Customer Reviews

Haunted

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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

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.

In Haunted, we're introduced to David Ash who is a psychic investigator for the Psychical Research Institute. He was simply given an assignment, by Kate, to go to Edbrook (which is a house) and investigate the alleged haunting thats taking place there. David is a different character for his job, because he doesn't believe in ghosts and the paranormal - but, boy, is he in for a rude awakening. . .

I was baffled by James Herbert's writing on this book. Every chapter ends off with something compelling, daring you to read further. I am an avid horror reader and even though I thought I knew everything there is to know about hauntings, here comes Mr Herbert with this well-written book and what makes it even more unique is the fact that there is a sequel to this book, called The Ghosts of Sleath(which is even better than this one). I'll advise everyone to read this book first, because it reveals some 'knowledge' about David's past that comes in handy in The Ghosts of Sleath.What are you waiting for, start reading it now!!!!!!!!!

What would happen if only one person travelled to Shirley Jackson's "Hill House", and what if this house actually contained ghosts? Author James Herbert explores this question in terrifying detail. Our protagonist is David Ash, a highly skeptical paranormal consultant, who investigates a haunted house in a forgotten corner of contemporary England. Having come from a Jamesian/Lovecraftian horror background I certainly rate this as one of the top five modern-day ghost stories I've read, unfortunately its occasional predictability and the sense that the ghosts were not very mysterious keeps it from being my top pick. I was more spooked by the house than the ghosts.

After watching the movie, Haunted on IFC, I was determined to purchase the book. Needless to say, the movie is a bit different from the book, but I was not disappointed. James Herbert has truly mastered his craft and I look forward to becoming more familiar with his work. My recommendation, do NOT watch the movie before reading the book. Otherwise, you will be left wondering if you overlooked a few chapters.

Haunted is the first James Herbert book I ever read, and I was hooked immediately. Like all of James Herbert's books, Haunted manages to thoroughly "blow you away" in the last few pages without killing all the good characters to do it. I always get cold chills at the surprise endings of James Herbert's books, and this is, in my opinion, his best. The movie is great, but read the book first, then read The Ghosts of Sleath (it's a sequal).

Not being a book critic, I rate books on how well they keep me entertained. This was the first book that I have read by James Herbert and I thought it was fantastic. If you love haunted houses and things that go bump in the night, then this is the book for you. I look forward to reading his other books.

This is the last time I am going to read a book with a Stephen King reccomendation on the cover. After the tedious The Ruins, I thought I'd give Haunted a try. I more or less enjoyed Herbert's Sepulchre, though the twist ending was apparent about half way through the story. It didn't take nearly that long to figure this one out. There are so many things that don't work in this book it's hard to know where to start, but probably the most egregious is the pointless b-plotline that is too obviously padding inserted into a too short book. The attempted twists and turns, the cliche characterization, the back story, are all laid on so thick that this reads more like a story from the pulps of the 1930s rather than a modern novel. The main character stumbles about, noting all kinds of strange phenomena and clues without ever getting a hint of what is obvious from the first moment he steps into Edbrook. I'll give Herbert another chance or two, but I am not optimistic.

I purchased this book because I was in the mood for a good ghost story. I was not disappointed. At one point when I was reading the book, and it was a cold and blustery night outside, the telephone rang and I jumped through the ceiling! Recommend it to anyone in the mood for a good scare.