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Oct 12, 2020_Mirelda_ rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This is another creepy page-turner that will keep you intrigued until the final, dark twist. The Woman in Black was published in 1983, but it reads like a classic Victorian ghost story. The story begins with a family gathered around the fire to tell ghost stories at Christmas. This sounds a bit strange to the modern reader, but it was a tradition. (Think A Christmas Carol, for an example of another Christmas-time ghost story). The narrator is enjoying the evening with his wife and stepchildren, until the tales of terror begin. He hints that he had an experience of such horror as a younger man that it completely changed him. He is still so shaken that he is unable to share the story as part of the festivities. Afterward he pledges to write the story down for posterity. That tale is the one we read as The Woman in Black. As a young man and a new solicitor, Arthur Kipps is sent to a remote area in northern England to settle a woman’s estate. As he gets closer to his destination, he finds the name of the deceased woman strikes dread into those around him. Soon Kipps begins to see things others do not, such as a woman in black looking into the grave of the deceased at the funeral. No one is willing to accompany him to the estate in the marsh, aside from a driver who will only drop him off and pick him up. Kipps chalks their behavior up to rural superstition. However, as he begins to sort through papers at the house, he sees and hears much that he can’t explain. In time the house and the marsh will give up their secrets, but Kipps will never be the same.