The Secret of Crickley Hall - James Herbert

The Caleighs - mother and father Eve and Gabriel, and daughters Loren and Cally - have experienced a family tragedy and as the anniversary of the tragedy is fast approaching, Gabriel decides to move them temporarily out of London to a rural location. However, on arrival, none of them take to their new home, Crickley Hall, which seems unwelcoming. Their dog hates it so much he runs away. And then the strange happenings begin - unexplained noises in the night, flashes of white, puddles and doors opening of their own accord. Yet the Caleighs stay, for reasons that only they can explain. Could the evil that they feel have something to do with the history of Crickley Hall, ...  Read the complete review

Gabe and Eve Caleigh, along with their two daughters, Loren and Cally, rent the old and eerie Crickley Hall for a while so Gabe can work on a project in nearby Ilfracombe, Devon. The timing of the move coincides with the pending anniversary of their five-year-old son’s disappearance from the park a year ago. Gabe feels it will help Eve to get through this difficult period by being away from their normal living environment in London. However, Crickley Hall, a large old house once used by Augustus Cribben and his sister Magda, to look after and educate eleven orphaned evacuees from London, welcomes them in an entirely different manner than had been expected. ...  Read the complete review

It had been a while since I’d read any of James Herbert’s stuff. Having read every single book he’s ever written, it had been too long in between volumes. So when “The Secret of Crickley Hall” was published last year, I was excited about getting my mitts on the book. As it turned out, I was given the hardback version as a Christmas present and duly read it in a couple of weeks. For anyone that hasn’t encountered JH before, he is the critically acclaimed number one best-selling horror fiction writer in Britain. From his first book “The Rats” published in 1974, through a further 21 best selling novels including “Sepulchre”, “The Magic Cottage” and “Haunted”, James ...  Read the complete review

I am a huge fan of James Herbert and have read every single one of his books. He is the greatest horror writer in my opinion and there is only one of his books which I don’t like. When I heard he was bringing out a new book and that it was going to be a good old fashioned haunted house story, to say I was excited would be an understatement. I bought it the day it came out and then I had actually read it within a week which considering it was a huge, thick hardback I did pretty well. I thought the book was excellent and one of his best and this is why. ----- What is the Book About? The Caleigh family have suffered a terrible tragedy ...  Read the complete review

I have never been a very big fan of James Herbert and, to be frank, have never understood how it is that he is regarded by many as the British Stephen King. He has written his fair share of books that I have enjoyed- Selpuchre, The Rats Trilogy, Fluke, Haunted and Moon all spring to mind- but these are all exceptions and the majority of his work simply leaves me cold. Which is a puzzle then, why I am always still inclined to pick up one of his books when I see it! Crickley Hall is one of his latest and, if you look at the other reviews on here, scores quite highly and yet, reading this recently, I found nothing new, nothing inspiring and nothing in fact that ...  Read the complete review