It may be a little while yet before Hallowe’en, but getting Cambridge ready for the night of fright will be Susan Hill’s eerie tale of The Woman in Black.

The Hunts Post: The Woman in BlackThe Woman in Black (Image: Archant)

Coming to Cambridge Arts Theatre on September 26, tickets are now on sale for the thrilling horror, which follows the story of junior solicitor, Arthur Kipps.

After hearing about the death of an elderly and reclusive widow, Mrs Drablow, a young Mr Kipps travels to Crythin Gifford to sort through her private papers.

He attends her funeral the day after he arrives, but notices a young woman with a wasted face dressed all in black at the service.

Curious, he asks a local who she is, but the terrified Mr Jerome ushers Mr Kipps away from the church, adamant there was no one there.

He encounters The Woman in Black again while sorting through her papers, spotting her across a cemetery outside her home in the middle of some marshland.

Things start to go wrong though, when a thick fog descends, and Mr Kipps is stranded inside the house, and the next day, no one is willing to escort him back there.

But he does go back, and begins to unravel the chilling tale of the female ghost, and the secrets haunting the house.

Originally a Gothic novel, the story has been adapted for the theatre by Stephen Mallatratt, with the script originally released in 1987 – just four years after the success of the book.

Although faithful to Hill’s story, the stage production frames the tale as a play within a play, with an older Mr Kipps engaging a young actor to help him re-tell the story in hope of exorcising the ghost.

With plenty of shocks, screams, and secrets to unravel, it’s no wonder the play has already enticed more than seven million theatre-goers worldwide,

Performances are from September 26 to October 1, with tickets starting at £18.

To book, call 01223 503 333, or visit cambridgeartstheatre.com.