any of his novels then I think this would be an excellent place to start
However with The Secret Of Crickley Hall I think he has done a fantastic job. I would say this just edges Portent from my top 3 Herbert books
The characterisations are wonderful the plot is superb and the build up is one of his best.
I really used to enjoy reading Denis Wheatley books when I was younger, one thing I loved about Wheatley was that he always seemed to make me want to read just one more chapter, so at times I'd read for far longer than I'd perhaps planned. This book for me is very much like that
Detractors may say that it's just a haunted house story, well maybe it is but it is superbly well written with some great plot twists
If you're a James Herbert fan you've probably already read this, if you're not or you've never read any of his novels then I think this would be an excellent place to start
May 28, 2022
3.5🌟
El autor se toma su tiempo en narrar esta historia sobre una casa encantada en la que ocurrió un suceso bastante macabro.
Lo que más me ha fascinado han sido los fenómenos paranormales y el final qué es demasiado emotivo y bonito.
Si os gustan las historias de fantasmas, os recomiendo leer esta.
.
The author takes his time in narrating this story about a haunted house in which a rather macabre event occurred.
What has fascinated me the most have been the paranormal phenomena and the ending which is too emotional and beautiful.
If you like ghost stories, I recommend you read this one.
El autor se toma su tiempo en narrar esta historia sobre una casa encantada en la que ocurrió un suceso bastante macabro.
Lo que más me ha fascinado han sido los fenómenos paranormales y el final qué es demasiado emotivo y bonito.
Si os gustan las historias de fantasmas, os recomiendo leer esta.
.
The author takes his time in narrating this story about a haunted house in which a rather macabre event occurred.
What has fascinated me the most have been the paranormal phenomena and the ending which is too emotional and beautiful.
If you like ghost stories, I recommend you read this one.
November 12, 2023
The best paranormal thriller I have read in my life and even one of my favourite novels. It has everything in it
Amazing!
Amazing!
April 17, 2013
Mind the spoilers!
Hmmm. I think my overall impression of this book is that it was an interesting and compelling read, but just too long and repetitive, and at some points completely nonsensical.
I love a good ghost story and this one started off very well, with the Caleigh family heading to the very creepy Crickley Hall in Devon to get away from painful memories of their missing son on the first anniversary of his disappearance. It's the classic horror set up: main characters move to an unfamiliar place; locals are a bit weird and unfriendly; old gardener/caretaker who may-or-may-not be creepy; moving into a house which is haunted by its tragic past; and last but not least, a good old-fashioned couple of villains. So the premise was right up my street...
...but then things got...weird.
I understand that fiction demands the suspension of reality, particularly in a ghost story, but elements of the novel were so odd that it was sometimes difficult to know what to make of it.
For instance, each member of the Caleigh family experiences ghostly goings-on in the house right from the first night, yet whenever one of them reports what they've seen the others refuse to believe them? Eve sees the shadowy dancing forms of the 'drowned' orphans in the house and Gabe follows a white shadow down into the cellar and squares up to something he can't see...but when Loren reports that a 'man' came to her bedroom and whipped her legs Gabe and Eve accuse her of dreaming, and take her to the doctor! . Their dog runs away, the cellar door opens itself every time they close it, constant puddles of water appear from nowhere, the lights go on and off, the rooms suddenly become freezing cold, and Eve is attacked by a malevolent figure in her sleep...but they don't leave the house, or even go out of their way to find out what's going on.
Then there's Eve's 'psychic' connection with her missing son, Cam (his real name is Cameron, but they call him Cam...apparently that fact needs explaining to both the reader and other characters several times). How can Eve believe this, but have such a hard time realising she is clearly living in a majorly haunted house?
I was also intrigued by the inexplicable fuss kicked up over the 'naked man' seen in Crickley Hall by Seraphina and her brother when they broke in. Why would their mother call the police on the Caleighs for that, and why would there be such a huge police turn out for it? As far as I know, it's not a crime to be naked in your own house! Even in front of two horrible little trespassers. Fair enough, it was a ghost...but do you call a police for a naked ghost sighting?
Then there's the constant repetition. How many times can similar things happen in one novel? I lost count of the times that somebody was frozen still by fear or smelt that soapy-rotting stink...not to mention how often Magda thinks about how smart and alert she is during one short chapter, as well as the frequent description towards the end of Maurice Stafford enjoying his brandy in the pub whilst flitting back and forth from his memories of the past.
Also, for such a very, very long book, the characterisation was quite poor. Fair enough, I didn't want any of them to die, but they were very dull, with little personality. In fact, the only way James Herbert seems to try and build a little character is by doling out accents to the luckier ones, with Percy the gardener's speech often spelled out phonetically, and Gabe constantly using 'Americanisms' (not to mention being referred to over and over again as 'the American'). Eve wasn't vaguely interesting at all, and to be honest her reason for falling asleep at the park, allowing her son to go missing (she's a fashion journalist and had been up late working on an article) did not inspire any sympathy in me at all really.
All in all, I did enjoy this book while I was reading it (and reading it and reading it, because it never ends), but it could have done with being about 200 pages shorter, which would have been easily achievable by eliminating some of the repeated scenes.
Hmmm. I think my overall impression of this book is that it was an interesting and compelling read, but just too long and repetitive, and at some points completely nonsensical.
I love a good ghost story and this one started off very well, with the Caleigh family heading to the very creepy Crickley Hall in Devon to get away from painful memories of their missing son on the first anniversary of his disappearance. It's the classic horror set up: main characters move to an unfamiliar place; locals are a bit weird and unfriendly; old gardener/caretaker who may-or-may-not be creepy; moving into a house which is haunted by its tragic past; and last but not least, a good old-fashioned couple of villains. So the premise was right up my street...
...but then things got...weird.
I understand that fiction demands the suspension of reality, particularly in a ghost story, but elements of the novel were so odd that it was sometimes difficult to know what to make of it.
For instance, each member of the Caleigh family experiences ghostly goings-on in the house right from the first night, yet whenever one of them reports what they've seen the others refuse to believe them? Eve sees the shadowy dancing forms of the 'drowned' orphans in the house and Gabe follows a white shadow down into the cellar and squares up to something he can't see...but when Loren reports that a 'man' came to her bedroom and whipped her legs Gabe and Eve accuse her of dreaming, and take her to the doctor! . Their dog runs away, the cellar door opens itself every time they close it, constant puddles of water appear from nowhere, the lights go on and off, the rooms suddenly become freezing cold, and Eve is attacked by a malevolent figure in her sleep...but they don't leave the house, or even go out of their way to find out what's going on.
Then there's Eve's 'psychic' connection with her missing son, Cam (his real name is Cameron, but they call him Cam...apparently that fact needs explaining to both the reader and other characters several times). How can Eve believe this, but have such a hard time realising she is clearly living in a majorly haunted house?
I was also intrigued by the inexplicable fuss kicked up over the 'naked man' seen in Crickley Hall by Seraphina and her brother when they broke in. Why would their mother call the police on the Caleighs for that, and why would there be such a huge police turn out for it? As far as I know, it's not a crime to be naked in your own house! Even in front of two horrible little trespassers. Fair enough, it was a ghost...but do you call a police for a naked ghost sighting?
Then there's the constant repetition. How many times can similar things happen in one novel? I lost count of the times that somebody was frozen still by fear or smelt that soapy-rotting stink...not to mention how often Magda thinks about how smart and alert she is during one short chapter, as well as the frequent description towards the end of Maurice Stafford enjoying his brandy in the pub whilst flitting back and forth from his memories of the past.
Also, for such a very, very long book, the characterisation was quite poor. Fair enough, I didn't want any of them to die, but they were very dull, with little personality. In fact, the only way James Herbert seems to try and build a little character is by doling out accents to the luckier ones, with Percy the gardener's speech often spelled out phonetically, and Gabe constantly using 'Americanisms' (not to mention being referred to over and over again as 'the American'). Eve wasn't vaguely interesting at all, and to be honest her reason for falling asleep at the park, allowing her son to go missing (she's a fashion journalist and had been up late working on an article) did not inspire any sympathy in me at all really.
All in all, I did enjoy this book while I was reading it (and reading it and reading it, because it never ends), but it could have done with being about 200 pages shorter, which would have been easily achievable by eliminating some of the repeated scenes.
June 27, 2012
This goes on the 'could-not-finish' shelf. What a stinker. I was thoroughly impatient with the character descriptions and unnecessary explanations through dialogue, e.g., the mother explaining to the kindly old gardener why their youngest daughter is nicknamed "Callie"---I can almost picture the gardener nodding with polite disinterest. As an American, I was really irritated with the author feeling it necessary to include, during the mother's interior monologue, the information that her American husband called the motorway the 'interstate' (even though he's lived in England for 16 years and is a mechanical engineer?). As if that weren't enough, she does this again later with "gorge" and "ravine". Hello Mr.Herbert? We have gorges in the States as well, no need to explain what one is.
Once the kindly old gardener showed up with his "West Country burr" thoughtfully re-produced for us in phonetic dialogue, I gave up. I'm not interested in being told through pointless exposition that the boot of a car is a trunk, or that cling film is plastic wrap. I already hate the mother and can see her turning into a major pain. Another peeve--it is also not necessary to show that a character is American by having him constantly say, "yeah" and "hey" and "gonna". Another inconsistency in the father's character;he is a MECHANICAL ENGINEER, i.e, he builds bridges and such, yet he doesn't know that a brook that is relatively mild during late summer might not get a bit wilder during the wetter months? Isn't knowing that stuff part of the job description of an mechanical engineer? Also, HAVING LIVED IN ENGLAND FOR SIXTEEN YEARS, doesn't he know what the weather is like? I can't be distracted with this kind of shoddy attention to detail alternating with boring attention detail (I refer you back to my comment re the youngest daughter's nickname). Especially when I'm reading a scary story. I'm the type, who while reading a recent Stephen King story was distracted by the fact that he had his character, a women in her late 30's remembering obscure 7UP jingles and Winston cigarette ads. I'm in my mid-40's and I never heard of the 7UP jingle(it likes you you like it). My husband is a few years older and he had never heard it either. I only know the Winston thing from having read an earlier King story. Maybe King was being meta and his character knew that stuff because she read his books? It didn't fly with me at all and that is a very minor detail (except for that he kept referring back to the 7UP thing). I just knew I was in for so much more in Herbert's book. I can't put myself through that.
Once the kindly old gardener showed up with his "West Country burr" thoughtfully re-produced for us in phonetic dialogue, I gave up. I'm not interested in being told through pointless exposition that the boot of a car is a trunk, or that cling film is plastic wrap. I already hate the mother and can see her turning into a major pain. Another peeve--it is also not necessary to show that a character is American by having him constantly say, "yeah" and "hey" and "gonna". Another inconsistency in the father's character;he is a MECHANICAL ENGINEER, i.e, he builds bridges and such, yet he doesn't know that a brook that is relatively mild during late summer might not get a bit wilder during the wetter months? Isn't knowing that stuff part of the job description of an mechanical engineer? Also, HAVING LIVED IN ENGLAND FOR SIXTEEN YEARS, doesn't he know what the weather is like? I can't be distracted with this kind of shoddy attention to detail alternating with boring attention detail (I refer you back to my comment re the youngest daughter's nickname). Especially when I'm reading a scary story. I'm the type, who while reading a recent Stephen King story was distracted by the fact that he had his character, a women in her late 30's remembering obscure 7UP jingles and Winston cigarette ads. I'm in my mid-40's and I never heard of the 7UP jingle(it likes you you like it). My husband is a few years older and he had never heard it either. I only know the Winston thing from having read an earlier King story. Maybe King was being meta and his character knew that stuff because she read his books? It didn't fly with me at all and that is a very minor detail (except for that he kept referring back to the 7UP thing). I just knew I was in for so much more in Herbert's book. I can't put myself through that.
June 17, 2017
Hacía tiempo que no pasaba miedo con un libro de terror. Muy recomendable.
October 23, 2018
I read this 3 months ago and it's already slipping from my mind. What was the secret of Crickley Hall, again?
Oh yeah, I remember now, it's a completely generic haunted house. That's the secret. You know it's a haunted house because absolutely everyone comments on how gloomy and creepy it is the moment they step foot in it. And if that wasn't enough there's also a centenarian gardener who will drop not-very cryptic hints about the hauntings when he's not info-dumping the back story. Yes, the secret of Crickley Hall is explained and repeated ad nauseum by multiple different characters and flash-backs, but what's never explained is why a grieving family with only two children would choose to live in an enormous, gloomy, isolated, obviously haunted mansion. Just think of the energy bills.
It was just so disappointingly unscary. It had all the elements of a good haunting - strange puddles of water appearing, strange knockings, doors swinging open on their own. Yet none of these elements were properly deployed to produce fear. In a good horror there's some suspense: doors creaking open on their own are the first inexorable step to the confrontation with evil. If the doors are just swinging about willy-nilly then you've got yourself a DIY problem.
But the real problem was that the characters were so wooden. I wasn't scared by the horror, and largely neither were they, apparently being too stupid to realise they were in a haunted house, even though the mother was a firm believer in the supernatural, and every one of them had an encounter with the ghosts. And indeed the book itself seemed rather confused about whether or not the ghosts were scary. Sometimes it was the manifestion of the poor children, not threatening but crying out for justice, and sometimes the manifestion of their terrible abuser who in life had only ever been a threat to helpless kids, and seemed equally impotent in death.
Oh yeah, I remember now, it's a completely generic haunted house. That's the secret. You know it's a haunted house because absolutely everyone comments on how gloomy and creepy it is the moment they step foot in it. And if that wasn't enough there's also a centenarian gardener who will drop not-very cryptic hints about the hauntings when he's not info-dumping the back story. Yes, the secret of Crickley Hall is explained and repeated ad nauseum by multiple different characters and flash-backs, but what's never explained is why a grieving family with only two children would choose to live in an enormous, gloomy, isolated, obviously haunted mansion. Just think of the energy bills.
It was just so disappointingly unscary. It had all the elements of a good haunting - strange puddles of water appearing, strange knockings, doors swinging open on their own. Yet none of these elements were properly deployed to produce fear. In a good horror there's some suspense: doors creaking open on their own are the first inexorable step to the confrontation with evil. If the doors are just swinging about willy-nilly then you've got yourself a DIY problem.
But the real problem was that the characters were so wooden. I wasn't scared by the horror, and largely neither were they, apparently being too stupid to realise they were in a haunted house, even though the mother was a firm believer in the supernatural, and every one of them had an encounter with the ghosts. And indeed the book itself seemed rather confused about whether or not the ghosts were scary. Sometimes it was the manifestion of the poor children, not threatening but crying out for justice, and sometimes the manifestion of their terrible abuser who in life had only ever been a threat to helpless kids, and seemed equally impotent in death.
February 24, 2019
Es muy buena la trama, todo el tiempo entretenido nada aburrido y muy buen ritmo, personajes que de verdad transmiten emociones.
Aún así no será de mis favoritos
Aún así no será de mis favoritos
November 4, 2020
Llevaba muchos años esperando en la estantería y este año por fin me he puesto con ella. Es una novela de terror muy entretenida que me tuvo completamente enganchada.
Trata de una casa con fantasmas. Veremos no solo a la nueva familia que acaba de llegar sino también conoceremos la historia de los fantasmas que pasean por ella.
Si os gustan las novelas de casas encantadas os la recomiendo.
Trata de una casa con fantasmas. Veremos no solo a la nueva familia que acaba de llegar sino también conoceremos la historia de los fantasmas que pasean por ella.
Si os gustan las novelas de casas encantadas os la recomiendo.
November 1, 2020
Pretty tame outing for Herbert to be sure. Basically, this is something of a 'classic' haunted house story, albeit it reads almost like a mystery. The Caleigh family moves into Crickley Hall, an old manor house near a small harbor town. Gabe (the father) has some local work to do (he is an engineer) and hopes the temporary move will help him and especially his wife, for it is almost a year since their son Cam has gone missing. Eve, the wife, fell asleep at a park in London, and when she awoke Cam was gone without a trace. Still blaming herself, she has been in mourning ever since. Their two remaining children-- girls age 12 and 5-- move with them to Crickley Hall-- a stark, forbidding house to be sure. It turns out no one stays in Crickley Hall long, as they are informed by the old gardener who kinda comes with the place.
Obviously, something terrible happened at Crickley Hall back in 1943. It seems the house, being vacant at the time, was hastily turned into a school for some orphans from London seeking to escape the blitz. In 1943 there was a terrible flood which killed dozens of people and the orphans as well, at least that is the story that is commonly told. As the story unfolds, however, we learn more about the orphans and their two guardians, one of which died the night of the flood and the other was found the next day at a train station, but she would not speak ever again and is now in a resting home. So, what happened at Crickley Hall, what is the secret? Well, it takes Herbert about 600 pages for that to come out...
This was definitely a slow burn type of novel, and while punctuated with some trills, is pretty slow going. A good editor probably could have lopped off a few hundred pages or so with good effect as Herbert repeats several things over and over. He did a good job with character development (perhaps too good) and we really feel we know the Caleighs by the end. The entire story takes place in just one week. I know this was toward the end of his writing career, but it still lacks the punch of his earlier work. 3 spooky stars.
Obviously, something terrible happened at Crickley Hall back in 1943. It seems the house, being vacant at the time, was hastily turned into a school for some orphans from London seeking to escape the blitz. In 1943 there was a terrible flood which killed dozens of people and the orphans as well, at least that is the story that is commonly told. As the story unfolds, however, we learn more about the orphans and their two guardians, one of which died the night of the flood and the other was found the next day at a train station, but she would not speak ever again and is now in a resting home. So, what happened at Crickley Hall, what is the secret? Well, it takes Herbert about 600 pages for that to come out...
This was definitely a slow burn type of novel, and while punctuated with some trills, is pretty slow going. A good editor probably could have lopped off a few hundred pages or so with good effect as Herbert repeats several things over and over. He did a good job with character development (perhaps too good) and we really feel we know the Caleighs by the end. The entire story takes place in just one week. I know this was toward the end of his writing career, but it still lacks the punch of his earlier work. 3 spooky stars.
October 26, 2011
What's wrong with Crickley Hall? The cellar door won't stay shut. There are strange noises coming from the closet. The dog hates the place. Be very afraid, run away now - from this novel.
Oy, what a stinker. It has the bones of a good story - plotty enough that I had to severely edit the synopsis to be accepted by my book database - but the story is badly told and very badly edited. There is no real character development, although there are character back stories that take up valuable pages and are left dangling. In an incredibly irritating dialog tic, the male lead, an American, speaks with "gonnas" and other colloquialisms and sounds like an idiot, not like an American. Rather than build the story organically, the author gives up pieces of information along the way through awkward exposition in the mouths of stock characters. Worst sin of all: not scary. The evil ghost is just laughable. Parts are base and lurid and left me feeling icky, but I was never once scared.
Oy, what a stinker. It has the bones of a good story - plotty enough that I had to severely edit the synopsis to be accepted by my book database - but the story is badly told and very badly edited. There is no real character development, although there are character back stories that take up valuable pages and are left dangling. In an incredibly irritating dialog tic, the male lead, an American, speaks with "gonnas" and other colloquialisms and sounds like an idiot, not like an American. Rather than build the story organically, the author gives up pieces of information along the way through awkward exposition in the mouths of stock characters. Worst sin of all: not scary. The evil ghost is just laughable. Parts are base and lurid and left me feeling icky, but I was never once scared.
April 1, 2024
Exactamente no sé qué valoración darle a este libro. Pertenece al género de terror, género con el que no estoy familiarizada pero que desde principios de año me propuse leer y así salir más de mi zona de confort. Dentro de este género, lo que más me llama la atención son las historias de fantasmas, casas encantadas, ... Así que, en principio, entré con elevadas expectativas. Tuve que avanzar hasta algo más del 50% del libro para poder decir que me estaba atrapando la historia. Estaba llena de clichés que ya había visto en varias películas de esta temática. Y después, la parte original de la historia es muy dura porque en ella está involucrado el sufrimiento de unos niños que escapan de la guerra y se supone que terminan en una especie de orfanato para refugiados. Un lugar donde, se vuelve a suponer, recibirían cariño y apoyo después de haber perdido a sus familias. Y hasta aquí puedo contar porque no quiero desvelar nada.
El final, me pareció acorde con la historia y bastante sentimental. No pude evitar que se me escapara alguna lagrimita 😢😢😢😢.
Un libro que seguro que gustará a los lectores del género pero en mi caso particular, lo de sufrir mientras leo no lo llevo muy bien 😅😅.
El final, me pareció acorde con la historia y bastante sentimental. No pude evitar que se me escapara alguna lagrimita 😢😢😢😢.
Un libro que seguro que gustará a los lectores del género pero en mi caso particular, lo de sufrir mientras leo no lo llevo muy bien 😅😅.
March 11, 2024
The 2nd book I have ever read by James Herbert, the first being Portent which I thought was average but a bit forgettable. However I don't think I will be forgetting this in a hurry.
This could've been a 5 star read for me but lets talk about why it didn't quite make it. Some of the scenes that involved children and were really descriptive and sickening, which made some of this really hard to read. I also felt like every now and then the plotline got messy, bouncing between storylines without any organisation or flow. In places it felt like James Herbert wrote his book on a windy day and all the pages got mixed up so he had to figure out how to put them back together.
I have seen a few reviews of people saying this book wasn't scary at all which I have to disagree with. This story is haunting and it is exactly the type of story you here when visiting old villages in the UK. Being for the UK it was nice to see the places the characters are visiting in my mind as I have seen them too and I will never see them the same way again. Although this book was published in the 2000s it felt like a classic 80s haunted house story, which is a compliment.
I couldn't stop thinking about how this book would make an amazing TV series - not knowing one already exists! Not only is this book a horror, but also a thriller with the family trying to uncover the strange past of Crickley Hall.
I thought the character development in this book was really strong which you don't tend to find in this genre as often as others. I enjoyed seeing this book from different characters eyes and the different ways they interpreted what they saw. Slowly as the chapters pass the story is unraveled leaving no stone unturned. I sped read this book so fast and it kept my attention from the very first line.
It can't be denied that James Herbert's descriptions are disgustingly spectacular. Not many authors can makes me visualise such horrific things which such ease. He also describes smells so well I could also smell them as I was reading making the reading experience even creepier.
We were given a lot of information as the reader but it never felt overwhelming or confusing. James Herbert must have done his research which I appreciate! I felt like I was learning a lot about physic's which I wasn't expecting but I enjoyed it.
This book also has the most satisfying ending it really wraps everything in a nice neat bow! James Herbert really delves deep into this plotline and its characters, it might have made a better book series, possibly with different POV's and different timelines. I will be picking up another book by James Herbert in the future - his writing style isn't my favourite but I feel like his originality and suspense building made up for it.
This could've been a 5 star read for me but lets talk about why it didn't quite make it. Some of the scenes that involved children and were really descriptive and sickening, which made some of this really hard to read. I also felt like every now and then the plotline got messy, bouncing between storylines without any organisation or flow. In places it felt like James Herbert wrote his book on a windy day and all the pages got mixed up so he had to figure out how to put them back together.
I have seen a few reviews of people saying this book wasn't scary at all which I have to disagree with. This story is haunting and it is exactly the type of story you here when visiting old villages in the UK. Being for the UK it was nice to see the places the characters are visiting in my mind as I have seen them too and I will never see them the same way again. Although this book was published in the 2000s it felt like a classic 80s haunted house story, which is a compliment.
I couldn't stop thinking about how this book would make an amazing TV series - not knowing one already exists! Not only is this book a horror, but also a thriller with the family trying to uncover the strange past of Crickley Hall.
I thought the character development in this book was really strong which you don't tend to find in this genre as often as others. I enjoyed seeing this book from different characters eyes and the different ways they interpreted what they saw. Slowly as the chapters pass the story is unraveled leaving no stone unturned. I sped read this book so fast and it kept my attention from the very first line.
It can't be denied that James Herbert's descriptions are disgustingly spectacular. Not many authors can makes me visualise such horrific things which such ease. He also describes smells so well I could also smell them as I was reading making the reading experience even creepier.
We were given a lot of information as the reader but it never felt overwhelming or confusing. James Herbert must have done his research which I appreciate! I felt like I was learning a lot about physic's which I wasn't expecting but I enjoyed it.
This book also has the most satisfying ending it really wraps everything in a nice neat bow! James Herbert really delves deep into this plotline and its characters, it might have made a better book series, possibly with different POV's and different timelines. I will be picking up another book by James Herbert in the future - his writing style isn't my favourite but I feel like his originality and suspense building made up for it.
January 21, 2021
How the hell is this book not more well known, especially over here in America?!
I had been meaning to pick up ‘The Secret of Crickley Hall’ for over a year, and when I finally got it for Christmas, I decided it would be one of my first reads of 2021. However, as I started it on Audible, I began to remember past ghost stories I had read and how ghost stories have never really grabbed me, no matter how interesting the premise.
Well, let me tell you... this story had renewed my faith that there are ghost stories out there that can captivate me and suck me in!
This book is so damn good! From the main story arc, to character backstories and arcs, to the history of Crickley Hall, this story was so well told. Everything just seemed to fall into place and come together the way it should to form a perfectly told ghost story.
There is of course your usual eerie feelings of an old house, and your usual haunted house/ghost story go-to’s that try and set a feeling of unease for the reader. None of which felt forced or like I was reading something I’ve read repeatedly. Everything was perfectly placed where it needed to be.
One part that needs an emphasis of praise is the backstory of Crickley Hall. I mentioned it briefly above, but I want to emphasize how brilliantly thought out and executed that imperative part of the story was. The history and events of a haunted house can make or break any ghost story, and this one hit a home run!
I cannot sing enough praise of this book. It’s the best ghost story to date that I have read and more people need to read it. So, please, I recommend that you do, sooner than later!
I had been meaning to pick up ‘The Secret of Crickley Hall’ for over a year, and when I finally got it for Christmas, I decided it would be one of my first reads of 2021. However, as I started it on Audible, I began to remember past ghost stories I had read and how ghost stories have never really grabbed me, no matter how interesting the premise.
Well, let me tell you... this story had renewed my faith that there are ghost stories out there that can captivate me and suck me in!
This book is so damn good! From the main story arc, to character backstories and arcs, to the history of Crickley Hall, this story was so well told. Everything just seemed to fall into place and come together the way it should to form a perfectly told ghost story.
There is of course your usual eerie feelings of an old house, and your usual haunted house/ghost story go-to’s that try and set a feeling of unease for the reader. None of which felt forced or like I was reading something I’ve read repeatedly. Everything was perfectly placed where it needed to be.
One part that needs an emphasis of praise is the backstory of Crickley Hall. I mentioned it briefly above, but I want to emphasize how brilliantly thought out and executed that imperative part of the story was. The history and events of a haunted house can make or break any ghost story, and this one hit a home run!
I cannot sing enough praise of this book. It’s the best ghost story to date that I have read and more people need to read it. So, please, I recommend that you do, sooner than later!
July 11, 2015
James Herbert, who passed away last year, has long been one of the most popular and influential horror writers since he first published The Rats in the late 70's. To many in the UK, he's their Stephen King, but Herbert is all his own, and for the uninitiated, you should read him, period.
The Secret of Crickley Hall is a classic haunted house tale, ranks right up there with the modern classics, such as The Haunting of Hill House, Hell House, The Shining, and Ghost Story. While the book is big and dense in parts, it is all about layers and building the dread-laden suspense.
The Caleigh family decides a break from the city, especially after the tragic disappearance of a family member nearly a year ago, is just what they need...and they settle for a few months in the old and rambling Crickley Hall, which has a tragic and dark history of its own. Then they begin to experience inexplicable events, mysterious noises in the dead of night, strange and frightening manifestations...and while they begin to question the reason behind the bizarre occurences, the truth is far more horrific than they could imagine.
While perhaps not as graphic as some previous Herbert novels, this novel does not disappoint and one I thoroughly enjoyed.
The Secret of Crickley Hall is a classic haunted house tale, ranks right up there with the modern classics, such as The Haunting of Hill House, Hell House, The Shining, and Ghost Story. While the book is big and dense in parts, it is all about layers and building the dread-laden suspense.
The Caleigh family decides a break from the city, especially after the tragic disappearance of a family member nearly a year ago, is just what they need...and they settle for a few months in the old and rambling Crickley Hall, which has a tragic and dark history of its own. Then they begin to experience inexplicable events, mysterious noises in the dead of night, strange and frightening manifestations...and while they begin to question the reason behind the bizarre occurences, the truth is far more horrific than they could imagine.
While perhaps not as graphic as some previous Herbert novels, this novel does not disappoint and one I thoroughly enjoyed.
May 23, 2012
I'll admit to skimming through parts of this book. Mostly, the parts that repeated, and repeated...and repeated. My Lord, the ENDLESS repetition. First one person tells the story, then another, then we get a flashback memory of the story, then a summary and then yet another person tells the same story again. Sigh.
No mystery here, no scares or creepy scenes (though plenty were meant to be)- the most disturbing parts (aside from the poorly executed and, yes, repetitious, "Americanisms") were the descriptions of child murder, which were a bit too graphic for the story.
I finished this because it was a quick read. If I had to spend more than one sitting reading it, I would never have finished.
No mystery here, no scares or creepy scenes (though plenty were meant to be)- the most disturbing parts (aside from the poorly executed and, yes, repetitious, "Americanisms") were the descriptions of child murder, which were a bit too graphic for the story.
I finished this because it was a quick read. If I had to spend more than one sitting reading it, I would never have finished.
January 2, 2022
This book seriously has me stuck. I’m totally split about whether to rate it two or three stars. I could just get a life and not care about it either way, but this is me we’re talking about. So here goes an in-depth discussion with myself which I really haven't the time to indulge in.
Shit. I hated this book. Aside from the suicide letter I wrote my parents some months ago, it was probably the most disappointing thing I've read in a long time. (The former being disappointing because obviously I didn't go through with it).
At 600 pages, it felt basically like an overlong dummy's guide to writing ghost stories. By that I mean it was, in all technical sense, a competent effort. James Herbert is a lot of things, but he ain't no sloppy writer. He knows what words to use when, and, like, he doesn’t write like a fucking idiot. No, what I mean by “dummy's guide” is that Crickley Hall is little more than an overstuffed demonstration of formulaic cliches which have formed the basis of this genre for over a century. Think of any trope that appears in any haunted house film you’ve seen, any book you’ve read, and the chances are its somewhere in this book. And what pissed me off most if that it isn’t even done that well here!!
As my fellow buddy-reader Aileene would attest to, fucking the ghosts were not scary. In my opinion, the scariest thing in this book was the back flap, where I was suddenly exposed to a picture of the author.
I'll admit I was not expecting that. The delivery of this moment - (the grotesque imagery; the ominous implication in the pursing of his lips) - is downright genius. It shall keep me up for weeks. But as for the rest of the story? Well, unforutely, I would say “forget it”.
What scares me is the auto-correct on my Evernote. It frightens me because I recently submitted an essay for university, and I wrote the damned thing on this. Guess the "mystery mark" at least has the mystery element, which I always enjoy. (Did I get 30% or was it even worse? I’ll never know, and I’ll spend the rest of the year speculating with my Goodreads friends).
All jokes aside though, I am a fan of Herbert’s work. Though I generally consider him more of a "guilty pleasure”. The first book I read of his was The Ghosts Of Sleath. And guess what? That book terrified me. After Dracula, It and The Exorcist, it's probably one of the creepiest books I’ve read. This was followed by his most famous novel, Haunted, which was also the predecessor to Sleath. Sad to say, I was not a big fan of that book. I much prefer the film starring Aidan Quinn and an early Kate Beckinsale performance I had a major crush on as a kid.
Aside from Fluke, which is my favourite of Herbert’s books so far, the rest were just mediocre trudges between average and occasionally disturbing. I was not overly impressed with The Rats, The Spear, The Fog, or the slightly more decent The Survivor. I grew tired of Herbert’s repetitious style very quickly, and while I was initially intrigued in reading Crickley Hall for the fact that it came much later in his sadly-ended career, I found myself becoming increasingly discouraged ... soon disappointed ... and eventually infuriated with his apparent lack of original thinking.
The “Haunted House”, while one of my favourites, is admittedly a stale subject in today’s film and literature. It can still be invigorated - (as was proved by King’s Bag Of Bones and Wan's film Insidious, to name just a few) - but artists really need to justify themselves when returning to this concept. Similar to the “Zombie Apocalypse”, it’s become so commonplace that it instantly fails to captivate unless it brings something new to the table. And while I will now go on to explain how this book finally did start paying its dues, I still have no hesitation in saying that with Crickley Hall, James Herbert does nothing new nor interesting with the material whatsoever.
That is why I hated this book. It was such a terrible case of WASTED POTENTIAL.
Oh my God, is that supposed to be Augustus Cribben? But he doesn’t look scary at all!!
This is where my review changes. Because at about 400 pages in, something very annoying happened. You ever get those times when you read a book halfway through, and you pretty much hate it? It angers you so much, in fact, that you start planning your hilarious rant as you force yourself on through the pages? And then, towards the end, feeling like you have a valid criticism to make, the author pulls a fast one and the story you hated finally starts falling into place?
Something very much the same happened to me with Kathryn Stockett's The Help. I thought that was terrible for the first 100-200 pages. But then towards the end I found myself grateful I was reading it in private. If I had recited the damned book in class I would have blubbered like a little girl. (Exageration, there ... but yes, I was won over by that book in the end). And Crickley Hall does the same bloody thing!!
After 400 pages of bullshit. Obvious paranormal activity, and there's Mr Fucking Cynic writing it off as reflections in the window frame. "Hey, Gabe, you dickhead. Look at that ghost walking across the upstairs landing!! Sweet mercy of Christ, my heart is on the brink!!”
“Aww, s’no ghost, Slim,” says Mr Colloquialism. Fucking contradicting me. “That gruesome human figure you see walking across the landing, grabbing my daughter by the hair and slamming her face against the balustrade, is just a phenomena I like to call dust motes”.
“Gabe, lookout!! There's a spectral demon about to wallop you with its punishment stick!! - Ohh, there he goes!! Gee, are you okay, man?"
“Aww, s’not anything to get alarmed about,” says Mr Fucking Downtoearth. “It’s just these cracks in the floor. They cause air currents to rise from the cellar and mingle with the chandelier’s reflection in the recently-varnished oak walls”.
“Gabe,” I mutter, shaking my head. “Come here. I’m going to hit you”.
Loren and Cally. Just as bored as Aileene and I were.
But as I was saying, this book did come around in the end. That’s not to say that it became amazing. But things finally got a little more intense. Things in the house started happening that were not just dismissed as being mice in the roof. I have to say that I was mostly disappointed with the lack of gratuitous sex and violence in this book. Generally, Herbert’s books are full of that shit, and there's me acting like an asshole and complaining about it.
But then he takes that stuff out and I’m fucking upset about it not being there. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m seeing a psychiatrist and staying off Facebook and pretending that the world doesn’t exist. The new Weezer album came out yesterday and that’s provided me with some needed escapism.
There was no sex in this book, so shit, there goes that. (Oh, I just remembered, there was some sex ... between a middle-aged woman and a little boy). And yeah, the violence was surprisingly toned down as well. Until the end, that is. Near the end, things get pretty fucked, and though I felt like a horrible person, I was so happily disturbed when Herbert starting adding his trademark sprinkle of sadism to the mix.
Circumcisions … you gotta love 'em.
This book was really pretty bad for the first half. It gave me the shits, and I also had to take the blame for choosing this book for my first buddy read with Aileene. Have you ever taken a girl to the movies, except the film turns out shit, and at one point you lean closer and whisper, “Hey, we don’t have to watch this if you don’t want. Let’s just get some ice-cream instead”. And then she nudges you away, shifts angrily aside, and says, “I don’t think so, mate. You made me pay for this shit, now we're gonna watch it. Asshole”.
I'm angry with Herbert for letting me down, and if he wasn’t dead I would go to him and express my dissatisfaction. "No, I’m not asking for a refund. I just want to look you in the eye, and tell you I was unhappy with your product. I want those words to haunt your dreams tonight”. Customers are always saying shit like that to me at work.
So in closing, I guess I wanted and could have said more. But let’s not be superfluous. I’ve already managed to slip in yet another suicide reference, as well as a miniature review for The Help. I really don’t know what I’m doing. I threw a 5kg weight into the damn on my property this afternoon. I made the affirmation that the demon in my brain was reconfigured into that object, and then I threw it into the dam. I closed my eyes and deeply inhaled. I entered the realm of normality again. Except writing this review is already bringing that demon back. I’m going to log off and punch myself in the face now.
February 27, 2018
A scary story! Worth a read. 👍🐯
June 17, 2023
What a ride was this! I actually didn't think it'd take me so long to get through this book and yet it wasn't a struggle.
I went with this one without really knowing what I was going for, I barely did read the first part of the book description and that's all!
The Secret of Crickley Hall is a quite unusual read but I enjoyed it. There's a kindness in this book and the story is gentle even though it's clearly meant to be listed in the horror section of your books. I don't know how this caring feeling is possible with such a horrid story after all but it's how I felt it all along.
This book will leave a lasting impression on me for a long time. Four stars!
I went with this one without really knowing what I was going for, I barely did read the first part of the book description and that's all!
The Secret of Crickley Hall is a quite unusual read but I enjoyed it. There's a kindness in this book and the story is gentle even though it's clearly meant to be listed in the horror section of your books. I don't know how this caring feeling is possible with such a horrid story after all but it's how I felt it all along.
This book will leave a lasting impression on me for a long time. Four stars!
October 15, 2020
Read some James Herbert, they said. He's the bestest, they said. Well, as part of my exploration of haunted houses, I decided to start my James Herbert experience here, but maybe that was a mistake, as this was, I think, his last novel and supposedly not up to his usual standards.
"Crickley Hall" is not a bad novel by any means, but not a strong one. I was surprised how little of anything happens despite the length of this novel, and I did not find it at all frightening. It lacked the certain "something" that great ghost stories share. Ghost stories should take the reader through the uncanny valley, tickling the amygdala with the possibility of danger behind seemingly mundane experiences. The unseen force behind a creak of the floorboards or the rustle of curtains, the figure that may be lurking behind the darkness or just behind you on the basement stairs, the unhealthy atmosphere of a place because of a forgotten tragedy, the smile on the butler's face that just doesn't seem appropriate somehow.
Yes, we have the annoying dog Chester who senses something is wrong with old house, but otherwise I felt no building sense of mystery or of approaching unknowable horror. Instead, what I got was a stereotypical baddie ghost wielding a whip. The content of child abuse is disturbing, but the book as a whole does not provide the transcending experience that a good horror novel provides. The end was flashy but not satisfying, and by that point I didn't have a whole lot invested in the characters or story anyway. In fact, the character choices were a bit unrealistic and caused enough frustration to take me out of the story.
I wasn't scared, sickened, offended or insulted by this book. I didn't laugh, cry, or snicker. I didn't bite my nails once or worry for any character in the book, other than maybe the damn dog. I didn't get pissed off or rage-quit at any point. This was just a mediocre piece of entertainment that didn't speak to me one way or another.
Thus, I didn't feel that this novel deserved less than three stars, as it was a perfectly mediocre read all the way through. But I have read better three-star books that were simply marred by too many flaws to recommend them any higher.
So with that, I give at least this James Herbert entry a solid "meh," and hope the next one I tackle pushes me a little harder. Give it a whirl one Halloween if you're bored, as I suspect this will feel like comfort food for many. My own amygdala just needs a little more tickling.
"Crickley Hall" is not a bad novel by any means, but not a strong one. I was surprised how little of anything happens despite the length of this novel, and I did not find it at all frightening. It lacked the certain "something" that great ghost stories share. Ghost stories should take the reader through the uncanny valley, tickling the amygdala with the possibility of danger behind seemingly mundane experiences. The unseen force behind a creak of the floorboards or the rustle of curtains, the figure that may be lurking behind the darkness or just behind you on the basement stairs, the unhealthy atmosphere of a place because of a forgotten tragedy, the smile on the butler's face that just doesn't seem appropriate somehow.
Yes, we have the annoying dog Chester who senses something is wrong with old house, but otherwise I felt no building sense of mystery or of approaching unknowable horror. Instead, what I got was a stereotypical baddie ghost wielding a whip. The content of child abuse is disturbing, but the book as a whole does not provide the transcending experience that a good horror novel provides. The end was flashy but not satisfying, and by that point I didn't have a whole lot invested in the characters or story anyway. In fact, the character choices were a bit unrealistic and caused enough frustration to take me out of the story.
I wasn't scared, sickened, offended or insulted by this book. I didn't laugh, cry, or snicker. I didn't bite my nails once or worry for any character in the book, other than maybe the damn dog. I didn't get pissed off or rage-quit at any point. This was just a mediocre piece of entertainment that didn't speak to me one way or another.
Thus, I didn't feel that this novel deserved less than three stars, as it was a perfectly mediocre read all the way through. But I have read better three-star books that were simply marred by too many flaws to recommend them any higher.
So with that, I give at least this James Herbert entry a solid "meh," and hope the next one I tackle pushes me a little harder. Give it a whirl one Halloween if you're bored, as I suspect this will feel like comfort food for many. My own amygdala just needs a little more tickling.
August 19, 2021
No recuerdo la última vez que un libro me hizo sentir esa sensación tan genial de estarlo pasando mal. Hay escenas de puro terror.
Seiscientas páginas y no sobra ni una, os lo prometo. Es más, me ha atrapado entre los muros de Crickley Hall desde la primera. Y una vez que lo hace, ya no puedes salir.
Chsss... ¡Zas!
Seiscientas páginas y no sobra ni una, os lo prometo. Es más, me ha atrapado entre los muros de Crickley Hall desde la primera. Y una vez que lo hace, ya no puedes salir.
Chsss... ¡Zas!
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