My Goodreads review: Wylding Hall
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a right-sized, gorgeous, slow-burn Gothic fantasy, set in the 1970s during the folk music renaissance in the UK. Throw in prehistoric barrows & a liberal dose of very dark English folk tales, & you have something special for a long winter's evening.
The narrative is made up of interview bits from all the participants in a weird event during a summer's stay at an extremely historic ( & haunted) country house. There is, thank heavens, a list of these folks -- you may find yourself needing it, as I did. Other than the minor distraction of flipping or e-flipping back to check said list, it's a nearly perfect modern Gothic gem.
I hadn't read any Elizabeth Hand in quite some time when I encountered this. I don't intend to make that mistake again, once the chill of this novella's ending wears off. Highly recommended for readers of quiet horror, Gothic fiction fans, or dark-minded Anglophiles in general.
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