The Woman in Black(1989)
1989 · Herbert Wise · 100 min
A lawyer travels to a small seaside town to settle the estate of a recently deceased woman, but soon becomes ensnared in something much more sinister.
Horror · Mystery · TV Movie
6.9147 votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
0/5
Gore
4/5
Stays with you
How scary is The Woman in Black?
It starts as a quiet period mystery, slowly pulling you into a lonely old house before the dread really takes hold, and the back half turns into a slow tightening of nerves rather than a series of jolts. The scares come from long silences, half-glimpsed figures, and a growing sense that something is deeply wrong in this town, not from loud jump scares. There's almost no blood or violence shown, but the mood is bleak and the ending sits heavy rather than fun. This is for people who like old-fashioned, atmospheric ghost stories that get under your skin slowly and stay there.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Woman in Black rates psychological 5/5, visceral 2/5, gore 0/5, lingering effect 4/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 5 of 5
- Visceral: 2 of 5
- Gore: 0 of 5
- Lingering: 4 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 15 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 10 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 75 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow, creeping build of unease that tightens steadily until a jolting, intense final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5.
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