Secret of Crickley Hall

It's only because James Herbert is such a competent writer that he has been able to make this weary plot readable. The main question is, why pick this plot in the first place? He's an imaginative guy. "The Secret Of Crickley Hall" crumbles beside some of his other gems like "The Magic Cottage"; its characters come across as lame (particularly the father)despite...more

It's only because James Herbert is such a competent writer that he has been able to make this weary plot readable. The main question is, why pick this plot in the first place? He's an imaginative guy. "The Secret Of Crickley Hall" crumbles beside some of his other gems like "The Magic Cottage"; its characters come across as lame (particularly the father)despite their backgrounds, as they plod through a story that should be scarier, but for some reason, isn't. The story follows the Caleigh family as they take up residence in a spooky old manor house in Devonshire which was a former home for orphan evacuees during World War II. As the family meet the locals and tell them where they are living, there are a lot of changes-of-subject and umms-and-ahhs and muttering. It isn't long before there are strange noises and bangs and tappings and all the usual haunted-house phenomena. Frustratingly, every few pages it seems that one of the main characters thinks; "it's a bit creepy in here, maybe we should move out". Despite the hauntings becoming increasingly agressive and terrifying until even the family dog does a runner, the Dumb Family Caleigh still persist in saying things like "hmmm ... there's something not quite right here". I only wish I had their staying power. One of Secret Of Crickley Hall's problems is its length; the story is probably drawn out longer than it needs to be. By the time I reached the end it felt as if the family had been there for months, and I got confused when characters mentioned "last night" when they were speaking of an incident that happened 300 pages ago. There are of course a number of redeeming qualities - Herbert is after all a top notch writer, and he can conjure up images and tell a story well, even if the tightness or inginuity of plot isn't there on this occasion. The story of the evacuated orphans is a cruel and interesting one, and it does build up nicely throughout as more information about them is revealed. Despite being long-dead, their characterisation is more readily imagined than that of the Caleigh family themselves, who are a bit of a nondescript bunch really. All in all a pretty run-of-the-mill horror, with a few interesting hooks only just making it sufficiently different from another "Amityville" or "Poltergeist" type affair.   hide

The title suggested a sinister old house with a ghostly secret and the story doesn't disappoint. For fans of James Herbert's earlier books, this isn't in the same gory style...however I like both styles, and it shows the authors talent to be able to write a thrilling book that doesn't have to rely on the gory side of horror to be thrilling.

One of James Herberts´best novels!!

What a let down! I waited ages for a new novel from James Herbert and unfortunately all he has done is a hauted house (very similar to 'Haunted') and not very well ... admitably the beginning of the book is seriously spooky with banging inside the walls and creepy puddles appearing in hallways ... but overall it wasn't one of his masterpieces