Haunted [Hardcover]

James Herbert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 21, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0333761324 | ISBN-13: 978-0333761328

This horror story describes three nights of terror in a remote country house, where a psychic investigator is obliged to re-evaluate his beliefs about the supernatural as he confronts the secrets of his own past. The author's many books include "The Fog", "The Dark" and "The Survivor".

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"My advice to you is to leave this house. No good will come of your investigation," says Nanny Tess to David Ash, paranormal investigator, in this disappointing horror tale. An associate of the Psychical Research Institute, Ash visits Edbrook, a lonely mansion in the British countryside, at the behest of the Mariell siblings--Christina, Robert and Simon--playful, immature children in grown-up bodies, and their aunt, Nanny Tess, all of whom have seen ghosts and strange sights aplenty in their ancestral home. Ash, who has a reputation as a skeptic and debunker, wonders if a deliberate attempt to discredit him is taking place (or is his incipient alcoholism catching up with him?) when he follows a ghostly figure through the grounds to a small garden pond. He is pushed, held underwater--and sees a pale figure with open arms. . . . What are the ghastly secrets of Edbrook's history? Of Ash's? Only slightly buoyed by Ash's fond remembrances of seances past, Herbert's ( Sepulchre ) plot creaks under the weight of its padding, his dialogue as lifeless as his cliched characters. Troll Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Agatha Christie buffs will derive amusement as well as information from this little book. Clues to the personal life of Christie's Belgian detective are sparse, but Hart has assiduously collected them to construct a "biography" that takes us from childhood to death, at the same time ingeniously incorporating a chronological account of the Christie books and short stories that feature Poirot. A bibliographical appendix lists the novels and short story collections, with cross-references from alternate titles, plus short stories and TV and film adaptations. Not included are translations. A useful acquisition for any public library.
- Catherine V. von Schon, SUNY at Stony Brook
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan (July 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0333761324
• ISBN-13: 978-0333761328
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,861,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book had some truly chilling moments., June 29, 2003

By 

Jenna Leigh "Jenn" (Louisiana, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haunted (Hardcover)

I got this book at a book fair for a buck so I got my money's worth of chills out of it and then some. I don't know what that other reader is complaining about The Others and Sixth Sense for as this book was written way before those movies ever came out!! If anything they copied him. I loved it and it gave me quite a few scary moments. Especially the pond scenes, and the last scene of the book with Mr. Ash was also chilling. So I do recommend this book to anyone who likes eerie little stories of things that go bump in the night, or the day as the case may be.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vies with The Magic Cottage, March 15, 2002

By 

ilmk "ilmk" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haunted (Paperback)

I'm not sure which I like best, this or the Magic Cottage. Probably joint first of Herbert's novels. Haunted is one of those rare ghost stories where the ending completely catches you by surpise. Like the film, Sixth Sense.
Without giving it away, this isolated english rural house is the setting for the erstwhile reporter, David Ash, to unravel an old, old ghost who is claimed to be haunting the current inhabitants. Simplistically told, well drawn, I dare anyone to guess what's really going on.
Oh, and there was a film made of this with Anthony Andrews a while back whose screenplay is as good as this original ghost story. I recommend watching it as well

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A slightly different ghost thriller., October 4, 2001

By 

Chadwick H. Saxelid "Bookworm" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Haunted (Paperback)

James Herbert's Haunted is a surprisingly complex ghost story that, while considerably more low key than his notorious, and quite gruesome, rat novels, does deliver the required chills as well as a mystery with a secret that will haunt long after the book has concluded. The lead character, David Ash, appears again in The Ghosts of Sleath, a sort of sequel to this. Recommened not only to Herbert fans, but to ghost story addicts everywhere.