I've always loved a good ghost film, so after seeing 'The Woman in Black' advertised at a bus stop, I decided I absolutely had to go see this film. Imagine my surprise when I found out it had originally been a book! Well, that changes everything, I thought. I have to read the book first! And so I did.

'The Woman in Black' tells the tale of Arthur Kipp, a solicitor acting on behalf of the late Mrs. Drablow, attempting to sort out her affairs. Mrs. Drablow was an old recluse, living in a small house away from the rest of the village, set apart by the Nine Lives Causeway, the tide cutting off the house from the mainland twice a day. But as Arthur comes to find out, the house is shrouded in more than just fog, as it holds the secret to the inexplicable sighting of the woman in black.

When I first began to read this book, a sense of horror washed over me. No, not because it was instantly that scary, but because, at a first glance, I thought I had picked up what some might call 'a classic'. Scary, I know. I've never liked classics for the sheer amount of unnecessary description and inane ramblings from the main character. Fortunately, while 'The Woman in Black' does lean towards an older style of writing, it's still quite light on the descriptions compared to some. I was able to fly through this book without ever feeling bogged down by prose.

The beginning chapter was an incredibly slow start, and felt like a lot of pointless background about the main character as he talks about his past and sets the stage for telling the story of his haunting memories. It felt much more like a prologue – something a reader could choose to skip over – as it added masses of information that added nothing to the plot whatsoever.

Having read some of the reviews for this, I was expecting something vaguely scary. On this point, the book fails to deliver. In fact, it misses the mark by quite some margin and instead hits the bullseye for 'same-old-ghost-story'. A locked door that's found inexplicably open. A rocking chair moving of its own accord. Yawn. Completely predictable, and therefore, lacking in suspense and mystery, and certainly not scary when you can see it coming a mile off. Possibly my biggest gripe about this book though... everyone seems to know the whole story concerning the old house and the ghostly woman, but simply refuse to speak about it with Mr Kipp.

Overall, this was a quick, vaguely entertaining read, if a tad predictable. There were some surprises, but not enough to rescue it from the tired ghost story clichés that littered the book. Not bad for its age, but could have been so much better. Will I still go see the film? Damn right. Hopefully it can capture that essence the book seemed to lack. My only worry is how they'll turn what was essentially a very small book into a full-length film.

I'd recommend it to those who are into classics and are looking for a quick, light read.