The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps first sees the woman in black at the funeral of Mrs. Alice Drablow. He sees her again when he visits Eel Marsh House. Her face is pale as bone and wasted, but her unnaturally bright gaze is full of bitter malevolence and hatred.

"Who she was--or what--I did not ask myself. I tried not to think about the matter at all but, with the very last of the energy that I could already feel draining out of me, I turned and began to run, to flee from the graveyard and the ruins and to put the woman at as great a distance behind as I possibly could. I concentrated everything upon my running, hearing only the thud of my own body on the grass, the escape of my own breath. And I did not look back."

Unfortunately, Arthur's job is not yet done and he must return to Eel Marsh House. As he sorts through Alice Drablow's papers he begins to uncover the haunting secrets of the past and of the ghostly woman in black. This novel has the feel of an old-fashioned ghost story, which I quite liked. (In fact, I liked it better than the movie!) It's a beautifully written, haunting tale. Arthur Kipps is earnestly likeable; and I loved the little dog, Spider, who keeps him company at Eel Marsh House. The woman in black herself is one of the more quietly terrifying ghosts ever written. This is a good Halloween read!