The Haunted Mountain does not simply retell an old story, but reworks within the framework of a novel the story of Tam Lane, the man stolen by the fairies and released after seven years' bondage by the enduring power of human love. In constructing her framework Mollie Hunter uses many other familiar incidents and motifs from the fairy world…. The deft handling of plot, and the speed and fluency of the narrative, make this an easy read, but in its own fairly slight way it says some important things. About courage and suffering and something too about the dignity and responsibility of being only human?