The Mist in the Mirror

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abruptly, his hand shot out and he clutched my arm. "I beg you," he said in a low, urgent voice, " read it." All the while, Monmouth is haunted by images of a young boy following him around as well as crying in the night. He also comes across a strange mirror in a former abode of Vane's that instantly mists up when he tries to see into it. What unsettles Monmouth the most is when his own family name comes up in the research into Vane's past. It seems that his ancestors may have been linked in some way to Vane and that his curious urge to investigate Vane may have been preordained.

And as he learns more about his hero’s past, he discovers that they are only the beginning, for Kittiscar Hall is hiding terrible secret that will bind their lives together in ways he could never have imagined. It felt like some of the 'creepy' scenes were there just as an effort to try to be 'creepy' rather than to play any actual part in the story, which made them feel forced.

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There’s nothing like a goodold-fashioned ghost story, and the masterful Hill authentically channels such giants of the Gothic genre asPoe and Doyle in this eerily atmospheric yarn of restless spirits, both temporal and corporeal.”

But the problem is we're told. We don't experience it, because, written as a sort of diary, he tells us how he was feeling without giving that level of detail which makes it feel present. A terrible curse has been passed down through the generations for hundreds of years. Concerned priests, elderly librarians, hysterical psychics — even total strangers counsel him with dire warnings: Our story is framed by our unnamed narrator who sits and talks with Sir James Monmouth for a while at their club and then gets involved in an after-dinner ghost story fest. After the men break up their after-dinner chat, the narrator is joined by Sir James on his walk home. Sir James tells him that he'd like our man to read an account he's written up "of certain--events." He doesn't just ask him... Okay--I would like someone to explain some things to me. First, why on earth is that mirror in Pyre (the home of the Quincebridges and NOT of Monmouth and certainly not any relation of that innkeeper at the beginning of the story)? Second, we basically know why Monmouth is haunted by the boy's ghost, the misty mirror and all the rest, but why would our narrator start seeing things in the mirror? Just because he read Sir James Monmoth's notebooks? I also wish we were given a clearer picture of how the boy is related to Sir James. Obviously, they're kin of some sort, but what sort? Is that all related to the death of Monmouth's parents? If not, what really happened there? And why did Conrad Vane curse all the Monmouth men? (And--apparently anyone interested in them if we take our narrator's final vision as a preview of things to come.) As Hill’s novel unfolds, psychological explanations are eventually ruled out as explanations for Monmouth’s visual and olfactory experiences, many of which are beautifully described. It’s a pity that Hill does not explore the psychological aspects more than she does, because Monmouth is really doubly haunted: metaphysically, he is plagued by ghosts; existentially, he is beset with alienation and a middle age crisis in meaning.I stepped inside, and stood, letting my eyes grow accustomed to the change of light. I found myself in a room that stretched far ahead of me into the gloom. But there was enough of the soft, snow-reflected light coming in through the tall windows for me to have a view of a gallery, that ran the whole way around, rising towards the vaulted and elaborately carved ceiling. I felt no fear, but rather a sense of awe, as if I had entered some church or chapel.

Coupled with this sense of unease is the strange arrival of a pale and sad, ragged boy in dirty old-fashioned clothes. He is about twelve years old, and appears and disappears with regularity. But why is it that he appears whenever there is trouble, and then seems to vanish without a trace? Who is the old woman behind the curtain? And why is it that only he hears the chilling scream and the desperate sobbing? A nameless narrator opens the novel and shows his intrigue for a fellow club member named James Monmouth. It turns out Monmouth has a deep, dark secret that can be explained by reading his manuscript. The rest of the novel focuses on the retelling of this manuscript. Monmouth was orphaned at a young age and became a global traveler, enjoying the excitement of exotic locations. yellow filthy fog of London; - the comparison between the dense fog that Kipps knows from London and this more delicate mysterious thing reminds us of our narrator's isolation. He is far away from home and even the 'yellow filthy fog' he knows well seems safe in comparison with the sea mist. All is impression, and hints. What is the mysterious mirror? Does it show the future, or or something else? Susan Hill’s superbly crafted work enthralls the reader with its atmosphere and description. She is a master of the understated, using spare language when that is all that is needed: In an effort to learn more about Vane’s early life, and his own, Sir James sets off for the remote Kittiscar Hall on a cold and rainy winter night.A curious manuscript. The specter of a small child. Cold fevers. Unheeded warnings. Rain and a ubiquitous sense of gloom. That’s right, it’s a ghost story. The Mist in the Mirror, originally published by Susan Hill in 1992 and now available as a Vintage original, never strays far from convention, and while this is a bold choice, it is not altogether successful. Intent on uncovering the secrets of his childhood hero, the mysterious Conrad Vane, he begins to investigate Vane’s life, but he finds himself warned off at every turn. The threads of the story didn't come together very well and I didn't find the ending to be completely satisfying. Which reminds me, I was ironically annoyed with our hero both for ignoring warnings and portents, despite his continuing experiences, and yet also annoyed when he finally heeds them. Not only did I not really get a sense of the terror of the story, I didn't get any kind of resolution or closure, either. Not only the 19th century, then, but perhaps the academic and religious settings of M.R. James? But who is our narrator? And why is he so unsettled?