A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel – A Bram Stoker Award-Winning Psychological Thriller of Demonic Possession and Madness
WINNER OF THE 2015 BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL
A chilling thriller that brilliantly blends psychological suspense and supernatural horror, reminiscent of Stephen King’s The Shining, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, and William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist.
The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia.
To her parents’ despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie’s descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts’ plight. With John, Marjorie’s father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.
Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie’s younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface—and a mind-bending tale of family tragedy and psychological horror is unleashed, blurring the line between mental illness and demonic possession and raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.
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Community Reviews
A Head Full of Ghosts was definitely creepy, at times. Some of Marjorie’s and Merry’s encounters even induced chills. Unfortunately, it all fell short of my expectations. The author may have set out to create something unique, or to raise thought-provoking questions about the sexism and prejudice inherent in horror cinema and organized religion. He may have also attempted to spotlight society’s insensitive views toward mental illness - but I didn’t really care about any of it because I could not connect with Tremblay’s protagonists. I was not invested in their fates, and I certainly did not understand their motives.
I will probably read another work by Paul Tremblay; despite my issues with this novel, the author’s voice was strong. I appreciate the story he crafted, even if this particular one did not connect with me.
(Otherwise I'm seriously curious about the short story called the Growing Things, and if its in his short story collection of the same name...hmm.)
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