WINNER OF THE 2015 BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVELA 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 … 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 psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.
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Tremblay writes like a haunted dream. Enjoyed this one.
So creepy,….. if this doesn’t make your skin crawl,…. your skin’s on too tight.
This horror novel left me wondering–but like a lot of books that leave you with lingering questions, it’s stuck in my head longer than others I’ve read with more satisfying endings.
Jumping back and forth in time, the story is told from the point of view of Merry, a young woman who’s telling a journalist about her haunting experiences growing up. Merry’s older sister, Marjorie, started showing signs of mental illness when they were both kids. But the signs became so strange and disturbing, their parents started to wonder: was the girl ill–or possessed? Eventually they contacted a local priest to aid them, and because of their poverty and a strange turn of events, they become the subject of a reality show called The Possession.
The story spins out from there, with terrifying moments, weird twists, and creepy encounters. If you’re like me, you may have to read that last page several times, and still be unsure who was affected by what or what it all means. Read this with a friend, so when the final page is turned, you can enjoy swapping theories about what was going on in this scary and twisty tale.
More creepy than scary, but absolutely engaging. A really original idea, extremely well executed. Haunting in the true sense that it will stay with you for a very long time
I’m not sure what to say about this book other than I did like it. It is about a family and their struggles with their 14 year old daughter. The story itself was, to me, a heartbreaking story about a family trying to deal with their daughters mental illness but just not knowing what to do. It also highlighted one of the many reasons I personally have issues with religion. Most books leave me either happy or annoyed with the ending and this one left me kinda unsure of how I felt about it. Overall though I did like the book and I would recommend it.
Look, I know a lot of you think I’m only reading Paul Tremblay so I can keep the upper hand over George aka Book Monster aka Sshh_ImReading on Twitter in our ongoing battle of who is a bigger super fan. George for Tremblay – Steve for Andrew Pyper. I think at this point, I hold the upper hand (Sorry, George!) because I’ve now read two of Paul’s releases, the first being the excellent ‘The Cabin At the End of the World’ and now this one – and George will have to correct me here… but I don’t think he’s read a single Pyper release yet. Wow. I know.
But, the truth is – ‘The Cabin…’ was outstanding and George suggested my next Tremblay book should be ‘A Head Full of Ghosts,’ so here we are.
Now, this book was released back in 2015 and won a number of awards and was nominated for a number of awards. This is a book that even if you’ve not read it, you’ve heard of it. Saying all of that – I still had no idea what to expect going in.
What I liked: ‘A Head Full of Ghosts’ follows a family as their daughter, Marjorie either becomes possessed or has a psychotic breakdown. Much like ‘Come Closer’ by Sara Gran, that aspect will be wholly left in the hands of the reader. Depending on how you read the novel and how you want to perceive what’s happening, you’ll fall into one of those two categories and for that Tremblay really did craft a spellbinding gem.
I loved the ambiguity of what is actually happening to Marjorie. The book itself follows Marjorie’s younger sister, Merry and how she’s coping with the incident 15 years later. We get bits and pieces through an informative blog, Merry herself sharing the events, as well as through bits and spurts of what Merry filmed herself. The ‘possession’ was chronicled in a TV show that was part fiction/part dramatization called aptly ‘The Possession’ and what I absolutely adored was how Tremblay also adds in the real world aspects. What occurs when the show begins to air and the community and neighbors see what’s happening behind the closed doors of the house. This was a fascinating aspect and one that I’ve not come across too much in other releases.
There are some truly frightening moments in this, which I think really increased the reader’s experience, no matter which side of the fence you fell on.
Lastly – the ending moments of the show, the aftermath (which we find out in broken down detail in the blog) and the final interview between Merry and Rachel, the woman writing a retrospective on the events, was stunning and will rock even the hardest of readers.
I actually spent a lot of the first 25% wondering if Marjorie herself didn’t exist and this was purely a multiple personality type story, but once I got off that train and accepted her existence (I know, I know), the puzzle pieces Paul gave to us, one piece at a time, was superb.
What I didn’t like: I did find the dad’s abrupt acceptance of religion a bit jarring. It felt like just suddenly he started to pray and wanted a priest to be involved. Maybe I missed something, but that felt like it was a quick character turn.
Also, I hated how poorly Merry was treated throughout. It was necessary to the story but I felt so bad for this character – which was exactly what Tremblay wanted.
Lastly, and this is incredibly minor, but two real life authors are mentioned as fictional characters, with one of those authors books being named as a movie, and that was a bit off for me. It took me a bit out of this “fictional” world. Very minor and I chuckled at it, but I found it strange none-the-less.
Why you should buy this: One incredibly spot on thing that Tremblay did was use the blog within the book to actually compare the book to previous possession/exorcism based novels, which allowed for any similarities to actually be used as part of the confusion around the possessed versus psychotic story line. It was genius. Where you may be a bit put off if you purely read this and thought it was too much based around ‘The Exorcist,’ well, it wasn’t and here’s why. Genius.
Overall, this book was incredibly creepy and unsettling in every aspect. The ending left me with a hole and an ache in my heart with how Merry was used and manipulated. This was such a great character study on trauma and even PTSD, but it wasn’t until I was finished that I fully understood that.
Tremblay delivers a stunning look at a family falling apart in ‘A Head Full of Ghosts.’ I’m certainly glad to have read this and I’m looking forward to diving into ‘Disappearance at Devil’s Rock’ next.
PS – George (insert tongue sticking out emoji here!). I’m up 2-0!
Is 14 year old Marjorie mentally ill, or is she possessed? Her financially strapped family seeks help from the medical community and the church, and through it all, her 8-year-old sister Merry listens to Marjorie’s understanding of the ghosts who whisper terrible stories. A tv station films their plight, creating a reality television program of their pain.
Years later, an author approaches Merry to interview her for an upcoming book. Memories of a confused and frightened little girl are dusted off, reality and perception examined, and a secret pushes like poisonous vines seeking the light.
Paul Tremblay’s “A Head Full of Ghosts” has rightly been compared to works by the great Shirley Jackson and Stephen King. Mr. Tremblay builds a creeping terror and unease without much gore. Within the book, he alludes to other great contemporary tales of terror from film, fiction writing, and headlines. He uses a blog to convey some of the information, bringing another modern component to this novel. In the end, this story sticks with the reader long after the cover thumps to a disquieted close.
This is the kind of book that tugs at you when you are, sadly, unable to read (due to obstacles like work or daily life). The main character is a great storyteller. The book leaves you wondering if her sister is really possessed or actually insane…and I won’t give that away. There are two surprises at the end I never saw coming. Getting shocks like that rarely happens when I read, so I enjoyed that. The characters were full of little surprises and the dialogue and body of the story were well-written. I bought this book because I read that it scared Stephen King. It didn’t scare me, but I was shocked in more than one place. The language wasn’t cliched and neither were the scares. Events that took place were very original in a lot of ways. The only thing that annoyed me slightly was some of the overly silly language of the blog the main character wrote, but that wasn’t enough to make me want to stop reading. Highly recommend.
This is will keep you up at night. Such a head trip. And so original. Splendid writing.
Loved the story, and the characters. You won’t guess the ending, but the story makes the ending worth it.
This is a great read. I can’t tell you too much without spoilers, so I’ll just say this is a wonderful play on the unreliable narrator that will keep you guessing from start to finish, and even after you’ve read the book.
Very well written account of a family dealing with what they believe is their daughter being possessed by a demon, but it morphs into an unreliable narrator’s account of what the sister recalls when she was a little girl while the events surrounding her older sibling transpired. Couple this with a priest of dubious intent (at least to me), and a reality TV crew to capture the antics unfolding, and you have a story that is able to hide things that become far more sinister than they might have ever been… Very good, frightening tale- Left me satisfied but still unsure if there were actual paranormal events transpiring in the story or not- probably supposed to feel ambivalent that way, now that I think more about it.
Not what I expected. Leaves you guessing throughout.
I really liked almost all of this book, and cant really say what I didnt like in any detail without spoilers.
I wont reveal any spoilers.
But suffice it to say that I didnt think the ending was the equal of the rest of the book, which is a fascinating take on demonic possession (maybe). I cant say it was ever scary, exactly, but it stayed with me for a long time after I finished the book. Overall worth reading
Great story. Hard to put down. Finished this book quickly.
A good read for a blustery cold day, gives you chills in and out!
An unsettling and innovative take on the possession/exorcism genre that will unsettle even those who like they have had enough of this type of story.
The use of a somewhat unreliable narrator (one who at many points in the story speaks from her experience as an 8 year old) adds a lot of complexity and possibilities to the story. Even more so because the narrator revisits the same events through her blog where she is masked in anonymity and then again in recounting her family’s story to a bestselling author who wants to write a book about what happened.
Another interesting angle for the story is that at one point the family decides to invite tv cameras into the home to do a reality show about the whole possession/exorcism experience. With this occurrence the author has a chance critique reality tv, consumerism, social media, and a lot of the pop culture experience.
This is a more than worthy addition to the horror cannon. Definitely worth a read.
“I’m always afraid. But I think it’s good to be afraid. It means that I’m alive.”
The Barrett family has been struck by tragedy that just keeps escalating. The father has been out of work for over a year, and their 14-year-old daughter, Marjorie, has begun developing signs of acute schizophrenia. Marjorie’s mental state spirals out of control to the point her father seeks the assistance of the Catholic church begging for an exorcism to rid his family of the demon that he believes has taken up residence in his daughter. Days turn into months and the medical bills as well as past due mortgage payments are accumulating. The Barrett’s are offered a monetary life line, but only if they agree to be part of a reality TV show The Possession. The Barrett’s decent into madness and ruin is all filmed for the audiences viewing pleasure…and at its conclusion, an Urban Legend is born…
Fast forward 15 years, and a best-selling author looking to write a non-fiction book on the Barrett’s begins interviewing Merry. Merry Barrett was only 8 years old at the time of the filming of The Possession, and as she recounts her memories of that time period, she’s reminded that no matter how much time has passed since those fateful days, it will always remain a nightmare from which she’ll never wake…
Upon completion of this book, I’m still trying to work through all the puzzle pieces to put my mind back together, and it’s almost impossible to say much more without spoiling the horror show that is the Barrett’s story. This twisted tale was an entertaining read that I’d recommend to fans of this genre!
Read tons of reviews on this before reading it and I found a bunch of mixed opinions. I enjoyed it. It felt very ominous and unsettling. Really good and unexpected ending as well.
4/5 stars
3.5 stars!
I enjoyed this novel of possession/psychological horror/reality television, but I didn’t out and out love it. It’s almost impossible to tell you why without spoilers, but I’ll try.
Here’s what I liked the most:
-the shout outs to other authors in the dark fiction genre. I’m sure I didn’t pick up on them all, but I love being made to feel like I’m in on something;
-the references to other characters in dark fiction classics-one of which is glaringly obvious, and since she was a most fascinating character to me in her first appearance, she was fascinating to me in this one too;
-the subtle, and sometimes not so subtle references to reality television and what it does, not only to viewers but to those being filmed.
What I did not like was:
-TO SEE THIS SPOILER, PLEASE SEE MY GOODREADS REVIEW AND CLICK THERE.
-the slow pacing at the beginning. I came close to setting aside the book at one point.
-The blog posts. I can’t get into any depth here for fear of spoilers-but I can say that the blog posts didn’t bother me until the end-in regards to these posts-it didn’t ring true for me.
-nothing truly original was brought to the genre of dark fiction.
Overall, I enjoyed this story-mostly because I was always kept guessing and that doesn’t happen often enough. I thought the characterization of the two sisters was well done, and their relationship was interesting. I’ m glad that I read this book, and I think that for those unfamiliar with decades of dark fiction, it may prove to be a great read. For those readers that have been reading horror and dark fiction for years, it may prove to be just a good read and there’s nothing wrong with that.