The Secret of Crickley Hall

By: James Herbert

Narrated by: David Rintoul

Length: 18 hrs

Publisher's summary

There is an old, empty house in Devil's Cleave, a deep gorge that leads from the high moors down to the harbour village of Hollow Bay. The house is Crickley Hall and it's large and grim, somehow foreboding. It's rumoured to be haunted. It's thought to hold a secret. Despite some reservations, the Caleighs move in, searching for respite in this beautiful part of North Devon, seeking peace and perhaps to come to terms with what's happened to them as a family.

But all is not well with the house. They hear unaccountable noises. A cellar door they shut every night is always open again in the morning. They see things that cannot be real. The house is the last place the Caleighs should have come to, for the terror that unfolds is beyond belief. Soon they will discover the secret horror of Crickley Hall....

©2006 James Herbert (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Perfect Ghost Story!!

What made the experience of listening to The Secret of Crickley Hall the most enjoyable?

David Rintoul is an amazing narrator! Such an engaging listen. I will definitely seek out his books.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Can't wait for the BBC show!

Any additional comments?

Enthralling ghost story and a wonderful narrator. A definite "page turner, edge of your seat" kind of book. Loved it!

Entertaining..spooky...Sad

If you could sum up The Secret of Crickley Hall in three words, what would they be?

The book is well written. I don't normally like the british accent when listening to a book but this one good listen. I did not have trouble understanding what was being said. The history of the house is sad..the story pulls at your heart strings for the children.

Na

Any additional comments?

It was a really good book it was so good I didn't want to stop listening it would make a terrific movie

Great read

I really couldn't wait to come back to finish listening to it great read great author. wonderful narrator

Excellent haunt!

I loved this!Excellent haunted story with excellent narration. Narrator really gave that extra something when action scenes came.

Wickedly well done haunting

I really enjoyed this tale. The narration was awesome. Couldn't put down my earpiece kind of wonderful. Not gory, has great twists. Enjoy!

Loved it

This is the best haunted house book I’ve read since The Haunting Of Hill House.

Actually gave me chills, fantastic narrator.

What made the experience of listening to The Secret of Crickley Hall the most enjoyable?

One of the best narrators I've ever listened to, so much so I felt compelled to review the book. The story is engaging, sympathetic and intelligent and the characters very fleshed out. The ending was unexpected, it had everything I look for in a horror novel without the gratuitous violence that seems to pass for horror these days.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

Great old-fashioned ghost story

I don't seek out ghost stories too often -- nothing ever seems to equal Susan Hills's "The Woman in Black" -- the audiobook, not the film. Ghost stores just don't get any better than that. But this one comes close. I'm not sure why I decided to take a chance on it, but I like creepy old houses, especially if a ghost or two might linger, so that was probably it.

Glad I did -- I should have known this would be good. James Herbert also wrote "The Fog" and I remember reading that decades ago, and afterward, that book came to mind every single day when the tule fog overtook the Sacramento Valley and I had to navigate around in it. That's a seriously frightening book, too.

"Secrets" also has none of the things I don't like in a scary story, which is to say, I don't like stories that merge into science fiction. These are actual ghosts in this book -- real ghosts -- ha! -- not alien creatures or dragons or man-made monsters, or any of that sort of thing.

There are truly creepy moments aplenty -- although why people who are already unnerved by odd happenings decide to explore the basement is always beyond me, although I suppose if they didn't, there wouldn't be a book.

Special praise for the narrator, David Rintoul -- he must have burned up a thousand calories an hour narrating this. It's a high-energy narration, but in a good way. Just very well done.

Highly recommended. And three cheers for Chester -- a real trouper!

Swish Thwack. READ IT!

Any additional comments?

get it. read it. good good good. being a jaded horror reader, i didn't think i would like Crickley Hall. I was wrong. I deeply enjoyed it. was it terribly scary? no, but i did get the creeps from time to time. and it was a very interesting read. the characters were good. their relationships were believable. there was plenty to keep me coming back when the chills were only so-so. the reader is extraordinary. his nuanced reading adds to the material. it lends the lines an extra push of reality, of "this is actually happening."