Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor in London, is summoned to Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, and to sort through her papers before returning to London. It is here that Kipps first sees the woman in black and begins to gain an impression of the mystery surrounding her. From the funeral he travels to Eel Marsh House and sees the woman again; he also hears the terrifying sounds on the marsh.
Despite Kipps’s experiences he resolves to spend the night at the house and fulfil his professional duty. It is this night at Eel Marsh House that contains the greatest horror for Kipps. Kipps later discovers the reasons behind the hauntings at Eel Marsh House. The book ends with the woman in black exacting a final, terrible revenge.

I’m not a big horror reader, but my boyfriend Mark told me this is one of the only books that has ever scared him and made me want to pick it up as well! I thought it was the perfect time of year to dive into this one and I read the entire book in an evening – I couldn’t put it down. I read it by candlelight in the bath and it just added to the scary atmosphere of this book – I loved it.

The plot of this book was super interesting and honestly made it difficult to put down. We follow Arthur, who at the start of this book is reflecting on an experience he had when he was younger, and decides to write down the story instead of telling it out loud. Around 40 pages in, we start to be told that very story and here, things get spooky…

At the age of 23, Arthur was sent to sort out Eel Marsh House after the woman who owns it passes away. He works as a solicitor and travels away from his home in London to take care of the house. This whole story was so eerie and full of atmosphere, and the writing showed it off beautifully. There is so many aspects of this book that work together to make it spine-chilling – the weather, the isolated location of the house, the Victorian Gothic feel of the writing.

This one did send chills down my spine and I was definitely spooked out in places. Overall, I was just super impressed with this one and it was such an enjoyable read despite the creepiness!

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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