The Woman in Black (1983) is a gothic horror novel by English writer, Susan Hill (b. 1942).

The story is narrated by lawyer Arthur Kipps. When he was a junior solicitor, Arthur Kipps was sent to attend the funeral of Alice Drablow and settle her estate. The estate includes the desolate Eel Marsh House at Crythin Gifford, a small town on the northeast coast of England.

While staying at Eel Marsh House, Kipps experiences strange noises – including the screams of a child – and sees the ghostly figure of The Woman in Black.

Eventually, Arthur Kipps learns that Alice Drablow and her husband had adopted the son of her sister, an unmarried woman, Jennet Humfrye. The boy died young in an accident and the bereaved Jennet returned to haunt Eel Marsh House as the Woman in Black

According to the locals, seeing the Woman in Black signalled the imminent death of a child.