Book Review: The Travelling Bag: And Other Ghostly Stories by Susan Hill

Yeah, I don't know why I keep reading Susan Hill either.


From the foggy streets of Victorian London to the eerie perfection of 1950s suburbia, the everyday is invaded by the evil otherworldly in this unforgettable collection of new ghost stories from the author of The Woman in Black. 

In the title story, on a murky evening in a warmly lit club off St James, a bishop listens closely as a paranormal detective recounts his most memorable case, one whose horrifying denouement took place in that very building. 

In 'The Front Room', a devoutly Christian mother tries to protect her children from the evil influence of their grandmother, both when she is alive and when she is dead. 

A lonely boy finds a friend in 'Boy Number 21', but years later he is forced to question the nature of that friendship, and to ask whether ghosts can perish in fires.


So I have a hate-hate relationships with Hill, I find her horror to be boring and pretentious, with a lack of sympathic characters. I have reviewed two of her works (read 4 I think): The Small Hand and The Woman in Black. This book contains four short stories, which feel like Hill's abandoned works. Some of them don't feel like they have proper endings. Unlike my usual way of reviewing short stories, I'm reviewing them indivdiually from memory instead of writing mini-reviews as I read them.

The Travelling Bag: So this is the Victorianish set and we learn the story of someone getting revenge and then random fear of moths for no reason. This has a weird Narrative device as someone telling their fellow club memember the worst, spookest case they ever worked. How he knows the information he does is never explained and doesn't feel like him actually tellling the story. This feels like a series idea and I thought all the stories were going to be told as if they were cases this guy had, had, but no it was just one off. It adds nothing, but set up for disappointment. If we had just been the actual story instead of the weird narrative deice, I would have enjoyed it better. 2/5 stars for sweeping bodies.

Boy Number 21: This is the worst story. So very little happens in it and I was expecting something big with the set up. The big problem is a bigging up to nothing. Not a field trip and a possible psychotic break. 1/5 stars for squished Sandwiches.

Alice Baker:  This is probably the best. It doesn't have a weird narrator and has a concise ending that makes sense. It also from a female character's POV and it wasn't Hill's typical, terrible ghost motivation. This one takes place in an old office building where a new staff member cause a stink. I Not sure why it's was the one left out of the burb. 4/5 stars for Office Politics.

The Front Room: It's Hill's favourite thing. A spiteful person for the sake of being spiteful. Then she a spiteful ghost. A family does a nice thing by taking in an old lady, the father's step-mother. Most of it is set up and then dur-dur-DUR. 1/5 stars for only a shower.

Overall, I give this book 1/5 stars for mediocre nonsense. This book is just bad. There's one story that's worth a read but the others' are Hill's typical mess of work, except some of these feel like Hill just gave up and declare them short stories instead.

Book Review: The Small Hand by Susan Hill

Okay, any of you watch my BookTube videos know that me and Susan Hill are yet to make friends. Her ghost stories don't scare me nor do I find them even slightly spooky. Mostly baffled. I only keep reading as my local library has lot her books and they're short. 'The Small Hand' has not change my opinion.


The book summary goes like this:
Returning home from a visit to a client late one summer's evening, antiquarian bookseller Adam Snow takes a wrong turning and stumbles across the derelict old White House. Compelled by curiosity, he approaches the door, and, standing before the entrance feels the unmistakable sensation of a small hand creeping into his own, 'as if a child had taken hold of it'. Intrigued by the encounter, he determines to learn more, and discovers that the owner's grandson had drowned tragically many years before. At first unperturbed by the odd experience, Snow begins to be plagued by haunting dreams, panic attacks, and more frequent visits from the small hand which become increasingly threatening and sinister ...

 The main problem with this book is that I felt absolutely nothing for Snow (which is why I'm calling him by his last name). I really could not have cared less if he died. No one would have missed him. I feel no relief when he continues to not jump into various deep waters.

When I got to the ending I was like WTF. I so want to rant about how its ends, but I don't want to spoiler it for anyone after reading this review and still wants to read 'The Small Hand'. I will say it leaves you very sympathetic and it actually has a reason behind the "haunting" unlike "Doll".
I really left this book with nothing, no feeling or thoughts. This book is so scary that you could read in the middle of the night in a house alone during storm that knock out the power and still be 'meh'. 

While the plot content wasn't good, it was well written and still readable, so I gave 2/5 stars. Just though.

BB:HALLOWEEN!!!

Hi, since Halloween is such a special occasion to me and I feel I've almost negated it on here, I thought it deserved a Bonus Blog (it also happens to be Wednesday, possibly thinking of posting regular posts on Wednesday, if it happens it'll be next year). My last one was actually high quality, which is a rarity with my Sat posts, so I shall try to continue the trend.

Inspired by my recent discovery of Creepypasta.com. I can not for the life of me actually remember how I stumbed on to it. It was possibly Youtube, but that doesn't sit right with me. Oh, spooky. By the way, you can find me as PhoenixAngel on it, only in the comments for the moment. Also stay away from the uncategorised section if its dark outside or on alone and like me have too active imagination sometimes. Though, still alive at the moment.

 I thought I do my hand at scary story for you all. I would just like to say that it been a while and I want to get back in the swing of these since my NaNoWriMo is horror related. Not telling till Saturday.

Story:

It was Halloween and April was stuck inside. She had the intention of trick treating, but this year the monster had brought a thunderstorm with them. It probably creating the most cliche possible setting for a horror story, April was just waiting for the power to go to out. It thankfully didn't.

Still April found herself staring out into the rain filled street empty of trick or treaters. Any of other night it would be a normal sight, this night it was extremely sad one for April. The only sign of what occasion it was, was the drowned out pumpkins and decorations that had been put out early. She gave a side glance at the pumpkin that shared the window with her. It crookly ginned at her, she still need more practice at craving them. But it was alright for her second attempt, she had only been allowed to crave her own lantern since the last Halloween.

Her mother hadn't trusted with her knife till the ripe age of 13. Her age was actually the main reason that the lack of Halloween activity saddened her. She was so close from leaving the age of acceptable trick or treating, well until she had kids of her own which should be a long time away. She really only had two more years until everyone would just make due with parties.

Halloween falling on a school night had mean all the parties had been. It kinda annoyed April that no one really made a proper effect to celebrate on Halloween unless its actually date fell on Friday or Saturday. She had though.

She sat wearing her costume, semi-concious of not rubbing her white make-up off. She had choosen to go that year as a bloody ghost as it was the only horror creature she had never been. She began to stare at the flashes of light, just willing the rain to turn off before its too late. It was half-past-seven and if it didn't turn off soon then they're would be no point going out. April sighed loudly.

"April, why don't you just eat our trick or treat sweets?" said April mother while watching the TV.
That was another thing that depressed April, they was not a decent horror film on. The only one she had found in the listing was one she seen, and it had been so crap that it wasn't even funny. She could go watch all the Cartoon specials but she had seen them all too and just didn't feel like it. She would rather watch the nightmare of a Halloween.

"Its not the same," April muttered. The joy of Halloween sweets was earning them by walking to all the houses in the local area, performing the trick of your choice and then sorting your haul to see what you got.

April knew exactly what they had in terms of candy, just the multi-packets and plain fruit. What April wanted was tabit or chocolate apple. Not toffee ones, they just hurt her teeth. Only the homemade was had good quality apples, the supermarket ones always just the bad ones. If she had known that there was going to be a storm, she might have tried making her own. Yet, she had no cooking chocolate in the house and the apples were bit rotten.

"Why don't you go read or something?"

"Good idea," April sounding almost cheerfully, before exiting the room. The night was about to get Only to come straight back with collection of Classic horror stories and took her place back at the livingroom window. April sat there very still reading, if anyone had past the window they would have thought that April was just a very realisic decoration and of course get a shock when the reading ghost turned the page of its book.

As tempting as is to end the story here, as a happy tale of how written horror saved the night. This is not where its ends otherwise itself would not be a work of horror.

As April was reading the thunder stopped, but not the rain. There would be no going out at all. April was no longer sadden by this, as she was lost in the haunting of an old mansion that had its inhabits spooked to the cores. She was interrupt with the flash of light outside before lights inside disappeared.

"Mum," April shouted in her presumption that her mother had turned the light off in exiting. April had been so in glossed that she didn't realised that TV had went off too. She turned back to the empty room as the lights flicked back on. Her mother must have wander off during an ad.

April look back at the street, it was in complete darkness. The street lamps were out. April was confused by this as the street lamps were meant to have a back-up generator.

As she scanned her neighbours windows for their power status. She noticed a figure walking along the street, she was shocked by this. 'You have be a nutter to walk in that,' she thought to herself. She continue to watch the hooded figure as it got closer to her house. Getting bored of their slow pace,she went back to her book, but the words seem bury now and she just couldn't make them out.

She rubbed her eyes and stood up from the window. She was probably just tired and going blind in her old age. She figured she probably tell her mother about it though. April was about to walk out the door when she heard a knock at the door. She was tempted to ignore it, but decided to answer thinking it would be petty important to be out this weather. 

The front door was in off side bit of the livingroom, it was cold and dark as the radiator was never switched on. April flicked the light on, but they refuse to come on. April felt a swell of panic inside her, she ignored it. She opened the door before she had the chance to freak out.

The door open revealed, a small boy dressed in black at the door.

"Trick or Treat," he whispered to the door. April stood and stared at the lone boy. His eyes and hair were covered by a hood. The skin visuable was pale white. April couldn't tell if it was make-up or from the cold.

"Do your parents know your out?" April ask sweetly. She figured the boy must have sneaked out, she had to admire his spirt for that, but he only six years and his parents must be worried about him. It might have been the wrong question to ask but too late.

The boy just smiled at April and said

"They're know where I am."

April bit her lip.

"I'm sorry, but I don't we have any sweets," Her brother had probably made off with them by now and were in the back of the house. It didn't seem right to leave the boy alone even for a second, however she didn't want to invite him in. "I don't think you're going to have much luck tonight. I think most people gave up with the rain."

"You're wrong, I'm sure I'll get my treat," the boy said in still a low voice. "Don't you want to go trick or treating?" He ask and held up his hand to April.

She look into the pale pam. She did want to go trick or treating. It suddenly felt like her last chance, as though there wouldn't be another Halloween...for her.

She took the boy's hand and went out with him. That was April's last Halloween. Her mother discovered her daughter's electrified body lying at the window. The thunder had turn to lighting and April had just been too close to the socket that was right to the window when it hit the house.

Though her neighbours did swear they gave sweets to a ghost that Hallows Eve.

The End

Oh, by the bye, I'm going as Death this year. Merry Halloween.