Product Description

The Caleighs have had a terrible year... They need time and space, while they await the news they dread. Gabe has brought his wife, Eve, and daughters, Loren and Cally, down to Devon, to the peaceful seaside village of Hollow Bay. He can work and Eve and the kids can have some peace and quiet and perhaps they can try, as a family, to come to terms with what’s happened to them...

Crickley Hall is an unusually large house on the outskirts of the village at the bottom of Devil's Cleave, a massive tree-lined gorge - the stuff of local legend. A river flows past the front garden. It's perfect for them... if it a bit gloomy. And Chester, their dog, seems really spooked at being away from home. And old houses do make sounds. And it's constantly cold. And even though they shut the cellar door every night, it’s always open again in morning…

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27426 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-04
• Released on: 2007-04-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Guardian
'this is a powerfully disturbing read...Two pages in, the reader
is hooked, and Herbert has done his job'

The Glasgow Evening Times
'Herbert's well-honed skill with horror writing rears its head
when he throws his characters into confrontations with the ghostly
residents'

Synopsis
The Caleighs have had a terrible year...They need time and space, while they await the news they dread. Gabe has brought his wife, Eve, and daughters, Loren and Cally, down to Devon, to the peaceful seaside village of Hollow Bay. He can work and Eve and the kids can have some peace and quiet and perhaps they can try, as a family, to come to terms with what's happened to them...Crickley Hall is an unusually large house on the outskirts of the village at the bottom of Devil's Cleave, a massive tree-lined gorge - the stuff of local legend. A river flows past the front garden. It's perfect for them...if a bit gloomy. And Chester, their dog, seems really spooked at being away from home. And old houses do make sounds. And it's constantly cold. And even though they shut the cellar door every night, it's always open again in morning..."The Secret of Crickley Hall" is James Herbert's finest novel to date. It explores the darker, more obtuse territories of evil and the supernatural. With brooding menace and rising tension, he masterfully and relentlessly draws the reader through to the ultimate revelation - one that will stay to chill the mind long after the book has been laid aside.

Customer Reviews

Things That Go Bump in the Night
This is the first James Herbert that I ever bought and I wasnt sure what to think about it.
It follows the Caleigh family, who after tradgic events, move to Crickley Hall to start a new life. But what they find is a series of hauntings, open cellar doors, strange banging, puddles on the floor and dancing dust children.
The story was too long to keep you scared and the slow paced start makes it a three star. The story of the orpahns and the last 200 pages save it from being any worse.
Overall this is a pretty average book which is worth a read if you dont have to pay to much for it.

An undemanding holiday read
I have not read any James Herbert for some years and was quite frankly a little disappointed by this book. My reference point for this opinion is the towering piece of work by Stephen King - The Shining (a haunted house story). I found that as I read the book I had no real interest in the outcome. Spooks and mediums are for the devoted only!

I am not a James Herbert fan but .....
Having received this as a gift I felt obliged to give it a chance - despite not being a fan of James Herbert's other books - I was pleasantly surprised to find an entertaining and fast moving story. James Herbert is a very well liked author, but for me he does "go on a bit". Why use 1 paragraph to describe the weather when you can fill a whole page, eh James? I have read a few of his books in the past and must confess to skipping the odd page (and this usually means you miss none of the plot!). With this book, that was not the case at all. The "description" passages are in there but they are appropriate and add to the atmosphere of the book without slowing down the pace.

If you like ghost stories, you'll like this. If you like horror stories, you'll like this.

If you like James Herbert, you'll wonder where all the boring descriptions of the weather have gone - but at least you'll read every page!