The Haunted Hotel

'The Haunted Hotel' first appeared in the 'Belgravia Magazine' in 1878, eighteen years after 'The Woman in White'. The author's addiction to laudanum was increasing, his health was deteroriating, and his popularity was waning. The gentle satire he showed in his earlier books is caustic in this book, and some of his comments on 'the lower classes' and women are scornful.

The main thread of the convoluted plot describes the horrible (though unintended) effects of the actions of a jilted fiancee on the husband's wife. The book is part horror story and part ghost story.