Intriguing opening chapters (view spoiler)[this is how much: I downloaded the Serial Reader app and liked the first chapter so much I couldn't wait for the rest, so I downloaded the free Kindle copy (hide spoiler)] dreadfully dull middle, and suspenseful and exciting horror towards the end. In some ways the writing feels very dated, in others, it still manages to shock and titillate. I really like Serial Reader, though! It's a new free app that delivers a new "issue," or section of a classic, to [...]

This is my third Wilkie Collins novel and I loved it just as much as the other two.We follow the story of a family who have been told of their relative's death whilst on his honeymoon in Italy. None of them want to believe the letters confirming his death and they all begin to feel rather suspicious of his new wife; especially as rumours are spread around London regarding her past. They decide to set out to Italy themselves to uncover the mystery behind his death. On reaching the hotel each fami [...]

Ehhhhhhhhh not sure about this one!Very slow on the suspense and intrigue and creepiness, but I was definitely suckered in by the foreshadowing. Absolutely fascinating characters, and I quite enjoyed the way the Countess was introduced, as it garnered instant sympathy for her and her troubled spirit.Agnes was pretty bland, considering how much hinged on her, but it was balanced by the enigmatic Henry through his devotion to her.The characters were all introduced in different contexts which reall [...]

3.5The last chapters transform this story from decent to pretty good. The title promises ghosts, but the way that is handled is subtle and never in your face. The supernatural element is there, but it never gets the attention you'd expect in a story like this.I found some of the characters beyond annoying though. The Haunted House is also a murder mystery. You are left questioning what you've read in the end.

I liked this story. It was multifaceted in that it was not just a haunted house story, but also a murder mystery. Collins builds the suspense and the feeling of curiosity that keeps the reader engaged. I found the writing to be far from dated. The language was not antiquated, but felt almost modern in some ways. The print for my copy is rather small, and that's the only reason I didn't read it faster. Yesterday, I kept saying, I'll read to this point, and to that point, before I knew it, it was [...]

The Haunted Hotel is a short ghost story/mystery concerning the death of Lord Montbarry and the strange occurrences that happen at his palace of residence in Venice which is converted into a hotel after his death. This novella skips a lot of the description and detail that is found in his longer and more famous works. Therefore, the story does seem to be rushed and summarized. However, this is good place to start if you want something a little more fast paced and want to get familiar with Collin [...]

Really 2 and 1/2 stars. This felt more like an outline of a novel, as the characters were not well-developed nor very interesting. The two main female characters (Agnes and The Countess) were pretty annoying at times. There was a big "info dump" at the end that seemed like lazy writing on the author's part. Not as well-written as some of the author's earlier books, and not as much fun to read. Don't start with this book, if you are new to Wilkie Collins. He does write some good novels - this boo [...]

This review contains a major spoiler.3.5 stars. Published almost 20 years after The Woman in White, they were similar in certain aspects, especially switching identities of deceased people. Although entertaining, it is nowhere close to being as good as his earlier classic. But I like the writing style of Collins and I have many more of his books to look forward to.

Well it wasn't to bad but it wasn't good

Wilkie Collins, a close friend of Charles Dickens, is best known for his novels The Woman in White and The Moonstone, and The Haunted Hotel is very similar in its tone and atmosphere. The Countess Narona steals away Lord Montbarry from Abby Lockwood. Despite Abby's forgiving nature, the Countess is convinced that Abby has doomed her to a tragic ending. When Montbarry dies and his courier disappears, Montbarry's family slowly unravels the mystery that is left behind.Collins has a tendency to cons [...]

It's a great story, liked it

As with many other Wilkie Collins novels, The Haunted Hotel has elements of fate, romance, danger, deception, murder and mystery. The story begins with Lord Montbarry breaking off his engagement to Anges Lockwood. Countess Narona, who will marry Lord Montbarry, comes to see a doctor to evaluate her sanity. The Countess seems to be under a good deal of stress about this marriage, as she was unaware Montbarry had already been engaged. There is an aura of fatalism about the Countess, as she feels a [...]

Siempre es un placer leer a Wilkie Collins y a su fantástico estilo narrativo aunque en esta novela, El hotel encantado, no llega a alcanzar la maestría de otros de sus libros como por ejemplo la maravillosa La dama de blanco (1860) o La piedra lunar (1868). Wilkie Collins, después del gran éxito de ventas alcanzado con sus novelas -gracias a la revista All the Year Round y a su amigo Charles Dickens-, inició su declive como escritor, apuntando todo a la fuerte drogodependencia por el láud [...]

The first Wilkie Collins book I read was The Woman In White, which is excellent and I would heartily recommend. Since then I have always been somewhat disappointed by him. The Moonstone - thanks to a ludicrous denoument - disappoints, while Armadle is a mess.As such I approached this short novel with a sense of mild trepidation, but this is actually a strong tale. A mysterious European countess marries an English Lord who dies shortly afterwards, the ramifications affect his entire family.Writte [...]

Nice mystery, revolving around a neat twist. Collins isn't as profuse in his writing as his friend, Dickens, thankfully, and the story zips along at a fair (if occasionally improbable) pace. On the other hand, his characters aren't as vivid as Dickens' either. There's no one much who stands out in the book as a strong character, though at least the young women have some personal strength compared to the overly romanticised heroines Dickens often produced. Anyway the book isn't really about chara [...]

This was a fun read!Written around the late 1870's, it's a mysterious tale with a hint of the supernatural. The story is woven around around both the old and the young between the cities of London and Venice. Mr. Collins keeps the pace moving by revealing small pieces of the mystery at a time and then reeling the reader in with them. I thought that this tale would lean more towards the supernatural side, but the mystery was well conceived and told and I enjoyed myself anyway. Recommended!

This is quite weak and mediocre for Wilkie Collins, but nobody can write only masterpieces I suppose. It wasn't bad and it was generally enjoyable, although a little dragged and boring at times. It has more of that 'weekly column in a newspaper' feel than a real book (which was very likely the case of its first being published as well).

Good, Ghostly, Grisly, Melodrama filled with plenty of paranormal activity, a little romance, and a ghoulishly entertaining mystery. Delightfully diverting!

Nie było tak ciekawe czy wciągające jak "Kobieta w bieli". Polskie wydanie poza tytułowym "Nawiedzonym hotelem" zawiera też kilka opowiadań grozy. I Collins lepiej sprawdza się w klimacie sensacyjno-detektywistycznym, bo tutaj się wynudziłam. Opowiadania są naiwne, nawet wedle standardów odbiorców z XIX wieku. Brakuje im subtelność, którą można znaleźć chociażby u Blackwooda, a bezpośredni i niemal gawędziarski styl Collinsa nie kreuje klimatu grozy. Większość opowiadań [...]

The Haunted Hotel is a mystery in the typical Collins style I’ve come to love, but unlike the novels I’ve read prior to this one this one was over in a flash and contains supernatural events. On a mere 200-something pages I was swept through madness, fate, coincidence, conspiracy, superstition, love, and dark secrets.Because of the uncustomary length of the novel it did not hold the same level of intrigue and intricacies, neither was the depth of the characters as profound as I have grown us [...]

Published in 1878. A fascinating mix of mystery fiction and the gothic, nicely ambiguous and very atmospheric.

Anche i migliori sbagliano

“Se proprio devi ricordare il tempo passato, perché non rammenti il tempo del mio primo amore per te?”

In The Haunted Hotel – a woman visits a doctor apparently in fear that she is going mad – her story – that she is about to be married to a titled man whose family are dead set against his marriage. Infamous stories about the woman are already circulating throughout society. thehauntedhotel2For the woman the Countess Narona has supplanted another woman in the affections of her fiancé Lord Montbarry – the good gentle Agnes Lockwood – of whose very goodness the Countess seems terrified � [...]

This is my first Wilkie Collins book and I thought that it was very impressive. It starts off very mysteriously with Countess Narona turning up to see Doctor Wybrow convinced that she is going mad. The Countess believes this after meeting her future husband's, former fiancé Agnes Lockwood. She believes that Agnes will bring about her downfall.After reading this first chapter, I just knew that I had to carry on. I was intrigued by the Countess and wanted to know more her and Agnes. I thought tha [...]

Vale esta novela es algo muy diferente en la literatura de horror de estos tiempo. Se preguntarán por qué Primeramente es una novela muy elegante, y no sólo me refiero a la época y la propiedad con la que se expresan los personajes, sino que no tiene ese terror vulgar con las escenas gráficas que dan repugnancia, y aunque contiene pocas escenas de fantasmas tiene una forma tan hermosa de provocar el miedo y mantener el interés que para los amantes de la Buena narrativa es algo perfecto.Seg [...]

This book is all about the plot, which Collins deftly builds towards its climax. It's a proper "page-turner", which keeps you wanting to read the next chapter to see what will happen. He also keeps you guessing as to whether the central mystery is of human devising or whether there really is a supernatural agency involved.Where the story is let down is in the use of stock characters and a lack of effective use of its setting.The conventional Gothic characters are used: Villainous Baron; Sinister [...]

There is nothing like Victorian horror to put me in shivers. Wilkie Collins was one of the best authors in this genre. I discovered him first when I read the more well-know The Woman in White. This book, like many from his time, gets off to a bit of a slow start in that so much work is done to establish "mood". At the same time, there is a startling and intriguing personality right from the beginning who doesn't seem to make sense - and I found myself wanting to know what was going on behind all [...]

A ghost story by Wilkie Collins written in the 1800s, this tells the tale of Lord Montbarry of the Westwick family who breaks off his engagement to Agnes to marry the Countess Narona, and after a tour of Venice live in a large palaceWell, Montbarry dies and a bit of mystery surrounds this, the palace is refurbished and becomes a popular hotel. The Westwick family eventually meet there but are, on separate occasions and are all plagued by insomnia, nightmares, horrid smells and ghostly figures We [...]

This is Wilkie Collins' only novel that has a supernatural theme. It is a solid entry in the genre of Victorian ghost stories but is in no way the equal of Collins' mysteries, The Moonstone and The Woman In White. Nonetheless it is quite entertaining. Again we have strong female characters and many little plot twists and surprises. If you have not read Wilie Collins I wouldn't start with this but if you have, you will find it rwearding.