From the 2012 movie, The Woman in Black.
What's the scariest book you've ever read? I can tell you mine. "The Woman in Black" by Susan Hill. Just thinking about it gives me chills. It was published on October 10, 1983 -- way before I was born. I basically grew up with no TV from the age of eight to 12; so, I read books, and made up stories to entertain my brothers. During those four years, we lived in an area with no electricity, so we took advantage of the sunlight -- playing outside, swimming in a creek miles away from home, riding our bikes as far as we could go.
And in my case, reading. I read in the morning before school, I read in the afternoon at the dinner table, and I read with a flashlight in bed.
I was 10 years old when I picked up The Woman in Black, I had no idea it would give me nightmares. I mean, I was 10! But I was also stubborn, and in my opinion, invincible. Nothing could scare me. But this book did.
It begins on Christmas -- with the elderly Arthur Kipps, writing a story of when he was a young man -- a story that still haunts him. In the story, he's engaged to a delightful young woman. As a soliciter, he's given the task of handling the affairs of one Alice Drablow, a reclusive and recently deceased widow. Everyone in the town refuses to speak to him about her, but a determined Arthur ventures out to her house, aptly called Eel Marsh House (shudders). His journey there is not easy but he gets to the house and decides to stay there until he has finished his business. There, he experiences unexplained horrors that would haunt him throughout his life.
You have to read this book. Oh, and there's a movie. It's really good, but nothing compares to the brilliant horror of the book.
Here's the trailer.
