scary books...I am reading 'The Woman in White' by Wilkie Collins..have i been mistaken?

[selfishmum]

I'm sure I saw on here you all talking about a really scary book, a bit of a classic called 'a woman in white'..I'm plowing my way through it now and it's ok but it's not scary...have I got my titles mixed up..I'm half way through now and there doesn't seem to be any ghost involved yet...

Were you thinking of Susan Hill "The Woman In Black"?
Keep going with the Wilkie Collins though - it is scary and fantastic too.
"The Woman In Black" is horribly scary, especially for a parent.

I loved Woman in White but was not scared by it except that it was a disturbing thought that similar events might ever have been plausible.

ahh yes...lol! must have been 'The Woman in Black'...what an idiot!

I was struggling with Woman in White but am getting a bit more into it now...will plough on!

It is definitely worth reading. Don't read "The Woman In Black" alone in the house though! Yikes!

Interestingly (IMO!) Wilkie Collins was hanging out in Paris with Charles Dickens, as you do, and found some crime magazines in a book shop. It seems that these influenced the author and there are very distinct similarities between a case in rural France and the story Woman In White as written by WC. I enjoyed reading the book but felt it was a bit falsely created. Did anyone else?

the woman in white "Marian and her sister Laura live a quiet life under their uncle's guardianship until Laura's marriage to Sir Percival Glyde. Sir Percival is a man of many secrets. Hence, Marian and the girls' drawing master, Walter, have to turn detective in order to work out what is going on, and to protect Laura from a fatal plot. "

it's scary in a classic sense, not a "shit I'm going to hide behind the settee in a bit" sense.

I listened to The Woman in White on radio 2 stories once - I was so rivetted. it was in instalments and I would sit there going "noooooo! what's going to happen next!!!!!" every time it finished for the night.
fantastic story.

and "This classic novel opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his "charming" friend Count Fosco. "

(these are publishers' blurbs, btw)

Try Sarah Water's 'The Little Stranger' which is very shivery, and of course there's always the wonderful 'Turn of the Screw' by Henry james - truly creepy

Had to do the Woman in White for Eng Lit O level many years ago.

Found it really boring at the time, but have not tried to re-read it. Definitely not scary, so it must be The Woman in Black you were thinking about.

The Woman In White is superb - it's scary in a 'Oh my gosh - these things really used to happen to women' kind of way, rather than a 'help it's a bogey man' way.

I was totally underwhelmed by The Woman In Black, The Turn Of The Screw and The Little Stranger.

If you want REALLY scary, read The Stand! :)